M25 Tank Transporter

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.

M25 Tank Transporter
M26 tractor
Type40 ton (36,287kg) 6x6 Tank recovery truck-trailer
Place of originUnited States
Service history
In service1941–1955
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerKnuckey Truck Company
ManufacturerM26: Pacific Car & Foundry Co.
M15: Fruehauf Trailer Co.
VariantsM26A1, M26A2
Specifications (M25[1])
MassEmpty[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)
LengthM26: 25 feet 4 inches (7.72 m)
M15: 38 feet 5 1⁄16 inches (11.71 m)
WidthM26: 10 feet 10 3⁄4 inches (3.32 m)
M15 12 feet 6 inches (3,810 mm)
HeightM26: 11 feet 5 inches (3.48 m)
Crew7
Armorfront 3⁄4 in (19 mm)
sides, rear 1⁄4 in (6.4 mm)
Main
armament
.50 cal M2 machine gun
EngineHall-Scott 440 gasoline
240 hp (180 kW)
Transmission4 speed x 3 speed
Fuel capacity120 US gal (450 l)[2]
Operational
range
120 mi (193.1 km)
Maximum speed 28 mph (45 km/h)

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]

  • 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.

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See also

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

References

Further reading
  • Military Vehicle Journal #8 (Photos of the M26 and M26A1)

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