Smaller than its predecessor, with only 50 vehicles, the second convoy encountered similar, if not worse, road conditions and took 111 days to reach the West Coast, averaging only 30 miles a day. The Transcontinental Motor Convoys were early 20th century vehicle convoys, including three US Army truck trains, that crossed the United States (one was coast-to-coast) to the west coast. Hopefully I’ll be visiting, Truckfest Peterborough, Crowfield Truck Rally, Gathering of the Griffin, Retro Truck Show at Gaydon, more than likely (and hopefully) Truckstar Festival at Assen as my foreign trip, although I have heard on the grapevine that there is quite a convoy of English motors heading to the International Trucker & Country Show held at Interlaken, CH. Fallon, NV — Silver Springs — Nevada State Railroad Museum (Carson City) — Lake Tahoe — Johnson Pass — Placerville, CA. The Transcontinental Motor Convoy consisted of 24 expeditionary officers, 15 War Department staff observation officers, and 258 enlisted men. Use of these names, logos, and brands does not imply endorsement unless specified. As a test, the Transcontinental Motor Convoy—some 80 military vehicles and 280 soldiers—took an epic road trip from Washington, D.C. to California. The "truck train" was launched to test the challenges involved in moving an army across the continent under wartime conditions. .one story at a time. The starting date was July 7, 1919. At Gettysburg, Penn., the convoy met up with the new Lincoln Highway, which had been begun in 1913, and whose route it would follow across the continent, whether actual roads existed or not — in most cases out west, they did not. 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy When the convoy arrived in San Francisco on September 6, 1919, the U.S. Army Motor Transport Corps had established a world’s record in long-distance heavy motor transport. One of the Mack trucks, carrying a tractor, was the official tester. 100 years ago in the summer of 1919 an Army expedition of 81 vehicles set out to cross the United States from Washington, DC to San Francisco, California. Posts about Renault written by truckbloguk. Such accidents would plague the convoy across the country, as truck couplings broke, axles cracked, engines overheated, fan belts snapped, and accelerators failed, among other problems. Can you imagine driving across the United States only a little faster than you can walk? In addition to transporting New York's Medal of Joan of Arc for San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, the convoy had four objectives; and Ordnance Department and Tank Corps observers completed their reports in October. Ost: STARTING POINT OF SECOND TRANSCONTINENTAL MOTOR CONVOY OVER THE BANKHEAD HIGHWAY, JUNE 14, 1920 (Startpunkt des 2. motorisierten transkontinentalen Militärkonvois über den Bankhead Highway 14. “Government Motor Truck Train Now Winding Its Way Across Nevada.” Reno Evening Gazette, 31 August 1919, p. 8. July 1919 [62-287] 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy. When trapped in salt flats near Salt Lake or the Fallow Sink region in Nevada, all hands regardless of rank strove to save the expedition. One-ninth of the population of the United States was living within a zone ten miles wide along the Lincoln Highway, and it was estimated that local publicity in the states crossed brought the convoy to the attention of 33,000,000 people or nearly one-third of the population. Today, such an effort is not even something to consider extraordinary. Its main objective was to determine the military value of assorted vehicles the army had acquired but not put into service during World War I. To commemorate this historic transcontinental convoy, some organizations are retracing the path taken in 1919. At Frederick, the group was joined by a final military observer, a young lieutenant colonel, Dwight D. Eisenhower, then of the Tank Corps. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. The Great War had just ended, and the development of military vehicles was one of the principal factors that contributed to winning that war. Aftermath: The 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy September 23, 2016 / Blair Tarr / 0 Comments. In 1919 General Dwight Eisenhower led a convoy of military trucks across the country to San Francisco. The convoy passed through roughly 350 communities across eleven states. and the three Packard trucks received high praise from those who took part in The convoy’s mission was to follow the newly designated Lincoln Highway (roughly today’s U.S. 30) to California to see if such a … 1955 Ford COE with 55 Fords. Army Truck Convoy Teaches Many Lessons; Automobile Transportation Factor in Progress.” The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 August 1919, p. 1. Like the cavalry of old, Army scouts would ride in advance of the convoy to check out the conditions that lay just ahead, except they were mounted on Harley-Davidsons instead of horses. As noted in the official report on the convoy compiled by Captain William C. Greany of the U.S. Army Motor Transport Corps, the convoy’s principal objectives were to “service-test the special-purpose vehicles developed for use in the First World War . the convoy, including Eisenhower himself. Modern motorists will be … “Billion Urged For National Road System.” Oakland Tribune, 7 September 1919, p. 4. We took a leisurely ten days to cross the continent, stopping at historical sites along the way, including Promontory Point, Utah, where the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads met in May 1869. . considered remarkable.”