These big and gnarly Ward LaFrance “Heavy Wrecking Trucks” were built during WW2 to provide a variety of services out in the field, and not just towing broken down Sherman tanks or 6×6 trucks. With their large cranes, they actually were used more for field repairs: swapping out major components on field equipment, including artillery, tanks, trucks and all other equipment. The crane could lift a tank turret, engine, or barrel on a field artillery piece, as well as anything else a heavy and powerful 6×6 truck and crane could be employed to do.
Many of these trucks were passed on to NATO and other countries, where they were often in service until the 1990s. But they were typically very well maintained, and of course not used much after the war, so collectors have found some in quite good condition in ought various countries, although there is the cost of repatriating them.
I found a very good write-up of one that was bought in Italy, and is still being used by the owner as a mobile crane in his WW2 military equipment restoration work, like lifting out the heavy 9-cylinder engines out of a Sherman tank. Makes for good reading, if you want to know more about these.
Here’s one at work in Korea, lifting a tank turret.
These trucks were powered by a large Continental ohv gasoline engine (2.5 mpg). The crane was all mechanical (gears and cables) as hydraulic hoses were of course more at risk of getting taken out by a stray bullet.
I am curious why diesel took so long to make serious inroads in heavy trucks, was it cold
weather issues or fuel standardization?
Diesel was adopted slowly in the US, as fuel prices were not as high as they were in Europe. There simply wasn’t the capacity to build large quantities of diesels for WW2. Logistics was a major issue: almost all (all?) American tanks and other field equipment had gas engines, so having to supply the front with two kinds of fuel would have greatly complicated supply lines.
As to fuel economy, that just wasn’t much of a priority for the Americans, as it never has been. 🙂
Lots of big American civilian trucks and buses continued using gas engines for well into the 50s and even into the 60s. They were more powerful, for one thing, as diesels without turbos inherently made less torque.
American LaFrance was primarily a builder of fire engines. Fire engines often sit for long periods then are needed to run on short notice. In the north, many volunteer fire houses are unmanned and poorly heated. Engine run time for fire engines is low on an annual hour basis so fuel economy savings are negligible. For many tasks such as pumping water, the higher torque of diesels is less important than peak horsepower. Quick starting and warmups were desirable gas engine traits that diesels really couldn’t match up well into the tail end of the 20th century. Even into the1960s, some construction equipment still featured gas/diesels just to ease starting. The time required to get diesels running back in the day just wasn’t well suited to fire engine needs. Engineers at both American LaFrance & award LaFrance were probably very familiar with gas engines due to their history. During wartime, you tend to favor technology you know will work.
Jon,
In the 1990s I had a huge 1950s Bucyrus-Erie bulldozer. Don’t remember who built the engine, but it was a gasoline/Diesel [or kerosene if diesel was not available]. The engine was started using gasoline [the carb & intake was on one side of the engine, and the fuel injection on the other side], and once warmed up, I had to quickly push a large lever forward. This caused the following actions:
It forced 6 small pistons [1 per cylinder] down from retracted positions in the cylinder head, increasing the compression ratio from about 6 to 1 up to about 18 to 1, and at the same time it closed off the gasoline intake manifold, opened up the air intake manifold and engaged the diesel fuel injection pump. If you didn’t push the lever far enough or quick enough, the engine would stop, and we would have to begin on gas all over again.
Once it was running on diesel fuel, it was understood you didn’t turn it off unless you had no choice. I also placed signs that said DIESEL & GASOLINE next to the respective fuel tank filler caps!
That was an International Harvester dozer with Bucyrus-Erie blade. IH had the start-on-gas-switch-to-diesel technology since the late 30s and were a very early USA producer of diesels. It was also typical up into the 1950s for a dozer mfg to use outside mfg of blade and it’s accessories
Petrol was so cheap, it wasnt worth the bother, plus payload weights were low, Scammel built similar trucks that were still doing very heavy haul here in the 70s
Interesting truck .
-Nate
2.5 mpg means that under load and accounting for traction loss in mud, miles per gallon could slip into gallons per mile territory.
Reading the linked article, I think this was a Ward LaFrance, based in the same town, Elmira, NY, as American LaFrance, but an entirely different company, started by a relative of the American LaFrance folks.
