DURING the period between the two World Wars the track-type vehicle was stimulated into a position of prime importance both in military and civilian applications. This paper reviews the vast strides made in the design of tracks and suspensions, which in turn have led to higher road speed and more efficient utilization of power. However, with the increase of speed, the importance of controllability and power transmission becomes more evident, necessitating careful consideration of the problems of steering mechanism design.
The author describes an ideal system which, when and if designed would undoubtedly be universally adopted. But only those who have attempted to come to grips with the problem in a practical manner realize that the final solution will not be a simple one. The present result is that there are almost as many steering systems as there are different types of vehicles. The many reasons leading to such wide-range developments are covered in this paper.