Today in WW II: 9 Jul 1940 Battle of Calabria [Battle of Punta Stilo, the toe of Italy] fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British/Australian Royal Navies, 30 miles [48km] east of Punta Stilo.  More ↓
9 Jul 1943 US-British invasion of Sicily begins [night of 9-10 Jul].
9 Jul 1944 British and Canadian forces capture Caen from the Germans, a critical post-D-Day objective in Normandy, France.
9 Jul 1944 US forces reach the northern end of Saipan, finding thousands of Japanese civilian men, women, and children who commit suicide by leaping off the cliffs rather than be captured.
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Truck, Wrecker: Light, 2 1/2-ton, 6x6, M60 (G-742)

The Truck, Wrecker: Light, 2 1/2-ton, 6x6, M60 (and the very similar Truck, Crane, 2 1/2 ton, 6x6 M-108) are part of the G-742 (or M-44) series of 2 1/2 ton trucks. The many models of the very successful G-742 trucks were in Army inventory from the mid-1950s into the 1990s.

The M60 Wrecker is built on the M45C Chassis with a walking beam suspension on the rear axle. The hydraulically operated crane on the rear of the M60 can be traversed through 270° with a maximum elevation angle of 45°. A rear mounted winch has a capacity of 15,000 pounds. A winch mounted at the front of the vehicle has a maximum capacity of 10,000 lbs. There are two outriggers mounted either side of the crane platform for stabilization.

The M60 Wrecker was intended for recovery operations, but was found to be too light for many situations. It was eventually replaced by 5-ton wreckers.

For visual identification, the M108 Crane has arcs in the body above each rear wheel, while the M60 Wrecker has a straight body line above the wheels.

Details of the history, model numbers, and configurations of the M35-series of 6x6 cargo trucks is on the linked page.

The manuals for the M-60, and the M-44 series, are numbered TM 9-2320-209-xx, where the last two digits indicate the type of manual such as 10 for Operators Manual, 20 for Organizational Maintenance, and so forth according to the Army standard. An exception is the Lube Order, LO9-2320-209-12-1. All together there are dozens of multi-volume manuals for the series of trucks.

The M60 Wrecker is identified by NSN 2320-00-835-8343 (w/winch).

Truck, Wrecker: Light, 2 1/2-ton, 6x6, M60. Presented at the Static Display area, Kaneohe Bay Air Show 2010, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, 21-26 September 2010. Vehicle provided by the Hawaii Military Vehicle Preservation Association
Truck, Wrecker: Light, 2 1/2-ton, 6x6, M60. Presented at the Static Display area, Kaneohe Bay Air Show 2010, Marine Corps Base Hawaii, 21-26 September 2010. Vehicle provided by the Hawaii Military Vehicle Preservation Association.