Evening star., 1944-01-12
John ". Christie, II,
Tank Developer, Dies
Penni|ess in Virginia

the Nations foremost inventors and
father in part of the modern tank,
died yesterday, virtually penniless,
in his home at $40 East Broad street,
Falls Church.
His death, concluding an illness
of about month, came in the midst
of his efforts to collect $4,000 to
$4,000 from the War Department
for license fees on tanks of his de-
sign produced by and for the Army
prior to 1896.
In addition to his work on tanks,
which was said to have included in
PRODUCTION Of high-speed tanks, Mr..
Christie patented the propelled
fire engine, the front-wheel drive
for motor cars, the standard turret
track for battleships, gun mounts
and gun carriages.
Flying Artillery" Plan.
Shortly before his death, he at
tempted to interest the War Depart
ment in plan for flying artillery"
whereby lightweight, high-speed
tanks could be carried by airplanes
and dropped unchanged and ready
to fight. According to Mr.. Christie S
patent attorneys : the firm Of
Shreye, Grove and Gordon, 1920
New York avenue N.W.-he had de-
signed and built release so that
the tank could be dropped with the
airplane in motion. The tank was
claimed to be Of suflcient speed 50
that it could be used on uneven
ground to get an airplane up to
take-off speed. a A.. .
On development of this invention,
MIR. Christie had spent nearly $2,-
100000, exhausting not only the
81 ,000 900 paid him by the War De-
partment for Christie tanks pur-
chased prior to 1886, but all other
funds he could borrow it was said
Former Representative S. Walter
Dempsey, attorney for Mr. Christie
said that when death came yester.
day, the inventor was in destitute
circumstances, and had been unable
for several months to continue pay
ments on the modest Falls Church
home on which he made a small
down payment last September
Friends and others interested in hi;
situation, it was explained, were
giving him assistance.
Clause In Contract. 20,
Only few days ago, Mr.. Demp-
sey said he would appeal to Con-
gress in behalf of Mr.. Christie. The
War Department had refused pay
ment of the inventors claim for
$4,000 to $4,000 in license fees,
MIR. Dempsey stated, because the
contract for purchase of Chris
tie tanks included clause that Ii
cense fees would be paid only if
the tank were, adopted as standard
While the War Department never
formally declared the tank standard,
they adopted it as standard by
using It," Mr.. Dempsey contended.
Mr.. Christie's patent attorney
said that the basic tank types of
the United States, Britain, Russia,
Germany and Japan are founded
on devices he invented.
A native of River Edge, N. j..
Mr.. Christie ran away, from home
at the age of 16 and found en-
ployment in New York in the
E famous De Lamater, machine shop
where he helped with work on one
of the worlds pioneer submarines
He later became consulting engineer
, for several steamship lines, and
after the battleship Maine was
blown up in Havana Harbor, for
mulated the design for a stronger
battleship turret track, needed be-
cause Of the change from black
powder to itro-explosives for bis
battleship guns.
Following the Spanish American
War, MIR. Christie entered the auto
mobile field as racer and inventor
and ranked with Barney Oldfield
and Ralph de Palma as q speed
king. His consuming aim, 1t was
said, was to lower as many track
records as possible, rather than te
win prizes. To accomplish this, he
invented the front wheel drive
thereby producing the first grounc
vehicle to travel two miles a min
ute.
Later, Mr. Christie constructed a
four-wheel drive truck for the Army
to act as a self-propelling platform
for 3-inch antiaircraft guns. Dur.
ing the World War, he also built
automotive platforms for 5-inct
antiaircraft guns and 75-mm. fielo
pieces, and forced to resort to cater
pillar tracks for the ponderous 1856
nm. howitzer, developed the first
convertible gun mount, with rubber
tires for highways and removable
belt OF steel blocks for cross-country
travel.
First Amphibian Tank.
Mr.. Christie in 1928, developed
what is described by his patent at
torneys as the worlds first amphib-
ian tank. He later designed a ma
rine tank that could ride on the
deck of an underseas boat, take to
the water under its own power when
shadows were reached and drive
ashore ready for land fighting. This
was tested on orders of the Marine
corps in 1928, but was not put into
|production.
The inventors next few years
were spent in developing high-speed
tanks. tests of which began at Fort
Meade, Nd, in 1928, and were ac-