question Royal Navy 'Transit Crane' Truck

[XS650]

Spotted this at Threlkeld Museum Cumbria , its a Bucyrus crane on a 'Transit Crane' 6x4 chassis its in RN colours and still carries the reg. no. 7835RN I assume the Royal Navy wouldn't be buying US kit in 1950s so is it wartime era ?

[Tony B]

Ford Transit, mini bus driven by a WREN sent to pick up a party of Nozzers with CPO Eggy Bowen in charge. It had been raining and out side the building was a large puddle. We were standing at the door. The WREN tried to bring the van in to the kerb but kept running along the dge of the puddle about two foot out. Eventually Eggy yelled out 'Hey love, jsut stop and sling a copule of lines, we'll pull you alongside'!

[Gordon_M]

Spotted this at Threlkeld Museum Cumbria , its a Bucyrus crane on a 'Transit Crane' 6x4 chassis its in RN colours and still carries the reg. no. 7835RN I assume the Royal Navy wouldn't be buying US kit in 1950s so is it wartime era ?

 

Too much time on my hands, had to look this thing up.

 

Quote from Fred Crismon's excellent "US MILITARY WHEELED VEHICLES" page 429 There is a very small photo of an almost identical unit, but with a solid boom and cable-operated bucket. It looks from the text below that these things were made for the US Army and Navy from WW2 into the early 1950's at least, so the 1953 registration could be spot on for a new vehicle, or it could be slightly earlier US Navy surplus transferred?

 

Quote

 

" In 1946 the Harnischfeger Corporation (P&H) built numerous examples of this model 150 truck crane for the Army on their 10 ton 6 x 4 chassis. They had provided the same vehicles to the Navy during WWII. The wide mustachio-type brush guard became a trademark for the P&H Cranes, which in this version were powered by a six-cylinder Waukesha Model 145 engine coupled to a five-speed Fuller transmission and three-speed transfer, and drove into the Timken rear axles. A separate Waukesha 6-MZA engine powered the crane unit, which is seen here dropping a load of dirt from the shovel attachment. A 6 x 6 model known as the model 255A was delivered to the Navy in 1951 ( P&H ) "

 

end quote

[XS650]

Too much time on my hands, had to look this thing up.

 

Quote from Fred Crismon's excellent "US MILITARY WHEELED VEHICLES" page 429 There is a very small photo of an almost identical unit, but with a solid boom and cable-operated bucket. It looks from the text below that these things were made for the US Army and Navy from WW2 into the early 1950's at least, so the 1953 registration could be spot on for a new vehicle, or it could be slightly earlier US Navy surplus transferred?

 

Quote

 

" In 1946 the Harnischfeger Corporation (P&H) built numerous examples of this model 150 truck crane for the Army on their 10 ton 6 x 4 chassis. They had provided the same vehicles to the Navy during WWII. The wide mustachio-type brush guard became a trademark for the P&H Cranes, which in this version were powered by a six-cylinder Waukesha Model 145 engine coupled to a five-speed Fuller transmission and three-speed transfer, and drove into the Timken rear axles. A separate Waukesha 6-MZA engine powered the crane unit, which is seen here dropping a load of dirt from the shovel attachment. A 6 x 6 model known as the model 255A was delivered to the Navy in 1951 ( P&H ) "

 

end quote

Thanks for info,to me it sounds like a wartime issue to RN ,Haven't heard of that book have to look it up.