[Tony Wheeler]

At the bottom of the yard the ambo meets a very unusual blitz friend - a FGT9!

Final pic shows the removable crane boom with hinge pin alongside. This fits through the standard holes in the blitz rear chassis - finally a purpose for these otherwise useless holes!

Dunno what this crane was used for on the farm but it's perfect for my needs here. The boom can be assembled/disassembled in minutes, and when lowered it can be poked far into my shed, the entrance of which is too low for a blitz roof. When raised it can lift a whole blitz cab and chassis off the ground, since the load is entirely on the cable stays rather than the spindly boom. The Dawn winch is quite up to the task, and far more convenient than a power winch, ie. hopping in and out of the cab, starting the motor etc.

All in all it's a remarkably functional vehicle. With the boom removed it's perfect for lift-towing, and carrying around smaller items like axle assemblies, engines, etc.

Interestingly, having a yard blitz has added a new dimension to my appreciation of CMPs. I now realize all those battered CMPs I photographed as a kid in sawmills and construction yards etc were not there because they were cheap and plentiful after the war, they were there because they were still the best vehicle available for the purpose 30 years later. The high ground clearance, 4WD, low gearing, winch, simple and robust, reliable - why would you replace one?! And what could you replace it with? If you have a concrete yard you can use a heavy forklift, but in sawmills you now see tracked vehicles doing the work that CMPs once did.

As well as yard trucks there were also CMP fleets on the road in the 1970s, unlike any other truck of similar age. Those ones were well maintained, although I suspect the tougher roadworthy laws caught up with them eventually. Plus unionized truck drivers started making outrageous demands for luxuries like side windows!