The M1917 ambulance

09 Nov 2015 in Gentlemen Volunteers

World War I was the stage of incredible advancements in battlefield medicine. There’s no better example than the M1917 ambulance. These iconic WWI ambulances were created by the Ford Motor Company, and were built from the Model T chassis. Its top speed was 45mph produced by a 4-cylinder, water-cooled engine.

Due to the French ban on foreign nationals in the field, the American volunteer ambulance services were slow to be accepted by French officials. However, once the usefulness of the American cars was recognized, the demand grew instantly. Ford manufactured more than 2,400 of these ambulances. However, none of these models survived the war. 

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