Diamond T tank transporter

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The A39 Tortoise being towed on a trailer by two Diamond Ts during trials in BAOR, 1948

The Diamond T Tank Transporter was a heavy tank transporter, used in World War II and the following years.

Designed as a heavy prime mover for tank transporting, the Diamond T 980 was the product of the Diamond T Company in Chicago. In 1940 the British Purchasing Commission, looking to equip the British Army with a vehicle capable of transporting larger and heavier tanks, approached a number of American truck manufacturers to assess their models. The Diamond T Company had a long history of building rugged, good looking military vehicles for the US Quartermaster Corps and had recently produced a prototype heavy vehicle for the US Army which, with a few slight modifications met British requirements and an initial order for 200 was very quickly filled.

The result was the Diamond T 980 (later 981) and the vehicle proved to be one of the most successful and memorable in its class. Powered by a 14.5 litre Hercules engine, developing 201 bhp, it proved more than capable of the task of moving the heaviest tanks then in service.

[edit] Service

The first batch of the vehicles was received in Britain in 1942 and very quickly demonstrated their rugged reliability in the British campaign in North Africa. Battle-damaged tanks needed to be quickly recovered, often under hostile fire, and returned to workshops for repair. The Diamond T, with its well trained Royal Army Service Corps crew and powerful engine and winch could accomplish this, even in the harshest desert conditions.

Some 6000 were eventually built and were used by virtually every Allied army in every theatre of WW2. The British Army took delivery of around 1000 during the war years and many continued in service afterwards, being replaced in the early 1950s with the Thornycroft Antar ("mighty Antar") although a few "T's" remained in tank transporter units up to 1971. Many of those sold off by the Army after the war were snapped up by heavy haulage and recovery specialists, notably Pickfords and Wynns, and they were a familiar sight on Britain's roads, pulling heavy lowloaders and fairground trailers or parked on garage forecourts, in readiness for a heavy rescue operation.

Today many of the 60 year-old Diamond T's can still be found in private ownership in Britain and frequently appear at historic vehicle shows.