Diamond T tank transporter
| M19 Tank Transporter | |
|---|---|
M19 Tank Transporter system
(M20 truck and M9 trailer) carrying a Grant tank |
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| Type | 45-ton Truck-trailer |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Diamond T (M20 truck) Fruehauf, Winter-Weis, Rodgers (M9 trailer) |
| Produced | 1941–1945 |
| No. built | 6,554 (M20 truck) |
| Specifications (M20 truck) | |
| Weight | 26,650 lb (12,090 kg) empty 45,000 lb (20,000 kg) loaded |
| Length | 23 ft 4 in (7.11 m) |
| Width | 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) |
| Height | 8 ft 5 in (2.57 m) |
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| Engine | Hercules DFXE 185 hp (138 kW) |
| Transmission | 4 speed × 3 speed auxiliary |
| Suspension | Beam axles on leaf springs |
|
Operational
range |
300 mi (482.8 km) |
| Speed | 23 mph (37 km/h) |
| Specifications (M9 trailer) | |
|---|---|
| Weight | 22,020 lb (9,990 kg) (empty) 112,020 lb (50,810 kg) (loaded) |
| Length | 29 ft 8 in (9.04 m) (incl. drawbar) |
| Width | 9 ft 6 in (2.90 m) |
| Height | 4 ft 9 in (1.45 m) |
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| Suspension | Trailing beams (front) center pivot beams (rear) |
The M19 Tank Transporter (US supply catalog designation G159) was a heavy tank transporter system used in World War II and into the 1950s. It consisted of a 12-ton 6x4 M20 Diamond T Model 980 truck and companion 12-wheel M9 trailer.
Over 5,000 were produced, and employed by Allied armies throughout all theaters of war. It was superseded in the U.S. military by the M25 Tank Transporter during the war, but usefully redeployed in other tasks. It was superseded by the Thornycroft Antar in British service by the early 1950, though a few remained operational in units through 1971.
Designed as a heavy prime mover for tank transporting, the hard-cab Diamond T 980 was the product of the Diamond T Company in Chicago. In 1940 the British Purchasing Commission, looking to equip the British Army with a vehicle capable of transporting larger and heavier tanks, approached a number of American truck manufacturers to assess their models. The Diamond T Company had a long history of building rugged, military vehicles for the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps and had recently produced a prototype heavy vehicle for the US Army which, with a few slight modifications met British requirements and an initial order for 200 was very quickly filled.
The result was the Diamond T 980, a 12-ton hard-cab 6x4 truck. Powered by a Hercules DFXE diesel engine developing 201 hp (150 kW) and geared very low, it could pull a trailer of up to 115,000 lb (52,000 kg) and proved capable of the task of moving the heaviest tanks then in service.
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Wikipedia