Re: What are artillery wheels?

Posted by Rusty O\'Toole On 2014/7/14 18:11:58

Artillery wheels were a particular type of wooden wheels first used on gun carriages in other words field pieces.

They were a very strong and flexible type of wheel, well suited to the rough rocky roads, or lack of roads encountered by early motorists.

I have seen a picture of a 1907 touring car stuck between 2 big rocks. The rear wheels were bent in so far, the bottom of the tires were a foot closer together than the top. When they got the car out, the wheels sprang back as good as new. This was on a trail that today would be tackled only by Jeeps, that were out for a challenge.

Wooden wheels also absorbed a lot of noise and vibration that would otherwise have reached the passengers.

Wire wheels were prone to breaking spokes. Steel disc wheels were noisy and could be bent permanently.

On the whole, wooden wheels were the best and most practical in the early days.

As wheels got smaller and spokes got shorter, the wooden spoke wheel became kind of pointless. Especially considering the improved roads, better suspensions and better wheel and tire designs.

Wooden wheels were out of fashion by 1930. They were available as late as 1936 on Packards, but were seldom seen.