Drag Ropes: How are they used??

[rob love]

So I pulled out a couple of 25 pounder ropes here at work and tried them out. It will be as I described earlier. The short chains go on the hooks of the rim on opposite sides, and the rope, which will now be centered on the rubber of the tire (tyre for those from the old country) is pulled to give mechanical advantage. On the other end of the rope is a straight hook which can be used in the ring on the hub. Mind you, our NOS cable, the hook will have to be trimmed to fit the hub ring. The older ones fit OK.

Here are some photos showing the hook up of the drag ropes,. I also took a photo of a 6 pdr and hub rim to show that the alignment would not work to use it as shown by the modellers in Hanno's photo. The ring is not in alignment with the claws...I think the rope would tend to jump off the claws. Far more likely it is meant for the two rings on the short ends to catch the claws, as is the case on the 25 pdrs.

[Robin Craig]

This thread is proving how the skills sets are fading so very fast and how important it is to discuss these things and archive them

[rob love]

Robin: The lifespan of an answer like this is only as long as the website stays alive. There are very few perpetual sites.

Just to double the odds of it surviving though, I posted the same photos and answer over on the modeller's site where the 6 pounder photo and explanation came from. One of the first google searches I did on the subject led me to there. After all, our interests are similar, I just prefer 1:1 scale modelling.

I would still like to find the answers in a manual, although, after attaching the ropes today to the guns, I am pretty certain I have it right. The 25 pdr manual does mention that the little tabs on the rims are for the drag ropes, it just doesn't say how.

[tankbarrell]

Originally Posted by rob love

I would still like to find the answers in a manual, although, after attaching the ropes today to the guns, I am pretty certain I have it right. The 25 pdr manual does mention that the little tabs on the rims are for the drag ropes, it just doesn't say how.

I am certain you are right, it's the only way I have been able to make it work. It's the only logical way really.
I have seen a more detailed explanation in a manual, somewhere..... I'll try to find it.

[Private_collector]

Hopefully more detailed than these entries.
2017-02-28 19.02.01-resized-1024.jpg 2017-02-28 19.00.58-resized-1024.jpg
Complete bollock, so far as useful information goes.

And it took two different manuals to tell so little.

[Andrew Davis]

This photo taken from the Internet. British ww2 or Korea, 5.5" gun I believe.

[rob love]

Excellent photo Andrew, thanks, and certainly supports my theory on how the ropes were attached.

If there ws ever a need for mechanical advantage, pulling a 5.5" over rough ground would be it.