The first car with all-wheel drive designed to travel off-road, suggested that our compatriot A. Brady in 1863. He constructed something similar to the engine: a kind of pot-bellied boiler with a high chimney mounted on large metal wheels. At the same time Brady has developed the project “ice flow” — steam ski carriage for movement on ice and compacted snow. Behind him was reinforced driving gear wheel, which, by concentrating on snow or ice with sharp spikes that moved this unusual crew. He, obviously, you can start counting the history of snowmobiles.
All further development of wheeled all-terrain transport was already on the path of development and improvement of actuator, combined with than other ways of raising cross; about some we have already told (see “M-K” No. 6 of 1976).
The first four wheeled petrol car with all leading axes (wheel formula 4X4) was the world’s first armored car built by the Austrian branch of the company “Daimler” in 1903. With the weight of 2 tons of the armored car speeds along the road to 45 km/h.
In 1907, the same firm has designed two prototype with all-wheel drive, which together with other 22 trucks in the composition of trucks and trailers made a test run in Germany with a length of about 1000 km and demonstrated its great potential.
The world’s first self-propelled carriage With all-wheel drive (England, 1828).
“Tsar tank” Lebedenko with giant wheels Ø9 m (Russia, 1915 — 1917).
First of all-terrain truck company “For-will-Drive” (United States, 1908-1910).
The armored car with all driving wheels of the company “Austro-Daimler” (Austria, 1903).
The following year, the U.S. firm “For-will-Drive” was created and a cargo car with the formula 4×4. A year here has started serial production of these machines; since that time, the firm began to specialize in the production of wheeled all-terrain vehicles. By the way, and its name translates as “four wheel drive”. “Drive” and still not change its traditions: its main products — ATVs, though the wheels of some its cars became a lot more.
In 1909 the German company “Daimler” and “Krupp” has built a special truck 4×4 designed for installing anti-aircraft guns to shoot at the airships. On who stood 4-cylinder engine (52 HP). By the beginning of the first world war, the German army was equipped with several types of vehicles — trucks, and trucks with all-wheel drive firms “Daimler”, “Austro-Daimler”, “Bussing” and “Erhardt”. On their basis built the command and reconnaissance vehicles, armored cars, heavy put anti-aircraft guns. The machine is equipped with wheels with solid rubber tires. However, an experienced artillery tractor “, Buzzing” sample 1917 stood all steel wheels increased width and diameter, equipped with a high, sharp cleats in the form of blades. Of course, such a machine could “walk” only on soft ground. This paradox, by the way, have not been overcome to this day — the most beautiful cross-country vehicles on a smooth road helpless.
So already in the beginning of the century formed the main ways of development of all-terrain vehicles; all-wheel drive and the use of increased diameter wheels with special lugs.
The history of national car nice many perfect designs of ATVs. What options were not here! And each of the machines reflect a definite direction. To take at least the first three-axle truck with two rear drive axles. In modern terms, this is the most ordinary road cars, but in those years they were considered a miracle-terrain vehicles. The truck with the wheel formula 6X4 is done on the basis of standard biaxial machines: added another leading axis. Their advantages over conventional cars was significant: the weight of the vehicle is more fully used to increase traction with the ground, reduces the specific pressure on the ground, and some increased traffic. Of course, this was only an intermediate step for cars increased and high permeability.
Work on the creation of a three-axle 6X4 trucks have begun in 1929. Repelled by American truck “Ford-AA”, the prototype of our lorry. In 1933 on the Gas the first “treneska” GAZ-AAA, the participant and the unprecedented character of the Karakum mileage. Its predecessor was the truck GAZ-NATI-30. In fact, it was the usual two-axle lorry GAZ-AA, featuring a second rear axle. In contrast to the basic machine, both the main transmission was designed worm gear, the frame strengthened, and the drivetrain included a dual, unwaivable number of gears 4-speed box. Soon came “treneski” ZIS-6, which in the years of the great Patriotic war was installed the first “Katyusha”. In 1932, the Yaroslavl automobile plant produced a small batch of heavy truck YAG-10 (6X4) engine with 93 HP and a capacity of 8 t was Born and prototypes cars “rehook”. For example, Gorky plant have developed a prototype three-axle passenger cars GAS-CC and GAS-21.
