¹⁄1

Accurate Armour has sent Armorama news of the latest offerings in the area of Tank Transporters and this time it’s the British who get a look in with the Cranes 40 Ton Tank Transporter/Recovery Trailer.

Accurate Armour has tackled the British Cranes 40 Ton Tank Transporter/Recovery Trailer with both the war time and post war version getting a look in. Here is the information on each version as supplied by Accurate Armour;

K155 - CRANES 40 Ton Trailer Mk-1 – Export £ 66.67 – EC £ 80.00

A complete 1/35th scale resin and etched brass kit of the classic WW-2 Cranes Mk-1 12 (Twin wheel) 40 Ton Tank Transporter/Recovery Trailer. This model designed by David Jane and Rob Tearle features fully detailed suspension with articulating bogies and steerable front carriage, moveable ramps and alternative ramp/chock options. A full set of tie-downs, tensioners, chains and blocks are also included. Also included are recovery pulley blocks for AFV recovery. Decals are included with a good selection of census markings and general stencils.

This was the original 40 Ton trailer as designed in the UK by Cranes (Dereham) Ltd. to match the Diamond-T Motor Car Company design M980/981 tractor from Chicago USA for a 1941 British Army requirement to haul and recover tanks in the 40 Ton class and to be used in conjunction with the Diamond-T M980/981 recovery tractor. The prototype was delivered in April 1941, and a total of 1197 were produced by Cranes, R.A. Dyson, Hands, British Trailer Co Ltd, and Shelvoke & Drewry. The Cranes drawings were sent to the USA where a version of the design was developed and produced as the M9 45 Ton trailer for supply to the UK. (See our kit K174)

In UK service it was decided to initially send only M9 Rogers trailers to North Africa with the Cranes trailers used in the UK and N.W.Europe after D-Day. This original design was to accommodate all UK tanks up to Churchill, however as the war progressed it was clear that the fixed inner and outer track guides were a disadvantage and a new Mk-2 trailer was produced with a flat top deck. All Mk-1 trailers were also modified to Mk-1/2 standard (again with a flat top deck, see our kit K171) post war. The flexibility of the design allowed many other tractors to tow the Mk-1 including Scammels and AEC's.

K171 - CRANES 40 Ton Trailer Mk-1/2 – Export £ 66.67 – EC £ 80.00


A complete 1/35th scale resin and etched brass kit of the Post War Cranes Mk-1/2 12 (Twin wheel) 40 Ton Tank Transporter/Recovery Trailer. This model designed by David Jane and Rob Tearle features fully detailed suspension with articulating bogies and steerable front carriage, moveable ramps and alternative ramp/chock options. A full set of tie-downs, tensioners, chains and blocks are also included. Also included are recovery pully blocks for AFV recovery. Decals are included with a good selection of registration plates and general stencils.

The original 40 Ton trailer was designd in the UK by Cranes (Dereham) Ltd. to match the Diamond-T Motor Car Company design M980/981 tractor from Chicago USA for a 1941 British Army requirement to haul and recover tanks in the 40 Ton class and to be used in conjunction with the Diamond-T M980/981 recovery tractor. The prototype was delivered in April 1941, and a total of 1197 were produced by Cranes, R.A. Dyson, Hands, British Trailer Co Ltd, and Shelvoke & Drewry. The Cranes drawings were sent to the USA where a version of the design was developed and produced as the M9 45 Ton trailer for supply to the UK. (See our kit K174)

Post WW2 most new UK AFV's were too wide for the Mk-1 trailer so all surviving trailers were modified to Mk-1/2 standard with a flat top deck and movable track guides. These trailers served until 1975 alongside the Rolls-Royce engined Diamond-T Tractor (see our kit K182) The the flexibility of the design allowed many other tractors to tow the Mk-1/2 including Scammels, Fodens, Leylands and AEC's.