Emfour Publishing

M1 and M1A1

A History of the Ward Lafrance and Kenworth M1 and M1A1 Wreckers

This book will be available in time for those wishing to build the Thunder Models Ward Lafrance or Kenworth wrecker kits for next year’s AMPS International show theme!

Almost from the dawn of the mechanization of the U.S. Army, it was recognized that a means of recovering the vehicles involved in the inevitable accidents would be needed. Booms and winches to assist with this were mounted on trucks as early as pre-WWI, and the Liberty trucks of WWI were also fitted out as early wreckers. By time the storm clouds in Europe and elsewhere made it obvious that another World War was brewing, the U.S. Army was actively working towards procuring ever heavier and more capable wreckers to support the ever heavier vehicles that would require assistance. The three firms which were most active in the development and manufacturing of these heavy wreckers were Ward Lafrance, Kenworth and Diamond T. The subjects of this book are the first two of the aforementioned companies.

Vital Statistics

Format - hardcover, landscape format

Page Count - 176 heavyweight, glossy pages

Size - 8.75” x 11.5”

Photos - black & white WWII period, full color contemporary images

Tables / drawings / diagrams - many informational tables

All text and photograph captions are in English

What’s between the covers?

Above - the book’s table of contents

The author provides quite a lot of information on the backgrounds of the companies who built these wreckers for the U.S. Army, going into a lot of detail. People, places, dates, financial matters, causes and effects are all there to be explored. The author covers much ground while ensuring the text is actually readable.

All 5 series of the Ward Lafrance wreckers are covered in nice detail, with plenty of crisp photos. Above - an early Series 1 example is pictured.

This volume is quite photo heavy, and the author provides generously sized images, with many being full page size to enable good study of details. While most images are black and white WWII period, there are good full color photos of restored vehicles provided.

Above - a nice overhead view of a British series 3 Ward Lafrance wrecker, with machine gun mount over the cab.

Above - The author provides a lot of performance / production information in tables throughout the book.

Most of the images contained in this volume are crisp and clear, particularly the professionally taken factory and proving grounds images. The amount of detail visible on the vast majority of these images is impressive! Above - a terrific image of a Series 5 Ward Lafrance wrecker taken in May, 1944.

Most of the titles by the author contain images of the factories that produced the various book’s subject vehicles. I’ve always enjoyed the inclusion of these images, because they serve as a reminder that the efforts made on the home front were critical to the success of Allied forces throughout the war. These efforts were crucial to the war effort, and mustn’t be overlooked or forgotten.

Above - as mentioned earlier, the author usually provides much information in table form, this volume happily being no exception.

Above - This volume contains a good number of well taken “in detail” style images, perfect for model construction reference purposes.

Another splendid view of a wrecker from overhead, perfect for providing reference on the crane and working deck of the wrecker.

Above - another factory view, this time of the much smaller Kenworth wrecker factory.

Above - nice images of the Ward Lafrance Model B wrecker, an armored cab version. It seems massive compared to the M1A1 wrecker that it’s pictured with in the top image.

Above - The final chapter of the book (55+ pages or so) concerns itself with the use of these wreckers in the field, doing what they were intended to do and then some. While not quite as bright and crisp as the factory and proving grounds images, the images in this chapter are still generally quite good.

This chapter contains a great many fascinating images such as the above - an M1A1 wrecker placing a new gun tube on a 155mm gun. This would make for an eye catching diorama idea!

Above - another great diorama idea, a wrecker swapping out an M4 Sherman engine.

And finally, my favorite image in a chapter full of fascinating images. - an M1A1 wrecker placing a calliope rocket rack on a Sherman near war’s end. Great image!

Conclusions

This book, as with so many of the author’s titles is a masterful, thorough look at its subject matter.

The text and photo captioning is clearly written, giving the reader plenty of valuable information in an easily read, concise manner. The photo captioning is particularly good, providing the reader with the what’s, where’s, and when’s of what’s pictured, with areas of special interest pointed out as applicable. 

The photographs in this volume are well chosen for content and interest, with the overwhelming majority being quite crisp and sharp.  The very few that that aren’t, are a couple in the field use chapter where the images were clearly taken in less than perfect conditions. The tables contained in this volume provide a considerable amount of data in an easily followed manner.

Simply put, this is an outstanding work on this interesting subject matter, and is very well deserving of a place in your references bookcase! 

Highly Recommended! 

Thanks to David Doyle Books for the review copy

Reviewed by Chuck Aleshire, AMPS Chicagoland

AMPS 2nd Vice President, Midwest Region

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