60 " Searchlight Transport

[cliff]

Alex the AIF used GMC-CCKW 6X6's with the rear canvas tilt heightened to clear. Could the Canadian Army have used the same?

the photo below came from somewhere on the net I think. Sorry cannot remember where

Title - 1942 GMC Searchlight Truck

[David Dunlop]

Thanks for the info, Alex.

Does the manual have a photo of the tiltbed trailer used for towing the searchlight unit? It sounds like that is what they are referring to using when towing the searchlight itself. The axles on the searchlight itself are not suspended at all and it would not take much of a bump on the road to shatter the glass reflector, or badly knock the carbon rod feed rate mechanism out of action.

Regards,

David

[Barry Churcher]

Here is a Dutch combo.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Thanks for the info, Alex.

Does the manual have a photo of the tiltbed trailer used for towing the searchlight unit? It sounds like that is what they are referring to using when towing the searchlight itself. The axles on the searchlight itself are not suspended at all and it would not take much of a bump on the road to shatter the glass reflector, or badly knock the carbon rod feed rate mechanism out of action.

Regards,

David

David.
Go to the link I provided..It is all there ..figure 9,10...
And they also tell you how the it is all packaged and stored so that it is all protected while being transported..
Read the info on the link provided,then come back and ask me some more questions..



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.

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Thanks for the info, Alex.

The axles on the searchlight itself are not suspended at all and it would not take much of a bump on the road to shatter the glass reflector, or badly knock the carbon rod feed rate mechanism out of action.

Regards,

David

Not at all. I have a GE searchlight (albeit an 18in, but it's the same as a 150cm GE) and it's tough as nails. It's a common misconception that the reflector is a glass mirror - IT'S NOT! Hollywood has a lot to answer for when they suggest that a quick burst from a Machine Gun will shatter a light, BS! It's a cast and machined aluminum disc that's coated with Rhodium. Rhodium is a metal similar to Titanium, with a much higher stability and reflectivity than Chrome. Although my reflector still has a couple of corrosion spots, the reflector will still cause serious burns on a sunny day if you get in it's focal spot, and will actually light a match!! The glass lens is actually small segments that are designed to flex and not shatter, while the carbon rod feed is so overengineered that the odd road bump or two would not knock it out of alignment.

[Phil Waterman]

Here is a link to an operational 1942 60" Anti-aircraft Searchlight which has been at our Rally in New Hampshire a number of years http://cckw.org/weare_2006_084.JPG

Take a look around the rest of http://cckw.org/ and you will find some more photos of the search light - look particularly in the Weare Rally pages.

This thing when it is operating is a great bug attractor.

Cheers Phil

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by cliff

Alex the AIF used GMC-CCKW 6X6's with the rear canvas tilt heightened to clear. Could the Canadian Army have used the same?

From the AWM files:

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Tony Smith

From the AWM files:

Tony those two photos are what I looked for when I first went to post and could not find them in my collection. Thanks for posting them.

[Norm Cromie (RIP)]

Hi chaps. I am trying to accurately record my WW2 history and I need your help
Were the searchlights that were used at our front in 1945 in Italy organized to go on and off on a controlled time table? I vaguely remember being given a time sequence during this action but at the old age of 87 my mind is not what it used to be. Would appreciate any help.

Naviglio Canal

Winter of 1944 was a cold and miserable time to be in Italy. Sometimes things that happen are often humorous as well as sad.
Late in December Captain Mike George of B Coy had his headquarters set up in an old house on a road running parallel to the Naviglio Canal. One of his patrols had encountered a minefield on top of the dyke. So he sent word to H.Q for a section of the pioneers to take a look at the situation. At this time we were without a platoon officer as Lieutenant Ken Hudson a week before had stepped on a shoe mine and sadly had lost his foot. So I took four of my section and a Bren carrier and proceeded up to Mike Georges position. The Germans were firing intermittent fixed line of machine gun fire over the canal and the bullets were bouncing off the Italian houses, and I can tell you this did not sit too well with me. After talking the situation over with Captain George we decided due to the fact that German patrols were active on the canal that I would go myself as there would be less chance of them spotting one person rather than five. He did not want the field lifted he just wanted to know where it was and what it was. There had been light snow falling on and off so we took an Old Italian white sheet, cut a hole in it and draped it over me like a poncho. I then proceeded with a rifle section that took me to a forward bren gun outpost they then said to me, lots of luck Cromie you are on your own. From there I proceeded up what looked like a used path to the top of the dyke. At this time division was using large searchlights from the rear shutting them off and on at fixed intervals to light up the forward area. When the first light went on I suddenly looked at my white sheet and the muddy disturbed ground around me. Much to my shock, the white sheet I had over me stood out like a beacon in the night against the blackened and dirty snow. Needless to say I got rid of that sheet faster than a nightclub stripper. After checking the mine field I found out they were our own anti personal mines, which I believe had been laid earlier by the West Novies. I started back along the canal and had a hell of a time trying to figure which path I should take to get me back to the outpost. I had forgot to memorize it earlier but I took a chance and luckily I hit the outpost. Those damned Italians were just too efficient in cleaning their sheets.