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34 SPECIAL OFF-ROAD VEHICLES

Locomotion means for legged, hopping, snake like wheeled or tracked vehicles for lunar exploration as describe in a russian review in the 60s. Pict from 'Science et Vie', early 60s.

Aichi Airoll type vehicle, 2011, for snow, swamps, water. Built at Chekalovskom Aeronautic Plant, with aluminum plates of planes, engine of Volga GAZ-3-24. Sold 180 000 rubles (about 4500 €). http://translate.google.fr/translate?hl=fr&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fspec.drom.ru% 2F9430732.html

us002734476-001 Roller Tracked Vehicle, 1956.

	us002916006-001 Amphibian Vehicle, 1959.
	us003695736-002 Endless track vehicle, 1972.

	Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from report of DTIC AD0857747 of Dec 1967 by Klimek Adam.
	Canadair off-road vehicles represents non-aviation products of Canadair in the 60s. Included are the Snoscoot snow machine, the Fisher All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), two CL-91 Dynatracs and two Nodwell ATVs. (CL4284). Pict from the book 'Canadair : the first 50 years' of Pickles, Ron and Larry Mulberry, Canav, Toronto, 1995.
	Canadair Fisher, 1963, conceived by Gondon Fisher, using airoll concept, and built by Canadair Ltd, Montréal. He conceived also the articulated 8x8 AMF Sure-Trek in 1967. Pict from Popular Science Dec 1964.
	Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from report of DTIC AD0857747 of Dec 1967 by Klimek Adam.
	Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict documentation J M M from Fred Crismon.
	Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict documentation J M M from Fred Crismon.
	Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from the book 'Canadair : the first 50 years' of Pickles, Ron and Larry Mulberry, Canav, Toronto, 1995.
	Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from Popular Science Dec 1964.
	Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from Popular Science Dec 1964.

	Airoll first prototype of Borg Warner in 1962. Deep mud, sand or snow was crossed with ease with this new off-road locomotion. In soft soils, free-rolling tires became stationary. Pict from Popular Science, Jan 1963.
	Airoll 1 of Borg Warner in 1965. See Chapter : 'Airoll'. Pict from AFV High Mobility Vehicles by Christofer Foss, Duncan Crow about 1970.

Airoll 1 of 1965 waiting at Quantico Marines Base. CA. http://www.jedsite.info/fulltrack-alpha/alpha/airoll_series/airoll1/airoll1-quantico.html

Airoll-I Borg Warner and Kristi KT4. http://www.offroadvehicle.ru/AZBUCAR/Borg%20Warner/Borg%20Warner%20txt.html

XM-759 MTV weighted 4,2 t for a payload of 1,4 t. See Chap : Airoll. http://www.com-central.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=86934

Marginal Terrain Vehicle XM 759

XM-759 MTV of Pacific Car & Foundry in 1967. One of 7 produced now in a private collection. XM-759 MTV www.com-central.net

XM759 Airoll Marginal Terrain Vehicle staying at Waterways Experiment Station, Vickburg, Mississippi, in 2012. http://www.com-central.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=15161

Pneumatic track Dredge of the Development Division of Clark Equipment Co., Cassopolis, MI, in 1967 for US Forest Service, Portland, Oregon. See Chapter 'Airoll'. Pict from Popular Sciences, Feb 1967.

	CDP-1 or PCC-1 SKB ZIL amphibious prototype 1965 created by Gratchev, taking the principle of Airoll (see chap : Airoll). 97 hp, hydromechanics transmission, 7.9 t empty mass after update, very adapted to deep snow (1 m) on slope of 20°, but reliability (roller axels, derailment of tracks) should be improved. http://scalehobby.org/index.php?topic=971.0
	CDP-1 or PCC-1 SKB ZIL amphibious prototype 1965. http://scalehobby.org/index.php?topic=971.0
	CDP-1 or PCC-1 SKB ZIL amphibious prototype 1965 http://scalehobby.org/index.php?topic=971.0
	CDP-1 or PCC-1 SKB ZIL Amphibious prototype 1965 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nE8TVdw IuuE&feature =player_embedded
	Roller tracked vehicle HF-1, created by Avenarius and other engineers in late 60 at Novossibirsk plant and tested with 250 kg ballast. http://www.cardesign.ru/forum/diskussii/obschenie/1857/page99/ GAZ47-AMA of A.M. Avenarius, 1965. His first idea dates from 1942 and was patented in 1947. http://strangernn. livejournal.com/51861.html

	GT-TC Roller-Tracked Amphibious, 1975. Tested in 1975-76 at Novosibirsk and near in Samotlor swamps, it proved better than tracked vehicles and more ecologic. http://strangernn. livejournal.com/51861.html
	Military Airoll Ambulance for 2 stretchers, from the 70 ? Posted by Dmitry Dashko, Kharkov, who has a lot of pictures (80000) and books (1000) of archives. He wants, with other persons, to make books on Russian vehicles history. http://rcforum.ru/showthread.php?t=4080& page=6 http://translate.googleuse rcontent.com/ translate_c?hl=fr&rurl=translate. google.fr&sl=ru&tl=en&twu=1&u =http://rcforum.ru/ showthread.php% 3Ft%3D1955% 26highlight%3Ddietryh&usg= ALkJrhi _3aKhpoHGUSIsFn cyoGhFq-OQRQ http://photo.qip.ru/users/theorist/3109666/71296200/

