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The Packard company:

Packard was an American automobile company founded in 1899 and disappeared in the late fifties. It had the reputation of building luxury cars of high quality and reliability but of a high cost. The firm also built trucks, but these were not very successful due to their high cost. The first vehicles were produced in Warren (Ohio) under the New York and Ohio Automobile Company brand, and the company was refinanced by a group of investors delighted with their purchase of a Packard, renamed Packard Motor Car Company, and relocated to Detroit. Packard manufactured trucks from 1905 to 1923 and produced a total of 40,000 trucks. Packard participated in tests conducted by the US Army in 1909 with his 3-ton truck carrying a 3-pounder gun. Even if these tests did not succeed, the performance of the truck was noticed and the American army acquired some before the beginning of the First World War. From the very beginning, Packard increased its production of trucks to supply the allies. By 1915, Packard was making more trucks than cars. It is this 3-ton truck (which will remain virtually unchanged until the end of the war, except for the suppression of chain transmission) with a 32HP engine that was exported to Russia. All in all, Russia received almost 3000 Packard trucks during the war.

The Packard gun truck:

In November 1914, following the experience of the first fights, it was decided to modify the organization chart of the 1st company of armored cars (see the chapter on the history of the armored cars of the Russian Empire). The Izhora Factory received an order for two additional Mannesmann-Mulag vehicles on a 3.5-ton chassis as well as two vehicles on a 3-ton Packard chassis with a 32 HP motor. For simplicity and speed, these gun trucks kept the structure assigned to the previous vehicles: engine and cabin armored, gun on a rear plate.The main difference from cars on the German chassis was the « egg-shaped » body. Initially, the Packard body was narrower, and for the normal functioning of the artillery system, the side plates were made curved.

history:

This self-propelled gun was part of the first armored car company created in October 1914 and fought on the northwest front. The reorganized company received these vehicles in March 1915. They equipped the 2nd and 3rd sections. One of the two Packards was renamed « Captain Gurdov », in honor of the captain of the same name, 1st decorated with the company of the order of St George, following his fight and his death during the battle of Dobrzhankovo ​​on February 12, 1915, battle that also saw the loss of the only Mannesmann-Mulag auto-cannon of the first type. The Packards then followed the events of the fighting and transfers of the first armored car company until the end of the fighting and the arrival of the Germans in the city of Dvinsk (Daugavpils, Latvia) where they were captured in excellent condition.

Technical description :

As with previous vehicles, only the engine and cab were armored by 4mm (sides, roof) and 5mm (front panel, barrel shield) chrome nickel steel riveted on angle brackets that protect rifle fire at 200m. As for the Mannesmann-Mulag, engine maintenance hatches were provided on the sides and engine cooling on the front. The driver sat at the left front, the chief on the right. A large swivel armored plate allowed the driver to drive and possibly fire with a machine gun. Access was through a single door on the left. A headlight was mounted at the front above the radiator. The rear body with rounded contours (the germans nammed it panzerei -armored egg) was unarmored and carried the main weapon. This was a 37 mm Maxim Nordenfeldt automatic marine gun. Fire was allowed on an area of ​​300 ° around the weapon. The supply was 1200 shots. This weapon, also chosen for the second version of the Mannsmann-Mulag self-guns, was preferred to the 47 mm Hotchkiss gun because its better rate of fire and its explosive ammunition was much more suitable for use against soldiers. A single Maxim machine-gun was carried away without a precise location. The supply was at 8000 shots in 32 standard boxes (250 cartridges). A load of 48 kg of TNT was also carried.

Copies produced: 2

Engine :4 cyl, 32 HP

Speed ​​on the road: 50 km / h

Chassis : Packard 3 t

Weight: 5,76 t

Crew: 7

Armor : 4 – 5 mm

Armament : 1 X 7,62 Maxim machine gun + 1 X 37 mm Maxim-Nordenfeld automatic gun