Holt tractor

The Holt 120 tractor, circa 1914

The Holt tractors were a range of continuous track haulers built by the Holt Manufacturing Company, which was named after Benjamin Holt.
Between 1908 and 1913, twenty-seven of the first 100 Holt caterpillar track-type tractors were used on the Los Angeles Aqueduct project, which provided a good proving ground for these machines.[1]

Military Use

They were most famously used by the British, French and American armies in World War I for hauling heavy artillery: including BL 9.2-inch howitzers and the BL 8-inch howitzer. By 1916 more than 1000 were in use by British and by the end of the war around 10,000 had been used.[2]

A Holt tractor hauling a 9.2-inch howitzer to a forward area in The Battle of the Somme July–November 1916

Specification

There were at least two models used for military purposes: the Holt 75 and the Holt 120. The 120 horsepower (89 kW) model had a tiller-type steering wheel at the front that was usually covered. It weighed about 18,000 pounds (8,200 kg).[3] The 75 hp model used two tracks for steering. It had a maximum speed of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) and had a gasoline engine.[4]

Literature

8-inch howitzer Mk V being towed by a Holt tractor at the Battle of the Somme, 1917

References

External links

Media related to Holt tractors at Wikimedia Commons

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