[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Back in 2002, on my web page on 9.00-16 tyres I wrote (this was originally posted on the old forum which no longer exists):

Recently, the subject of Michelin 9.00-16 tyres came up again. There is this well known photo of a 4.5" Howitzer in Singapore which has the same tread pattern as those tyres found by Mike on a Fordson WOT2D in Australia:




From a short internet search I learned that the Michelin Tyre Company Limited in London was incorporated in 1905 and that they were making a contribution to the Allied war effort, as they say:

Marking Time in Wartime

When the Second World War arrived, it proved a traumatic time for Michelin. Up till now the UK company had relied on day-to-day contact with Clermont-Ferrand, on whom it depended almost totally for functions such as research, design and testing. The invasion of France put paid to that – indeed, Michelin UK was carefully watched as its French parent was under German control and it quickly had to become self-sufficient in those disciplines that had previously been handed down from Clermont-Ferrand. Just to make matters worse, when the Japanese came into the war, they invaded large parts of the Far East, including the valuable rubber plantations such as Michelin’s in Indonesia.

Despite these setbacks, Michelin performed heroically, working three shifts a day, seven days a week and made an enormous contribution to the war effort. Of course, there was little time or resources to devote to tyres, but the years of marking time came to an end when the war finished.

They continued to make tyres for military applications after WW2 with the same type of tread, e.g. for motorcycles: https://www.wdnorton.nl/Tyres.htm




Interestingly, the same tyre pattern was used for post-war production of 9.00-16 tyres, some of which were recently spotted on Dodge D15 trucks. If I recall correctly, they are 1970s dated and manufactured by Michelin in France: