Evolution

Commercial vehicles

History of : Ambulance | Truck | Bus | Jeep | Tractor

Ambulance History

The Knights of St. John received instruction in first-aid treatment from Arab and Greek Doctors during the Crusades in the 11th Century. They then acted as the first emergency workers. They treated soldiers on both sides of the war on the battlefield and brought in the wounded to nearby tents for further treatment.

This concept of ambulance service began in Europe with the Knights of St. John. However, small rewards were also paid to soldiers who carried in the wounded bodies of other soldiers for medical treatment.

The first official medical corp. was created by the Surgeon-in-Chief of the French Grand Army, "Baron Dominiquie Larrey" in 1792. Trained attendants with equipment moved out from field hospitals to give first aid to the wounded on the battlefield or carried them by stretchers, handcarts and wagons to the field hospitals.

The initial years of the 20th century saw the arrival of motorized "ambulance" vehicles. The United States pioneered helicopter ambulances during the Korean War in the 1950s. The first mobile coronary care unit started in 1968 at the St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City.

Brief History of Truck
A truck is a type of motor vehicle built to carry freight, heavy articles or to perform special services.
v Gottlieb Daimler built the first motor truck in 1896. It had a four-horsepower engine and a belt drive with two forward speeds and one reverse. The Winton Company was the first American Company to build the truck, which was in effect a delivery wagon with a single-cylinder, six-horsepower engine in 1898.

The World War I saw the use of trucks in a big way in the United States and by the 1920s they were firmly established as a major means of freight conveyance.

Trucks need powerful engines because they have been built for the very purpose of transporting heavy loads frequently over long distances. The engine of a large truck may have more than 400 horsepower.

Diesel engines have been used in large trucks since the 1930s in the United States as opposed to gasoline engines used earlier. Although diesels can develop more power, they generally operate within a relatively narrow speed range and require transmissions with a greater number of forward speeds.

Modern long-distance load haulers may have as many as 16 forward speeds operating in dual-range transmissions. This capability gives the truck both maximum power for climbing hills and maximum speed for freeway driving.

The straight (in which all axles are attached to the frame) and articulated truck (in which two or more frames are connected by suitable couplings) are the two basic types of trucks. A common articulated truck consists of a Towing truck, tractor, and a semitrailer equipped with one or more rear axles and constructed so that its front end rests directly on the tractor. Truck and tractor frames are usually separate from the body and cab and are built of channel sections of alloy steel