Airoll like SA-1 from 1993 of Production Association, Novossibirsk Tchklov Russia, which was designed for series in 1990. wwwstrangernn.livejournal.com

ZIL PCC-1 Airoll type amphibious, 1961-1966. This new concept had very good off-road performances but it lacked reliability and had too much pitch. http://translate.

google.fr/translate

?hl=fr&sl=

ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Falternathistory.

org.ua%2F

VACT-0,5

VACT-0,5 Amphibian, about 2000, looked like PATA of the 60s with air-cushion supported tracks and weighted 1,25 t. It was itented to be used for fishing and rescue operations, drilling, pulling ashore small crafts, in conditions of coastal areas. Designed by Azovtsev Anatoly Ivanovitch, it was tested at Moscow University. See chap 'Pneumatic tracks'. http://www.msun.ru/res/www/Azovcev/index.htm http://www.msun.ru/res/www/Azovcev/tsvgrus.htm

Scaled Test Bed, reduced prototype of the PATA, 1961. Built by Ling-Temco-Vought, Dallas, Texas. Air bags tracks provided low ground pressure and flotation. Pict documentation J M M from Fred Crismon.

PATA (Plenum Air Tread Amphibian) Test Bed of Ling-Temco-Vought were conducted from May 1965 to May 1966 at Fort Lee, Virginia. The vehicle had a very high degree of mobility in adverse terrain but a limited maneuverability. Improved steering was necessary, Excessive maintenance and numerous breakdowns required redesign of the track system. The Rotoped system of Makerle of Motor Vehicles of Prague could be applied to this vehicle. Pict 'Journal of Terramechanics, 1967, Vol 4 N° 2, Pergamon Press, Elsevier.

Scaled Test Bed built in 1961 by Ling-Temco-Vought, Dallas, Texas, was a scale test model of the PATA in 1965. The idea is that pneumatic bags would provide smooth ride, flotation and reduce ground pressure. Pict documentation J M M from Fred Crismon.

Drawing showing the future PATA issued from Scale Test Bed in Marshes. Pict from documentation J M M from Ling-Temco-Vought.

PA TA, Air-Cell Suspension System

American Patents of pneumatic tracks.

us002867480-001 Pneumatic track, 1959.

us002923578-003 Pneumatic track, 1960

US4715668 patent. Tracks move on an air cushion. Air inflates lower bags of the track.

US3481654 patent for a rubber tracks, 1967

CAAT, Captive Air Amphibious Transporters, of DARPA is a 1/5 scale model amphibian, 2012. Air filled pontoons an a track enable it to float or travel on land for rescue operations and ship to shore transport. This model remember the PATA and the KT-4JC Walter Kristi or even the Airoll vehicle of the 60s. See chap 'Pneumatic Tracks'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_

embedded&v=aAxpJNI5u4Q

Rhino of E P Aghnides of the 50s. Pict from Wheels and Tracks N° 23 about 1988. See Chapter : 'The wheel reinvented'.

Hemispherical Wheels, Aghnides's Rhino

Rhino of E P Aghnides

	us002812031-003 Hemispherical wheels of Agnides, 1957.
	us003043391-002 Steering means for tandem wheel vehicle having tilted axles, 1962.

	us003821995-002 Spherical wheel of Aghnides in 1972.
	us003973638-002 Curved tracks of Pohjola, 1975
	Tracked Gear with cushioned lubricated leak proof suspension in 1955. Its a rubber proof lubricated track patent of M. Gregory Bekker.
	710092_19941220 Canadian Patent of Gordon Fisher for Canadair Fisher CL 213, 1967.

us004353428-006 Hemispherical wheels.

	Snowball and hemispherical wheels of 1,5 m diameter. The vehicle was stabilized by a front skating. Steering by brakes. Mass 180 kg. Pict from the book ‘Les véhicules Hors série’ of Jacques Borgé and Nicolas Viasnoff, Balland, 1976.
	Draft of crawling vehicle in Russian review Modelist-Konstrouktor. It used an undercarriage wave. Shigeo Hirose studied the first snake like locomotion from 1972. Pict from book of Alain Dupouy, Auto-éditeur : 'Les véhicules tout-terrain N° 11 Tome I'. 1995.

Enclosed pneumatic track from Okada, 1966. Pict from 'Journal of Terramachnics', 1966, Vol 3, N° 1 Pergamon Press, Elsevier.

Enclosed pneumatic track Okada

Fijalkowski Terrapin presented at ISTVS Conference at Kobe, Japan in 1990, was fitted by two primary and two secondary twin bogies each with a rubber all-wheel drive track. Two DC macrocommutator and computer allows the whole bogie to rotate on itself. Pict from article of Akira Oida in 'Journal of Terramechanics', Vol 28, 1991, Pergamon Press, Elsevier.

Kockums Industrier AB, Söderhamn,Twin Bogie of an off-road project. See Chap 'Change around the track II". Pict probably comes from 'Journal of Terramechanics', about mid-80s, Elsevier.