. The convoy commander, Col John F Franklin, prepared a post-convoy report and submitted it to the War Department around Feb 1922. In Grand Island, Ohio, for example, around 3,000 people came to the celebration, while in Rock River, Wyo., the Red Cross Canteen Service provided the entire convoy with lunch. The 1919 Motor Transport Corps convoy from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco used the incomplete Lincoln Highway . Throughout the desert, the expedition suffered extremely high temperatures, including a maximum of 110 degrees Fahrenheit. [70-520-1] 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy. As opposed to a sole adventurer crossing largely wild territory, the Army wanted to show that cross-country road travel was a real possibility. The Transcontinental Motor Convoy consisted of 24 expeditionary officers, 15 War Department staff observation officers, and 258 enlisted men. More than 50 historic military vehicles will be on display Aug. 20 at Cantigny Park as part of the Transcontinental Motor Convoy, sponsored by the Military Vehicle Preservation Association. The entire company put in “superhuman efforts” for over ten hours in blistering heat to rescue the vehicles; that day the convoy covered a total of 15 miles. Sources: “Army Motor Convoy Trip.” 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy In the summer of 1919, a young Lieutenant Colonel named Dwight D. Eisenhower participated in the first Army transcontinental motor convoy. It averaged 58 miles a day, at roughly 6 miles per hour, covering a total of 3,251 miles (my family logged exactly 3,500 miles, with all our stops, from Washington to San Francisco). The genesis of the convoy was the new era in military transport engendered by technological advances in World War I, which had ended just the year before. Over fifty military vehicles are expected to make the 3,200-mile journey, with an additional fifty vehicles making a portion of the trip. Trucks foundered in mud, crashed through wooden bridges, and got beaten to pieces on byways barely better than trails. [65-857-5] 1919 Transcontinental Motor Convoy. The convoy averaged about 58 miles a day going six miles per hour. 1915 transcontinental film convoy. To commemorate this historic transcontinental convoy, some organizations are retracing the path taken in 1919. Essentially a PR ploy to dramatize the need for good roads, the "First Transcontinental Motor Train" delivered. Join Facebook to connect with Chris Bunch and others you may know. Sixty-two days after leaving the White House, the convoy reached Oakland, Calif., and was ferried across to its terminus in Lincoln Park, San Francisco, on September 6, six days behind schedule. They climbed into 81 “specialized” military vehicles, including 34 heavy cargo trucks, delivery trucks, a caterpillar tractor (which would become vitally important), a blacksmith shop, kitchen trailers, motorcycles, and touring cars for staff and observers. In the summer of 1919, a young Lieutenant Colonel named Dwight D. Eisenhower participated in the first Army transcontinental motor convoy. Again, reports vary, but the convoy of heavy machinery damaged or destroyed something like 100 bridges and culverts. “U.S. TRANSCONTINENTAL MOTOR CONVOY. The Transcontinental Motor Convoys were early 20th century vehicle convoys, including three US Army truck trains, that crossed the United States (one was coast-to-coast) to the west coast. The expedition consisted of eighty-one motorized Army vehicles that crossed the United States from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, a venture covering a distance of 3,251 miles in 62 days. As a result, it is important to consider what happened after the war that came about as a consequence of it. . An Army convoy set out to show it could be done. The Transcontinental Motor Convoys were early 20th century vehicle convoys, including three US Army truck trains, that crossed the United States (one was coast-to-coast) to the west coast. As the commanding officer in charge of the convoy, Lieutenant-Colonel Charles McClure, put it, “Motor truck transportation saved France, but France had roads.” Realizing the importance of a federal highway system, the Secretary of War authorized the Motor Transport Corps (MTC) of the United States Army to conduct this First Transcontinental Motor Convoy. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the historic military convoy that traversed America from Washington DC to the Pacific Ocean, following the Lincoln Highway from Gettysburg to San Francisco. Despite such obstacles, the convoy doggedly made its way across America, though by Day 5 it had already slipped its schedule. According to the official reports, this army motor convoy set a new world record for distance and, in doing so, garnered the publicity essential to achieving its purposes. As car travel changed the nature of American life in the 20th century, capped perhaps by Eisenhower’s Interstate Highway System, the men of the 1919 convoy stood as prophets of a new age. . Dwight Eisenhower was along for the ride from Washington to San Francisco. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Parade-like scenes like this were common in every city that the Motor Transport Corps Convoy passed through. Eisenhower was along for the ride from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco eighteen-wheelers, the,. Of Motor Trucks. ” Los Angeles Sunday Times, 2 August 1919, p..! Articles, images, product names, logos, and they just went through Nebraska a couple of ago! 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