The conclusions reached by Captain Trapmann as a result of very exceptional opportunities of observing military motor transport under active service conditions should be of considerable value. His catalogue of desirable features is as follows:
(1) Clearance from ground in order to enable a car to pass over rock-strewn stretches.
(2) An adjustable cow-catcher in front for use at night on good stretches of road, on which, however, dead or wounded horses or men may be lying.
(3) An inclined bullet shield of light steel to protect the front of the radiator from casual sniping.
(4) A stout iron hook or ring in front and behind for towing purposes, especially when a river has to be negotiated, the bridge over which has been destroyed.
(5) Solid tyres with a set of non-skid chains which can be fitted when occasion arises.
(6) A wire grappler to preserve the driver from the danger of sagging telegraph wires hanging across the road.
While the experiences detailed in this chapter are, comparatively speaking, on a very small scale, and consequently results cannot confidently be applied in anticipation to a war of immensely greater magnitude, they have at least served to show that even unavoidable lack of experience, or avoidable lack of competence, cannot prevent the motor vehicle from being a very valuable asset behind an army in the field. The Tripoli and Balkan campaigns proved not only the necessity of employing motors for the work of the transport and supply columns, but also the possibility in so doing of saving the lives of very many wounded men who, when dependence was placed on slower methods, frequently died from exposure on their way down from the front to the base.
Considerations of Design of Emergency Ambulances--Points to be borne in Mind--Some Examples of Practical Designs now in Service--The Work of Motor Ambulances at the Front--Scouring the Battlefields--How the British Red Cross Society gets its Fleet.
Among military uses of motor vehicles, the motor ambulance probably comes next in order of importance after the transport and supply waggons. Evidently with the motor ambulance must be grouped cars suitable for use in carrying wounded men who are not obliged to be transported in a recumbent position, and even ordinary touring cars when employed, as they are being somewhat extensively at the present moment, for taking convalescent men on health-giving motor trips. This last is a quite useful class of work in which even those motorists can participate who are only able to offer their services and those of their cars in the vicinity of their own homes and at specified hours.