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.
Video M25 Tank Transporter
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, 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.
Unusually, the tractor unit was fitted with both an armored cab and two winches with a combined pull of 60 tons, 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
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.
Maps M25 Tank Transporter
Gallery
Specifications
- Crew-7
- Armament 1-.50 cal. machine gun
- Armor, front-3/4", sides, rear, 1/4".
- top speed-26 MPH
- fuel cap, 120 GAL.
Users
- United States Army
- British Army
- Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
See also
- Diamond T tank transporter
- Scammell Pioneer Semi-trailer
- G160, "G" designation
- List of U.S. military vehicles by model number#Pre-consecutive trucks
- Pacific trucks
Notes
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.
Further reading
- Military Vehicle Journal #8 (Photos of the M26 and M26A1)
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
Source of article : Wikipedia
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