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The vertical volute spring suspension system is a type of vehicle suspension system. This type of the suspension system was mainly fitted on US and Italian tanks and armored fighting vehicles starting from throughout the 1930s up until after the end of the
AFV database
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This type of a suspension system involved springing the pair of dual-mounted road wheels on each bogie against each other with a volute-spring. It was essentially a version of the British Horstmann suspension that replaced the Horstmann's coil-spring with a pair of volute-springs.
When the horizontally-affixed volute-springs were placed in compression by either the front or the rear bogie wheel-arm, the pressure from the load was transmitted to the opposite arm, thus helping to keep tension maintained on the tracks. Compared to the VVSS system which it replaced on the US M4 Sherman tank, the HVSS system was heavier and stronger and allowed the changing of individual wheels aside from increasing wheel travel-space.
The vertical volute spring suspension system is a type of vehicle suspension system. This type of the suspension system was mainly fitted on US and Italian tanks and armored fighting vehicles starting from throughout the 1930s up until after the end of the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in 1945.
Development
During the 1930s, many innovations in the components oflight tank
A light tank is a tank variant initially designed for rapid movements in and out of combat, to outmaneuver heavier tanks. It is smaller in size with thinner armor and a less powerful main gun, tailored for better tactical mobility and ease o ...
s would make US tanks considerably more reliable. These included rubber-bushed tracks, rear mounted radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders "radiate" outward from a central crankcase like the spokes of a wheel. It resembles a stylized star when viewed from the front, and is ...
s and the vertical volute spring suspension.
A volute spring
A volute spring, also known as a conical spring, is a compression spring in the form of a cone (somewhat like the classical volute decorative architectural ornament). Under compression, the coils slide past each other, thus enabling the spring to ...
is a compression spring in the form of a cone (a volute
A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals. Four are normally to be found on an ...
). Under compression the coils slide over each other, affording longer travel. The result is more stable and powerful than any leaf, coil, or torsion bar spring in the same volume. Mounted vertically in a road wheel bogie for a pair of road wheels on a tank made a very compact unit.
The Rock Island Arsenal produced a small tank for the cavalry which used vertical volute spring suspension instead of leaf spring suspension. Standardized as the M1 Combat Car, it entered service with the US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, c ...
in 1937. The design was used in the M2 light tank and subsequent Stuart tank
The M3 Stuart/Light Tank M3, was an American light tank of World War II. An improved version of the tank entered service as the M5 in 1942 to be supplied to British and other Commonwealth forces under lend-lease prior to the entry of the U.S. in ...
series. Design features of the Stuart were scaled up for use in the first M2 medium tanks which would evolve into the more successful M3 Lee
The M3 Lee, officially Medium Tank, M3, was an American medium tank used during World War II. The turret was produced in two forms, one for US needs and one modified to British requirements to place the radio next to the commander. In British Co ...
and M4 Sherman
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The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...
, all using the VVSS.
Replacement
Battle experience showed a relatively short life of the original vertical volute spring suspension (VVSS) of the late models M3s due to the tank's increasing combat weight with larger guns and larger tracks. After mid-1944, M4A3 models of the Sherman adopted a newly developed Horizontal Volute Spring Suspension (HVSS)./ref>
Horizontal volute spring suspension
This type of a suspension system involved springing the pair of dual-mounted road wheels on each bogie against each other with a volute-spring. It was essentially a version of the British Horstmann suspension that replaced the Horstmann's coil-spring with a pair of volute-springs.
When the horizontally-affixed volute-springs were placed in compression by either the front or the rear bogie wheel-arm, the pressure from the load was transmitted to the opposite arm, thus helping to keep tension maintained on the tracks. Compared to the VVSS system which it replaced on the US M4 Sherman tank, the HVSS system was heavier and stronger and allowed the changing of individual wheels aside from increasing wheel travel-space.
See also
*Christie suspension
The Christie suspension is a suspension system developed by American engineer J. Walter Christie for his tank designs. It allowed considerably longer movement than conventional leaf spring systems then in common use, which allowed his tanks to ...
* Horstmann suspension
*Torsion bar suspension
A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end term ...
*Continuous track
Continuous track is a system of vehicle propulsion used in tracked vehicles, running on a continuous band of treads or track plates driven by two or more wheels. The large surface area of the tracks distributes the weight of the vehicle ...
Notes
Bibliography
* * * {{cite book , first1=Wolfgang , last1=Merhof , first2=Ernst-Michael , last2=Hackbarth , title= Fahrmechanik der Kettenfahrzeuge (Driving mechanics of tracked vehicles) , publisher=Universität der Bundeswehr, Universitätsbibliothek , date=2015 , isbn=978-3-943207-13-2 , url=https://athene-forschung.unibw.de/doc/111331/111331.pdf Armoured fighting vehicle equipment Tank suspensions M4 Sherman tanks