M25 Tank Transporter

M25 Tank Transporter
M25 Tank Transporter
	M26 tractor
Type	40 ton (36,287kg) 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[1])
Mass	Empty[2]; M26: 48,000 lb (22,000 kg); M15: 36,600 lb (16,600 kg); M25: 84,300 lb (38,200 kg); Loaded[2]; 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)[2]
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", sides, rear, 1/4".
top speed-26 MPH
fuel cap, 120 GAL.

Users

Notes

TM 9-767 40 ton Tank Transporter Truck-trailer M25. US War Dept. 1942. pp. 14–15. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles. US War Dept. 1943. pp. 132–135. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
http://www.trucksplanet.com/updates/index.php?page=317
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

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

[tm2843-2] TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles. US War Dept. 1943. pp. 132–135. Retrieved 27 May 2014.

[3] ttp://www.trucksplanet.com/updates/index.php?page=317

[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.