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The M2 high-speed tractor (or colloquially M2 Cletrac) was an aircraft tug used by the
The M2 is a fully tracked vehicle designed to tow aircraft on primitive airfields. It was equipped with a winch with of cable, an auxiliary generator (3kW at 110 volts DC), and an air compressor (3 stage, 16.7 CFPM, 2,000
Cletrac M-2 High Speed Tractor (HST) – Olive-Drab
{{WWII US Soft Vehicles Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944 Military vehicles of the United States World War II vehicles of the United States Aircraft ground handling Tractors Aviation ground support equipment
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
from 1942.
Construction
The M2 is a fully tracked vehicle designed to tow aircraft on primitive airfields. It was equipped with a winch with of cable, an auxiliary generator (3kW at 110 volts DC), and an air compressor (3 stage, 16.7 CFPM, 2,000 PSI
Psi, PSI or Ψ may refer to:
Alphabetic letters
* Psi (Greek) (Ψ or ψ), the twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet
* Psi (Cyrillic), letter of the early Cyrillic alphabet, adopted from Greek
Arts and entertainment
* "Psi" as an abbreviat ...
)
History
The M2 was standardized in February 1941 as Medium Tractor M2.Surviving artifacts
Surviving examples are at theEstrella Warbird Museum
The Estrella Warbirds Museum is an aviation museum dedicated to the restoration and preservation of military aircraft, vehicles, and memorabilia. The museum is located at Paso Robles Municipal Airport in central California and is named after Estr ...
, the Wright Museum, the AAF Museum in Danville, VA, Overloon War Museum
The Overloon War Museum (''Dutch: Oorlogsmuseum Overloon'') in full 'Dutch National War and Resistance Museum Overloon', is a Dutch historical and educational museum located in the North Brabant village of Overloon. It focuses on the history o ...
, the Pima Air & Space Museum
The Pima Air & Space Museum is an aerospace museum in Tucson, Arizona, US. It features a display of nearly 400 aircraft spread out over on a campus occupying . It has also been the home to the Arizona Aviation Hall of Fame since 1991.
Overv ...
, the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum
The Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit, aviation museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Its exhibits include the Hughes H-4 Hercules (''Spruce Goose'') and more than fifty military and civilian aircraft, unmanned ...
, the Yanks Air Museum
The Yanks Air Museum is an aviation museum dedicated to exhibiting, preserving and restoring American aircraft and artifacts in order to show the evolution of American aviation, located at Chino Airport in Chino, California.
History
A pair of F ...
, Chino CA, the March Field Air Museum
The March Field Air Museum is an aviation museum near Moreno Valley, California, Moreno Valley and Riverside, California, located at March Air Reserve Base.
History
The museum was founded in 1979 as March Air Force Base Museum. One of the first e ...
in Riverside CA, The National WWII Museum
The National WWII Museum, formerly known as The National D-Day Museum, is a military history museum located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp Street and Magazine Street. The ...
in New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
, 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
* List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation * List of U.S. military vehicles by model number * M4 tractor * MB-2 tow tractor * Omni Directional Vehicle * U-30 tow tractorReferences
External links
Cletrac M-2 High Speed Tractor (HST) – Olive-Drab
{{WWII US Soft Vehicles Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944 Military vehicles of the United States World War II vehicles of the United States Aircraft ground handling Tractors Aviation ground support equipment