The Simms Land Torpedo: Britain’s Far-Ahead Idea

In the annals of experimental military engineering, some ideas flicker briefly and fade, but a few leave a spark in the mind. One such design is the Simms Land Torpedo (sometimes written “Simm’s” or “Simms’”), a 1915 British proposal for an unmanned demolition vehicle. Though it never saw combat, its boldness and concept prefigured later remote-controlled and demolition machines.

What Was the Simms Land Torpedo?

• The vehicle was conceived by Frederick Richard Simms, a British automotive pioneer and military inventor.  

• Rather than carrying a crew, the land torpedo was intended to be remotely controlled. The operator would guide it via electrical cables while staying in a safe location. It would run on two lateral propelling chains/tracks with a differential drive system; steering would be controlled electrically via solenoids.  

• The vehicle’s front section would house a large explosive charge, detonated either by impact or remotely by electrical trigger.  

• There was no armor detailed in the design, though “bullet-proof casing” was suggested for the protection of the structure.  

So essentially, it was an early land mine/bomb on tracks, designed to drive itself into enemy positions and explode, a terrifying concept in 1915.

How It Might Have Worked & Its Weaknesses

Operation & Control

• The land torpedo would be started by a petrol engine powering a dynamo, which also supplied the electric control systems.  

• Control cables would spool behind the device to its operator, controlling the track motors and steering.  

• The operator’s position would be remote, out of the vehicle’s path, to avoid danger from the blast.  

Weaknesses & Why It Wasn’t Adopted

• Cable vulnerability: Any damage to the control wires (from shellfire, shrapnel, debris) would render it disabled.

• Terrain problems: War-torn ground, cratered landscapes, mud, and trenches would be especially dangerous for such a device. Its overhanging front or low clearance might catch in shell holes.  

• Lack of institutional support: No known orders were placed, and there's no evidence that the design advanced beyond the patent stage.  

• Operational risk: The operator must stay far back, making fine control harder, and also risk being within the blast radius if things go wrong.

• Technological limitations: In 1915, control systems, reliable cables, and rugged tracked systems were still very early in their development. The device was likely too fragile for real war conditions.

Thus, it remained a visionary patent concept, never mass-produced, never fielded.

Legacy & Influence

Though the Simms Land Torpedo never became real, the idea presaged later demolition vehicles and remote weapons. It’s often compared in theory to the German Goliath tracked demolition drones of WWII, which used wired control and small explosive payloads. 

In some military engineering histories, Simms’ design is remembered as one of the earliest land-based remote demolition vehicles, a “land torpedo” concept well ahead of its time.   

Its Special Appearance in Trench

In the Trench series, the Simms Land Torpedo makes a suspenseful cameo. In one covert op by the Regiment of Britannia (R.O.B.), a resurrected prototype, modernized with reinforced tracks and improved remote control systems, is deployed to breach fortified positions silently.

The narrative emphasizes its limitations: it must avoid wire snips, shell craters, and enemy sabotage. It becomes a gamble: will it reach its target, or become a wasted trip? In Trench, the torpedo’s return is symbolic: a dangerous throwback to early experimentation, resurrected through wartime desperation and innovation.

This appearance deepens the Trench lore, reminding readers that war is not just fought with known arms, but with audacious experiments that might succeed or fail by inches.

Sources / References

• “Simms’ Land Torpedo,” Tank Encyclopedia Tank Encyclopedia

• Patent and design description (Simms 1915 “Improvements on Motor-propelled Vehicles”) as cited in Tank Encyclopedia

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