THE FORD RECONNOITRING CAR
Recently I’ve been doing some digging through the US National Archives to find information on the US Army’s early armoured and tracked vehicles. We’ve already looked at M1918 Ford Light Tank, but these photographs, taken in 1921, show what is described as the ‘Ford Reconnoitring Car’.
The photographs were taken at a tank and tractor demonstration held by the Ordnance Department at Rock Creek Park, in Washington D.C. The demonstration took place on 2nd September, 1921.
The vehicle itself appears to be a 2-seat Ford Model T Runabout with its running boards removed. The car has two additional wheels added between its original road wheels. At first glance the Reconnoitring Car appears to be tracked but on closer inspection the ‘tracks’ appear to be a pair of rubber bands with metal pieces holding the bands together and keeping them aligned with the wheels, which appear to have standard road tyres.
The car is unarmoured and unarmed. The only other noticeable change is the addition of a license plate reading “US Army ORD DEPT”. Likely based on lessons learned on the Western Front, it seems that the Reconnoitring Car’s demi-track system was intended to improve mobility in muddy conditions but how effective the system was is unclear. It doesn’t appear to be the most robust design.
In the background we can see three other vehicles, a MKVIII heavy tank, an early prototype Christie Tank and what appears to be an M1917 light tank. The demonstrations was attended by a number of senior officials including Secretary of War Newton Baker, Major General William Snow, the Chief of Field Artillery, and engineer John Christie.