The Holt Gas-Electric Tank
Holt Gas-Electric Tank General characteristics
Length	5.03 m
Width	2.76 m
Height	2.37 m
Weight	25.402 t
Suspension	vertical coil springs
Speed	10 km/h road  km/h off-road
Range	km
Primary armament	75 mm Vickers mountain howitzer
Secondary armament	two Browning 7.92 mm machine guns
Armour	6 - 15 mm
Power plant	Holt gasoline plus 2 electric motors 90 hp (67.1 kW)
Crew	six

The Holt Gas-Electric Tank was an early U.S. produced tank built in a collaboration between the Holt Manufacturing Company (now Caterpillar Inc.) and the U.S. General Electric Company. It was the first real tank to be constructed in the USA. The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... The word ton or tonne is derived from the Old English tunne, and ultimately from the Old French tonne, and referred originally to a large cask with a capacity of 252 wine gallons, which holds approximately 2100 pounds of water. ... Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets or shells, protecting the soldiers inside from enemy fire. ... Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting primarily of hydrocarbons, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... Caterpillar Inc. ... The General Electric Company, or GE, (NYSE: GE) is a multinational technology and services company. ...

The prototype was constructed during 1917 and finished early in 1918. It used a lengthened and modified version of the suspension of the Holt tractors, with pivoting track frames. There were ten road wheels at each side. The tank had a height of 7 feet 9.5 inches, a length of 16 feet 6 inches and a width of 9 feet 1 inch. 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ...

The vehicle had a Holt 90 hp, 4-cylinder engine fitted with a GEC generator driving an electric motor for each track; a comparable petro-electric system had earlier been used for the French St Chamond that also was fitted with a lengthened Holt suspension. To prevent overheating of the transmission — a constant problem with electrical types — a complicated water cooling system had been installed. Like the French tank, the Holt Gas-Electric had a 75 mm gun in the nose; it had a sponson with a removable 0.30 inch machine gun at each side and a ball-mount for one in the front. The engine and transmission were at the back, next to a corridor leading to the only door. The crew number is often given as six, on the assumption there would be two machine gunners, a gunner and loader for the main gun, a driver and a commander. French St Chamond tanks: Note the short tracks and large body, which gave so much trouble crossing obstacles. ...

Only one was built as tests showed its climbing performance was unsatisfactory and the type proved to be much heavier than originally envisaged: about 25 short tons. The short ton is a unit of mass equal to 907. ...