M25 tank transporter

M25 tank transporter
M25 tank transporter
	An M25 tank transporter, with an M4 Sherman tank at the 2010 War and Peace show
Type	40 ton (36,287 kg) 6x6 Tank recovery truck-trailer
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1941–1955
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Knuckey Truck Company
Manufacturer	M26: Pacific Car & Foundry Co.; M15: Fruehauf Trailer Co.
Variants	M26A1, M26A2
Specifications (M25)
Mass	Empty; M26: 48,000 lb (22,000 kg); M15: 36,600 lb (16,600 kg); M25: 84,300 lb (38,200 kg); Loaded; M26: 103,000 lb (47,000 kg); M15: 36,600 lb (16,600 kg); M25: 164,300 lb (74,500 kg)
Length	M26: 25 feet 4 inches (7.72 m); M15: 38 feet 5+1⁄16 inches (11.71 m)
Width	M26: 10 feet 10+3⁄4 inches (3.32 m); M15 12 feet 6 inches (3,810 mm)
Height	M26: 11 feet 5 inches (3.48 m)
Crew	7
Armor	front 3⁄4 in (19 mm); sides, rear 1⁄4 in (6.4 mm)
Main; armament	.50 cal M2 machine gun
Engine	Hall-Scott 440 gasoline; 240 hp (180 kW)
Transmission	4 speed x 3 speed
Fuel capacity	120 US gal (450 L)
Operational; range	120 mi (193.1 km)
Maximum speed	28 mph (45 km/h)

The M25 tank transporter (G160) was a combination 6x6 M26 armored heavy tank transporter/tank recovery tractor and companion 40-ton M15 trailer introduced into US Army service in Europe in 1944–45. Manufactured by Pacific Car & Foundry Co., it was a substantial upgrade over the Diamond T M19 transporter/trailer duo introduced in 1940.

Nicknamed the Dragon Wagon, it was replaced by the 10 ton 6x6 M123 semi-tractor beginning in 1955.^[3]

Development

In 1942 a new 40 ton semi-trailer tank transporter was needed with better off-road performance than the M9 24 small-wheel trailer, and greater capacity than the 30 ton 8 large-wheel Shelvoke and Drewry semi-trailers used by the Diamond T tractor unit. Designed by the Fruehauf Trailer Company of Detroit, Michigan,^[4] it was heavier than the Diamond T could manage. A companion M26 tractor was designed by the San Francisco-based Knuckey Truck Company. When it could not keep up with the Army's demands, production was awarded to the Pacific Car & Foundry Co. of Seattle, Washington.

Designated TR-1 by Pacific Car, the chain-driven 12-ton 6x6 M26 tractor was powered by a Hall-Scott 440 1,090 cu in (17.9 L) 6-cylinder gasoline engine developing 240 hp (180 kW) at 2000 rpm and 810 lbf⋅ft (1,098 N⋅m) at 1200 rpm. Developed for the M26, it was used to uprate the Diamond T. Some 2,100 Type 440s were built. Baxter notes "over 1,300" M26 and M26A1 being built.^[4]

Unusually, the tractor unit was fitted with both an armored cab and two winches with a combined pull of 60 tons,^[4] allowing it to do light battlefield recovery work.

A later unarmored version of the M26 tractor was designated the M26A1. An experimental ballast tractor conversion was evaluated by the British Fighting Vehicle Proving Establishment^[4]

After the war, some of them (both armored and unarmored) were bought as surplus and used to carry oversize loads such as transformers, locomotives and heavy equipment.^[5]

Gallery

M25 with M26 armored semi-tractor
Display of M25 with M26 armored semi-tractor
Display of M25 with M26A1 unarmored semi-tractor
M26 semi-tractor (LR view)
M26 semi-tractor showing rear wheel drive by chains

Specifications

Crew 7
Armament 1 .50 cal. machine gun
Armor, front 3/4 inch, sides and rear, 1/4 inch.
Top speed 26 MPH
Fuel capacity 120 gallons

Users

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles. US War Dept. 1943. pp. 132–135. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
^ TM 9-767 40 ton Tank Transporter Truck-trailer M25. US War Dept. 1942. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
^ "TrucksPlanet - Updates".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Baxter, Brian S. (1989). Breakdown: A History of Recovery Vehicles in the British Army. HMSO, for REME Museum. p. 51. ISBN 0-11-290456-4.
^ "Forum des Poids Lourds Camions anciens de collection • Afficher le sujet - pacific". poidslourds.free.fr (in French). Retrieved 12 April 2017.
^ Kočevar, Iztok (August 2014). "Micmac à tire-larigot chez Tito: L'arme blindée yougoslave durant la Guerre froide" [The Yugoslav armored arm during the Cold War]. Batailles et Blindés (in French). No. 62. Caraktère. pp. 66–79. ISSN 1765-0828.

References

TM 9-1767A
TM 9-1767B Power Train for Tractor Truck M26
TM 9-1767C Body, chassis, and winches for Tractor Truck M26. US War Dept. 1944. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
TM 9-1767E Ordnance Maint. Semitrailer M15. US War Dept. 1944. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles. US War Dept. 1943. pp. 132–135. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
TM 9-2800 Military Vehicles. US Dept. of the Army. 1947. pp. 151, 152. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
TM 9-2800 Military Vehicles. US Dept. of the Army. 1953. pp. 101, 102, 281. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
Crismon, Fred W (2001). US Military Wheeled Vehicles (3 ed.). Victory WWII Pub. pp. 383–384. ISBN 0-970056-71-0.
Doyle, David (2003). Standard catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles. Kraus Publications. pp. 232–240, 283–288. ISBN 0-87349-508-X.

External links

Short story of the M26 and pictures of a restored vehicle in 2004
Article and photo at milweb.net
Scratchbuilt M25 model step-by-step, with pictures and references used
https://web.archive.org/web/20090204121541/http://realmilitaryflix.com/public/378.cfm training film
http://www.forum-auto.com/automobile-pratique/modelisme-modeles-reduits/sujet7051-5495.htm pictures of M26 used as oversize loads tractors

[tm2843-1] TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles. US War Dept. 1943. pp. 132–135. Retrieved 27 May 2014.

[2] TM 9-767 40 ton Tank Transporter Truck-trailer M25. US War Dept. 1942. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 20 December 2014.

[3] "TrucksPlanet - Updates".

[Baxter,_Breakdown,_51-4] Baxter, Brian S. (1989). Breakdown: A History of Recovery Vehicles in the British Army. HMSO, for REME Museum. p. 51. ISBN 0-11-290456-4.

[5] "Forum des Poids Lourds Camions anciens de collection • Afficher le sujet - pacific". poidslourds.free.fr (in French). Retrieved 12 April 2017.

[6] Kočevar, Iztok (August 2014). "Micmac à tire-larigot chez Tito: L'arme blindée yougoslave durant la Guerre froide" [The Yugoslav armored arm during the Cold War]. Batailles et Blindés (in French). No. 62. Caraktère. pp. 66–79. ISSN 1765-0828.

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