Not every project we work on or acquire for the Museum is an airplane! As part of our goal to recreate the experience of visiting a vintage airfield we are constantly on the lookout for ground vehicles that can get us closer to that goal! The dream is that someday the airplanes would be moved back and forth with vintage WWII tugs (if you have a Clarktor or a Ford Ferguson 9N Aircraft Tug in your garage and want to send it to a good a home please let us know!) and serviced with WWII equipment that is operating to the highest possible modern standard.
That is why we are excited to have acquired an American WWII Fuel Truck (General Motors CCKW-353) that received some post-war modification (for use as a water tanker) which will put us in a good position to rebuild the truck, while fitting and concealing the modern equipment necessary for the safe fueling of airplanes. It will look the part, but it will function with all of the safety equipment, modern tanks, and vents that it requires!
Dispatched for restoration to a military vehicles specialist, it will be a few years before we see it back here at the Museum!