USA

Ford Model "T" Ambulance

During World War One the Ford Model “T” was one of the most widely used vehicles. Just the British Army used some 19.000 of them, and to this should be added all those employed by the Americans after their entry into the war. What made the “T” popular was not so much it’s performance, which was not spectacular, as it’s reliability, ruggedness, low cost and ease of maintainance and repair. The design was extremely simple. The front and rear axles were solid, and set on a single transverse leaf spring. A two-speed planetary transmission used belts rather than gears and had only two forward speeds plus one reverse. The gears were operated by a two-pedal actuation – this made for easier driving than using a conventional stick operated sliding-gear gearbox. There were no brake as such: instead there was a contracting band on the transmission and hand-operated expansion brakes on the rear wheels. There was no self-starter; the engine had to be cranked by hand. During World War I, before the entry of the United States into the war, some charitable organizations offered Model “T” ambulances to the Allied forces. The standard Ford Model “T” was provided, but without any bodywork beyond the cowl. Legend have it that the first ten ambulance bodies were made out of the wood of the transport cases! Later bodies were produced by the grand carrossier Kellner of Boulogne, near Paris. The ambulance could carry three patients in litters or four patients seated, and two more could always sit up front with the driver. It proved to be a very good ambulance. It’s light weight made it well-suited for use on the muddy and shell-torn roads in forward combat areas; and if it got stuck in a hole, a group of soldiers could haul it out without much ado. It was also, as stated, very easy to maintain and repair, and it could take a lot of punishment. It was the most common ambulance used by the Allies during the war. My model is based on RPM:s erxcellent little kit, built with only some small modifications. Click on the thumbnails below to see more pictures of this model:

---

Gallery | Reviews | Disclaimer |Kitlist
Guest Book | Vote! | Search | Back to Index | Contact