M25 tank transporter | |
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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[2]) | |
Mass | Empty[1] M26: 48,000 lb (22,000 kg) M15: 36,600 lb (16,600 kg) M25: 84,300 lb (38,200 kg) Loaded[1] M26: 103,000 lb (47,000 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)[1] |
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]
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]
US military soft-skinned vehicles of World War II | |
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1⁄4–3⁄4 ton vehicles | |
11⁄2–4 ton trucks | |
5–10 ton trucks | |
Tank transporters | |
Amphibious vehicles | |
Tracked tractors & carriers | |
Motorcycles | |
Trailers |
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