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Clarktor Aircraft Tugs in Britain and Australia
G'day everyone,
there is a bit of a story to this query so please bear with me as I explain...... Two years ago I purchased a well-worn but running and quite modified Clarktor tug from a surplus auction here in Darwin. It runs a side-valve 6 cylinder Chrysler engine, a 3 speed crash box, and weighs in at about 2.5 ton (the rear guards are over 2 inches thick and weigh half a ton each). I have been using it on the block to give the kids rides and to drag carrier hulls and other things around the place. Its build plates are long gone and I could never find a stamped number - I assumed it dated from the 1950s or 60s. All I knew of its history was that its last user was the Northern Territory Police Air Wing in Alice Springs. Some time ago I found a Clark Equipment Yahoo Forum which I lurked on and found out quite a bit of information - most importantly that the tug seemed to date from the late 1940s due to its running gear layout. A few nights ago I revisited the site and found a reference to all Clarktor tugs having their serial number stamped into the right side of the rear bumper. AH HA! I went out with the torch and couldn't see anything - too many layers of paint. Some judicious use of a scraper though revealed a number: BH-184. This didn't fit any of the usual serials on the charts so I sent it off to the moderator of the forum. I received a reply in less than a day. The Clarktor I have was built in 1941 and is a British Heavy model (hence BH). It is the 184th one built of a contract of 1512 that were manufactured for the "British Ministry of War Transport". It was shipped out of New York on the 18 November 1941. The moderator also found the actual build sheet for the tug, scanned it, and put it on the forum - amazing! This is all fantastic information but it raises more and more questions. This is where I am hoping that the members on this forum may be able to help. First of all, how did this machine get to Australia? Did the "British Ministry of War Transport" buy enough in their contract to ship numbers of them to all Commonwealth countries (or maybe just Australia...)? Or did it come after the war? (I think this is somewhat unlikely). Mr. Hayward, would you have any information (or access to it) on contracts that the British let for Clark tugs in 1940-41? With your comprehensive work on so many other wartime contracts you may have come across something. Would there be records in the AWM that with a lot of work one could discover the ARN? I think I have read though that the RAAF records are lost/don't exist. Are there any other owners of these beaut machines out there in MLU? If so I would love to hear from you. Any information on this tug, or any Clark tugs, or parts etc. etc. would be greatly appreciated. Jared |
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Jared,
Quite an exciting find. Could you please post a picture of your "British Heavy"? Below follows a Life Magazine Side view of Air Corps tractor for pulling planes out to field (Location: US, date taken: 1941). Regards, Hanno
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Regards, Hanno -------------------------- |
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Clark
A very good pal works for Clark and I have dialogued with him and a colleague of his about the wartime products. There are photos of a Ross Carrier tug, as well as a Clark Carloader Forlkift and a four-wheeled Clark Clarkat Aircraft Tug for use on Aircraft Carriers produced by the Clark Equipment Company, Clark Tructractor Division, of Buchanan, Michigan and acquired by the Ministry of Supply in our new book. Pearsons of Liverpool handled them and prepared them for the Ministry. I can imagine that the Clark tug could have been ordered by the M of War Transport, but through the MofS.
The guy I contacted was Joe Swelnis. Brian at the REME Museumm commented a while back: Quote:
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IIRC one MJCQ member has a Clarktor he is restoring here in Brisbane.
Steve. |
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Aircraft Tug
Is this a Clarktor Aircraft Tug? Interesting 'bomb load', this image came from "Manufacture of Clothing 1945-53" QMC Historical Studies Series II No. 1.
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Pics of the Clarktor
G'day again everyone,
I will now attempt to load up a couple of images of my Clarktor tug. The first is of it on the car trailer on the way home. The second is showing what it does best - dragging things around. The third is a pdf of the build card. This includes details of 5 machines - the one I have is BH-184. Hanno, the Life Magazine picture is of the same type of tug - the rear hub on mine is a different design but the rest of it is very similar. Ed, the tug in your pic is one of the light duty types - it only has single rear wheels as you can see the lugs at the edge of the rim. A beaut pic. David, I believe the moderator of the Clark tug group on Yahoo is the same Joe that you have corresponded with. I will continue my dialogue with him. Snowy, I have recently made contact with a bloke in SE Queensland who is restoring a Clark. His name is Peter. Thanks to everyone who has responded to this thread - please keep them coming. Jared |
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and Canada
Forgetting us Colonials again, are ya! Here's a pic of a Clarktor AC tug taken in '45 at Gander, NFLD.
