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
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)

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

• United States Army
• British Army[4]
• Japan Ground Self-Defense Force
• Yugoslav People's Army[6]

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

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

• 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