Still, the use of two rear axles was considered only a temporary measure, only acceptable at first westendstrasse. With the improvement of the design and increase the reliability of cars with all axles “treneski” fade into the background.
The development of the first cargo off-road vehicles with the wheel formula 4X4 was fought here in parallel at the Moscow and Gorky automobile plants, and bitter was created as a project of the car of the raised passableness. The great Patriotic war were forced to accelerate those already in the autumn of 1941 in the Red Army for trial operation received the first machine.
In 1941, the Moscow automobile plant has mastered production of the truck ZIS-32 4X4, built at Baga the famous ZIS-5. Then at the Gorky plant on the basis of the pre-war “emka” constructed army cars GAZ-61, as well as pickups, all-terrain GAS-61/415, which were used as light tractors. All-terrain “emka” during the war served as a mobile headquarters for many prominent military leaders. They were used by Zhukov, Voroshilov, Konev. In 1941, the Gas under the guidance of V. A. Grachev were designed by army light jeep 4X4, the designation of the GAZ-64. After the modernization in 1944 it was renamed into the GAZ-67B, and in the driver’s vocabulary is simply “goat”. These cars were produced for almost 10 years and was replaced by a more sophisticated all-terrain vehicles GAZ-69. They were distinguished by high maneuverability and ruggedness, simplicity and reliability. Even today they can be found in various parts of the country.
Abroad the establishment of all-terrain vehicles went down the same path — from simple “trekhaak” to the cars with all wheel drive and more complex designs. For example, in Germany the first three-axle truck”, Buzzing” appeared in 1923, and beginning small-scale production of all-terrain vehicles 6X6 refers to the 1937— 1938 years, although the first prototypes were created much earlier. Like us, the first three-axle all-terrain vehicles was created by retrofitting a standard truck, the additional axle. One of the first ATVs 6X6 is a German cargo-passenger car “Alive” with 6-cylinder engine, 50 HP, manufactured in 1926 — 1929 under the license of firm “Foran”. In the United States, based on the standard truck “Ford-AA” firm “Timken” in the late 20-ies were built in small batches with the three-axle all-terrain vehicles.
From a technical point of view, the interest is also the design of the French vehicle “Berliet” with all the leading wheels. Engine location front torque transmitted to the rear axle, and from it system side cardan shafts and worm gears in the middle and further to the front axle. It is clear that the system was obviously difficult, unreliable and expensive, but it reflects one of the ways of finding the most optimal variant of the transmission. This car has front and rear wheels are controlled, and its successor, the armored cars were equipped with two control position: front and rear. It was believed that it is easier to drive in reverse than to spend time on the turn I combat. The original was the extreme axles and suspension: they were swinging in a vertical plane around the middle axis, and a kind of rocker served as longitudinal leaf springs.
In parallel with the development of truck-ATV design was conducted off-road cars. One of them, “Horch-Argus” 4X4, appeared in 1933. On a machine with a five okrytym body stood 8-cylinder engine of 4.9 liter capacity of 100 HP, the company “Daimler-Benz” in 1934 has released the world’s first and probably one of a kind three-axle passenger car of the highest class with an open seven-seater body and three rows of seats “Mercedes — Benz” G4. It had an 8-cylinder engine capacity of 115 HP, all-wheel drive managed to do the leading. In various embodiments, the machine was produced until 1939.
A strong impetus to the development of cars of 4X4 formula gave the second world war, when the famous American “jeeps” and the German “Volkswagen” army type with simplified body. Work on a solid axle off-road vehicles began almost simultaneously with the design of other similar machines. However, given the large military importance, their development was accelerated. German company “Daimler-Benz” undertook the creation of the project the eight-wheel chassis for armoured cars in 1927, and in 1930 it was already built. On this chassis the engine was rated at 100 HP; front and rear wheels were managed with two posts. A similar car firm “Magirus” created in 1928.
Our homeland is ahead of many Western firms in creating vosmiklasnica all-terrain vehicles. The world’s first 8X8 truck YAG-12 was held on red square during a demonstration on 7 November 1932. In that period the West has only experimented with such machines. The vehicle was designed at the Yaroslavl automobile plant under the leadership of A. Litvinova. The car had a load capacity of 12 tons, she was a 6-cylinder engine with 120 HP I Wonder what the drivetrain included 18 u-joints, transmitting torque. Managed was two front axles. YAG-12 remained in single copy, but is considered to be the ancestor of all modern “octopus”.
