Ken Estes Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Most of us probably know the general tale of Preston Tucker, the madcap genius automobile builder. But I was surprised by this combat car project, for which several prototypes were built and marketed. The 100+ mph speed must have scared the brass no end! Not exactly troopsafe. https://youtu.be/mTga-68fplQ https://youtu.be/G1cPLTCNvGU Before the ill-fated Tucker automobile, Preston Tucker joined forces with Indianapolis legend, Harry Miller to build a lightweight and fast combat car. Using their experience at Indy they created an armor plated speed demon that could reach 115 mph while its three machine guns pumped out 2900 rounds a minute. Unfortunately, the government never bought the remarkable car but they did like his 360 degree machine gun turret. The turret was ended up in PT boats, landing craft and on B-17 and B-29 bombers. His connection to the Navy during WWII may have influenced his decision to name his Post-War dream car -- The Torpedo . Tucker bio https://youtu.be/5i7mNynGLmM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BansheeOne Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I need this for some 30s superhero/mercenary pulp novel! The comments on Youtube are ... illuminating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Jones Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I wonder what else the War Dept. didn't like about the thing. You'd think if the only objection was that it was too fast, Tucker would have modified the power train to reduce the top speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R011 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I should think that it was more expensive than alternatives. I would also be dubious of Tucker's ability to produce them in volume. The vehicle later accepted for the scout role was built by White, a major truck-maker who had no trouble making thousands of Scout Cars and halftracks. The very high speed and multiple rifle caliber MG's sound impressive, but aren't of much tactical use in that role. As an armoured car, it was too lightly armed, needing at least a 37 mm gun. The M2 Light Tank would have been much better in that role which was ultimately filled by the M8. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOW-2 Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 They did end up buying his turret for use in B29s tho, apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Markus Becker Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Putting teenagers into a 100mph car that has guns - what could possibly go wrong? But enough of the irony, you can only use the max speed if the road you are on allows it. I wonder if it was safe to drive 100kph on the usual 1940 western european road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Jones Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I should think that it was more expensive than alternatives. I would also be dubious of Tucker's ability to produce them in volume. The vehicle later accepted for the scout role was built by White, a major truck-maker who had no trouble making thousands of Scout Cars and halftracks. The very high speed and multiple rifle caliber MG's sound impressive, but aren't of much tactical use in that role. As an armoured car, it was too lightly armed, needing at least a 37 mm gun. The M2 Light Tank would have been much better in that role which was ultimately filled by the M8.It did have a 37mm in the turret shown in the first movie, the second one showed twin .50s in the turret. The .30 cals were in the hull. But as you say it was probably too expensive and his ability to mass produce them would have been suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Werb Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 I need this for some 30s superhero/mercenary pulp novel! The comments on Youtube are ... illuminating. Suggested crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dark_Falcon Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) They did end up buying his turret for use in B29s tho, apparently. The B-29 was an aircraft that was already pressing the envelope of aircraft technology of the time. Preston Tucker's turret ideas were a good fit for its intended high-altitude purpose and the fact that the plane involved a good deal of new tech made those in charge of the B-29's development more comfortable with cutting-edge ideas than most of the managers whom Tucker encountered in his career. Edited July 12, 2016 by Dark_Falcon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R011 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Putting teenagers into a 100mph car that has guns - what could possibly go wrong? But enough of the irony, you can only use the max speed if the road you are on allows it. I wonder if it was safe to drive 100kph on the usual 1940 western european road. I used to do wheeled recce on rural Ontario concession roads. They were straight, mostly two lane, often paved, and rasily capable of being driven on at 160 km/hr. Our vehicles, jeeps, had a top speed of about 90 km/hr. We would rarely go faster than 50 or 60 moving tactically and at higher speeds only on administrative moves. I rather suspect most country roads in Europe in the forties were not as straight or wide, and if even if one could find a road that permitted 160 km/hr speeds one would still be limited to the 80 km/hr or so that the unit's trucks could move at. A top speed so high is not especially useful. What else did Tucker's design have that would make it better than other candidates? For that matter, what was the US Army looking for in a new recce vehicle at that time? Were they looking for one at all? If not, then they likely wouldn't buy no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 High top speed is not useful, but it's indicative of reserve horsepower for fast hillclimbs and other useful things that help you get out of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim the Tank Nut Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 there was a bit about Tucker in the WSJ recentlyI gather that the gov't wasn't a big fan of the man and how he did thingsto be fair he was a bit of a fop Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R011 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 High top speed is not useful, but it's indicative of reserve horsepower for fast hillclimbs and other useful things that help you get out of trouble. An engine and drive train powerful enough for a 50 or 60 mph top speed would still have plenty of reserve power. Speed like the Tucker had is nice to have, but not if it comes at the cost of reliability, durability, cross country and rough road capabilities. fuel economy, or an overly high price-tag. I'm not convinced it would be better in service than, say, a Humber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shep854 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) The Tucker turret had little to no direct influence on US aircraft turrets.https://books.google.com/books?id=Ul8hJBp-nmsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false Development of Aircraft Turrets in the AAF, 1917-1944By Claus Reuter Edited July 13, 2016 by shep854 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiloMorai Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Putting teenagers into a 100mph car that has guns - what could possibly go wrong? But enough of the irony, you can only use the max speed if the road you are on allows it. I wonder if it was safe to drive 100kph on the usual 1940 western european road. They put teenagers/early 20s in 400mph fighter and in charge of multi engined a/c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzermann Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Putting teenagers into a 100mph car that has guns - what could possibly go wrong? But enough of the irony, you can only use the max speed if the road you are on allows it. I wonder if it was safe to drive 100kph on the usual 1940 western european road. They put teenagers/early 20s in 400mph fighter and in charge of multi engined a/c.Pilots get lots more training to operate their vehicles than tank drivers for one and there are less trees in the sky than growing by the roadside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rmgill Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 High top speed is not useful, but it's indicative of reserve horsepower for fast hillclimbs and other useful things that help you get out of trouble. An engine and drive train powerful enough for a 50 or 60 mph top speed would still have plenty of reserve power. Speed like the Tucker had is nice to have, but not if it comes at the cost of reliability, durability, cross country and rough road capabilities. fuel economy, or an overly high price-tag. I'm not convinced it would be better in service than, say, a Humber. Our Humber AC is arguably over weight for the design. It's geared low, so it's not fast. We have power issues as well with the carburetor. The Daimler's I've driven are far speedier in character and power reserve. BUT that can come at a cost for drive line damage if power is applied in a hamfisted manner. I think in the case of the Tucker, detune it for the 50-60 mph average speed and you're good to go. What the actual engine HP and Displacement value to weight is is a question. In our humber's case it's 90BHP for 7 tons. Which is somewhat anemic. The Dingo is 55bhp for 3 tons of vehicle and will do 55mph easy. When we sort out the carburetor issues we'll see more. (Apparently what Solex carbs are available for this engine were built for generator use, there's no midrange fuel supply and the accelerator pump system is NOT connected to the lower carb intake venturi and throttle body. So it sucks rocks for midrange power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burncycle360 Posted July 14, 2016 Share Posted July 14, 2016 Looks kinda like a VBL ancestor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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