Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike Cecil
Sorry, Tony, but to a Canadian, the truck in Pic 3 is officially defined as a 'Lorry, 3 ton, Derrick' .....The DND description of the vehicle and its use also uses the term 'derrick' several times.
So I suppose we are seeing yet another difference of word definition and usage between English speaking nations.
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Yes I realize that's the official designation Mike, I was merely pointing out that it's a misnomer. My purpose in doing so was to identify the TRUE source of confusion which invariably sees the Australian nomenclature called into question, as seen again throughout this thread. However my use of upper/lower case was perhaps too subtle, so I shall restate more clearly: The vehicle in pic 3 is definitely a Derrick, but is definitely not a derrick!
On the question of national word usage - in this case we're dealing with a word chosen solely by a WO committee, and thus enforced in relation to this particular vehicle. Therefore we can't assume common usage, as we might if we encountered the word in general literature. I'd be interested to hear from Canadians on this question, but I'd be surprised if they use the word "derrick" interchangeably with "crane", any more than we do in Australia. Certainly the word itself is clearly defined in English dictionaries, and in no way does it apply to the simple crane found on the Lorry, 3 ton, Derrick:
"a kind of crane with a movable pivoted arm for moving heavy weights, especially on a ship."
"a boom for lifting cargo, pivoted at its inner end to a ship's mast or kingpost, and raised and supported at its outer end by topping lifts."
"A machine for hoisting and moving heavy objects, consisting of a movable boom equipped with cables and pulleys and connected to the base of an upright stationary beam."
"lifts and moves heavy objects; lifting tackle is suspended from a pivoted boom that rotates around a vertical axis."
"a jib crane having a boom hinged near the base of the mast so as to rotate about the mast, for moving a load toward or away from the mast by raising or lowering the boom."
Thus we find that a derrick is defined by a boom which both elevates AND rotates - neither of which the Lorry, 3 ton, Derrick can do! However I'm led to revise my earlier assertion that the Trucks, Derrick (AUST) was the only CMP derrick produced - there was in fact one other variant fitting this definition, in a much more famous configuration featuring not one but TWO derricks!
Something else I learned about the derrick: "The device was named for its resemblance to a type of gallows from which a hangman's noose hangs. The derrick type of gallows in turn got its name from Thomas Derrick, an English executioner from the Elizabethan era." Fascinating!