Quote:
Originally posted by Hanno Spoelstra
No doubt it is experimental, and therefore likely to be based on an existing FAT so it can be classified as a "rebuild" if you like. If your pictures are all of the same tractor H5847572, they must show a tractor in different prototyping stages. Note that in the top photographs the tractor has a fixed windscreen surround, making it too high to fit into a glider. The lower one has no windscreen but small aero screens, looking much more like a FAT that would fit in a glider.
I'll notify Richard Notton so he can ask his neighbour and Morris-Commercial connoisseur Rory Ballard. And our resident forum member Mike Kelly can probably add some constructive comments, if not the definitive answer.
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Richard showed this page to Rory, and he "agrees with the last paragraph, Guy Pelham at the Airborne Museum has all the originals".
Quote:
Originally posted by David_Hayward
However the other trucks i.e. the Airportable version for the Airportable 17-pounder were to Contract S.5728 in the range H 5847350 to 5847849. I wonder if that batch was adaptation to the Airportable role, and all of them were used as such or just some? The basics seem the same but of course the No. 5 has doors and side panels. The quesry is whether this was an adaptation of the No. 5 body or a rebuild on one? We know that predictors and the A/tank Portees were rebuilt into the A/T 17-pounder role, with rebuilds by Morris-Commercial themselves. There was either then a further rebuild or a seperate contract for Airportable versions without the rear body and again no front screen or aeroscreens even, as per the full size rebuilds as it were.
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David, here's what could have happened: to fulfill the need for more Airportable 17-pounder tractors, M-C stripped a FAT with No.5 body down as much as possible to save weight. Since the body was of wooden frame/steel panelling construction, the steel panelling was stripped off and replaced by canvas. Doors and some hatches are not really needed so could be left off to save more weight (top picture). But then M-C found it was still too large and heavy to fit in a glider, so the tractor is even further modified (bottom picture). This reasoning would mean only one of the FATs in the top picture was built, which is endorsed by the fact that the same FAT was further modified as per the bottom picture. I have no idea if 500 of these Airportable FATs were actually finished under Contract S.5728, could it be the Contract was cancelled at the end of the war? I think this variant was not very numerous as I have never seen pictures or read about it. But no doubt Mr Pelham at the Airborne Museum can tell you more.
Hanno