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REDISCOVERED - A MONSTER OF THE PAST
SHE was a big beast by any
standard - but then she had a big job to do.
And although technically
extinct, the memory of the US Army Sterling T26 8 x 8 12-ton heavy truck lives
on, through a book researched and written by Tony Gibbs
 Called "Sterling T26
Discovered", Tony will be signing copies of this limited edition work at the
War and Peace Show, at The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, Kent, in July.
He is also working on a model of this historic
military vehicle.
"The T26 was designed to
take over from the M26 Dragon Wagon, at a time when the Americans were building
super-heavy tanks, capable of taking on the German Tigers," said Tony, an
industrial designer before he retired 10 years ago.
"Powerful though the M26 was,
it was just not up to lugging the 70-ton T29 tank nor the turretless T-28,
which weighed in at no less than 95 tons."
Tony's book is a tribute to
the brilliant designer Lieutenant Steve Hodges, who led the T26 design project.
He visited Hodges at his home in California
and the two became friends.
When Steve Hodges died, Tony
was given access to his entire archive, and was able to scan copies of all the documentation, photos and technical drawings relating to the project.
"One of the problems Steve
faced was that the quality of steel available during the Second World War was
just not tough enough for conventional gears on a truck this size," said Tony.
"The solution he came up
with was to create a system whereby power was delivered individually to each of the eight
wheels, using
sprocket and chain for the final drives. So they were reverting to older technology as a way of dealing
with wartime constraints.
"The vehicle was steered by
rotating the entire front bogie, which gave it a very tight turning circle. Coupled with
the much shorter T58 semi-trailer this
arrangement would have helped on the narrow lanes encountered in Normandy. However the
war ended before it could be shipped to Europe."
 The T26 was initially
powered by an American LaFrance 300E V12 engine, which had a capacity of 754
cubic inches (12,356 cc), which generated 280 bhp at 1800 rpm and 518 foot
pounds of torque. This was upgraded on later variants.
Three manual gearboxes gave
a choice of 20 forward and three reverse gears.
Later models were powered by
the Ford GAA V8 tank engine with the Ford GAC V12 projected
for the ulitmate version.
Steve Hodges, who was
awarded the Legion of Merit for his design work, went on to develop further 8 x
8 trucks, including the Lockheed Twister and the Lockheed Dragon Wagon, the essence of which was embedded in
the Oshkosh LVS military truck series, used to good effect in Operation Desert
Storm.
Tony
Gibbs began researching the T26 as a retirement project, after a career in
industrial design during which he worked on projects ranging from a Royal Mail pillar box to a complex spacecraft control console. 
His interest in military
vehicles was sparked in the days before D-Day when as a child he watched
endless convoys heading south to the embarkation points.
Even then it was the massive
American transports that most captivated
his interest, together with the cool and relaxed GI crews that operated them.
- end -
For further information contact Peter Cook on 01795
536915/07796 172680
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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Family tickets to the War and Peace Show can be ordered at
a discount from www.thehopfarm.co.ukwww.thewarandpeaceshow.com or
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