Gas Turbine in Fire Appliance
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EXCELLENT starting, acceleration and 1--4 hill-climbing are reported for the world's first gas turbine-powered fire engine which is now in operation with San Francisco Fire Department. The appliance was manufactured by the American 1..aFrance Corporation of Elmira, N.Y., and the power unit is a 330 s.h.p. Boeing gas turbine.
This unit provides a high torque at low speeds and, as a result, improved acceleration and hill-climbing. During tests with the 141-ton vehicle, the time for a full power acceleration from a standstill to 45 m.p.h, was 26 seconds. On another test, the time for full power acceleration from 0-50 m.p.h. was 45 seconds including starting up the turbine.
A 1,000 g.p.m. pumping unit is the main equipment of the fire appliance. This is driven by the Boeing power unit through gearing.
Main advantage in using a gas turbine power unit for a fire appliance is that no warming-up is required before full power can be obtained. It is claimed, in addition, that the Boeing unit is easy to maintain and that it can be stripped down and rebuilt in eight hours.
BRITISH DODGE EXPORTS UP
EXPORTS of commercial vehicles and 1—+ components by Dodge Brothers (Britain), Ltd., during 1960, were worth £5,800.000. Mr. Wendell S. Clough, the company's managing director, said that this total represented a " substantial " increase over 1959 for exports of Britishbuilt Dodge, Fargo and De Soto trucks in built-up and knocked-down form as well as individual vehicle components.