Scammell Pioneer Semi-Trailer

Scammell Pioneer Semi-Trailer

Technical data (overview)
Engine:	Gardner 6 cylinder diesel engine
Drive:	6 × 4 drive formula
Power:	102 hp
Length Width:	Tractor: 22 ft (6.70 m) trailer 36 ft 6 in (10.97 m)
Width:	Tractor: 8 ft 7 in (2.61 m) Trailer 9 ft 5 in (2.87 m)
Height:	9 ft 5 in (2.87 m) -10 ft 11 in (3.27 m)
Total weight:	30 tons
Top speed:	18 mph (29 km / h)

The Scammell Pioneer Semi-Trailer was a British artillery tug produced by Scammell from 1937 to 1944 . It was based on the Scammell Pioneer and was used by the British Army during World War II .

Model history

A restored 1941 Scammell Pioneer semi-trailer

The Scammell Pioneer came from trucks developed by Scammell in the 1920s, which were built narrow because of the narrow streets at the time. The combination of good off-road mobility and traction with a low-revving Gardner 6-cylinder diesel engine offered great pulling power on uneven ground. The British Army used the Pioneer for many uses during the war, mainly for pulling guns , but also for towing defective or damaged tanks . A maximum of 20 tons could be moved here. This led to the development of the Pioneer Semi-Trailer, which could tow up to 30 tons. The trailer / trailer was more or less firmly connected to the tractor and could not (without great effort) be dismantled like modern articulated lorries . Rolling ramps were used to pull the tank onto the trailer using a winch. Outwardly hardly different from the Pioneer, the Pioneer Semi-Trailer had a longer chassis for larger rear wheels and a longer driver's cab in which the tank crew could be accommodated as passengers.

commitment

Over 500 of these trucks were delivered to the British Army and were used as recovery vehicles . The transport of American tanks on British roads posed a problem. The higher profile of US tanks meant that sometimes the vehicles did not fit under bridges. As a result, the combination was no longer to be retained in the post-war period, which is why production of the Pioneer Semi-Trailer was already discontinued when the Allies won in 1944. Many of the copies produced were scrapped after the war, only a few were used by the army or sold for civilian use.