technology from the past

mike mckinley · #1 13-07-06, 05:45

hi all

as mentioned previously, i was given a stack of old popular mechanics, mechanix illistrated, and science and mechanics magazines the other day. they date from the 1940's to the 1970's and have survived quite well. i have only had the chance to look at six of them so far, but have found some interesting things in them, and had a few good laughs in the process. some of the ideas they had back then seem so rediculous today that at time's it's hard not to laugh. in other cases, what was cutting edge then became reality and is now obsolete. anyhow, i figured that some of this stuff has been forgotted over the years and that it was time to bring some of it back to light. as i get the chance to look the rest of them over, and if you are interested, i can post what i find.
please keep in mind that all of the above magazines were published out of the United States, so their articles are generally written based on what was being tested down there. by the same token, many of their military products ended up in our army as well as many others. hope you all enjoy this little trip down memory lane, or in my case history

mike

first up from 1954, why build landing craft and amphibious armour when you can simply do this.....

mike mckinley · #2 13-07-06, 05:49

ever wonder about the evolution of body armour, and kevlar helmets.....this marine from 1963 is wearing a prototype helmet that sure resembles the pasgt helmet introduced in the 1980's.

mike mckinley · #3 13-07-06, 05:51

and then there is the problem of dealing with land mines.....check out the experimental boots....

mike mckinley · #4 13-07-06, 06:09

and finally for tonight, here is an experimental amphibious vehicle known as the airoll. it was built for the Marines by borg-warner corp and tested in 1963. its track in composed of 26 high flotation terra tires which keep the machine floating when in water. propulsion is provided by the moving track. on land the tires operate like conventional tank track?????hmmmm

mike mckinley · #5 14-07-06, 04:39

the next three are from 1936

mike mckinley · #6 14-07-06, 04:39

next from 1936

mike mckinley · #7 14-07-06, 04:40

and finally from 1936

Hanno Spoelstra · #8 14-07-06, 10:53

Interesting stuff Mike, keep it coming!

H.

mike mckinley · #9 16-07-06, 06:40

back in 1964, it was decided that "digging" a foxhole was a waste of time, so a new approach was tried

mike mckinley · #10 16-07-06, 06:43

yep, 64 was quite a year....apparently, due to budget restrictions, they even figured a way to make the mutt swim

mike mckinley · #11 16-07-06, 06:45

the fore mentioned budget restrictions were so bad in fact, that in 1964, half of the ondnance stores were up for sale

mike mckinley · #12 16-07-06, 06:47

this next photo is from 1967, and could either be a prototype of the gamma goat, or a product competing for same contract. i guess the mutts didn't swim all that well

mike mckinley · #13 16-07-06, 06:51

and by 1968 they were building these to carry fleets of mutts

mike mckinley · #14 16-07-06, 06:55

now, a final one for tonight, but be warned, you'll need some tissues when you see the going price of these back in 1963

mike mckinley · #15 16-07-06, 19:37

this is the last of the pics

sapper740 · #16 16-07-06, 23:35

Quote:

Originally posted by mike mckinley
and by 1968 they were building these to carry fleets of mutts

There is one of these monsters (L.A.R.C.) for sale on ebay right now...only $80,000 starting bid. Oh, by the way, it's currently in Trinidad!

sapper740 · #17 16-07-06, 23:52

Quote:

Originally posted by mike mckinley
now, a final one for tonight, but be warned, you'll need some tissues when you see the going price of these back in 1963

I remember seeing bins of No.5's for sale in the Woolco Department store on Marine Drive in North Vancouver in 1967. My memory may be faulty, but I seem to remember that the price there was $12.95 each. I shoulda bought 'em all!
Some of the older Canadian members of MLU might want to kick their collective behinds. In November of 1956 the P51 Mustang and the D.H. 100 Vampire were formally retired from the RCAF. Crown Assets offered them for sale shortly after for $500 apiece! Mein Gott! Why is hindsight always 20/20?!?

CHIMO!

phoenix · #18 17-07-06, 01:11

Quote:

Originally posted by mike mckinley
this next photo is from 1967, and could either be a prototype of the gamma goat, or a product competing for same contract. i guess the mutts didn't swim all that well

Must be another vehicle, i've got a couple of videos of the gamma goat prototype, and it sure looks different to that, and has 2 more wheels

mike mckinley · #19 17-07-06, 03:24

hi phoenix

it could very well be something different, and unfortunately, no more information is given. i'm learning that there were a plethora of prototypes, and experimentals in the 50's and 60's that didn't make it to production. i have another pic i found here of an early m151 with a small turbine motor, but i'll have to go back and look through a bunch of issues to find it. i just took a guess that it may have been some how tied to that project.

cheers!!
mike

phoenix · #20 17-07-06, 03:28

Due to it's similar appearance I wouldn't at all be surprised if it was competing for the same contract. It's always interesting to see the prototypes. aircraft are the same, hundereds of prototypes that never got anywhere.

mike mckinley · #21 17-07-06, 03:32

well, speaking of aircraft, there are quite a few shots of military aircraft in these old books, some for sure are experiments. since i'm primarily interest in land based vehicles and related kit, i didn't scan the aircraft stuff, but if there was an interest, i could very easily do that too, i just don't want to take up too much webspace posting all this stuff.

mike

phoenix · #22 17-07-06, 03:35

I'm big into aircraft, and if there was one I couldn't identify i'd be amazed

However like you said, probably best leave it to vehicles for on here

Hanno Spoelstra · #23 17-07-06, 23:09

Quote:

Originally posted by mike mckinley
this is the last of the pics

Hey! The DAF Pony, good to see it here. Pity they decided to buy the Mule, but who's going to buy a military vehicle from a small country far away? Nope, just copy the design (doing away with nice features like the continous variable transmission) and manufacture it yourself

Thanks for that Mike!
H.

mike mckinley · #24 17-07-06, 23:50

my motto, never throw away old books....the daf pony was a new one to me, infact i just figured it was a mule copy, but wasn't sure as i hadn't seen/heard of one before i found the picture. just like the one offs, and prototypes, some of them are just that one off, tested, and cast off to the junk pile to be forgotten.....with others, you can sometimes see a definate lineage to the production vehicle, both cases worth taking a look at once every fourty years or so.

mike

oztankboy · #25 18-07-06, 04:33

Hi there!

Well that Gamma Goat like vehicle the "TASC" I found a booklet on it a few years back. Every chance it may have been trailed here in Australia. It didn't say who built it though but contained all the specifications and heaps of photos and some proposed lay outs for future use. e.g. mounting the Davy Crockett XM 29 weapons system and ambulance etc.

If any one would like a copy just pvt me with your email addy and i'll try and send a coppy of it of to you.

Phil...