MECHANICAL MONSTROSITIES

Dragon, 1 December 1942, Page 12

MECHANICAL MONSTROSITIES

The day of the sleek limousine is temporarily vanished; the dashing sports car no longer speeds thrillingly over our highways; colourful varnishes have been superseded by the dull and sombre tones of khaki. The silent, gliding Pullman of the road has been replaced by the lumbering lorry and the rumbling tracked-vehicle that in every detail typifies the purpose for which it was —aggression and conquest.

It is not a pleasant development, this transition from the aesthetic to the ungainly. The appearance of these mechanical monstrosities on our roads is, to most of us, as repugnant as war itself; yet, behind this ever-increasing armada of mass-pro-duced masterpieces, lies a romance of regeneration and human endeavour incomparable with any other in the history of mankind.

In three years of combat against almost overwhelming and insurmountable odds, the genius of designers, technicians and specialists, in all departments of industry, has been strained to the utmost in an attempt to keep pace with the tyrannous demands made upon it by all sections of service and transportation. It has been a period of high-pres-sure production that forfeits favourably the capabilities of post-war industry

Structurally patterned to withstand all kinds of gruelling teststests to which machinery, hitherto, has never been subjectedthese modern machines, for the most part, are lacking in symmetry of design and elegance in appearance. The requirements of modern warfare allow little margin of comfort, so that driving them across rugged country becomes a rigorous test of nerve, stamina and human endurance that only the very fit can hope to survive. Briefly, mechanical efficiency must be co-ordinate with the limit of human competency if these machines are to assist in achieving the purpose for which they were designedfreedom from tyranny and oppression.

Though our vision of the future may be to a large extent clouded by a comtemplation of the more urgent needs of the present; though we may gaze in awe upon the remarkable performances of large transports and small reconnaisance runabouts, so reminiscent of the contraptions depicted in popular scientific fiction of pre-war magazines, we cannot fail to realize that war today is a highly scientific enterprise, and not merely a contest between men in uniform. It is a national and an industrial engagement, and victory must ultimately go to those powers most practically advanced in the field of science and endowed with the maximum of material resources.

Mechanical monstrosities? In appearance, perhaps, yes. But appearance is often deceptive. These extraordinary creations of extraordinary times, behind their grim exterior, represent the hinge upon which the whole future of world civilization swings. The innovations and improvements, incorporated in their dismally designed framework, will be the foundation upon which the safety, economy, utility and dependability will be developed to perfection not only in the car and truck of tomorrow, but in the whole social fabric of the future.