WWII Aircraft Tugs
by Richard Mallory Allnutt - Curator of Digital Media
Some may have been a little perplexed by our excitement yesterday regarding the Museum’s latest acquisition of two Moto-Tugs for our collection. This kind of purchase should not come as a surprise, however, given how important such artifacts are in helping us retell an important part of WWII's story. Most importantly, these tugs shine a light on the many unsung heroes who helped manufacture, prepare or maintain our aircraft for operations -  whether at the factory, for training or in combat.
Too often, perhaps, we focus most of our attention on the aircrew due to their combat role, but those who made taking the fight to the enemy possible were no less important to achieving victory. Furthermore, maintainers regularly endured similar hardships to aircrew, and often found themselves in harms way at bases or aboard ships at the front lines. The often perilous nature of working around military flying machines had its own set of significant risks as well, regardless of location, a detail too often forgotten.
How Aircraft Tugs Came to Be:
In the early days of military aircraft tugs, their selection was often a matter of convenience - almost any vehicle you could put a hook on was considered. As the lead image reveals, even the noble tractor had its part to play -  as much a ‘citizen soldier’ as any vehicle could be. Numerous aircraft tug designs evolved from earlier, domestic tractor models. Indeed, almost every manufacturer of agricultural machinery in North America played a role in the supply of aircraft handling equipment for the Allies during WWII.
The List:
The two Ford-Ferguson Moto-Tugs the Museum just purchased are not the only such aircraft tugs the Museum is interested in finding, of course. Keegan Chetwynd, our Director and CEO, drew up a list of vehicles we may wish to acquire, should the right example present itself. The following sections detail some of the tugs were are looking for.
While there is a fair amount of information about civilian tractors online, as the subject clearly has a large following, we have discovered surprisingly little so far when it comes to WWII-era aircraft tugs. We will endeavor to summarize what we have learned so far as best we can, but please forgive us if any errors creep in... We would certainly appreciate hearing from those of you whom know and love these vehicles, as your expertise may prove invaluable as we move forwards.
Ford-Ferguson Moto-Tug:
Even though we have just acquired two examples of this extraordinary vehicle, it felt important to include the vehicle here to reveal a little of the design's heritage.
Accurate information is pretty thin on the ground regarding the Moto-Tug's design, as most of the records seem either to have been lost or discarded. What scant, trustworthy details we have found are based upon research by Ford Tractor historian, Tim Daley. According to an article which he wrote for the Summer 2010 issue of the Ford Fordson Collectors Association Journal (vol. 17, issue 2), these tugs were loosely based upon Ford's civilian 9N tractor.
During 1941, the Mercury Manufacturing Company of Chicago designed a heavy duty tractor using the Ford 9N's drive train, nicknaming the prototype as the Mule. While never entering production with Mercury, the Mule showed promise - so much so that Ford acquired all of the patents associated with it in November 1942, renaming the design as the Moto-Tug.
In February 1943, the U.S. Navy ordered the first fifty examples of the Moto-Tug from Ford-Ferguson. The company was ready to begin production just 60 days later, albeit with some significant modifications to the original concept to make the vehicle more effective.
They designed two variants, the B-NO-25 and the B-NO-40, the trailing numbers referencing a drawbar pull capacity of 2,500lbs and 4,000lbs respectively. At 5,700lbs, the latter model, easily distinguished by the two wheels on each side of the rear axle, weighed 2,100lbs more than its less-powerful sibling.
Ford produced the drive train, steering gears and center housing for the vehicle, while Navy-approved vendors manufactured the other parts. Interestingly, rather than build the Moto-Tugs at Harry Ferguson's plant in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford arranged for final assembly to take place at the E.E.Schatz Ford Tractor Dealership in Columbus, Ohio. The company produced about ten examples per day initially, with the first Moto-Tug being ready for delivery to the Navy on April 8th, 1943.
Soon after, the Navy increased their order by another 500 hundred units. Interestingly, at least ten of these examples apparently found their way to Ford's B-24 plant in Willow Run, Michigan. This is why there are a number of images out there showing Moto-Tugs pulling Liberators!
While the Moto-Tug was excellent at its job, relatively few examples were built; Ford's official number being 3,025 units. Interestingly, serial numbers on the few dozen survivors known extant do extend beyond that number, but we may never learn the reason for this. While 3,025 may seem a large number, one has to remember that in 1941 alone, Ford built almost 43,000 9N tractors, a number which more than doubled in the following year! Either way, our Museum is very fortunate to own the two Moto-Tugs now in its possession - both of them being highly significant pieces of WWII US Navy history!