Amphibious vehicle of WWII in Japan. See Chapter : 'Pneumatic Tracks'. http://www.strange-mecha.com/vehicle/track/scv.htm

and the original Japanase book.

Amphibious vehicle of WWII in Japan for crossing swamps. http://www.strange-mecha.com/vehicle/track/scv.htm

and the original Japanese book.

	E-4121 excavator on pneumatic tracks conceived in 1985 by ONIL VM for pipelines Bureau. These machines, produced in little series near Nizhnu-Novgorod, perform work on emergency response and repair of oil and gas pipelines. It is the only pneumatic tracks built in series probably in the world.
	Pneumatic tracks of E-4121 excavator.

Triangle tracks of NASA from Popular Science, Feb 1974.

Tri.on of Tuvie Design, remote controlled robot concept for firefighting. Tracks are driven and the whole triangular wheel can roll. http://www.tuvie.com/

search/robot+wheels

Delta Beetle, Gold Medal at the Toyota Idea Olympics in 1991, year competition of the employees of Toyota was very prolific. The triangular wheels were powered on their own axle and a drive belt around the wheels could be driven independently. The vehicle could climb stairs. Terrastar and Landmaster had tri-star wheels but no tracks. Documentation J M M from Toyota.

Floating wheels of Straussler in 1951-52 on a Willys MB, also tried on FV1800 Mudlark (Wolseley) and VLRD (Delahaye). These inflatable wheels enable vehicle to float and to give cross-country capabilities by mean of a 'simple' attachment. Pict from 'Wheels and Tracks' N° 44, 1993.

Ford M151 with M3 Flotation Kit, 1965, of Goodyear Rubber Company. Tests were successfull. Picture from book of Fred Crismon ‘US Military Wheeled Vehicles’, Crestline Publishing (Motorbook), 1983.

Kristi KT-4

Kristi Water Walker, Amphibious, 1962, issued from KT-4 but with buoyant bags fitted on tracks to move on water as the Scaled Test Bed. Steering on dry soil must be a problem. Picture from book of Fred Crismon ‘US Military Tracked Vehicles’, Motorbook International Publishers & Wholesellers, 1992.

Spherical Drive System on a motorbike. It's a project of the San Jose State University College of Engineering. http://sphericaldrive

system.com/?gallery=image-gallery http://sphericaldrive

system.com/concept/

Stellar Eagle Lander project led by Keith Goeller. Star wheels are used on this artist's conception. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23284596/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/teams-shoot-moon/#.UKscZqOa9lo

Gato Arana seen at the Motor Show of Barcelona in 1972. He could climb steps of 1 m by using rotors. On the other side, it seems that the minor wheels were fixed on rotors. Jóse Artes de Arcos, 1893-1985, important Spanish cars industrial : ‘Fabrica de Accesorios para Automobiles y Motocycletas', Barcelona, built in 1971 the amphibian 6x6 ‘El Gato Montes' and this one that looks like a little Terrastar. Does it still exists ? Pict from the book ‘Les Véhicules Hors Série’ of Jacques Borgé and Nicolas Viasnoff, Balland, 1976.

Terrastar in Lego without and with tracks. http://www.doublebrick.ru/

mocs/sofo/terrastar-8x12-kolesnyy

Lego Tri Star Wheeled Twister, 2010. The body can tilt longitudinally. http://www.youtube.com/

watch?v=82Cch5XuG3I

Terrastar of Lockheed of 1967 was built in a very creative period (60s and 70s) in all fields particularly that of off-road locomotion, but idea was not new. Today, research continue and there is new prototypes although much more conventional.

us003208544-001 Stepping wheel vehicle, 1965.

	Terrastar of Lockheed Aircraft Service Company, CA, in 1967. The vehicle performed very well in mud. See chapter : 'The Wheel Reinvented'. Documentation J M M of Lockheed. Terrastar Marginal Amphibian of Lockheed
	Terrastar earlier prototype, whose construction was subcontracted to Frank Curtis in 1967. Documentation J M M of Lockheed.
	Terrastar of Forsyth Brothers of Lockheed Aircraft Service Company in 1967. At that time, Lockheed diversified, as many aircraft companies, in off-road vehicles. The idea of this one came from old patents for minor and major wheels, named Tristar wheels. It could climb stairs but performed better in mud than on rocks. Speed : 55 km/h, skid steering, Empty mass : 1120 kg, total mass 1635 kg. Documentation J M M from Lockheed.
	Tri-Star Wheel of M2A2 Terrastar of Lockheed in early 70s. It is displayed now at Rock Island Arsenal. http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?153774-M2A2-TerraStar-semi-SPA

Terra Star staying at Waterways Experiment Station, Vickburg, Mississipi, in 2012. http://www.com-central.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=15161

Paramount Midori Astro Car is a Japanese toys of the 70s based on the Terrastar. The X-11000 from Paya, Spain was also based on the same vehicle.

www.projectsword

toys.blogspot.

com!2009!11!lunar-climber-origin-by-blog-reader.html

Meccano model of Terrastar, 1986. This model has been constructed by the author in 1972 and removed in 2000.

