M-5 Bomb Trailer Restoration

[Second Air Force]

It is amazing to hear veterans say that what they did is no big deal. Many of them really think that.

Yep, most of the veterans I've met say the same thing, whether they were out where the lead was flying or never got out of their homeland. Dad always said he was "just a mechanic" that only followed the Division around and fixed knocked-out equipment.

Well, I got the second brake disassembled and unloaded the trailer yesterday. I had to park it on the lawn to keep it out of the way for now.


Here are the nose tires, including one that appears to be WWII vintage:


And the first wheel broken down for restoration:

This is the second attempt at breaking down a nose wheel, and this one is REALLY rusted. I'm having to cut the wire belts on the bead to get the rotten thing loose from the rim. The wheel halves are pretty rusty--I may be hunting spares or welding reinforcements into them.


Scott

[Second Air Force]

Thankfully I'm done breaking down tires for a long time (I hope). It's been probably twenty years since I demounted a truck tire but it's like riding a bike or flying, you never forget. Now I know how Gary Hilton feels when he has a flat on the road--hopefully his wheels aren't full of skunky water and rust!





I found a source for 18 inch tires and am going to order them tomorrow if they look like what I need.

Scott

[tinbender2]

The NM school of mines auctioned off similar trailers a couple years ago. They had rails on the bed to corral bombs and battery compartments on the front. They were basically complete, just left abandoned for a few years. Went for very little money.

If I see any more I'll post on this board.

[Second Air Force]

Thanks, tinbender2! I'm definitely interested in another one.

It seems that several of these trailers have been sold on government surplus auctions in the last few years. It sounds like the pair you describe were a lot more complete than our example. I'm going to have to scratchbuild the box, fin holders, and bomb rails for this one. I am working on cleaning and painting the rims today so that I can get the new tires mounted next week. It will be nice to be able to tow the thing on its own wheels. I had no luck finding 7.50x18 tires with a normal tread pattern but was able to substitute farm implement tires. It will limit the towing speed, but it's all I can find. The nose tires are 6.50x10 forklift tires.



Scott

[N3Njeff]

Crap, before you bought the tires I wish I had known you were having trouble. Us MV collectors have sources for that stuff. There is a guy in NH that tows one behind his M5 Bomb Truck.

[N3Njeff]

Got this of their club web site, I remember telling him that year that its too bad he has the wrong vintage bomb on the trailer but he is working on it.

[Second Air Force]

The problem is that they are 18 inch rims, Jeff. Most of the M-5 trailers that people tow at higher speeds have 20 inch rims with highway tread, but those wheels are a bit hard to find nowadays too. It's all good, these tires will work well for our tour trailer needs. Man, I'd kill for a bomb truck or turret training truck.

Scott

[N3Njeff]

Turret ring training truck is easy. 1 1/2 ton chevys are common, the hard part is the turret. Well for most people:) I am sure Taigh has looked into it.

[Second Air Force]

Jeff,

Go to Taigh's website and you can feast your eyes on an actual turret trainer truck that they think came from Las Vegas gunnery school. Cool stuff! I'd love to build one, but I don't have a place to put the truck and it would be a hassle to move whenever I lose my current job. Some projects just aren't meant to be, at least at my house.

[Second Air Force]

The trailer is back on tires with air in them. It is MUCH easier to move now!



Now on to the fun part--fabricating a toolbox and fin holder!
Scott

[Django]

So you went to all that trouble and didn't paint the wheels first? Looking great!!

Here's some inspiration.

[Second Air Force]

Django, I can't afford paint. Seriously, I blasted the inside of the rims, primed them, and painted everything under the tires with an OD spray can before mounting the tires. I really needed to get the thing mobile so I can move it in and out of the garage while I do the toolbox and prep the frame for paint.

That photo link is exactly like our trailer, but I don't have a Jeep to tow it with--yet........

Incidentally, that the second B-24D-1-CO. Also, notice the great detail of the radar antenna on the wing in the foreground.

Thanks for the inspiration,
Scott

[muddyboots]

Dad always said he was "just a mechanic" that only followed the Division around and fixed knocked-out equipment.

yeah right. And got sniped and shelled and worked on the equipment in the same horrible weather we dealt with, only he had a wrench in his hand and busted knuckles all the time from tools slipping in the rain and worked longer days than us and had to pull guard on his camp when he wasn't working on equipment.

I mean, I slept in the mud and got shot at and mortared once or twice, and ate crappy food. How is any of this any different than what your daddy had to do? Not a thing, except maybe I got shot at more, and got crotch rot instead of busted knuckles from sleeping in mud puddles.

I think the problem with calling yourself a hero, besides it's embarrassing, is that you remember how stupid you felt. You know, I was always in trouble with someone or feeling a little out of control (which is normal in a combat zone I guess).

My last tour in Yugoslavia I came home from a mission and got in trouble with some asshat smaj for not having my hat on, and my hat was somewhere in Serbian Republic territory, and I couldn't go back to get it no matter how much he yelled at me. And there's the time I woke up from a nap because we were taking rounds, yanked my rifle up, thumbed the selector switch, and because I was dopey and sleepy, I pressed the eject button on the right side of the magazine feed. And then watched my mag drop out and bounce away on the ground while everybody else was looking at me to tell them what to do. We all laughed and it helped calm us down for a minute, but it was still embarrassing as hell.

It was always the guys around me who always knew what to do when I didn't, and had a pack when I was out. And fed me fried balogna sandwiches at 3 am... And flew me around. And fixed my HUMVEE when it broke down and there was awlays ALWAYS some poor bastard standing at the POL point in the middle of the night waiting to help me fuel it up.

Getting shot at doesn't make you a hero. Suffering so that others don't have to makes you a hero. So in my book that makes guys like your daddy heroes to me.

Back to your trailer: what kind of paint are you needing? Way back in the day I had a neighbor who made freinds with his local guard unit commander, and they pained his jeep for him, and he would go out with them when they made appearances every now and then. Maybe your local Air National Guard Unit could swing you a deal?

[Second Air Force]

Muddy,

I want to say "thank you" twice. One from me for your service to our country, and one from my father for your reflections on the service of guys like him. Dad isn't here to say thanks (he's been gone exactly ten years now) but I feel like he would want me to tell you that he and his guys were happy to support the combat troops. And he would always end with "we were just doing a job that needed to be done."

Scott

[Second Air Force]

Santa came early for our trailer. We were needing a right-hand taillight and St. Nick left this under the tree:

Chad, your shop truck is safe, I have both lights now.

Of course, being curious, I had to see how convoy lighting works. After engineering some creative wire connections I got the light fired up, first with the camera flash turned on:


Flash off:


And here is the theory of convoy blackout lighting for those who would like some light reading. Page down about 7/8ths of the page to see how they worked: http://wwiijeepparts.com/Archives/WWIIJeepHistory.html

Scott