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Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? |
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Here´s another survivor, based in Holland, pictured at the Wings & Wheels show in Belgium.
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Regards, Hanno -------------------------- Last edited by Hanno Spoelstra; 16-01-09 at 11:45. Reason: two additional pictures added |
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Some more pics I found on my hard disk:
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Regards, Hanno -------------------------- |
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And then some:
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Regards, Hanno -------------------------- |
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Look in the distant background.
French Army mechanics busy assembling parts on the chassis of 3/4 ton American-made Army trucks provided by America's Lend Lease to be used by French troops training in the field, at American Army Service Forces supply depot.. Location: Oran, Algeria Date taken: 1943
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1916 Albion A10 1942 White Scoutcar 1940 Chev Staff Car 1940 F30S Cab11 1940 Chev WA LRDG "Te Hai" 1941 F60L Cab12 1943 Ford Lynx 1942 Bren Gun Carrier VR no.2250 Humber FV1601A Saracen Mk1(?) 25pdr. 1940 Weir No.266 25pdr. Australian Short No.185 (?) KVE Member. |
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Regards, Hanno -------------------------- |
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Thanks Hanno.
Here's another one from the same sorce. Rick Quote:
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1916 Albion A10 1942 White Scoutcar 1940 Chev Staff Car 1940 F30S Cab11 1940 Chev WA LRDG "Te Hai" 1941 F60L Cab12 1943 Ford Lynx 1942 Bren Gun Carrier VR no.2250 Humber FV1601A Saracen Mk1(?) 25pdr. 1940 Weir No.266 25pdr. Australian Short No.185 (?) KVE Member. |
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here are some photos of me old mans new toy, model no fct 16, serial no 14-303-. then the plate on engine are model ind-30. type 1027 then onother number beside that which is 47173. any imformation this would be greatly appreciated. thanks. jack troughton, matamata, new zealand
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So can anyone throw any light on how and where the 3 wheel CLARKAT B tug was used during WW2 in USAAF service?
Just a few survive in the UK, amongst them the one pictured below. I imagine they would be more suited for warehouse duties on concrete surfacing, and it is reported they were used as fighter tugs on aircraft carriers. Believe it or not this little tug is rated to pull 40 tons! |
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Pearsons of Liverpool (UK) was very active during WWII prepping Clarkats and Clarktors for the British armed forces.
Here is a link about a book that was published three years about Pearsons: http://www.pearsonsofliverpool.co.uk/ Joe |
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Jack
Is your "old man" Tom?
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Bluebell Carrier Armoured O.P. No1 Mk3 W. T84991 Carrier Bren No2.Mk.I. NewZealand Railways. NZR.6. Dodge WC55. 37mm Gun Motor Carriage M6 Jeep Mb #135668 So many questions.... |
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Oh dear!
I think I let one of these Clarkats slip through my fingers on the way to the scrappies last year, for not knowing what it was. It was derelict, through complete, in SE Queensland. Hmmmmm. . . . . Sam. |
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Quote:
It is as heavy as it looks.
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Gordon, in Scotland |
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Clarktor FCT46
Clark's records show that Clarktor serial number FCT46-14-303 was shipped to R.R. Fisher & Co., Ltd in New Zealand on 19 December 1957.
Joe |
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Here's one in service with the RCAF, dated 1949.
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Those who live by the sword will be shot by those of us who have progressed. - M38A1, 67-07800, ex LETE |
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Another Thread revival.
Jared, How is your tug progressing. Very mysterious. My tug number is BH-173, just a few before yours. Looking at lots of wartime photos it appears the Australian Air Force had almost no tugs. They used farm type tractors almost exclusively right through Korea before building up their airfield tug collection in the 50's. Attached is a photo of my tug at Caboolture and the only wartime photo I can find of Australians with a Clarktor in the Middle East (maybe this is yours or mine!). Another photo of the hundreds showing RAAF airfield tractors. This makes sense for my 1941 tug and yours which were delivered to the British and probably issued to the RAAF in Africa who brought them home. Last edited by Lang; 20-07-13 at 06:55. |
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