	12x12 Landmaster in Damnation Alley. Built in 1977 by Dan Jeffries Automotive, Universal City at Los Angeles, CA, for the film Damnation Alley whose it was the highlight. The 3-Star Wheels are as on the Terrastar of Lockheed but the latter was not articulated. The Landmaster was parked from 1977 to 2005 at Cahuenga Boulevard, North Hollywood, sold and restored in 2005. J M M archives from Dan Jeffries.
	Landmaster. Documentation J M M from Dan Jeffries.
	Landmaster in construction showing chassis and engine Ford 7 l, mass 10 T. J M M archives from Dan Jeffries.
	Landmaster in contruction. J M M archives from Dan Jeffries.
	Landmaster, film crew. J M M archives from Dan Jeffries.
	Landmaster. Film shooting. J M M archives from Dan Jeffries.
	Landmaster. J M M archives from Dan Jeffries.
	Landmaster. J M M archives from Dan Jeffries.

ELMS simplified drawing represents the first page of the 'Rover Mobility Performance Evaluation Tool' (RMPET) of Nildeep Patel, a software predicting robots performances.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory of NASA Rover. It's the drawing of a rover equipped with ELMS in the 80s. Documentation J M M from JPL.

ELMS at Computer Museum, Mountain View, CA, at the end of the 80s one day the ELMS Rover (on left) was exhibited outside the entrance of the museum.

Elastic Loop Mobility System ELMS tested by WES, Waterways Experiment Station in 1973 for NASA. The ELMS, developped in 1971 by Lockheed Corporation, made of titane or fiber material was not a tracked device but provided same advantages in soft soils and was able to negotiate higher obstacles. See Chapter : 'Changes Around the Tracks III.

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/msad28apr98_1b/

ELMS Elastic Loopwheel Mobility Concept

us004378133-005 Loop Track Mobility System, 1983.

us004378133-001-loop-track-mobility-system-1983-2l.pdf

Lockheed Loopwheel Concept Vehicle, 1960, bases on M274 Mule. A flexible titane band (later in composite materials) replaced the wheels and suspension. Little wideness of the bands did not allowed low ground pressure. Picture from book of Fred Crismon ‘US Military Tracked Vehicles’, Motorbook International Publishers & Wholesalers, 1992.

us002711221-001 Ellipsoidal wheel, Kopczynski, 1955.

Elliptical Wheel of John Kopczynski patented in the 40s and tested on scale models and the M7 prototype. Osmund Anthony Goulden tested also a scale model in 1955. See Chapter 'The Wheel Reinvented'. Did Kopczinski and Goulden knew each other ? http://blog.hemmings.com/

index.php/2009/11/24/wobbly-wheels-and-ferraris/ from Mechanix Illustrated, Aug 1949.

GB945375 Elliptical wheels from O.A. Goulden, 1961. Kopczinski had been the first to take patent on elliptical wheels. Did they know each other ?

Rotoped of Julius Mackerle from Car Research Institute of Prague in 1958 was intended to move on moon. See Chapter 'the Wheel Reinvented'. From the review 'Popular Science' 1970.

Julius Mackerle & Rotoped ÚVMV, Praha. Photo by the courtesy of Mr Ivan Mackerle. http://www.flickr.com/

photos/fkada/4408509148/

	LTSS, Light Track Suspension System of Caterpillar. These rubber tracks were mounted on Water Purification Trailer of Lohr Company, France. J M M archives.
	LTSS. Water Purification Trailer. J M M archives.

Baker Tank, 8x8 1942 and 4x4, 1941 from Baker Manufacturing Co. Models only but the principle was proved viable. http://www.warwheels.net/Baker8x8Jumping

TankIndex.html

Boirault Machines, 1915, was an early land ship made of an outer deformable like track skeleton with an engine in the middle. In 1916, the second Boisrault Machine (upper) was not more successful. Speed very low, 1 km/h, these machines could not be steered.

Kind of tracks with Peugeot HP 28. In 1908, it run 450 km between Biskra and Touggourt and in 1909 150 km betxeen Tebessoy and Gafsa in Tunisia. www.strangernn.

livejournal.com

Squirrel Cage, 1950, tested at Quantico, Virginia. Poor traction between tires and cage, too heavy and without steering. Nevertheless, an invention is always worth to be tried. Picture from book of Fred Crismon ‘US Military Tracked Vehicles’, Motorbook International Publishers & Wholesellers, 1992.

	us002786540-001a. Non circular wheels, 1957.
	Advertising of the German Bohnenkamp tires at Agritechnica 2011. Pict Nathan Thomas and Jean-Pierre Noret from review 'Tracteurs Passion et Collection' Jan-Feb 2012.

	Omni-crawler-robot, 2011, of Osaka University. It is fitted with a unique Omni-Ball drive. Meanwhile, it needs hard and flat ground and is not truly off-road. http://www.robots- dreams.com/engineering
	NXT tracked amphibious in LEGO. http://bluetoothkiwi. blogspot.fr/ and http://thenxtstep.blogspot.fr/2008/07/nxt-amphibious-vehicle.html
	NXT amphibious vehicle : Front
	Gauthier hopping car, 1913, invented by Gauthier, Blois, France, to resolve problems of obstacle crossing, roads being very bad at that time. Compressing a spring on each wheel when moving forward at 35 km/h, the car jumps 1,5 m high and 6 m is landing away. Contacted, Army did not follow. Pict from the book ‘Les véhicules Hors série’ of Jacques Borgé and Nicolas Viasnoff, Balland, 1976.

