Willyslancs Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Oops A Carryall of the 509th composite group has slid off the road (Mountain road near Wendover Utah) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosrec Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Never seen that type of wrecker before. Standard Holmes 45 main frame but mounted at back of truck back to front . I guess longer than normal booms which must be swivelled over cab for travelling. Looks like chain block is used for suspend towing. Interesting picture thanks for posting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrRoo Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 very interesting wrecker. Does anyone have any other photos of it to share? Cheers Cliff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon_M Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I think 'slid off the road' is modest for that situation. I'm sure that was a standard CCKW option - it looks different because the support legs are deployed directly to the rear - I remember you could get the Canadian Chevrolet CMP with the same wrecker set on it - lighter than the Diamond T set, obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I think you're right Gordon, Bart lists a 353 wrecker but no photo. That is the first photo I've seen of one and I assume that very few were made and probably all stayed in the US as the Diamond became the standard wrecker with the Ward as the heavy wrecker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosrec Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I think you're right Gordon, Bart lists a 353 wrecker but no photo. That is the first photo I've seen of one and I assume that very few were made and probably all stayed in the US as the Diamond became the standard wrecker with the Ward as the heavy wrecker. I have seen the holmes wrecker mounted right at the back of the chassis before when used for aircraft recovery duties. But that one is different in that the main frame has been swivelled through 180 degrees and mounted at the back. If you look it has a frame fabricated to hold a chain block which is obviously used to do suspend tows. The chain block looks like the one that came from the MK7 wrecker kit that was fitted to the 353 wrecker which to all intents and purposes the same design as the bomb handling gantry set up. No i think it is a hybrid knocked up at a base somewhere is it possible to tell from photo if its army or air force personnel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadline Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 That CCKW may actually be a CCKWX since there are no unit markings or National Symbols on any vehicle... not knowing the date of the photo it could be pre-1942. I have not read much about wrecker-equipped CCKWs, other than being outfitted with a No 7 set, which was light duty. Could this be a local modification? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosrec Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Getting to me this picture, The more i look at the more i am convinced its not standard issue. I think its been used on an airforce base to move light aircraft about although despite trawling the internet i cant find any pictures of one showing how it was done. Second picture shows the recovery equipment fitted as standard to CCKW looks very much like chain block and part of top girder has been welded to top of holmes gear and reinforced with two struts. Third picture shows standard holmes gear fitted to DT. This shows main frame has been fitted to rear swivelled through 180 degrees. I think also the booms have been lengthened to give extra reach going by the fact they dont taper towards the main frame. With that length of booms it would it would be useless for suspend tows hence the need for the block and tackle. Also it would be impractical to drive down the road with those booms out the back hence the block and tackle arrangement. As far as i am aware all Holmes equipment was fitted to the chassis at its factory in Chattanoga for military contracts and i dont think they would have approved of fitting one the wrong way round. Thus i guess it was a piece of cobbled up kit used on an airforce base that attended road jobs for base vehicles. Also looking at picture blown up i have convinced myself the guy nearest the wrecker is wearing an A2 leather jacket Guess we will never know ? the CMP gear was very rarely fitted with side legs Edited February 16, 2012 by cosrec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosrec Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Picture says taken at Wendover Utah Extract from internet Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. During World War II it was a training base for B-17 andB-24 bomber crews. It was the training site of the 509th Composite Group, the B-29unit which dropped the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs. In 2009, a hangar at the base dubbed The Manhattan Project's Enola Gay Hangar was listed as one of the most endangered historic sites in the U.S.[2] Ops just read first post again definitly and airforce wrecker Oops A Carryall of the 509th composite group has slid off the road (Mountain road near Wendover Utah) Edited February 16, 2012 by cosrec Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deadline Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 The 509th Composite Group was constituted on 9 December 1944, and activated on 17 December 1944, So I stand corrected... not a CCKWX. Maybe all the unit IDs/emblems are gone because of the nature of the work the 509th was tasked with? With all the brainpower at that base I'm sure they had the ability to make whatever devices they needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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