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WWI Ford Model T Ambulances


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  • 10 months later...
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That looks great. Wonderful to see.

 

I have ocasionally come across these square metal boxes described as medical supplies for ambulance. Were they ever issued with these ambulances?

 

thanks

Tim

 

Tim,

 

Any more info on these boxes? Such as dimensions? I suspect much later than WW1, or that 'ambulance' refers to Field Ambulance, not a vehicle ambulance.

 

The main thing about WW1 ambulances is to get out of the mindset that they were ambulances at all in the modern sense of the word. They were no more than taxis or mini-buses. Their role was purely transport and the only medical supplies they carried were when used as delivery vans to collect supplies from bases and deliver to Field Ambulances and CCSs. I've found no evidence of any supplies boxes being carried except for a small first aid kit for the driver. There simply wasn't room to carry anything.

 

In practice, ambulance companies were not medical companies at all. They were transport companies. International convention determined that they had a Royal Army Medical Corps officer as the commanding officer, which allowed the use of the Geneva Cross and only that determined that they were regarded as medical companies.

 

The war establishment of motor ambulances in November 1914 from the records of 323 Coy ASC (5 Motor Ambulance Convoy):

 

Outfit of Ambulance Wagons

Every ambulance carries 4 stretchers (later reduced to 3) with pillows; 8 blankets; 1 large pillow; 1 water-proof groundsheet; 1 cleaning brush or mop.

In each group of 5 Ambulances, 1 ambulance which carries an orderly, RAMC contains the following equipment

Water bottle for water; water bottle for medical with cup for hot soup etc; feeding cup; urinal; bed-pan with brush. 2 Ambulances in each group of five each carry an interior detachable oil lamp

The Ambulance which carries the Medical Officer of each section carries a powerful hand acetylene lamp.

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  • 1 month later...

My instinct is WW2, not WW1 but the more I find out the more I know that instinct is very prone to being proved wrong.

 

I've looked at the records of 8 of the 48 Motor Ambulance Convoys and several Auxiliary ambulance companies and have never seen any mention of these boxes. I've never seen them in photos either and they look large enough to be visible if mounted on the outside of the ambulance. They are too large to be carried inside. They don't form part of the establishment of equipment for motor ambulances. Horse ambulances don't appear to have any more room available for boxes than motor ambulances.

 

One possibility is they were used to carry supplies from central stores to hospitals and Field Ambulances. Ambulances were used as delivery vans as much as for carrying people and did a milk round of local field ambulances and hospitals carrying messages and supplies on a daily basis. But why American boxes?

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Roy. My understanding is that these boxes were supplied with US built ambulances to be used by US ambulance companys for the transportation of US wounded. I would certainly agree with you that they would not be used by the British.

 

Quite a number of Ambulances in the Great War were private purchases. Though strictly the term Ambulance applied to the unit not the vehicle.

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I took these photos during the Memorial Day parade in Washington D.C. this year. I spoke to the owner and we swaped stories on Model T' as my neighbor across the street from me has a 1917 huckster pick up. The owner stated that this truck was for the volunteer corps so thats why it is painted grey. I believe there only 2 in the U.S.. During this trucks restoration, they imported the wood from France.

 

John G

 

DSC_0075.jpg

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DSC_0070.jpg

DSC_0071.jpg

DSC_0072.jpg

DSC_0073.jpg

DSC_0074.jpg

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  • 6 months later...

Ref to the last set of photo's showing American Ambulance No 32020...

 

I have found two photographs of this very same vehicle on the Library of Congress website from World War One.

 

Library of Congress LARGE MB file link

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ggb2005023127/

 

32020a.jpg

 

Library of Congress LARGE MB file link

http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/ggb2005023124/

 

32020b.jpg

 

Incidentally there is another thread here with a Model T ambulance restoration

http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?33730-Another-Ford-M1917-ambulance-build

 

DesertBlooms88

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1918 CHASSIS MODEL

 

The rear overhang of the old-type Ford ambulance had always been considered undesirable and objectionable. This overhang had been materially reduced by the application of a 15-inch Hay Dee extension on the 100 Ford ambulances purchased in May, 1918. The lengthening of the wheel base proved very satisfactory and improved both the appearance and the riding qualities of the vehicle. The experience gained with this lot of ambulances indicated the desirability of extending the wheel base on the ambulances to be purchased for France in conformity with the requests and estimates above noted. The Ford Motor Car Co. agreed to lengthen the wheel base of their standard model T chassis 15 inches in preference to having the Hay Dee extension applied, and to equip the chassis with demountable rims, Gabriel snubber, and Timken front-wheel roller bearings.18 The changes in body design and wheel base made the new ambulance an easy-riding vehicle and greatly improved its appearance.

 

Below is a 1920 ad. for the Hay-Dee kit available for the Model T Ford. The one shown is the 30" model. They state that the government used their kit & that by 1920 they had sold more than 5000 units.

Hay-Dee kit.jpg

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The bottom photo of post #14 shows an M1917 ambulance with the Hay Dee extension. This is the only photo I have seen of a T ambulance with the extended frame, the report was that the longer wheel base increased the turning radius, so it was determined that the shorter frame was better. I think that it was a moot point any way, at the end of the war, production of the M1917 ambulance was halted, and I have not been able to find production numbers on the M1918, but I doubt that there were more than a few hundred made. Of the thousands of short wheel based ambulances that served through out the war, the over hang was not a problem for the Ford ambulances, but it did create a problem for the GMC ambulances. When the Transportation branch took over the running of the ambulances from the Medical branch, the unites equipped with GMC ambulances were ordered by a major, to remove the step from the tail gate, as this would cause undue load on the rear axle. As the step up into the GMC was substantial, it was likely that the one pound step was replaced with a five pound step stool.

Best

Gus

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DB88, nice link. I see the main file also has this link to the recreation of 32020: http://www.ford-t.fr/articles.php?lng=fr&pg=1224

 

Thanks for the website for 32020... absolutely fascinating to see the build recreation photo's.

 

I see that 32020 was donated from the " Groton school in Massachusetts " as it states in the text.

 

I was hoping that i might see some original shots of it. Maybe in the archives for the American Field Service as he researched it there.

 

Thanks for highlighting the site

 

Just found another site that this person has for the same vehicle

 

[h=1]Ambulance 255 Project Log[/h]http://www.ambulance255.org/project.htm

 

DesertBlooms88

Edited by DesertBlooms88
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  • 2 weeks later...

Here are some pages from an Austrian motor magazine from 1915 called Allgemeine Automobil Zeitung. The text is german but the pictures are international. Starts with an english newspaper page on american ambulances but lots of pictures. Is downloaded from the Austrian National Bibliothek were this motor magazine is for online reading.

motorfahrer

 

Ford T Amb 4.jpg

Ford T Ambul 1915.jpg

Ford T Amb 2.jpg

Ford T amb 3.jpg

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Wonderful link, Motorfahrer,

Here is a link to the site where these pages can be found.

http://anno.onb.ac.at/cgi-content/anno?aid=aaz&datum=19150321&zoom=33

The coverage of the exhaust heater is interesting. I once had an old truck that the floor boards were rusted out, and the exhaust was a bit wonky as well. I made the comment that it was nice to use the truck in the winter, as the exhaust would come into the cab. A friend commented that he did not think that the exhaust would warm the cab that much, but I pointed out that one of the early symptoms of coabonmonoxide poisoning was a feeling of warmth. In the winter, when you started to unbutton your coat, it was time to roll the window down to get some fresh air.

Best

Gus

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