91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

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Raflad
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91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by Raflad » Mon Dec 04, 2017 8:52 pm

I have this photo in my collection proving that the trailers were water tight! It depicts B-17 aircrew from the 91st Bomb Group, 8th Air Force who have just finished their required missions getting dunked in the trailer.
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Re: 91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by Rustman » Tue Dec 05, 2017 5:30 am

oooh! That looks chilly. I had thought about doing that at an airshow/reenactment sometime. Although getting the tub watertight again wouldn't be difficult, I fear for the springs when putting a whole lot of water at 8lbs per gallon into an old trailer.

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Re: 91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by Chuck Lutz » Tue Dec 05, 2017 8:52 am

GIs were overloading the 1/4 ton trailers all the time....apparently they felt that if it fit in there it was OK. While the dunk tank gag was a short lived one in that photo, here is another photo of a GI filling water cans in a trailer. Note there are five cans in each row and four rows. That's 20 cans which is 100 gallons which is 800 lbs plus the weight of 20 jerry cans...

I believe it was this reason that the Bantam and the late mfgers went to the 10-leaf spring to combat overloading and sagging. Pretty sturdy though; with the data plate indicating that 500 lbs was the payload, clearly the water cans in the trailer below once loaded for delivery to forward units had to be more like 850-875 lbs....and they were being hauled by a jeep and not on asphalt either!
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Re: 91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by Raflad » Tue Dec 05, 2017 9:02 am

I just removed the 1500lb PE-95 generator from my MBT that had probably been in the back of it since WWII and the leaf springs bounced right back to their original shape. A great testament to how well these trailers were built.
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Re: 91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by W. Winget » Tue Dec 05, 2017 10:06 am

Most military vehicle ratings are 1/2 of the rated load (or off road recommendations) So your 5 ton truck can hold 10 tons on the road, the Deuce and a Half 5 tons on the road, 2-1/2 off road; 1/4T trailer 1000Lbs on road 500 off road, etc.
It's just the way they are designated for off road load.

I have a 2200Lb metal shaper I bought at DRMO about ten years back sitting just above the axle on a 3/4T trailer, (overloaded for sure) removed it with the 5T wrecker and the trailer came back up to height.
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Re: 91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by Farrell Fox » Sat Dec 09, 2017 7:46 pm

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Re: 91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by Joe Gopan » Sun Dec 10, 2017 7:17 am

Information on the change to 10 Leaf Springs on MBT/BT3 can be found in WWII Technical Reports, WWII Army Motors and I believe in the books provided by Lloyd White.
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Re: 91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by Chuck Lutz » Sun Dec 10, 2017 12:52 pm

I don't believe any MBTs were produced with 10-leaves for the US. Motorpool visits could have swapped them out as it seems common to find cotter pin lower shock mounts and even so cast-center section axles on Bantams and late prod. MBTs, so no reason to believe the 10-leaf springs might have been installed at the same time.

AFAIK, the 10-leaf spring packs showed up on factory jeeps in late 1944, missing the end of the MBT production that ended in March 1944 by a wide margin.
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Re: 91st Bomb Group Using Trailer As Dunk Tank

Post by Joe Gopan » Sun Dec 10, 2017 4:08 pm

According to Ordnance records, heavier springs were released for production on 14 Aug 44. Heavier 10 Leaf Front Springs were released for 1/4 Ton Truck production 28 June 44.
There is a Bulletin dated 28 Sep 44 indicating that A-8463 10 leaf springs are being installed in production on all 1/4 Ton trailers.
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