the field artillery journal - Fort Sill - U.S. Army

THE FIELD ARTILLERY JOURNAL
The other parts of the equipment were intact and unharmed in
every particular. As will be observed by a survey of the
damage done, the majority of the imperfections could be
remedied by a battery mechanic at the end of each day's travel.
Other changes in the matériel suggest themselves as one reads
the list of imperfections that appear, and each particular part of
the matériel mentioned can be changed to remedy the evil that
now appears to attend motor transportation. Such suggestions
as roller bearings (Timken) and solid rubber tires for the
wheels of the carriages are matters of simple experiment as to
the amount of rough usage they would endure. I will not
expand upon the changes necessary as the same appear to be
self-evident and also apparently simple in adjustment.
A careful log was kept of all data relating to the care, use
and expense of the trucks with the following results: each truck
covered 268 miles in two days or in hours of actual time spent
upon the road not excluding stops, twenty-three hours; total
tonnage hauled 16 tons; distillate used by four trucks 133½
gallons at $.079 per gallon, $10.60; oil used by four trucks 4½
gallons at $.373 per gallon, $1.68; grease used by four trucks 9
pounds at $.06 per pound, $.54; kerosene used 5 quarts by four
trucks at $.024 per quart $.12; making a total operating expense
of $12.94, for four distillate using Moreland trucks. The total
mileage per truck per gallon of distillate was 8.03. The total
mileage per truck per gallon of oil was 236. Traction as efficient
as the transportation rendered Battery A at the above figures is
one of the strong arguments in favor of this form of traction.
If space allowed me I would set out the features in field
artillery that motor transportation would eliminate, but as this
article is merely to inform this branch of the service as to the
results of such an experiment, I will only mention in passing
the absence of horses, harness, horse drill, the difference
between twenty-five miles per day and one hundred and thirty
miles per day, forage, blacksmith, limbers, mules, drivers, etc.,
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