	Traction Hipkins device, 1941-42 was not for road nor for sand because it dig this later and buried the vehicle. More, the crew had to mount and un-mount the device. Adjust air pressure in the tires is always much better. Picture from book of Fred Crismon ‘US Military Tracked Vehicles’, Motorbook International Publishers & Wholesellers, 1992.
	Wheel traction with chains and very low ground pressure tyres for locomotion. These later don't become bogged in mud and wrap around unequal way.
	Wheel traction. Some different systems to increase off-road mobility.

Neuson Excavator is fitted here with a non-driven roller of stabilization. If it was driven, this could help to move better. Picture at Euroforest, St Bonnet de Joux, France, June 2003.

Gismo Machine built by Sanford-Day Iron works, Inc., Knoxville, USA, for Grandview of American Zinc in 1954. The tracked non-driven trailer at the front was self-loading and unloading. From 'Machine Mobile Evolution' of AIPETOHAC of Francis Pierre, 1993 08.

Jet propulsion for off-road vehicles, Russia, 1948. From youtube.

Off-road vehicle with jets : top Chevrolet 1948, below 1964. Jets help in difficult crossing. From 'Popular Mechanics', Sept 1948. http://books.google.fr/

books?id=CtkDAAAAMBAJ&pg

=PA102&lpg=PA102&dq=jets+for+trucks+popular+

mechanics+september+

1948&source=bl&ots=Do9zrbtBmM&sig=nm95c0b0fkz2m9TY

JqRCWCPr_6A&hl=en&sa=X&ei=r-yGUKqMF8is0QXvzoHYBA&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA

Trials of jets for trucks in 1948 to help in mud and steep roads. Loaded of 33-ton, this 6x6 truck has 12 Jato auxiliary jets engines of 500 hp, 5 on each side, and 2 front to blow mud out of the path. Pict from 'Popular Mechanics', Sept 1948.

Louis Vannod project of 1939 presented wheels in diamond pattern and retractable tracks. Mass 550 kg, speed 80 km/h, intended to replace motorcycles.

Pict from the book ‘Les véhicules Hors série’ of Jacques Borgé and Nicolas Viasnoff, Balland, 1976.

	us004530545-002 Pneumatic track of Bertelsen, 1985.
	US4778019 patent. Sealed tracks with inside pressure for sealing.

	us005881831-003 Multi-terrain amphibious vehicle, 1999.
	Half-wheels off-road Meccano/Erector model. Half-wheels go onto obstacle but, as the half-wheels are packed in 180 °, on flat ground, vehicle moves smoothly. on flat ground, vehicle remains horizontal. Model and pict of J M M in 2009 05.

	Char Varlet. See Chap 'Change around the track I'. from www.aviamor.ru
	Char Varlet
	Controlled suspension from USA in the 70s. Sensors could predict terrain profile in order to lift or lower hydraulically the wheels of the tracked vehicle at the right time. From site : http://armor.kiev.ua/ Tanks/Modern/FromTo/
	Expendable Wheels Toy of the 80s. When wheels were stopped, they increase its diameter. Seen on youtube : 80_s_Power_Machines_ Commercial__FLEX power Tonka.
	Tractor spider from Walter Ruda on www.farmphoto.com It is also mentioned in Chap ‘Walking, Hopping, Spherical and WSL Robots and vehicles’. It can be seen here another inscription.
	Wheel of Major-General Fuller, GB, Complex and probably unreliable. Posted by Robert Grauman on the excellent site : http://www.practical machinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/ot-crawler-tractors-196276/index17.html

	Wheel of André Dunlop 1861. Levers and short rails for this 'improved rail-wheel for chars'. http://armor.kiev.ua/lib/tank/1-2/t2.html
	Walking wheel of Clarke 1891. There were no spokes and rim. The system was very slow. http://armor.kiev.ua/lib/tank/1-2/t2.html
	us006517457-027 curved track patent
	First tracked steam tractor from John Gitkota, 1832, England. A proto was built and tested in wet areas. http://armor.kiev.ua/lib/ tank/1-2/t2.html
	Chain around wheel of Lewis Gompers 1831. It looks like Koppish system. http://armor.kiev.ua/lib/tank/1-2/t2.html
	Benson Farm Locomotive, 1886. Pict posted to site practicalmachinist by Robert Grauman from The Scientific American of February 20, 1886. http://www.practical machinist.com/vb/antique-machinery-history/ot-crawler-tractors-196276/index10.html

Bonmartini Roller tracks on Fiat 25C and trailer, 1961. These free rotating rubber rollers on tracks allowed to reduce friction when changing direction mainly on hard surfaces. Pict from 'The Engineer', July 21, 1961.

Experimental pneumatic tracks on Lombartini Castoro tractor for agriculture, Aosta, 1961. The tracks are moved by friction between bars connecting the flanges of the rear wheel and the track. The lubricating pump can be seen at the front wheel. Pict from 'The Engineer', July 21, 1961.

Lombardini Castoro. Pict from the book of Richard H Robinson: ‘Crawler Tractor Scrapbook’ Part Three, Country Life Ltd, New Zealand, 2000.

