M2 high-speed tractor
{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox weapon
|name=M2 high-speed tractor
| image= M2 High Speed Tractor.jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=
|origin= United States
|type=Aircraft tug
|service=By 1943
|used_by=US Army
|wars=World War II
|designer=
|design_date= February 1941
|manufacturer=Cleveland Tractor Company
|unit_cost=
|production_date=
|number= 8,510
|variants=
|is_vehicle=yes
|length={{convert|166|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|width={{convert|70|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|height={{convert|68|in|m|2|abbr=on}}
|weight={{convert|14,700|lb|t|abbr=on}}
|suspension=Volute spring
|speed={{convert|22|mph|abbr=on}}
|vehicle_range={{convert|100|mi|km|abbr=on}}
|primary_armament=
|armour=
|engine= Hercules WXLC3, 6-cylinder, petrol engine
|engine_power={{convert|150|hp|kW|0|abbr=on}}
|pw_ratio=
|crew=3
}}
The M2 high-speed tractor (or colloquially M2 Cletrac) was an aircraft tug used by the United States Army Air Forces from 1942.{{cite book |last=United States. War Department |url=https://archive.org/stream/TM9-2800#page/n327/mode/2up |title=TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles |date=September 1943 |accessdate=2018-03-18 }}{{cite book|author=David Doyle|title=Standard Catalog of U.S. Military Vehicles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ypvvlgW6s0sC|year=2003|publisher=Krause Publications|isbn=0-87349-508-X}}
Construction
File:Cletrac_and_P-47.jpg of the 406th Fighter Group]]
The M2 is a fully tracked vehicle designed to tow aircraft on primitive airfields. It was equipped with a {{cvt|10,000|lb}} winch with {{cvt|300|ft}} of {{cvt|3/8|in}} cable, an auxiliary generator (3{{nbsp}}kW at 110 volts DC), and an air compressor (3 stage, 16.7 CFPM, 2,000 PSI)
History
The M2 was standardized in February 1941 as Medium Tractor M2.
Surviving artifacts
Surviving examples are at the Estrella Warbird Museum,{{cite web|url=http://www.ewarbirds.org/cletrac.html|title=EWM Webmaster redirect|website=www.ewarbirds.org|access-date=2012-09-24|archive-date=2018-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626132747/http://www.ewarbirds.org/cletrac.html|url-status=dead}} the Wright Museum,{{cite web|url=http://www.williammaloney.com/Aviation/WrightMuseum/M2CletracHighSpeedTractor/index.htm|title=Wright Museum - M2 Cletrac High Speed Tractor|website=www.williammaloney.com}} the AAF Museum in Danville, VA, Overloon War Museum,{{cite web|url=http://www.oorlogsmuseum.nl/|title=Home - Oorlogsmuseum Overloon|first=Oorlogsmuseum|last=Overloon|website=www.oorlogsmuseum.nl}} the Pima Air & Space Museum,{{cite web|url=http://www.pimaair.org/collection-detail.php?cid=347&pn=1|title=Museum Aircraft|website=www.pimaair.org}} the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, the Yanks Air Museum, Chino CA, the March Field Air Museum in Riverside CA, The National WWII Museum in New Orleans, Bright's Pioneer Museum, Plainsburg CA, two at the Danville Armour Museum, Danville, VA, and one privately held in Belton, SC, USA. Abroad, one can be found, in perfect condition, at the American Air Museum, in Duxford (UK).
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_m2_hst.php Cletrac M-2 High Speed Tractor (HST) – Olive-Drab]
- [http://cletrac.org/pages/model/pic-MG.html Photo Album - Cletrac MG-1, MG-2, MG-3 Pictures – Cletrac.org]
{{WWII US Soft Vehicles}}
Category:Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944
Category:Military vehicles of the United States
Category:World War II vehicles of the United States