Jump to content

Wartime Coles crane


Recommended Posts

Hi all,

 

Here is a picture of a project that we are just about to start work on. She's a 1943 Series 7 Coles crane mounted on a 6 wheeled AEC Matador chassis. We have recently started to expand our museum, a former Bomber Command airfield and started up an MT section at the Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre near Lincoln where we also have a 6 wheeled AEC fuel bowser, Queen Mary, oil bowser trailers, bomb trollies and a few other wartime airfield related bits and bobs.

 

We would be very grateful for assistance with the project and if anyone could help us locate any other scrapped cranes that we can source parts from for an accurate restoration please. Likewise, we are always interested to hear of any wartime airfield related equipment that can be purchased for preservation at RAF Metheringham please, especially a single axle airfield caravan.

 

Thanks

 

Tim

image.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all,

 

Here is a picture of a project that we are just about to start work on. She's a 1943 Series 7 Coles crane mounted on a 6 wheeled AEC Matador chassis. We have recently started to expand our museum, a former Bomber Command airfield and started up an MT section at the Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre near Lincoln where we also have a 6 wheeled AEC fuel bowser, Queen Mary, oil bowser trailers, bomb trollies and a few other wartime airfield related bits and bobs.

 

We would be very grateful for assistance with the project and if anyone could help us locate any other scrapped cranes that we can source parts from for an accurate restoration please. Likewise, we are always interested to hear of any wartime airfield related equipment that can be purchased for preservation at RAF Metheringham please, especially a single axle airfield caravan.

 

Thanks

 

Tim

Interesting project wish you well with it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice to see someone taking on this kind of project, I'm a big fan of these vehicles and it's good to know another one is going to be saved.

 

Is this the vehicle that was for sale in East Sussex by any chance?

 

The only scrap vehicles I know of that might be of use for spares are the two 0854 Coles cranes at Rush Green Motors scrap yard.

 

Is your 0854 Bowser restored?

 

Ian.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A grand project ...and a mighty useful bit of kit to have about once she is working again ! :)

..........there must have been hundreds of such cranes in service during the War but I guess they're not a really easy piece of kit to decide you want to have :) ...

I used to have a Coles Crane for many years and I don't think that up until the middle '70s much changed on them fittings wise ????... so the best I can suggest is..... keep your eyes and ears open for any Coles yard cranes wherever they may turn up ...you may well find you can use bits off the much later models to get/keep yours going again :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 months later...
This one is about a mile from my home.[ATTACH=CONFIG]100530[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100531[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100532[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]100533[/ATTACH]

 

Looks like one of these - http://www.nevingtonwarmuseum.com/nevington-news/thorny-croft-amazoncoles-7-crane-and-bedford-ox-tractor-with-queen-mary-trailer

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fantastic news. Will be great to see this beast being used in anger again :)

 

Best of luck, Richard

 

In anger , he should have the B&A SLI (pre Wylie) sorted & calibration checked + full re-test.

 

I should have some B&A info. somewhere.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi all,

 

Here is a picture of a project that we are just about to start work on. She's a 1943 Series 7 Coles crane mounted on a 6 wheeled AEC Matador chassis. We have recently started to expand our museum, a former Bomber Command airfield and started up an MT section at the Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre near Lincoln where we also have a 6 wheeled AEC fuel bowser, Queen Mary, oil bowser trailers, bomb trollies and a few other wartime airfield related bits and bobs.

 

We would be very grateful for assistance with the project and if anyone could help us locate any other scrapped cranes that we can source parts from for an accurate restoration please. Likewise, we are always interested to hear of any wartime airfield related equipment that can be purchased for preservation at RAF Metheringham please, especially a single axle airfield caravan.

 

Thanks

 

Tim

 

 

Great project Tim.

Pleasing to see a large, British soft skin vehicle being restored.

James.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Can't help with parts but my father (who is now 92) was in 58 RSU operating in the Western Desert. There was a bit of a parts shortage at the time, so recycling downed aircraft was vital, even repairing them and flying them out of the desert. They used to get a Coles crane, and even a loaded Queen Mary, across the supposedly impassable Qattara depression. He took the odd photo using a camera from a downed reconnaissance plane - the one attached below must be the Coles crane, here finishing off loading the Queen Mary trailer. His memory is pretty flakey now, but he may remember some obscure details of using them. It would be about 1942 I should think.

 

Page20c.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...