Developed by Kenworth Truck Company as the T-10 Heavy Artillery Transporter, this pair of 4x4 heavy gun-lifting trucks was standardized in 1952 as the M249 front truck and M250 rear truck. Sixty-six pairs were built in 1952-53, although only twenty 280mm guns were made. Both trucks were powered by the Continental AO-895-4 six-cylinder engine, the same engine used in the M75 Armored Personnel Carrier. The M249 driver commanded the pair and controlled the air brakes for both trucks, while the two drivers communicated by headsets and an interphone system. A hydraulic system powered the steering, a power winch, and the massive lifting forks that connected the 280mm gun to the trucks, and an integral fifth wheel on the chassis frame allowed vertical, horizontal, and axial movement of the lifting fork. A power winch on either truck moved the gun into traveling position for movement and into battery for action. The complete system measured 85 feet long and 10 feet wide, making it difficult to maneuver on and off road in West Germany, where six of the eight battalions were stationed, and the tight corners of small German towns and the rugged countryside led to a number of incidents and accidents.

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse

Photo: James Hulse

Lawton, Oklahoma · USA