DCHP-2

bombardier ((2)) Bombardier, < Armand Bombardier of Valcourt, Quebec, the inventor DCHP-2 (October 2016)

• n. — dated, proprietary, Transportation, Outdoors

  a vehicle used for travelling over snow and ice, equipped with caterpillar tracks at the rear and set of skis at the front (see Image 1 for an older model, Image 2 for the modern type).

  Type: 1. Origin — Businessman and inventor Armand Bombardier, of Valcourt, Quebec, invented a tracked vehicle that ran on skis over snow in 1937. This machine and subsequent models were often called bombardiers after him. Since Bombardier launched his transportation company in 1942, the company has developed many models, most notably the Ski-Doo in 1959. The Ski-doo became popular particularly in northern Canada, replacing dog teams (see Image 2). The term (in the phrase 'bombardier snowmobile') is nearly exclusive to Canada (see Chart 1).
  See also COD-2, s.v. "bombardier", which is marked "Cdn", ITP Nelson, s.v. "Bombardier", and Gage-5, s.v. "Bombardier", which is marked "Cdn. Trademark".

  See also: skidoo  skimobile  snowmobile (meaning 1)  

  • Today's preferred terms are snowmobile or skidoo, rendering bombardier dated (see, e.g., the 2014 quotation).

  • 1949  DRB Bombardier snowmobile had two snags drive through [the] bottom of the vehicle.
  • 1958  The Bombardier has the edge from the standpoint of most drivers . . . because it steers by forward skis, rather than by its wide tracks.
  • 1962  We traveled to our fishing hole in a conveyance known as a bombardier. . . .
  • 1964  Heated bombardiers drive their cargo into the packing plants where it is unloaded and weighed. . . .
  • 1978  Constable Don Watt of the 22-man Picton detachment said the Bombardier is equipped with removable, five-foot long skis and can travel at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. In a test run with Picton detachment Constable Bill Walby at the controls, the Bombardier negotiated about four miles of bumpy, brush-strewn terrain near here without apparent difficulty. The 318 horsepower Chrysler V8 engine propelled the 5,000 pound vehicle up slopes that sometimes seemed to exceed its 27 degree capability. The new vehicle measures nearly 18 feet long and is more than six feet wide. It is equipped with a three-speed automatic transmission, power-steering and travels about seven miles per gallon of regular gasoline.
  • 2004  These objects included a Bombardier, which is a vehicle used for ice fishing, many fishing and trapping supplies, and some historical photographs. 
  • 2007  In winter, transportation was via a Bombardier that had a Chrysler engine, two wide tracks, two skis up front, and three-abreast seating in the front, with the driver in the middle. 
  • 2014  The mid-'40s would see the black Bombardier snowmobile replace the double sled with a cabin built on board and a tiny pot-bellied stove barely keeping the cold, young passengers warm.