It was Ward LaFrance. Here’s a wartime ad that shows both the Heavy Wrecker and some of the company’s other models:
Oops. The caption where I found this clearly said Ward LaFrance. Yet I typed it out wrong.
20 years ago when I was in Maine, there was a small boat yard in Jonesport Maine, that had one of these they used to drag lobster boats out of the water with. They used to hook it up to a hydraulic trailer and if the tide was out they could lower the trailer further in the water with the truck winch. Of course the crane came in handy for engine work on the boats etc. I’m pretty sure they upgraded to more modern trucks years ago but, until recently seeing trucks like this in use at logging camps and boatyards in Maine wasn;t uncommon.
I was in the 1st Combat Equipment Group East in Germany back in the mid 1970s, and we were responsible for maintaining an entire Army Brigade’s worth of equipment, pending WW3. We had several of these huge trucks, and as the acting motor Sargent it was one of my duties to assign vehicle maintenance and repair tasks, to various enlisted mechanics. The M1A1 Ward-LaFrance trucks and the M-88 tank recovery vehicles were the 2 biggest units we had, and the guys love to be assigned to work on them, as it was a blast to test drive ’em!
Bill,
where have you been those days? I have been living next to the “Fulda Gap” where strategy specialists assumed the Soviet army would love to invade first in case of …
So I was used to see these great vehicles on local roads as a youngster and I’ve been able to make friends with some soldiers. I remember them to have run out of fuel some times, not being able to make the way home to the barracks. Still got a tank two-way radio and some electronic test gear somewhere.
Joe
Joe,
Our army base [Spinelli barracks] was just north of Mannheim, in Feudenheim. If you google “Am Aubuckel, Mannheim” you will see it’s a long curving road, and there is a large open space above, where the annual Bundesgartenschau [a major garden & flower show] is now held. That was where we had all the equipment stored. When you saw those US troops in action, it was probably around September, and it would have been for the Reforger event.
Every year the Army would have a HUGE event called “Reforger”, this stood for REturn of FORces to GERmany. They would fly in thousands of troops, and we were tasked with providing them with everything they needed [Our motto was “From Tanks to toilet paper!”]
The west always assumed the Soviets would attack thru the Fulda Gap, just like you said, but the local joke was that because most of their smaller military vehicles were 2-stroke, they could never make a sneak attack, because we would see the blue cloud rising above them, a couple of hours in advance!
Bill,
I am located near Bad Hersfeld Mc Pheeters Barracks, home of 3rd Squadron 11th ACR Blackhorse up to 1993. They had more than 40 tanks M1 and such heavy gear. Seeing those in action was mostly impressive (yes, biggest event every September), but one or two always had to be hauled back home at the end of the day. They had a lot of those Reo 6×6 trucks, too: When they started the engines the Soviets must have known it over 10 miles of distance. The sound is unmistakeably! Great memories!
Joe
Joe,
I remember visiting McPheeters barracks to drop off some supplies during Reforger 1975, but that’s the only time I was there.
Fast forward to the early 1990s. Every summer the local high school’s auto shop used to send me their best 2 mechanics to work with my restoration shop techs during the summer break. One of the guys was named Alex McPheeters, and I mentioned I had been to a base with that name, in Germany, almost 20 years prior. He smiled from ear to ear, & said it was named in honor of his great uncle, a US Army officer who was killed in Germany during WW2!
During the Second World War the U.S. Army shunned diesel powered vehicles, wanting to standardize on gasoline for logistical reasons. For example while Shermans in U.S. Army service relied on Wright air cooled 9 cylinder or Ford GAA V-8’s, Marine Corps Shermans were usually powered by twin Detroit 6-71 diesels. The Detroits made the Sheman a better tank, powerful but better fuel economy and less propensity for fire if hit. The M1A1 was indeed an impressive truck, a similar wrecker was built by Diamond T as well.
Cable operated equipment for rugged use was the norm for most things until after WW2. Farm equipment was the exception. All construction equipment was cable operated then, bulldozer blades and even scrapers and excavators.
I like the proud soldier posing on the running board. His grin says, “What do you think?”