Tipping's Plates

[NigelS]

The death of Lieut-Commander H T Gartside-Tipping, reported at the time as being 'the oldest naval officer afloat' with the loss of the armed yacht Sanda, the subsequent shooting of his wife, Mary, by a beserk soldier whilst serving in France, and their commemorations on war memorials has been the subject of other threads, but a short piece on a new lifeboat in The Times of May 26, 1917 reveals that the Lieut-Commander was also responsible for an invention - Tipping's Plate:

...The new vessel is of the self-righting type, and is accompanied by a new carriage, a set of horse-launching poles, and a set of Tipping's plates, the invention of the late Lieutenant-Commander Gartside-Tipping, R.N., a member of the committee of management.

(The management committee referred to is that of the RNLI in which, pre-war, Gartside-Tipping appears, according to contemporary press reports, to have played a prominent role)

Full details of a patent which was taken out for the invention in 1900-1 can be found in this link Click, but basically it provided a means of assisting wheeled vehicles across muddy or sandy ground by providing a 'bolt-on' continuous (caterpillar style) track. As the use of the system with lifeboats is specifically mentioned, Gartside-Tipping must have come up with the idea through his involvement with the RNLI, and, as it is mentioned as having been supplied in the above press report and in some 1922-3 adverts appealing for funds - 'Set of Tipping's Plates for Carriage Wheels (for passing over Sand and Mud)....£220' - must, I would have thought, been functional & fit for the RNLI's purpose; it's also not difficult to imagine that this, or similar, would have been of benefit in the conditions of the Great War battlefields, but were such systems actually used, or were they tried and found wanting in some respect?

NigelS

[centurion]

I suspect that this is the device you are looking for

http://www.britishpathe.com/media/Reference/00000000/00020000/00020420.jpg

Still used

http://www.rhiw.com/y_mor/hanes_llongau_llyn/lifeboat/pwllheli_lifeboat/lifeboat_pwllheli_01_bach.jpg

However of little use for tanks as the contours of the front of the track severely limit the height of vertical obstacles it could climb over (not a problem on beaches) Same limitation that the Schneider, St Chamond and A7v suffered from.

[NigelS]

Thanks Centurion, the picture in the first link certainly appears to fit the bill. The modern versions are obviously custom built whereas the 'Tipping' version could, apparently, be added to existing wheeled carriages, and, whilst appreciated that the system would have been of no use for tanks, I would have thought a similar system would have been useful for other heavy transport requirements during the GW, but I can't say that I've seen any pictures of such, so perhaps, with the wisdom of hindsight, a missed opportunity. There are some good pictures and a description of how the modern RNLI tracked trailer system is used in this link Click

NigelS

[centurion]

Thanks Centurion, the picture in the first link certainly appears to fit the bill. The modern versions are obviously custom built whereas the 'Tipping' version could, apparently, be added to existing wheeled carriages, and, whilst appreciated that the system would have been of no use for tanks, I would have thought a similar system would have been useful for other heavy transport requirements during the GW, but I can't say that I've seen any pictures of such, so perhaps, with the wisdom of hindsight, a missed opportunity. There are some good pictures and a description of how the modern RNLI tracked trailer system is used in this link Click

NigelS

Some fifty land trains consisting of two or more tracked trailers pulled by a Holt semi tracked tractor at one time comprised Allenby's main supply system in Palestine. They did have a tendency to shed tracks when turning and/or transitioning between soft and hard going.

[NigelS]

...They did have a tendency to shed tracks when turning and/or transitioning between soft and hard going.

I think you've put your finger on the possible problem there: fine for short, straight runs as with lifeboats being launched from beaches, but for longer journeys, where variation in course and terrain might be encountered, likely to be problematic.

NigelS

[pjjobson]

A similar system was used by the artillery and called either Girdles or Ped-Rails: They consisted of a series of wooden blocks, 24-inches by 10-inches fitted to the wheels of field guns and wagons during WW1 in order to reduce ground pressure and thus ease progress across soft sand and mud. Documentary evidence would suggest that a similar system was used for heavier artillery pieces under the title girdles.

Phil