View source for Steam Wheel Tank

{{Infobox Weapon
|         name=Steam Wheel Tank 
|        image=File:Steamwheelstank.jpg
|      caption=The Steam Wheel Tank
|       origin= United States
|is_vehicle=yes
|       length= {{convert|22|ft|3|in|m|abbr=on}}
|        width={{convert|10|ft|1|in|m|abbr=on}}
|       height={{convert|9|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on}}
|       weight=17 tons
|   suspension=
|   speed=
|        vehicle_range=
|      primary_armament=2× 6-pounder (57 mm) cannons
|    secondary_armament=2× machine guns
|       armour= {{Convert|0.23|-|0.63|in|mm|abbr=on}}
|       engine=2 [[steam engine|steam]] 
| engine_power=
|     pw_ratio=
|         crew=6
}}
The '''Steam Wheel Tank''' was a U.S.-produced, prototype [[armoured fighting vehicle]] built by the [[Holt Manufacturing Company]] (now [[Caterpillar Inc.]]). Developed sometime between late 1916 and early 1917, it was the third tank to be designed in the U.S. The prototype was completed in February 1918 and was evaluated between March and May 1918 at [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]]. It performed poorly and was not developed further.

==Design==
Although it is often assumed that the vehicle was a [[Tricycle#Wheel configurations|tadpole configuration]] (with two driving wheels at the front), a senior Holt executive and the Aberdeen Proving Ground's report state that it was a [[Tricycle#Wheel configurations|delta configuration]] (with the large wheels at the rear), and that the vehicle drove like a conventional agricultural tractor.<ref>Crismon, p. 84</ref>

The two driving wheels were {{convert|8|ft|m}} in diameter with {{convert|3|ft|m|adj=mid|-wide}} treads, and a {{convert|4|ft|m}} diameter roller, used for steering, was sited at the front. The rear wheels were made from pressed-steel sheet, the same as those used on Holt agricultural machinery of the period. A small plate was attached to the roller to assist in crossing trenches. Each rear wheel was driven by a [[Doble Steam Car|Doble]] two-cylinder {{convert|75|hp|kW|abbr=in|lk=in}} steam engine and a Doble kerosene-fired boiler.

The vehicle's armament comprised 2 6-pounder (57 mm) cannons, mounted in [[Sponson#Military|sponsons]], and two machine guns. Its riveted armour plating was between six and fifteen millimetres thick.

==See also==
* [[Steam tank|Steam powered tracked tank]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*{{cite web|url=http://www.landships.info/landships/tank_articles.html?load=tank_articles/Steam_Wheeled_Tank.html|title=Steam Wheel Tank|author-last=Rigsby|author-first=Tim|website=landships.info|access-date=July 7, 2016}}
*Crismon, F.W. (1992) U.S. Military Tracked Vehicles. Motorbooks International
*Automotive Historical Records: Volume III, Tanks and Combat Cars, (Automotive Division, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland 1945)

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20140816093644/http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/UnitedStates/heavytanks/HeavyTanks.html United States Heavy Tanks]

{{WWI tanks|style=wide}}
{{US WWI Vehicles}}

[[Category:World War I tanks of the United States]]
[[Category:Abandoned military projects of the United States]]
[[Category:History of the tank]]
[[Category:Steam road vehicles]]
[[Category:Trial and research tanks of the United States]]