M-5 Bomb Trailer Restoration

[Second Air Force]

I'm working on a bomb trailer on a smaller scale. Many of you know that Monogram includes an M-5 in every 1/48 B-17 kit and I decided to improve and upgrade the one that came in the YB donor kit.

In this photo you can see the principal parts of the 1/48 trailer. I've removed the rail moldings on the deck, the hitch and front suspension support, the rear axle pieces and the fuse box. The new rear axle, hitch, front suspension mount and box are in white or aluminum color. The rear wheels are pretty accurate right out of the box and the front wheels can be used with some work. I did open up the holes on the rear wheels so you can see the brake drums through them as on the real thing:


And a view of the scratchbuilt box and hitch/suspension, including the new leaf spring made from styrene strips, with the "stock" trailer for comparison.


It's too chilly out in the shop to tinker with the big one so I set my sights a little smaller.

Scott

[RAMC181]

Guess I'd better repost the photos of an 8AF M-2 Chemical Trailer loading leaflet bombs into a 303BG B-17 at RAF Molesworth that were lost in the update:





All the best,
PB

[b29flteng]

Toilet paper for the Germans!

[Second Air Force]

Toilet paper for the Germans!

My dad told me that he used some of the German "toilet paper" in North Africa. Seems the Luftwaffe would come over late at night and drop leaflets and anti-personnel ordnance to keep everyone awake.... He mentioned that the oddest thing he heard when it came to airplanes was the Diesels on the Ju-86s that flew recon missions over his area.

S

[RAMC181]

I may not have my own M-5 trailer, but I now have a piece of one!

I picked up this load rail clamp on Deenethorpe airfield this afternoon:









PB

[Second Air Force]

Wow, that is an excellent find, Paul! Among other things missing on our trailer are the rails that the block attaches to. It'll be easier for me to construct replicas of the blocks now that you've posted that photo.

Here's a photo of my "shrunken" version of the trailer with most of the parts temporarily fastened together for a fit-check:


Scott

[RAMC181]

If you were a bit nearer I'd lend it for you to copy, but the thing weighs just short of 5lbs so shipping will be a bit steep!

It's quite a clever piece of casting, with a tapered scallop on the upper side, to fit snugly at either end of a bomb casing.
I'll have a crack at converting it into a SketchUp model to mail over so you have the correct dimensions to work from.

All the best,
PB

[Second Air Force]

Thanks, Paul. The drawing will come in handy when I start shopping for the C-channel material for the rails on our trailer. In fact, I'm using the photo you posted to scale down the rails for the wee trailer right now.

Scott

[mustanglover]

Since this has had some discussion on other items, I have a question.

Does anyone have any information on how a typical Clark "Clarkat B" tug might have been painted during WWII?

[RAMC181]

In military or civil use?

[mustanglover]

In military or civil use?

Military use, specifically Army Air Forces.

[RAMC181]

From the few period photos I've seen, simple Olive Drab would seem to be the norm for those used outside the US.

[Second Air Force]

O.D. would be the standard in the CONUS also. During the summer of '45 a T.O. was issued that directed vehicles used on active flight lines be painted yellow. How widespread this was is unclear.

Scott

[mustanglover]

How about any markings?

[mustanglover]

And I guess any color or marking information for a naval version of the tug.