Propelled platform SPGD (Spherical Pneumatic Tracks Propulsion) of Elia Monin of Dubna. They look like a segmented Rolligon with an overall stuck rubber band. On the patent, a large envelope covers the whole. Prototype is not finished.

http://translate.google.fr/translate?hl=fr&sl=ru&tl=fr&u=http%3A%2F%2Fstrannik.flyboard.ru%2F and http://strannik-v.ru/topic211.html ;

http://niva-club.net/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=2316

Curtiss-Wright Model 2500 Air Car, 1960. Тhis new air car, very innovative at that time, could travel at 61 km/h at 635 to 965 mm above the ground. It was commercially conceived but fairly maneuverable and not all terrain. Two 180 Lycoming engines front and rear. It stays now at Transportation Museum, Fort Eustis, Virginia. Pict from www.justacarguy.blogspot.com

Hovertruck at WES Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Mississipi. A platform suspended on air cushion with driven wheels for moving was conceived to transport oilfield equipment on muskeg of Canada. The wheels could be replaced by a tracked vehicle like Foremost or Bombardier to move the platform as a trailer. From the 60s or70s. http://www.americansabbatical

.com/Dispatches/dated/

A096log17Apr97.htm

Air Cushion Platform payload 450 t from Hovertrailers International Ltd and ACE & Markley, GB, in the 70s. Very low ground pressure allowed it to move on muskeg, Canada, thanks to pulling tracked vehicles (like Nodwell or Bombardier). They had additional non-driven steering wheels. However, lateral inclined surfaces caused excessive forces in the wheels and in 1973 was conceived Aerobac AB7 with air cushion and tracks whose the ratio useful mass / total mass was not good and the project, funded by Transport Canada, did not exceed the stage of the model. From 'Machine Mobile Evolution' from AIPETOHAC of Francis Pierre, 1994 08

An air cushion trailer and a tracked vehicle, total mass 6 t, moving both on swamp at 80 km/h in USSR in 1973. Similar vehicles were tested in Canada jointly with Bertin, France. Pict from the review 'L'Automobile', Dec 1973.

AT-L Tracked tractor and air cushioned platform, prototype. Mass of tractor 6,3 t, payload 2 t, 96 hp, speed 42 km/h. Ground pressure 0,45 kg/cm². Pict from the book of Alain Dupouy, Auto-éditeur : 'Tracteurs et Engins Spéciaux Chenillés Soviétiques’ Tome II', 1986.

Adams Wagons Ltd produced in 1983 these wide polyurethane wheels of 1.050 m diameter and 900 mm wide to reduce ground pressure on their 6 tons capacity trailer in peat.

Mitsubishi Big Foot won Grand Prix of Idea in 1991. Each wheel can differ according to 8 segments and follow terrain and soil. Pict from review 'Auto Verte', Dec 1991.

US3814046 patent. An articulated chassis is used with the inverted torus.

Toroïdal locomotion by inverted torus of Dr Valery Shihirin immigrated to USA in 2001 is a really new application. www.elastoneering.com and Chapter 'Pneumatic Tracks' of present site. Toroïdal locomotion allows very low ground pressure but all problems are not resolved.

Toroïdal locomotion by inverted torus of Dr Valery Shihirin.

Research on inverted torus seems to be continued since 2008 by Roman Maksymenko of Max-Master, region of Moscow : http://max-master.com/

Hirotoshi Hikota vehicle for disabled presented at the Toyota Olympic Ideas about 2000. That year, competition of employees of Toyota was relayed by the media. Here was an all-terrain vehicle with new concept of tracks surrounding a wheel and a star-wheel.

Vehicle for disabled of Hirotoshi Hikota. Pict. from 'Livre Mondial des Inventions' by Anne-Valérie Giscard D'Estaing, about 2001, Ed Cie 12.

Meccanum wheel on obstacle http://www.youtube.com

/watch?v=5HjuALaXmn8

Scorpa Quad Trial, 2007, is a four wheel bicycle driven by Yamaha motor. Is it really off-road ? http://moto.caradisiac.com/

Scorpa-se-met-au-quad-mais-toujours-en-trial-308

Tweel of Michelin, 2008, puncture-proof tire. It consist of a round honeycomb wrapped around the wheel hub which itself is wrapped with thick heavy-duty tread. http://www.markstechno

logynews.com/2008/11/

honeycomb-tire-bomb-proof-bullet-proof.html

Drawing of special vehicles on a Russian Magazine : Model Builder, 1976, N° 6.

horizons_technic/

7606_vezdehody.htm

which can be translated in English by the search engine.

Drawings of a Russian Magazine Model Builder, 1976, N° 6. See the site : http://hobbyport.ru/mk_other/

horizons_technic/7606

_vezdehody.htm which can be translated in English by your search engine.