A left three-quarters view of our recently acquired B-NO-40 Moto-Tug. (image via Res-Auction Services)
A right three-quarters view of our recently acquired B-NO-40 Moto-Tug. (image via Res-Auction Services)
A driver's seat view of our recently acquired B-NO-40 Moto-Tug. (image via Res-Auction Services)
A view of the engine compartment of our recently acquired B-NO-40 Moto-Tug. (image via Res-Auction Services)
A view of the data plate to our recently acquired B-NO-40 Moto-Tug. (image via Res-Auction Services)
Cletrac M2 High-Speed Tractor:
The Cleveland Tractor Company (commonly known as Cletrac) developed the M2 High-Speed Tractor for the U.S. Army Air Forces during 1942. They based the M2 upon the company's MG-1 tracked vehicle developed for use on civilian farms during 1940. The Cletrac was very useful for maneuvering military aircraft on semi-prepared landing strips, or over muddy terrain, as their traction enabled them to operate over soft ground. The Cletrac also came equipped with a 10,000lb winch with 300' of cable, an air compressor, 24 volt generator, and stowage for numerous tools. Being a virtually self-contained. mobile maintenance workshop garnered the Cletrac the nickname of The Bomber's Nurse. The vehicle could also accommodate numerous additional equipment options, such as an engine hoist, as well.
More than 8,500 examples of this vehicle left the production lines, and they were a common sight at U.S. military bases around the world. Having a Cletrac available at the Museum would add greatly to the authenticity of our events. Furthermore, given the vehicle's ability to operate on soft ground would provide a useful tool for recovering aircraft when they get stuck in the mud, a situation which can arise on our grass airstrip.
Minneapolis Moline NTX:
The Minneapolis Moline NTX was a quirky, but elegant looking vehicle used for a variety of aircraft-related tasks, including as a tug. The NTX owes its roots to the manufacturer's UDLX tractor of 1938, an ultimately unsuccessful product which suffered from poor sales. In 1940, Minneapolis Moline adapted the UDLX into the UTX for towing light artillery pieces. The UTX underwent trials at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, and later at Camp Ripley in Minnesota during August, 1940. While at Camp Ripley, the vehicle demonstrated its ability to retrieve an artillery piece mired in mud, an event which saw the UTX nicknamed "Jeep" after the Popeye cartoon character, 'Eugene the Jeep'. However, the UTX proved unable to satisfactorily move heavier artillery, nor achieve decent speeds on the highway. As a result, the UTX never caught on.
However, with the vehicle's next iteration as the NTX to satisfy a U.S. Army Air Force's requirement for an aircraft tug, the Minneapolis-Moline found a winner of sorts, producing nearly a thousand examples. Army operators began referring to them as "Jeeps" but Minneapolis-Moline ultimately lost a bid to advertise them as such following the loss of a May 1943 court case with Willy's Overland.
Clark Tractor Clarkat:
The Clark Equipment Company produced motorized freight handling equipment all the way back in 1917, with the Tructactor power-assisted delivery cart. One of their most long-lived lines was the Clarkat. First produced in 1926 for handling the loading and unloading of parcels from freight trains, versions of the Clarkat were in production up until 1982. The Museum owns a variant built in the post-WWII era, but is looking to replace it with a nice example from the war years. During WWII, Clarkats were of great use in manufacturing plants, especially for those building aircraft, as they were relatively easy to maneuver around a factory floor while hauling a wagon train of parts bins behind them for delivering to those working on the line. The U.S. Military valued Clark Equipment so highly during WWII that they awarded the company several of the highly coveted Army-Navy "E" Awards for their outstanding production efficiency.
Clark Tractor Clarktor 6:
The Clarktor 6 had a similar function to its slightly older sibling, the Clarkat, being designed to haul large trains of baggage carts at train stations or in factories. Its origins date to 1927, and much like the Clarkat, it was very long-lived, with production of the final variant extending to 1987. The U.S. Military used the Clarktor 6 in large numbers during WWII, and the vehicles found effective use as aircraft tugs.
Case VAIW-3 or VAIW-4:
Jerome Increase Case founded the J.I.Case Threshing Machine Company in 1842 to begin the manufacture of agricultural equipment. They went on to develop a prodigious range of products, including tractors. During WWII, they even produced parts for the Martin B-26 Marauder. They also modified one of their tractors for military use as an aircraft tug. This vehicle became the VAIW-3, with a slightly beefier sibling, the VAIW-4, which featured two wheels at either end of the rear axle. Altogether, Case built roughly 3,500 aircraft tugs for the U.S. Military in the latter stages of WWII.
International Harvester Aircraft Tug:
International Harvester is another storied American agricultural equipment manufacturer, which dates back to its founding in 1902. They built tractors found roles as aircraft tugs with both the U.S. Navy and the Army Air Forces. Some of these vehicles were developed from the McCormick-Deering WD-9 civilian tractor of 1930, McCormick-Deering being a division of International Harvester at that time.
David Brown VIG1/100 Tug:
The British company, David Brown, developed the VIG1 to satisfy an Air Ministry request for an aircraft tug which was capable of towing the Royal Air Force's heaviest aircraft, such as the Avro Lancaster, over muddy terrain. While this vehicle was more commonly used by America's Allies, and is not a high priority acquisition, the Museum would like to broaden its tug collection to include international examples if practical. One of these vehicles would certainly look marvelous towing our de Havilland Mosquito!
We Need You!
This is where our supporters can help. If you have a line on a nice, available example of any of the aircraft tugs listed above, please contact the Museum's Director, Keegan Chetwynd, or our Curator, Zack Baughman. We would love to hear from you!
