Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1916-11-20

The next big war whether American or
European, will be preceded by many In
ventions. Among them may be bO0O-ton
tugRernRut. able to NOV down armies as
eagiiy ms the binder sweeps field of wheat.
This land "battleship." with wheels 200
feet high and driven at speed OF 100
miles an hour by engines of many thousand
horsepower. IL is said will be able tn cross
the Delaware river as though II were
mud puddle
This proposed monster engine OF war will
dwarf the biggest OF British land tanks"
as the largest of locomotives does the hand
ear.
Such is the prediction of Frank Shuman,
an inventor and president OF the Simplex
Concrete Piling Company, OF $500 Disston
street
MIR. Shuman says there is nothing tech
nicaiiy impossible about such machine
which would mean to land battles what the
siipsrtreadnought means to war on sea,
Guns would be the smallest destroying
power of such monster, which by sheer
fores would sweep away and destroy every
thing In its path.
The monsters wheels would have to turn
ever only fifteen times to cover n mile, ana
its Immense size would send II over rivers
and valleys easily as an automobile
passes a foot-wide depression In the road
POWER OF AN ARMY
.swhy is there no land battleship compar-
.hla To our own drsadnought Pennsylvania,
nnmetking that will concentrate within one
volume the striking power OF an army
I4r dhuman asks In an article In the Deesm-
Der issue of The Popular Science monthly
He writes:
There is no good engineering reason why
an enormous wheeled structure, heavily ar
rnored and capable OF travelling at high
speed. should not wage the battles OF the
future.
Technically Il Is far easier task to de-
4, at89Ht NHNRa
wheeled destroyer TO run on solid ground
The ocean iR vast level expanse, There
are no hills and valleys. Water is In the
same density everywhere. But land varies
from the hardest rock to the softest quas'
nfire. Here we have the reason why We
stlll oppose armies against each other in
stead OF machines.
SwIFTER THAN TOURING
'sCJndeniable as these difficulties are. it
seems to me that they could be overcome
~ boldly designing machine of such di-
mansions and OF such energy that IL could
travel over ordinary land much as an au-
tomohlle travels over country road. A
hin fifty feet high would be to that ma
chine what six.inch ridge OF clay would
ka to an automobile: n swamp would no
more hinder It's course than a half a foot of
mud would stop a touring car, Even over
rough inland country It would rush more
swiftly than any touring car on a poor road.
the velocity OF an express train would be
Irresistible. Indeed, In It's speed would lie
its destructive possibilities. II could NOV
down everything before 1t with the relent-
1essness OF a steam roller. Guns would not
be required to rout an enemy An army
would be as helpless in Offering resistance
as flock OF geese in the path of an auto
mobile.
~Pieture To yourself a self-propeIsd ma
ehins. comprising three wheels and a
wheels $50 to 200 feet In diameter In
front and = single smaller steering wheel
20 the car. The entire structure is short,
- that the turning radius VIII be small.
PLANS ARMoRED HUB
mo doubt you are familiar with the mill.
fary masts Of our American battleships
They are lattieed towers, not unlike cages
They are thus constructed that whole
sections OF the lattice work may be shot
away but the remaining portions will still
support the mast,
so l would build the wheels of my war
machine. Why not armor them Instead?
They would weigh too mueh-thousands OF
tonz. But tho hub | would armor. and
heavily. There the spokss would be con-
esntrated so thcky that they might be shot
aaay In great numbers and the wheel stll
stand.
ssrhs two front wheels of this war ma
chine would have to be spaced about goo
feet apart They would have tread about
twenty feet wide. / would make them OF
zsssf plates four inches thick. holted to-
zaEhar IN sections.
= am fully aware that the problem of
obtaining engines which will give this war
machine = speed OF 100 miles an hour Is |
aos easily solved. But IL thousands OF |
horsepower can be developed by the eh- |
aIasa q pitching and rolling battleships |
Il Is not unreasonable 10 suppose that eom- |
nztent enginsers could be found % design /
zad build steam engines OF 10000 horse |
ao#4H I'd y ofl-hred boilers
....se.s ..s.f !. .s.,5e % 49,.