Terraplane BC7 of Bertin Company, Castillon la Bataille, after BC4 and BC6, in the mid-60s, with 4-wheel drive and 10 air cushions. A smaller version, the T3S, succeeded to BC7. http://aernav.free.fr/

Terraplane/Bc7/BC7.html

Aérobac AB7 scaled model from Canada and SEDAM (Société d'Etudes et de Développement des Aéroglisseurs Marins) from the 80s with tracks and air cushions. Larges air cushioned platform were pulled in 1973 by tracked vehicles on Muskeg and thus the idea of Aérobac was born. But the ratio between payload and empty mass was poor and no customer were interested. http://aernav.free.fr/

Terraplane/Bc7/BC7.html

Terraplane Bertin BC8, 1966, was tested by Bertin Company, Tarnos, France, at Angers on La Maine river. Sustenance was produced by Marboré reactor of 400 kg of thrust feeding 7 skirts and propulsion screws by Artouste turboprop. Payload 2000 kg. It was of course amphibious and skirts helped pass over small obstacles on land. It was marketed, without success. After this vehicle, Bertin Company was split : SEDAM, Société d'études et de Développement des Aéroglisseurs Marins and Société de l'Aérotrain. Pict from Francis Pierre, Salon du Bourget, 1966.

	Wheelchair KSK23 climbs stairs. www.roboken.esys. tsukuba.ac.jp
	Tractor and tracked gantry : its name in Russia is Puteukladchick for construction of railway rails. This crane serves also for construction of roads, bridges, pipes. Although equipped with tracks, this big rig is not truly off-road but unusual. http://bse.sci-lib.com/article094281.html
	Tracked Wheeled support of camera. Pict J M M at Intermat, Villepinte, 2009 04.
	Projects TV21 Snowtrain and Sand Flea (with a tire filled with reserve of water) early concepts of toys. http://projectswordtoys. blogspot.fr/2009/01/1966-artwork-by-eric-eden-in-tv21.html
	Probieda with propeller in the 50s. Motor sleds are well and only suited for large flat snow covered spaces. Pict from the review 'Tout Terrain 82', Auto Loisirs, Editions P.A.L., 1982, by Jean Gabriel Jeudy.
	Botrail Tractor prototype date from mid-1910s to 1920 and built in England from patent of Frank Bottrill, Australia, 1912. See chap 'Change around the tracks I'. //bp1.blogger.com

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Comments (3)

1. Максименко Роман 22/12/2011

Здравствуйте! У Вас на сайте не точная информация. Автором разработки торохода является Максименко Роман, смотрите сайт: max-master.com

2. Motor cars (link) 07/09/2011

This tankers are really giant, but your pics, and the post information are really making eyes stunning.

3. Greg Trent 11/03/2011

Great site!, Many thanks for posting these images, I came across them while looking for images of jupe equipped cargo trucks and tracked vehicles. Still no luck with them, but I had plenty of fun looking at some vehicles I had no idea existed....and I thought I was pretty good on that.

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34 SPECIAL OFF-ROAD VEHICLES

Locomotion means for legged, hopping, snake like wheeled or tracked vehicles for lunar exploration as describe in a russian review in the 60s. Pict from 'Science et Vie', early 60s.

Aichi Airoll type vehicle, 2011, for snow, swamps, water. Built at Chekalovskom Aeronautic Plant, with aluminum plates of planes, engine of Volga GAZ-3-24. Sold 180 000 rubles (about 4500 €). http://translate.google.fr/translate?hl=fr&sl=ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fspec.drom.ru% 2F9430732.html

us002734476-001 Roller Tracked Vehicle, 1956.

us002916006-001 Amphibian Vehicle, 1959.

us003695736-002 Endless track vehicle, 1972.

Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from report of DTIC AD0857747 of Dec 1967 by Klimek Adam.

Canadair Fisher, 1963, conceived by Gondon Fisher, using airoll concept, and built by Canadair Ltd, Montréal. He conceived also the articulated 8x8 AMF Sure-Trek in 1967. Pict from Popular Science Dec 1964.

Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from report of DTIC AD0857747 of Dec 1967 by Klimek Adam.

Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict documentation J M M from Fred Crismon.

Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict documentation J M M from Fred Crismon.

Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from the book 'Canadair : the first 50 years' of Pickles, Ron and Larry Mulberry, Canav, Toronto, 1995.

Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from Popular Science Dec 1964.

Canadair Fisher, 1963. Pict from Popular Science Dec 1964.

Airoll first prototype of Borg Warner in 1962. Deep mud, sand or snow was crossed with ease with this new off-road locomotion. In soft soils, free-rolling tires became stationary. Pict from Popular Science, Jan 1963.

Airoll 1 of Borg Warner in 1965. See Chapter : 'Airoll'. Pict from AFV High Mobility Vehicles by Christofer Foss, Duncan Crow about 1970.

Airoll 1 of 1965 waiting at Quantico Marines Base. CA. http://www.jedsite.info/fulltrack-alpha/alpha/airoll_series/airoll1/airoll1-quantico.html

Airoll-I Borg Warner and Kristi KT4. http://www.offroadvehicle.ru/AZBUCAR/Borg%20Warner/Borg%20Warner%20txt.html

XM-759 MTV weighted 4,2 t for a payload of 1,4 t. See Chap : Airoll. http://www.com-central.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=86934

XM-759 MTV of Pacific Car & Foundry in 1967. One of 7 produced now in a private collection. XM-759 MTV www.com-central.net

XM759 Airoll Marginal Terrain Vehicle staying at Waterways Experiment Station, Vickburg, Mississippi, in 2012. http://www.com-central.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=15161

Pneumatic track Dredge of the Development Division of Clark Equipment Co., Cassopolis, MI, in 1967 for US Forest Service, Portland, Oregon. See Chapter 'Airoll'. Pict from Popular Sciences, Feb 1967.

