Development
There was a lack of British-developed four-wheel-drive vehicles developed during the war and no commercial demand for them afterwards. As a result, the Army, under the time's general assumption of indigenous sourcing, was forced to develop its own vehicle. The Hathi prototype was developed in 1922 by a team of P Company under Professor (honorary Colonel) Herbert Niblett of the Royal Army Service Corps Training College, Aldershot, using parts of a German Erhardt tractor. Production models were built by Thornycroft, 25 being built in 1924.
Although capable for its day, the Hathi was a complex and expensive vehicle that required regular maintenance if the front axle was to remain reliable. For most purposes it was soon replaced by 6×4 lorries with just as many driven wheels, but without the need for the complex combined driving and steering axle. Even half-tracks, particularly the Kégresse system, were more popular in this period.
Read more about this topic: Thornycroft Hathi
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