Ground Support Equipment in Aviation Museums

Noha307 · **Posted:** Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:54 pm

In February 2020, the North East Land, Sea and Air Museums acquired a Vickers flight deck aircraft tractor that had been used on the HMS Ark Royal:

(Source: NELSAM)

dhfan · **Posted:** Tue Sep 29, 2020 3:08 pm

Aaaarrgh!
Despite your obvious care, respect and interest in the history, I have to leap in here.

Never, never "the" HMS Ark Royal or any other Royal Navy ship. HMS stands for Her Majesty's Ship, or unfortunately sooner rather than later as the Queen's 94 years old, His Majesty's Ship.

The USS is fine and makes perfect sense when not abbreviated, but the HMS doesn't - and really grates with me personally...

Noha307 · **Posted:** Mon Oct 12, 2020 11:14 pm

dhfan wrote:

Aaaarrgh!
Despite your obvious care, respect and interest in the history, I have to leap in here.

Never, never "the" HMS Ark Royal or any other Royal Navy ship. HMS stands for Her Majesty's Ship, or unfortunately sooner rather than later as the Queen's 94 years old, His Majesty's Ship.

The USS is fine and makes perfect sense when not abbreviated, but the HMS doesn't - and really grates with me personally...

No worries, I can appreciate that as I completely understand the feeling. I have the same reaction when someone hyphenates a designation incorrectly.

I assume it is also in some way related to you Brits saying things like "in hospital" and not "in the hospital"? (Also, a quick plug here for the American/British Nomenclature during World War II thread.)

Yellow tug with the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force:

(Source: Google Maps)

Camouflaged tug at the Western Museum of Flight:

(Source: Google Maps)

Just to round out the Qantas stuff at Australian aviation museums, the South Australian Aviation Museum has a tug and stairs that used to belong to that airline:

(Source: TripAdvisor)

Noha307 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 09, 2020 5:33 pm

The Flight Path Museum LAX has a Oshkosh M3000 on display:

(Source: Flight Path Museum LAX)

Noha307 · **Posted:** Thu Jan 14, 2021 6:04 pm

While I was poking around the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum's archives portal the other day, I found out that they have a RCAF Ground Vehicle Inventory Collection.

ZRX61 · **Joined:** Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:16 am **Posts:** 2303

Was watching that Canadian car resto series the other day & it turns out the bloke that runs the place is a CAF member with a BT13. They showed the resto of his Allis Chambers aircraft tug.
Hopefully he does better work on his aircraft than some of the halfassed crap he does to cars.

Noha307 · **Posted:** Sat Feb 20, 2021 12:40 pm

After reading about the recent renaming of the CAF's Dixie Wing to Airbase Georgia, I came across a picture taken in March 2019 showing three of their tugs:

Attachment:

Three Tugs at CAF Airbase Georgia in March 2019.png [ 388.6 KiB | Viewed 3807 times ]

(Source: Google Maps)

Also, in another recent thread, I posted a few pictures I took in November 2018 of the vehicles in storage at the Pima Air & Space Museum that I mentioned in a previous post:

Noha307 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 16, 2021 4:41 pm

The Royal Air Force Museum has already been mentioned multiple times, but here's another one. Just like the National Museum of the United States Air Force and the Shuttleworth Collection, they have a Hucks Starter as well:

(Source: Royal Air Force Museum)

Matt Gunsch · **Posted:** Fri Apr 16, 2021 9:12 pm

Here is some of my WWII support equipment that is still working. I have a couple of 6 ton tripod aircraft jacks. They can be assembled to be a low, medium or high tripod, solid steel shafts with aluminum body and leg tubes. I would like to find a manual for them to make sure I am assembling them correctly.

Noha307 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 22, 2021 5:19 pm

Matt Gunsch wrote:

Here is some of my WWII support equipment that is still working. I have a couple of 6 ton tripod aircraft jacks. They can be assembled to be a low, medium or high tripod, solid steel shafts with aluminum body and leg tubes. I would like to find a manual for them to make sure I am assembling them correctly.

Thanks for sharing. If I come across any manuals I'll be sure to pass them along.

The Spirit of Flight Museum/Warbird Recovery has a Browney aircraft tug that was license built by Berry Motor Car Company. Serial number TT30NC891, it was built in 1943, and is claimed to be the only one to exist:[1]

(Source: Warbird Recovery)

Also, today I learned that DeLorean Motor Company made aircraft tugs! According to an article from Motor1.com, they made a model T-40 with a company called Logan under contract to the US Air Force. A short video of one running at Lane Community College is available here.

Similarly on the video front, I came across a nice walkaround video of a restored, former USMC, 1971 Northwestern Motor Company JG-40PT-9 aircraft tug.

Noha307 · **Posted:** Mon Jul 19, 2021 6:28 pm

I was looking for manuals for the SML-100C at our museum the other day and, while I was unsuccessful, I did come across a page from a brochure for it. It has both a good two plan view of the tug and a table that explains that the number in the designation refers to the drawbar pull strength of the model. (e.g. the SML-80 pulls 8,000 lbs; the SML-100 pulls 10,000 lbs; and the the SML-120 pulls 12,000 lbs)

GSE at the RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre

DAF 30K, license plate "229747"
Link to Picture
(Source: RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre)
International T2650 "Twin Steer", license plate "228583"
Link to Picture
(Source: RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre)
Canadian Military Pattern Blitz truck
Link to Picture
(Source: RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre)
Unknown Dodge
Link to Picture
(Source: RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre)
Unknown Jeep, marked as "GH 148409"
Link to Picture
(Source: RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre)
Unknown Jeep
Link to Picture
(Source: RAAF Amberley Aviation Heritage Centre)

GSE at the Australian Army Flying Museum

Fordson N Model - "used by the RAAF at Oakey airfield during World War [II]"
Link to Picture
(Source: Aces Flying High)
Clarktor, license plate "31-252"
Link to Picture
(Source: Aces Flying High)

GSE at the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection

Unknown weapons loader "Wendy"
Link to Picture
(Source: Boscombe Down Aviation Collection)
Unknown aircraft tug
Link to Picture
(Source: Salisbury Journal)

Noha307 · **Posted:** Mon Aug 02, 2021 3:50 pm

It looks like the tug at the Aircraft Restoration Company mentioned in a previous post was given a repaint. Based on said new paint scheme, it is now identifiable as being built by Lansing Bagnall. Note also the light blue farm tractor in the background:
Link to Image
(Source: Aircraft Restoration Company)

Noha307 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 11, 2021 11:43 pm

The Yankee Air Museum's tugs and other GSE have been covered in multiple previous posts (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), but this last weekend I was finally able to see them in person. Importantly, I was able to put model and serial numbers to the numbers. Here's the results:

Yankee Air Museum Tug Identities (Number - Model - Serial Number)