Automobiles, Military; World War, 1914-1918 -- Transportation
At a rather later date it may be well worth while to consider whether
experience has not demonstrated the possibility of combining with
a full subsidy scheme a modified scheme insisting only on vehicles
of the right load capacity, and the adoption of all details of the
standard control. In this way, if the true subsidy model continues to
be somewhat unpopular amongst commercial users, a very fairly adequate
reserve will be brought into being without any considerable trouble.
Turning now to the second of the two main points which the War
Department have attempted to cover, we find the fulfilment of the
scheme beset with much greater difficulties. Every attempt to
secure standardisation in the parts of vehicles of different makes
must necessarily entail expenditure by the manufacturers, both in
getting out new designs and also in arranging for economical workshop
processes. Such expenditure is only justified commercially if the sale
of the resulting products is sufficient to secure profitable trading.
Some allowance, of course, must be made for the added prestige accruing
to a firm licensed to build for the War Office, but this is in itself
insufficient encouragement. Consequently, every stipulation made with a
view to standardisation must be covered by subsidy grants, sufficient
to cover both manufacturer and user in respect of any additional cost
or disadvantages in operation. The War Department has recognised the
impossibility of asking for complete standardisation, and so killing
the individuality of different types of vehicle. The tendency of any
such process would be to throttle normal competition, and to prevent
progress. Consequently, standardisation can only be attempted in
certain respects where it appears for one reason or another to be
highly desirable. For example, radiators are notably liable to damage,
and consequently the connections of the radiator to the machine are
standardised to allow of ready replacement of this essential as a
whole. The radiators are mounted on trunnions, the bearings of which
are in halves, and the positions and dimensions of inlet and outlet
connections are definitely fixed. As an additional safeguard, a stout
cord in the form of a bar or tube has to be placed across the front
of the radiator. The engines are not standardised except in certain
details, as, for example, the method of fastening on and driving
the magnetos, which are arranged with a view to rapid removal and
replacement whole. No high degree of standardisation is possible
without incurring great expense and other disadvantages so far as
concerns the design of the clutch and the change-speed gear, though the
ratios of the latter are determined for reasons which will be explained
later.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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