[Lynn Eades]

I agree with Michael R's statement that Mariano's tow rope (first post) shows a post war assembly based on the shackles. I don't think the British military were issued with what I believe are called "Bow" shackles, rather they were issued with "D" shackles. Also the "D" shackles used were likely rated at 2.0 ton swl or 40 Cwt. swl.(also 2 ton) This would imply to me that it was originally issued as a tow rope for a wheeled vehicle as the load rating of the shackles would require both hooks to be connected to the carrier to extract it (4 tons of carrier equals 2 x 2 ton shackles in parallel for a 4 ton pull. Bellied in mud with suction would require double this!) The wire rope is well capable while the hooks, chain and shackles are the weak parts.
In the photo, the two hooks have "D" shackles rated at 2 ton. The center Bow shackle is 3.5 ton rating (high tensile) Generally speaking "D" shackles are not high tensile, while Bow shackles are.