The Diamond T 969 is a heavy commercial truck from the Diamond T Motor Car Company of Chicago. The company is best known today for the military trucks it built in the Second World War, and the post-war heavy trucks it sold to civilian operators came out of the same works and the same engineering tradition.
Diamond T 969 at a glance
| Maker | Diamond T Motor Car Company, Chicago |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 by C. A. Tilt |
| Model | 969 |
| Wartime military output | G509 4-ton 6×6 range, 980/981 tank transporters |
| 4-ton 6×6 engine | 529 cu in (8.7 L) Hercules RXC, 106 hp |
| Tank transporter engine | 895 cu in (14.7 L) Hercules DFXE diesel, 185 hp |
| Tank transporter trailer load | up to 115,000 lb (52,000 kg) |
| Truck cab | all-steel cab of 1933 used until it was replaced in 1951 |
| Post-war range | five models in 1946, fourteen in 1947 |
| Ratings from 1947 | chassis of 8,000–36,000 lb (3,600–16,000 kg) GVWR |
| End of the name | merged with Reo in 1967 as Diamond Reo Trucks, Inc. |
Diamond T has no Wikipedia article on the 969; this page is based on the descriptions of the company’s military and post-war commercial trucks in the article on Diamond T (based on one source).
History of the Diamond T 969
From touring cars to tank transporters
The Diamond T Motor Car Company was founded in Chicago in 1905 by C. A. Tilt and built touring cars of up to 70 hp until 1911 before settling on trucks. Its military work in the Second World War made the name: Diamond T produced a prototype heavy truck, the 980/981, which was adapted and quickly acquired by the British Purchasing Commission as a tank transporter tractor. Coupled with a Rogers trailer it served with the British Army in the North Africa campaign, where its power and rugged construction allowed damaged tanks to be recovered in the most demanding conditions. The 980/981 used a 895 cu in (14.7 L) Hercules DFXE diesel of 185 hp, geared very low, and could pull a trailer of up to 115,000 lb (52,000 kg).
The 4-ton 6×6
Diamond T also built the entire G509 series of 4-ton 6×6 trucks, including cargo, dump, semi-tractor and wrecker bodies, as well as some lighter trucks and G7102 half-tracks. The standard 4-ton was the Model 968, produced from 1941 with a closed steel commercial-style cab and later an open military cab and designed to tow the 155 mm howitzer with its crew and ammunition. It used a 529 cu in (8.7 L) Hercules RXC six-cylinder of 106 hp, a five-speed manual gearbox and a two-speed transfer case; it weighed 18,450 lb (8,370 kg) and could tow 25,000 lb (11,000 kg). The 969 is a separate commercial model, not to be confused with the military 968. Diamond T ranked 47th among United States corporations in the value of its wartime military production contracts.
Heavy trucks after the war
Commercial production had been stopped in 1942; a few trucks were built in 1944 and more in 1945. In 1946 there were five models and in 1947 fourteen, rated by gross vehicle weight from 8,000 to 36,000 lb (3,600 to 16,000 kg), with conventional, sleeper and cab-over-engine bodies, petrol and diesel engines from Continental, Cummins and Hercules, and single or tandem rear axles in many wheelbases. Annual model changes were discontinued and many models stayed unchanged until 1950, while the cab introduced in 1933 served until it was replaced in 1951. The 969 belongs to this later generation of Diamond T heavy trucks, the ones that carried the maker’s reputation into its final years; in 1967, as a subsidiary of White Motor Corporation, Diamond T merged with Reo to form Diamond Reo Trucks, Inc.
Design and features
- Recovery work: the tank transporters that made the name could pull trailers of up to 115,000 lb (52,000 kg).
- Low gearing: the heavy military trucks were geared very low for pulling power rather than speed.
- Hercules engines: the 4-ton 6×6 used a 529 cu in RXC and the tank transporter an 895 cu in DFXE diesel.
- Civilian successors: after 1945 the same works sold heavy trucks rated from 8,000 to 36,000 lb GVWR.
- Long service: the truck in the film is still working decades after it was built.
Diamond T 969 versions
- Conventional: the standard bonneted heavy truck of the post-war range.
- Sleeper: a conventional chassis with sleeping accommodation for long hauls.
- Cab-over-engine: the short-wheelbase layout offered alongside the conventional models.
- Tandem-axle chassis: two rear axles for the heaviest ratings.
The military side of the company is described through the 4-ton 6×6 in Diamond T 921, the pickups in Diamond T Model 201 and the 1949 conventional in Diamond T Model 306. More vehicles are in the Diamond T collection.
Video: Diamond T 969 – Still earns her keep 71 years later
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Diamond T, English Wikipedia: military models, post-war range, company history
- Diamond T 969, YouTube: identification of the truck in the film
