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Locomobile/Mack/White Armored Car

Specifications

Country of Origin/Used by:	USA
First Produced/Service Dates:	1916
Manufactured by:	Locomobile Company of America, Mack Brothers Company (now Mack Trucks) and White Motor Car Company
Crew:	4+5?
Armament:	(2) .30 caliber machine guns (Only seen on the Mack)
Engine:	4 Cylinder Gasoline (Mack and White); 6 Cylinder Gasoline (Locomobile)
Miscellaneous Info:	Under the direction of the New York National Guard (NYNG) and sponsored by members of U.S. Steel, the Central Trust Company of New York and Redmond & Company, a unit to be equipped with heavy armored cars was created.  This unit was named the 1st Armored Motor Battery and was commanded by the brainchild of the idea, Captain Harry G. Montgomery. To form the nucleus of the unit, a series of heavy armored cars were to be built, using a common set of plans, possibly developed by Mack Brothers Company.  The vehicles were to utilize the automotive components built by different companies, but fitted with standardized armored hulls. The three (3) companies that became involved in the program were Locomobile, Mack and White. It was planned that the unit would take these new vehicles with them during their deployment to Europe in World War I. Captain Montgomery even envisioned that if the unit and their cars performed well, the design would be adopted by the regular U.S. Army for serial production en masse. However, the NYNG battery never made it to the battlefields of Europe. And due to disinterest by the Army, only a handful of vehicles (7 to 10?) were ever built. Although it is the consensus opinion that none of these vehicles saw any combat, there is conflicting information about whether the vehicles were sent to the Mexican border during America's "Punitive Expedition". The Locomobile-built car(s) was built on a commercial truck chassis fitted with a 48 horsepower 6-Cylinder gasoline engine.  Although it is probable it could mount weapons, no photographs have been found showing them fitted.  The only known offensive/defensive capabilities were provided by passengers using their own weapons through the rear gun slots.  The Mack armored car in this series of vehicles used the Mack Model AB 2-ton truck chassis and powered by a 45 horsepower 4-Cylinder gasoline engine. It carried two (2) shielded, pedestal-mounted .30 cal Colt machine guns in the rear of the vehicle, although it appears they were not always fitted.  Finally, the White-built vehicle(s) used a 1 1/2-ton truck chassis and was not seen with weapons in photographs, only having the rear gun slots for use.  Due to the use of the standardized armor hull used on all three (3) armored cars, they are hard to distinguish between each other. However, at sometime in their careers, the vehicles had unique markings applied: "B1" on the Mack, "B2" on the Locomobile and "B3" on the White vehicle.
Data Sheet Available:	None Available

Photos

Reference	Source/Provider
Locomobile Armored Car Photos	U.S National Archives
Locomobile and Mack Armored Car Photo (Left to Right)	U.S National Archives
Locomobile, Mack and White Armored Car Photo (Front to Rear)	U.S National Archives
Locomobile and White Armored Car Photo (Front to Rear)	U.S National Archives
Mack Armored Car Photo	Dave Haugh - Content Editor
Mack Armored Car Photo	Mack Trucks
Mack Armored Car Photo	U.S Library of Congress
Mack Armored Car Photos	U.S National Archives
Mack and Locomobile Armored Car Photo (Left to Right)	U.S National Archives

References Available

Online

Printed

Reference	Author
American Armored Cars (Grenadier Books)	A.J. Clemens
A Photo History of Armoured Cars In Two World Wars	George Forty
Armored Car - A History of American Wheeled Combat Vehicles	R. P. Hunnicutt
"Armoured Cars of New York" (February 2020 Issue of Classic Military Vehicle Magazine)	Tim Gosling
Early Armoured Cars (Shire Album #209)	E. Bartholomew
Early U.S. Armor: Armored Cars 1915-40 (Osprey Publishing)	Steve Zaloga
Encyclopedia of Armoured Cars	Duncan Crow and Robert J. Icks
U.S. Armoured Cars - AFV Weapons Profile #40	Robert J. Icks
U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles	Fred W. Crismon

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