Steam Wheel Tank
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| Steam Wheel Tank | |
|---|---|
| Place of origin |  United States |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 17 tons |
| Length | 22 ft 3 in |
| Width | 10 ft 1 in |
| Height | 9 ft 10 in |
| Crew | six |
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| Armor | .23" to .63" |
| Primary armament |
2.95" howitzer |
| Secondary armament |
Browning .50 Caliber machinegun |
| Engine | 2 steam |
| Operational range |
? |
The Steam Wheel Tank was the official US Army name for the vehicle also known as the 3 Wheeled Steam Tank, the Holt Steam Tank and the Holt 150 Ton Field Monitor. It was an early U.S. produced tank built by the Holt Manufacturing Company (now Caterpillar Inc.) sometime between late 1916 and early 1917. It was the third tank to be designed in the U.S. and was completed in 1918.
The Steam Wheel Tank was designed on the basis of the early "Big Wheel" Landship concepts put forward by Great Britain in 1915 and also resembles the German Treff As-Wagen of 1917.
It had two large eight feet diameter wheels with three feet wide treads, located at the front on each side of the substructure. These wheels were made out of several sheets of pressed steel and were not specially manufactured, being of the type used on Holt agricultural machinery of the period. At the rear was a roller wheel to be used for steering. A small skid plate or tail was attached to this roller to assist in trench-crossing. Both front wheels were driven by individual power units which consisted of a Doble 2 cylinder 75 hp steam engine and Doble kerosene fired boiler.
The vehicle's main armament was a 2.95" (75 mm) mountain howitzer mounted low in the front. A .50cal Browning machinegun was carred in a ball mount on each hull side.
While it is sometimes known as the Holt 150 Ton Field Monitor, the stated weight was approximately seventeen tons, so it is likely that the "150 ton" nomenclature was either an effort to obscure the design from spies or an error. Its riveted armour plating was between six and fifteen millimetres thick.
One prototype was completed in February 1918 and was evaluated between March and May 1918 at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Some reports of the evaluation state the tank became stuck after fifty feet, thus ending its evaluation.
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