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The CLB 75 Tank

The CLB 75 is not what it seems. The photograph above was taken during a California National Guard exercise which was widely publicised but the tank featured at its centre is little more than a tractor encased in stamped sheet metal.

Developed by the C.L. Best Tractor Company of San Francisco, the CLB 75 is based on the chassis of a CLB 75hp 'Tracklayer'/’Autotractor’. It had a sheet metal outer-skin and a rounded turret. It’s an eye-catching design, like something straight out of an H.G.Wells novel. 

A C.L. Best Autotractor, the basis of the CLB 75 (source)

The tank has a set of tracks and a front steering wheel. The CLB 75 appears to be bristling with a pair of cannons and at least two machine guns in the turret. The CLB 75 was what is often described as a ‘parade tank’, an impractical tank designed as a showpiece for parades at home rather than in the field on the frontline. Similar parade tanks were built on Holt and Caterpillar tractors. This particular example even features in Pathe newsreel where it’s described as a ‘land dreadnought’ and shown in mock attacks mounted during National Guard exercises. 

In reality during the First World War the US developed or produced three actual tanks: the M1917 Light Tank - based on the French Renault FT, the Ford M1918 3-Ton Tank and the MKVIII ‘International’ heavy tank. While none of those saw action during the war they were more practical, actual armoured fighting vehicles than the parade tanks like the CLB 75.

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3

Caterpillar Chronicle : History of the Greatest Earthmovers, E.C. Orlemann

Early US Armor: Tanks 1916–40, S.J. Zaloga

American Tanks In Action 1917, British Pathe, (source)

“Photograph of Women Rivet Heaters at Puget Sound Navy Yard,” 5/29/1919

Series: General Photographic File, 1893 - 1945. Record Group 86: Records of the Women's Bureau, 1892 - 1995.

Women riveters pose for the camera at the Navy Yard in Puget Sound, Washington. Taken a generation before the more famous World War II image of “Rosie the Riveter,” this photograph shows women working in industrial jobs traditionally filled by men, just as women did during World War II.

Uncover more World War I Centennial Resources at the National Archives.

Remember them.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

November 11, 1918 saw a temporary cessation of hostilities between the Allied nations and Germany – an armistice that signified the end of World War I.

On April 26, 1937 Rep. Bertrand Gearhart (R-CA) introduced H.R. 6656 – “A bill making the 11th day of November in each year a legal holiday.”

In this letter, Rep. Gearhart writes to the Honorable Hatton W. Sumners (D-TX), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, asking that his bill creating “a day for the celebration of the blessing of peace rather than the victories of war” be taken up by the full committee. The Judiciary Committee did eventually reported favorably on the bill, sending it the Senate. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed H.R. 6656 into law on May 13, 1938.

Armistice Day was celebrated in the United States primarily to honor veterans of World War I until 1954. In June 1954, at the urging of veteran service organizations, the Act of 1938 was amended by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting the word "Veterans.” Veterans Day has been celebrated ever since to honor American veterans of all wars.

AnswerTime!  Ask an Archivist about World War I

Join the National Archives’ Mitch Yockelson for a World War I-themed Tumblr Answer Time here at @todaysdocument on Wednesday, October 4 from 12pm - 1pm ET (9am- 10am PT) !

Ask your questions now at http://todaysdocument.tumblr.com/ask →

October 4 is #AskAnArchivist Day and as we’re in the midst of the World War I Centennial, we’ve invited World War I expert Mitch Yockelson to join us for a Tumblr Answer Time. Bring all your questions about World War I including:

How can I research an ancestor who fought in the war?

What World War I resources does the National Archives have?

What prominent personalities emerged out of the war?

How did African Americans serve during the war?

What roles did women fill?

August 10, 2017, marks the 100th Anniversary of the signing of the Lever Food and Fuel Control Act, creating the U.S. Food Administration during World War I.

On August 10, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Lever Food Act and issued subsequent Executive Order 2679-A creating the U.S. Food Administration, U.S. Fuel Administration, and named Herbert Hoover the director of the Food Administration.

The U. S. Food Administration, operating in each state, was to

Assure the supply, distribution, and conservation of food during the war,

Facilitate transportation of food and prevent monopolies and hoarding, and

Maintain governmental power over foods by using voluntary agreements and a licensing system.

Using the same authority, Wilson created two subsidiaries, the U.S. Grain Corporation and the U.S. Sugar Equalization Board. Together with the U.S. Food Administration, these bodies would extraordinarily impact American lives.

Under Hoover's direction, the Food Administration, in league with the Council of Defense, urged all homeowners to sign pledge cards that testified to their efforts to conserve food. The government issued the appeal on a Friday. By the following week, Americans had embraced wheatless Mondays, meatless Tuesdays, and porkless Saturdays to assist the troops overseas.