tm9-801.com

Hi all,
I have just bought a closed cab 352 swinging boom crane. As yet I do not have it here but in the meantime I thought I would try to find any history.
It is similar to the 4 ton Diamond T chemical warfare truck on page 295 of TM9-2800 but the crane seems to be a bit smaller, in keeping with the truck & also has another large winch on the rear deck. The bodywork looks very professional, not the sort of thing someone would make if they were producing a post war modification for a garage. I would have thought that the engineering to get 3 PTOs off a GMC gearbox would also require a specialist!
Either way, it looks to be an interesting & busy looking truck so I am looking forward to its arrival.
In the meantime, anyone like to guess its origin?
Photo courtesy Airborne Garage.

The only 'official' wrecker set on for the CCKW was the No 7 set for second echelon units. The No 7 wrecker set was installed on both G506 and G508 (an I am sure many other 1-2 ton trucks). Unlike the M27 Bomb service trucks the No 7 set would have been obtained via TOE from another organization so it does not show up in the ORD 7 or ORD 8.

The TOE I have (19 Feb 1944) shows that each QMC assigned to an infantry division would have the following CCKWs assigned:

33 Cargo 2.5 ton trucks wo/w, 13 will have AA ring mounts installed
13 Cargo 2.5 ton trucks w/w

There are also 3 wrecker sets assigned (one of each):

No 2
No 5
No 7

You would have to date the individual parts to see if the added crane is a wartime unit or a post war addition. If you ever get to look at the book The GMC A Universal Truck there about a dozen difference booms/cranes/hoists bolted on to a CCKW.... most of them post war/civilian. It could very well be a legitimate wartime field mod. But as I said you would have to investigate the parts individually to come to that conclusion.