Experienced articulated truck (England, 1933).
Truck-tractor ZIS-32 (USSR, 1941).
Diagram of the device the articulated all-terrain vehicle (“Pavesi-Fiat”, Italy).
Experienced chassis for armored (Germany, 1927-1930).
Only a year later, the firm “Leyland”, introduced the first British all-terrain vehicle 8X8. His own capacity was a mere 3.5 MT, however, given the high traction qualities, the car used two 4-osname trailers with loading capacity of 6 t On the “Leyland” stood 6-cylinder petrol engine capacity of 105 HP and with All-wheel drive was leading and managed. In Germany the first prototype diesel truck “Mercedes-Benz” 8X8 appeared in 1936. At the same time, the English firm “Zaurer” started the production of trucks with a lifting capacity of 8 tonnes with an engine power of 135 PS
The design idea is not limited to four axes. “Bussing” in 1928— 1932 was designed and built by an experienced floating patieny car, or rather the chassis, with an unusual wheel formula 10X10. This machine was so complex that further work on its improvement refused, although all-terrain qualities, it could be equal with track machines.
All these all terrain vehicles are based on standard cars, therefore the greatest interest are those samples which had already been laid and other important principles to increase permeability. One of them is the presence of articulated frame ensuring superior grip of each wheel with the ground under conditions of rugged terrain and increase agility. The management of such a vehicle is accomplished by changing the angle between the front and rear sections.
This principle since the early 20-ies started to develop the Italian engineer Pavesi. He built a whole range of articulated vehicles: army transport vehicles, tractors, armored cars and even light wheeled tanks. Of course, in those years it was impossible to conceive of the use of hydraulics for this type of machine. It is known that modern of these machines the angle between the two halves is changed by means of hydraulic cylinders. And in those days! The solution was found in using simple gear mechanism the rack and pinion type. One part of it stood on a semicircular traverse front frame, the Other on the back. Both half-frames are pressed to each other with steel I-beam, reinforced in the sections of the machine. The engine and transmission was located in the front and torque to the rear section is transmitted through the propeller shaft. The wheels were enlarged diameter, steel, with massive tires or metal cleats.
The first four-axle machine with articulated frame and all wheels were built in England in 1933, by order of the military. Three years later, the English firm “Armstrong Siddley” also suffered a similar vehicle and got good results, but the complexity of the design did not allow to swing their production. Work was carried out to establish such a Rover spacecraft, conventional lorry and us. Despite the promise of these machines, the difficulty of establishing a Central joint wheel-drive rear section pushed their further development in our days.
Not once we mentioned SB one way of increasing the patency of installation of wheels of increased diameter. The designers of the Rovers was well aware of its importance and developed this principle from the beginning of the century. For example, the first artillery tractors “Austro-Daimler” type M16 and M17 sample 1914-1918 stood steel wheels Ø 1.5 m, and the towing vehicle “Durkopp” wheel diameter reached 3 m. This greatly increased their conductivity in comparison with standard machines. But the special off-road vehicles with giant wheels, still was not so much the more constructed and operated. Their ancestor can be considered to be a three-wheeled tank Russian inventor captain N. N. Lebedenko. He reminded gun carriage, the front rests on two large wheels of the Bicycle type with a diameter of 9 m. Each of those rotated the engine power of 200 HP the Weight of this giant, nicknamed “king-tank”, has risen to 40 in the Back so he relied on a small rink, which became his Achilles ‘ heel: one of the first tests of the ice rink, firmly stuck, and decided the fate of the machine. Giant self-propelled structure was dismantled.
The same scheme we can easily guess, in the other a huge machine built by the firm “Hansa-Lloyd” in 1917 for use as an artillery tractor. The power unit and the driver was sandwiched between the leading two wide rollers Ø 3 m, a third small wheel is only used to maintain frame. In the same way during the second world war and Germany was built several heavy-duty tractors for pulling tanks.
E. KOCHNEV
History of the machines is often dramatic way design searches, bitter disappointments and victories. In this respect, the distant past off — one of the most interesting pages in the development of the car. Even briefly getting to know her, convinced of the validity of the old and wise sayings: “Everything is already someone once invented.” Indeed, we think the modern powerful vehicles with high cross — the fruit of creativity solely by our contemporaries. But it is not.