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I'd like to know something about artillery wheels on pre-War II Packs. What was their purpose--other than the obvious.

kind regards
Garrett Meadows

There is a lot to this story but simply expressed there were two types of artillery wheels used by Packard between the late 20s and 1938; senior Packards 1936 and back offered wooden (Hickory) spoke artillery wheels, and for a year or two there were steel-stamped artillery wheels available for the juniors. Of course wood spoke wheels were pretty much standard starting with the beginning of the auto era, later drop-center wire spoke and steel disc wheels came along - steel disc were considered the strongest and most popular on export cars. In the era beginning in the late 20s, all 3 types of wheels were offered and what you bought was what you liked.

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.

Fascinating stuff. Thank you for the mini-history lesson.

The reason I asked is that I just saw a Pack online with artillery wheels, prompting me to wonder about their origination and specific use.

kind regards
Garrett Meadows

Very interesting additional info to the previous responders post.

As a modern motorist, I often forget that roads were basically glorified dirt-paths early on and that cars were designed accordingly.

An aunt of mine died two months ago at age 100 and she often spoke about the beatings both the car and its occupants took from rough-hewn roads.

kind regards
Garrett Meadows

Very interesting stuff. Some photos I saw recently of road tests done on old cars ( around 1920's or earlier) had me wondering if they were posed mock-ups or for real. The places they got those old cars were worse than what you'd need a 4WD car to get through! So it seems the oldies were capable of handling some VERY rough roads.

One pic had an old car on its side, and the driver and passenger just lifted it back onto its wheels and drove off.

Have you seen the Oil Field Dodge film? Real roads and a real Dodge, film made about 1920 or a little earlier.

Demonstrating Dodge toughness under extreme conditions. Probably shot in the Oklahoma oil fields. The roads were typical of rural roads of that time, especially in the spring. The only unusual thing is, they drove the car pretty hard to prove their point. Most drivers would have taken it a little easier, but everyone had to contend with the same roads.

I notice the Oil Field Dodge has wire wheels and sedan body, both unusual options for the time. The typical Dodge would have had wooden artillery wheels and open touring body.

youtube.com/watch?v=nq2jY1trxqg

Here is another film showing a 1918 Maxwell in the California desert. It demonstrates the toughness of wooden spoke artillery wheels as well as the Maxwell car.

youtube.com/watch?v=oECmRXsRycI

Yep . . . . Oil Field Dodge is the same movie I saw. No way to treat a decent car.

I always shove my arm right out the window and push on the dirt bank to keep my car from rolling, just like he did in that film. Works great. I have a couple of spare arms handy just in case one gets ripped right off.

If I were you I would change out the artillery wheels for cavalry wheels. Your car will go a lot faster; but then again, you won't get the best bang for the buck.