Cletracs in Canadian service?

sapper740 · #1 07-04-07, 15:31

There's still coffee in the pot so I thought, What the heck, one more thread today. I have seen a picture of a Douglas Digby in that very excellent book, "SIXTY YEARS The RCAF and CF Air Command 1924-1984" by Larry Milberry. In the background there is what appears to be a Cletrac Medium M2 High Speed Tractor. I've seen several pics of the Cletrac in U.S. service but none of the Cletrac in Canadian service. Are my eyes deceiving me? This picture must have been taken on the East coast somewhere as all 20 Digby's in Canadian service were based on the Eastern seaboard. Any Cod Jiggers out there have an idea where this picture was taken?

Remember, mags are not clips!

cletrac (RIP) · #2 07-04-07, 16:10

In the picture it's hard to say whether that crawler is a Cletrac or a Caterpillar but it's definitely not an M2. Any M2 pix I've come across I've posted here.
Cletrac pix
My Cletrac was used by the BCATP in Prince Albert, Sask during the war and the RCAF used them overseas as well.

sapper740 · #3 07-04-07, 17:12

Quote:

Originally posted by cletrac
In the picture it's hard to say whether that crawler is a Cletrac or a Caterpillar but it's definitely not an M2. Any M2 pix I've come across I've posted here.
Cletrac pix
My Cletrac was used by the BCATP in Prince Albert, Sask during the war and the RCAF used them overseas as well.

Dave, you've been a busy man! They need to change the name from Cletrac.org to Dave's Cletrac.org! LOL. Did you get a ride on the Memphis Belle? I didn't realize there were so many models of the Cletrac...around 2 dozen according to that website. There was an M2 Cletrac here in Dallas when we hosted the MVPA convention a few years back. Any chance that was yours?
I took a closer look at the pic, unfortunately it's not a high definition picture and grains out at high magnification. I'm wondering if it might be an Allis-Chalmers tractor of some sort. I remember back in the day as a kid seeing lots of them on construction sites.
The skies over the prairies were crowded during the war, the BCATP had 15 flying training schools in Alberta, 18 in Manitoba, and 19 in Saskatchewan, only Ontario had more schools. All the R.A.F. Elementary Flying Training Schools were prairie based and 9 of 10 R.A.F. Service Flying Training Schools were prairie based. Your Cletrac earned it's keep, for sure.