60 " Searchlight Transport

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Does anyone know what vehicle was used by the Canadian Army during WWII to transport the 60" Sperry/GE searchlight and it's related generator set? I have never seen a photo of one in Canadian service, but some sources suggest it was a Diamond T with cargo winch and others say it might have been a Studebaker with cargo winch. I know they were not towed anywhere as there was no suspension on either the searchlight or generator units and the searchlight would have been smashed to pieces if towed. The wheels were needed just to load and unload the units and to position the searchlight battery.

David

The manual says...2 1/2 ton cargo truck for the light and the same for the generator..Take your pick..

15. TRANSPORTATION. A completely m o b i l e
searchlight unit (AA) is equipped with two 21/2-ton
cargo trucks and a searchlight trailer M1 Headquarters
battery of the 155-mm gun battalion, which
is designated as semimobile, is authorized one 2Yton
truck and one searchlight trailer for each two
searchlights. Each harbor defense is authorized one
searchlight trailer for such movement of searchlights
as may be necessary.
a. The searchlight trailer M1 (figs. 9 and 10) is a
four-wheel, pneumatic-tired tilting trailer with a
load capacity of 4,000 pounds. It is equipped with a
hand-operated winch used for loading the searchlight
and with four turnbuckles which engage hold-down
devices on the searchlight chassis to lock it in place
during transportation. Access doors in the front of
the trailer permit reaching the front turnbuckles.
It has hand brakes, used when the trailer is parked,
and four-wheel electric brakes which can be operated
from the cab of the towing truck. A jumper
cable provides power for the brakes and for tail and
stop lights on the trailer. A breakaway chain sets
the brakes in the event that the trailer breaks loose
from the towing truck.
b. The power plant is transported over smooth
roads by towing behind a 2Y2-ton truck. Over bad
roads, it is advisable to load the power plant in a
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searchlight trailer or a 21/2-ton truck if it is to be
transported for a long distance. If the power plant
is loaded in a vehicle, it must be securely chocked
and wired in place.


And trucks DO tow the light and the powerplant...


Equipment should be loaded as follows: extended
hand control and spare carbons in the searchlight
trailer; control station (including binocular
mount), telephones, control cable, and power cables
in the truck towing the searchlight; machine gun and
ammunition chests in the truck towing the power
plant. (See FM 44-75.) If strafing or low-level
bombing attack is considered likely en route to the
position, the machine gun should be carried in firing
position, manned and ready, throughout the movement.
If the move is to be a long one over rough
roads, it may be necessary to carry the power plant
in the truck rather than tow it. It will not be possible
to carry the power plant and mount the machine
gun in the same truck.
(2) Personnel should be carried as follows: light
commander, searchlight operator, and control station
operator in the truck towing the searchlight; machine
gunners and the power plant operator in the truck
towing the power plant. The section leader should
ride with the first squad of his section to move into
position. The platoon leader and the platoon sergeant
should have the use of one of the battery
administrative vehicles during movement into position.
51
(3) The truck towing the searchlight proceeds to
the searchlight position (or as near to it as terrain
and camouflage discipline will permit). The trailer
is uncoupled and the searchlight and a telephone
are unloaded and prepared for operation. The searchlight
operator remains with the searchlight. The
truck proceeds to the position selected for the control
station, unreeling the control cable and telephone
wire as it goes. At the selected site, the control
station and the other telephone are unloaded and
set up. The control station operator remains with
the control station. The truck then returns to the
searchlight position and moves from there to the
power plant position, unreeling the power cables.
(4) The power plant truck proceeds to the power
plant position, where the power plant is uncoupled
(or unloaded). The truck then proceeds to the site
selected for the machine gun and the machine gun
is unloaded and set up. The truck then moves to
the searchlight position and picks up the searchlight
trailer.
(5) After completing the movements outlined in
(3) and (4) preceding, the trucks return to the battery
motor pool or some other designated point to pick
up personnel and equipment of another searchlight
squad. If necessary, the searchlight truck may be
used to lay telephone wire from the searchlight position
to the battalion command post. The power
plant truck, towing the searchlight trailer, should
return to the designated point at once to make the
trailer available for loading.
(6) All personnel present assist if heavy work is
required to place the searchlight, control station, or
power plant in position. (If the searchlight, power
plant, or control station must be manhandled for
some distance over difficult terrain, additional personnel
from other searchlight squads should be provided.)
Adjustments (leveling, removing transportation
accessories, etc.) to the searchlight, control
station, or power plant are performed by the appro-
52
priate operator after the truck has moved on. Each
operator checks the operation of his instrument and
connects the cables to the proper receptacles as soon
as the cables are laid. The searchlight operator and
the control station operator connect their telephones
to the wire laid between their respective positions.
The power plant operator starts the power plant and
checks its performance but does not turn on the
main switch until the light commander has checked
to see that the proper connections have been made
at searchlight and control station.



Ref...
http://ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/ref/FM/PDFs/FM4-29.PDF