We have already repeatedly talked about heavy military tractors from the USA and USSR, and today we’ll talk about Japanese ones. After the war, the vehicles available were relatively small, and there were almost no truck tractors at all.
Larger trucks were required to transport oversized cargo. It was then that the Shirata brothers founded a company in the city of Nagano, which became the main manufacturer of heavy tractors in Japan.
In the 1960s, old World War II trucks (imported from the US and sold to civilians), such as the classic GMC CCKW and Diamond T, were used to transport massive loads.
But their number was very limited, and the country needed trucks capable of transporting even larger loads. It was then that the company of the Shirata brothers created a real monster on wheels.
The Dragon Wagon, or M25 Tank Transporter as it was officially known, was a truck originally developed for the US Army to transport tanks in the 1940s.
The mechanical horse (named M26) was created by Pacific Car & Foundry Co. (currently Paccar) was paired with the M21 semi-trailer from Fruehauf Trailer Co.
Interestingly, the M26 had a Hall-Scott 440 6-cylinder gasoline engine (the Americans didn’t really like diesel engines) with a volume of 17.9 liters and a power of 240 hp.
For that time, this was impressive and sufficient to move a road train with a load, the total weight of which could reach 74 tons.
The maximum speed was approximately 40 km/h, and fuel consumption reached from 80 to 270 liters of gasoline for every 100 km! Hence the nickname Dragon Wagon, as the huge gasoline engine literally spits fire through the exhaust pipes.
The tractor itself weighed 22 tons, had a length of 7.7 meters, a width of 3.3 meters and a height of 3.5 meters. The military version was equipped with an armored cabin. Several copies went on sale in the United States, and one of them was purchased by the Shirata brothers.
They removed the armor, painted it blue and replaced the semi-trailer with one more suitable for transporting oversized cargo.
The Dragon Wagon successfully operated around Nagano Prefecture, transporting, among other things, transformers for power plants or elements of bridges under construction.
Drivers loved this truck, especially in winter, because the fire-breathing exhaust warmed the cab perfectly.
The negative point was again the consumption: according to the Japanese, the truck consumed 1 liter of gasoline every 100 meters, which means that up to 1000 liters of fuel will be required to cover 100 kilometers.
At some point, work for the Dragon Wagon ended and it was sent to a warehouse, where it sat for several years. It was discovered in 2015 and restored. This process took three years.
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