USAF Tucker 743

I had a nice surprise last week. While looking over the inventory of military snowcats, comm shelters, etc of a highly respected snowcat dealer/restorer in MN (he told me to say that), I stumbled across this little gem. I had no idea Tucker produced snowcats ('Sno-Cats' in Tuckereese) for the USAF!

Tuckers had several unique and innovative features seen in no other snowcats. One is their four pontoon roller-track system that gives them incredible flotation as well as the ability to use normal steering rather than the more common differential braking. The pontoons can even be replaced with ordinary tires for off-season convenience. Their incredible articulating suspension has led some to convert these into pretty impressive rock crawlers, but I consider that akin to drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa, so don't do it.

Although nicely repainted by a previous owner, there is strata blue under all of that obnoxious yeller and throughout the interior of the rear cab. At least they left the dataplate to show her true heritage. He believes she spent some time in Antarctica, but in old documentary films I've only seen orange Tuckers there.

Now to start wearing him down. He says he's not sure about selling it because the grandkids love to ride in it, but he is a business man. I think I'll be optimistic start getting some strata blue mixed. Meanwhile, the search is on to find a picture of a '50s USAF Tucker in her original paint and markings.

Make: Tucker
Year: 1953
Model: 743
SN: 153289
Contract: AF 33 600 19594
USAF Reg: J-2550
Color: Strata Blue


Ok, now for the eyecandy...

Ok, This shi* has gotta stop or im moving to MN.........Damit

Where did you find this?! They have no cool stuff here or id have it!!!!

Brainerd, MN, www.mn-outdoors.com. He currently has about 6 military snowcats and a couple of S250 shelters, maybe even a mil gen light set or two. If you contact him, make sure he remembers that I have first dibs on all USAF snowcats.

And not military, but if you're in MN, how did you miss these beasts?!?!

Was this TUCKER company the same (or same heritage) as the Tucker Automobile Company?

Preston Tucker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1948 Tucker Sedan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Preston Tucker was an innovative fellow. A vehicle like the Sno-Cat would not be out of his league of eccentric and progressive vehicle concepts.

No, completely unrelated, at least as far as two people with the same last name can be unrelated.

E. M. Tucker, Sr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucker_Sno-Cat

I assume by pure coincidence, they both produced a model called the 'Tucker Torpedo'.

Thanks RangerBob.

Cool topic and great automotive history study - even the coincidences.

WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Andy

Ha! You again!

Too bad there's no real snow in MO.

Will it work in mud/swamps? If so, I want one

While I'm sure this would do fine in mud, I wouldn't recommend it only because the roller bearings would be a pain to maintain. Instead, try a Thiokol that was designed to be all-season. There are quite a few former USAF Thiokols out there, and maybe even a few Army/Navy rigs. The most popular models are the 1200 series Spryte and the 1400 series Imp. The Imp is a smaller, sportier version of the Spryte. At my detachment in AK we had one of each and used them all year long. They can be had for anywhere from $500 for a real fixer-upper all the way to $20K+ for a restored unit with all of the bells and whistles. I currrently have two Sprytes. Picked up one that was about 75% through a restoration for $5k, and another that was operating, but beat to heck, for less than $2K.

Besides the military units, many Thiokols were built for other government agencies, utility companies, and ski resorts. If a unit is missing its dataplate, it may be hard to tell which is which, but there are external clues that can identify it as a former military cat. These include lift points, an external power plug hatch near the radiator filler hatch, and an A/C heater under the dash. Of course a lot of sheet metal work over the years and a restoration may remove all of these indicators.

Here are a few Sprytes so you'll know what to look for if it's a great all-season, all-terrain cat you want. I think the 5-man cab (blue/white) could be had for $5K, the 3-man cab (peeling orange) for $3K, and the 5-man with enclosed cargo area for $10-15K. Of course that all depends on how 'special' they are to the current owner. With any of these, there's no place you couldn't go and no place you could get stuck...not counting breakdowns of course.

Here is a Tucker Torpedo, of the sno-cat variety, that is currently being restored in the UP, and what it should look like after restoration.

Although Tucker Sno-Cats are pretty amazing, there are some obstacles that can be a bit of a challenge.

RangerBob said:

Here is a Tucker Torpedo, of the sno-cat variety, that is currently being restored in the UP, and what it should look like after restoration.

Click to expand...

Very cool !

Here are some pics of the "OTHER" Tucker Torpedo ( 1948 )

I would LOVE to have either one. Both have "streamlined" designs that were popular post-war concepts.

To keep this MV related:
Preston Tucker incorportated a light weight aluminum engine (helecopter?), Crash Cage structures, windshield that would "pop-out" on inpact, third headlight that turned with the steering movement and other features that were ahead of their time. During the war, he manufactured ball-turrets for heavy bombers and brought much of his military aviation background into these cars.

Did the Sno-Cat Tucker Torpedo ever see military applications???

As far as I know the Torpedo never saw military duty, but until last week I had no idea ANY Tuckers saw military duty. So I've spent a little bit of time over the last week looking for more military Tuckers. No luck yet, but I know it can be a challenge even finding a civvy version of one of these old crates.

(and that red 'torpedo' in your first picture looks like one sweet ride! )

USAFSS-ColdWarrior said:

Was this TUCKER company the same (or same heritage) as the Tucker Automobile Company?

Preston Tucker - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1948 Tucker Sedan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Preston Tucker was an innovative fellow. A vehicle like the Sno-Cat would not be out of his league of eccentric and progressive vehicle concepts.

Click to expand...

No.

I just asked the Tucker company through their website about Tuckers sold to the military, and got a pretty quick response...

We have sold 100's of machines to the military since 1942. Most machines sold to the military are standard production machines that are used in cold weather training areas. To my knowlege no Tucker Sno-Cat vehicles have ever been used in any combat applications.

Click to expand...

Still gotta find one with military markings...

The Tucker Co just sent me these pictures of their latest delivery to Fairchild AFB. Not my color, and military markings not yet applied, but you O.D. types might approve.

RangerBob said:

<snip>
The pontoons can even be replaced with ordinary tires for off-season convenience. Their incredible articulating suspension has led some to convert these into pretty impressive rock crawlers, but I consider that akin to drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa, so don't do it.
</snip>

Click to expand...

While cleaning up my computer, found an old picture of a mustache on a Mona Lisa...