CDP-1 or PCC-1 SKB ZIL amphibious prototype 1965. http://scalehobby.org/index.php?topic=971.0

CDP-1 or PCC-1 SKB ZIL amphibious prototype 1965

CDP-1 or PCC-1 SKB ZIL Amphibious prototype 1965

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Roller tracked vehicle HF-1, created by Avenarius and other engineers in late 60 at Novossibirsk plant and tested with 250 kg ballast. http://www.cardesign.ru/forum/diskussii/obschenie/1857/page99/

GAZ47-AMA of A.M. Avenarius, 1965. His first idea dates from 1942 and was patented in 1947.

http://strangernn.

livejournal.com/51861.html

GT-TC Roller-Tracked Amphibious, 1975. Tested in 1975-76 at Novosibirsk and near in Samotlor swamps, it proved better than tracked vehicles and more ecologic. http://strangernn.

livejournal.com/51861.html

Military Airoll Ambulance for 2 stretchers, from the 70 ? Posted by Dmitry Dashko, Kharkov, who has a lot of pictures (80000) and books (1000) of archives. He wants, with other persons, to make books on Russian vehicles history. http://rcforum.ru/showthread.php?t=4080&

page=6

http://translate.googleuse

rcontent.com/

translate_c?hl=fr&rurl=translate.

google.fr&sl=ru&tl=en&twu=1&u

=http://rcforum.ru/

showthread.php%

3Ft%3D1955%

26highlight%3Ddietryh&usg=

ALkJrhi

_3aKhpoHGUSIsFn

cyoGhFq-OQRQ

http://photo.qip.ru/users/theorist/3109666/71296200/

Airoll like SA-1 from 1993 of Production Association, Novossibirsk Tchklov Russia, which was designed for series in 1990. wwwstrangernn.livejournal.com

ZIL PCC-1 Airoll type amphibious, 1961-1966. This new concept had very good off-road performances but it lacked reliability and had too much pitch. http://translate.

google.fr/translate

?hl=fr&sl=

ru&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Falternathistory.

org.ua%2F

VACT-0,5

Scaled Test Bed, reduced prototype of the PATA, 1961. Built by Ling-Temco-Vought, Dallas, Texas. Air bags tracks provided low ground pressure and flotation. Pict documentation J M M from Fred Crismon.

Scaled Test Bed built in 1961 by Ling-Temco-Vought, Dallas, Texas, was a scale test model of the PATA in 1965. The idea is that pneumatic bags would provide smooth ride, flotation and reduce ground pressure. Pict documentation J M M from Fred Crismon.

Drawing showing the future PATA issued from Scale Test Bed in Marshes. Pict from documentation J M M from Ling-Temco-Vought.

American Patents of pneumatic tracks.

us002867480-001 Pneumatic track, 1959.

us002923578-003 Pneumatic track, 1960

US4715668 patent. Tracks move on an air cushion. Air inflates lower bags of the track.

US3481654 patent for a rubber tracks, 1967

embedded&v=aAxpJNI5u4Q

Rhino of E P Aghnides of the 50s. Pict from Wheels and Tracks N° 23 about 1988. See Chapter : 'The wheel reinvented'.

us002812031-003 Hemispherical wheels of Agnides, 1957.

us003043391-002 Steering means for tandem wheel vehicle having tilted axles, 1962.

us003821995-002 Spherical wheel of Aghnides in 1972.

us003973638-002 Curved tracks of Pohjola, 1975

Tracked Gear with cushioned lubricated leak proof suspension in 1955. Its a rubber proof lubricated track patent of M. Gregory Bekker.

710092_19941220 Canadian Patent of Gordon Fisher for Canadair Fisher CL 213, 1967.

us004353428-006 Hemispherical wheels.

Snowball and hemispherical wheels of 1,5 m diameter. The vehicle was stabilized by a front skating. Steering by brakes. Mass 180 kg. Pict from the book ‘Les véhicules Hors série’ of Jacques Borgé and Nicolas Viasnoff, Balland, 1976.

Draft of crawling vehicle in Russian review Modelist-Konstrouktor. It used an undercarriage wave. Shigeo Hirose studied the first snake like locomotion from 1972. Pict from book of Alain Dupouy, Auto-éditeur : 'Les véhicules tout-terrain N° 11 Tome I'. 1995.

Enclosed pneumatic track from Okada, 1966. Pict from 'Journal of Terramachnics', 1966, Vol 3, N° 1 Pergamon Press, Elsevier.

Kockums Industrier AB, Söderhamn,Twin Bogie of an off-road project. See Chap 'Change around the track II". Pict probably comes from 'Journal of Terramechanics', about mid-80s, Elsevier.

Articulated chassis by Team Modify. Scale model won 'Swiss Mountain Crawl 2009'. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuuQGIxwVsg

Belted legs vehicle. Tracks from a conveyor loop and self-adjusting legs patented in 1970. It could theoretically carry men and equipment on rocky, stepped and irregular terrain. From 'Popular Science', Jan 1971.

Dredge, Airoll type, 1960 dredge amphibious.