tanker bar

Modern tanker bars are 60" and the ones on the PCs are 48" (I think).

Thank you very much, Rob ....older ones the same from WWII ?

tread

Yeah, I'm going need those TPS reports Monday, so if you could work Saturday, that would be great.

treadwell

Thank you very much, Rob ....older ones the same from WWII ?

tread

Now, that is something I do not know. I don't know if a WW2 Sherman tanker bar is the same as the one from the M48/M60/M1 or if it is smaller like the one found on the M113 family of vehicles or if it is an entirely different size all together.

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           VADERS BEST

Certainly can't answer the question... but I can ask one.  What is a "tanker bar"?

I heard it's a long iron bar, mainly used to work on the track of tracked vehicles - keeping it properly tensioned and such. But would love to hear more detail, too. Have a nice day

Paweł

wing_nut

Certainly can't answer the question... but I can ask one.  What is a "tanker bar"?

It's the name of one of the lounges inside the Fort Knox Officer's Club ;)

It is a 5 foot long metal pry bar included on most all US armored vehicles (slightly shorter version for smaller vehicles). The working end is chisel shaped and the handle end is round. It is used for just about anything from taking off end connectors to busting open ammo crates. The handle end is often mushroomed from being struck with a 10 pound sledge hammer.

The official name is Bar, Pry, 60" but is referred to as a tanker's bar. Other common tank tools that have names other than the official nomenclature are items like a cheater pipe, track jacks, dog bone to name a few.

On a model like a Sherman tank or M113 APC, it is included and is usually the longest and straightest piece of on vehicle tool.

I could not locate a photo of one, but in this You Tube video about breaking track, you can see one briefly on the ground at the 30 second mark and a soldier tossing one on the ground at the 45 second mark. The whole video lasts about a minute and a half. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbFh8lY_z5U 

Thanks again, Rob, I made some calculations from reference pictures (of 1/1) and also measured my 1/16 model in the allowable space.  60 inches (3.75 " in 16th scale) will look perfect so that must be it. Thank you for your help and writing to Marc so he now knows what a tanker bar looks like and how to use one. The long round handle with the square,chisel bottom are the most defining traits.

best regards,

tread

Thanks Rob. That must be what that bar in the rear upper deck of Sherman's is.

Tread , i measured the bar on the Tamiya kit . its works out to roughly 60 " at 1/1

Now my question from the other post is answered .

I was woundering what you guys were talking about as well. We called them crow bars.

Had an interesting incident with one while do a pad change on a warrior. We used to use 3 bars to flip a track on its side and then back again. We were doing the latter and as the track was going over one of the guys lost his grip and the bar went flying, straight through the door of a Land Rover parked a few feet away

Other common tank tools that have names other than the official nomenclature are items like a cheater pipe, track jacks, dog bone to name a few.

What? No Donkey D ick?"

Hans von Hammer

Other common tank tools that have names other than the official nomenclature are items like a cheater pipe, track jacks, dog bone to name a few.

What? No Donkey D ick?"

We ha a Donkeys D ick as well, but i am stu,pped if i can recall what it was for.

Bish

I was woundering what you guys were talking about as well. We called them crow bars.

In the US, a crow bar is a shorter J-shaped pry bar. It's usually less than a yard long and hand held. Here is a typical crow bar.

(girl provided to show relative size of crow bar )

Using tanker bars to change inner roadwheel on M4 w/HVSS..

Hans von Hammer

Using tanker bars to change inner roadwheel on M4 w/HVSS..

Hans, That is the perfect picture !  .... the round part of the 60 " bar is 1" in diameter and the square part is 1.25" , with the square part being 1 ' long ..... a little heavier than some earlier tanks, but the bar is specific ( I think) to HVSS Shermans and later became standard as tracks and tanks became larger.  ( still researching )

Thank you :  )

tread

P.S. We can see some other  'specialized' tools here in action.

( sorry crap pic)

 A small look at your 1/16th M4E8 Tread ?

Rob Gronovius

Bish:

I was woundering what you guys were talking about as well. We called them crow bars.

 

In the US, a crow bar is a shorter J-shaped pry bar. It's usually less than a yard long and hand held. Here is a typical crow bar.

Ye, we call that a crow bar as well. I guess we avoided confusion as we didn't have these smaller bars.

I have to say, shellbacks crow bar is much better presented.

But can you open a beer bottle with it?

bondoman

But can you open a beer bottle with it?

Yes ...............................

Results with The tanker bar and crow bar .......

The girl ......still working on it ................. 

Although not a WWII version I do not believe the venerable tank bar has changed much over the years.  I went digging through some of my photos and found that the good ole tank bar has not been the attention in any of my photos even though I have done enough suspension-detention.  So I went through a couple of our TM’s, and found that according to the manuals there are two different NSN’s for the Crow Bars but I don’t think you could differentiate between the two if side-by-side, perhaps it is a shared NSN?  For a couple years we received bright blue tank bar/crow bars when ordering new ones.  Although our TM’s state a specific stowage location, there is only one place I have ever seen them stowed in the last 20-years, strapped to the port aft bilge-pump discharge tube.

The weights sound about right. We had two different sizes, but both looked identical in design except for the size. The tanker bar was found on M48/M60/M1/M88 type vehicles including CEVs, AVLBs, etc. The smaller size was found on APCs like the variations of the M113 and Bradley. I'm not sure which size a vehicle like the M109 series used.

When new, ours tended to be all black with the underlying forged metal being dark colored. During years of use, they received numerous black or OD spray paints as part of inspections, vehicle layouts, inventories, etc.

I often wonder why many modelers depict these tools as unpainted silvery bare metal. Even an unpainted wood axe head turns to a dark brown rust color.

I'm not sure which size a vehicle like the M109 series used.

The 60-inch bar...  As for the paint on it, it was over-painted with rattle-can OD all the time, whenerver the was an inspection, anyway... Plus, each section had it's own color for marking the BII.. Mine was White, so every pioneer tool, and every bit of the BII had some white paint on it...

Water cans, fuel cans, shovel (which got the OD rattle-can paint too), axe, maddock handle and maddock, fuze wrenches, section chest itself, etc..

All were painted with a blob of white..

bondoman

But can you open a beer bottle with it?

I know 36 fittings/places on the M109A3 were I can open a beer bottle..

Bish

Hans von Hammer:

Other common tank tools that have names other than the official nomenclature are items like a cheater pipe, track jacks, dog bone to name a few.

What? No Donkey D ick?"

 

 

We ha a Donkeys D ick as well, but i am stu,pped if i can recall what it was for.

Here's a fuel can w/ donkey d ick ...