Radio Tractor

The Radio tractor was a mobile Signal Corps Radio used by the U.S. Army for ground communications before and during World War I. Prior to World War I, trucks were referred to as "tractors", and there were also telegraph tractors, and telephone tractors.

Radio Tractor
Radio Tractor No. 3 on White Chassis
Type	Radio truck
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1914-?
Used by	US Army
Wars	World War I
Production history
Designed	1914-?
Manufacturer	FWD, White Motor Company
Produced	1914
Variants	3
Specifications
Mass	1 1/2 ton
Crew	7
Armor	none
Main armament	none

Use

Very little information exists for these trucks, as most of the components were built before standardization. They first made their debut on the Mexican border in a radio intercept role, and later during World War I, some sets may have been reconfigured for RDF and other uses.

Components

• SCR-50, 2 kilowatt spark transmitter, crystal or vacuum tube detector receiver, 0.15-0.50 Megahertz

Variants

Radio Tractor No.2

At least 3 variants are known:

• Radio Tractor No. 1
• Radio Tractor No. 2 (Four Wheel Drive)(Jeffery Quad), Unknown radio set
• Radio Tractor No. 3 (White Motor Company), SCR-50 radio set

The No.3 truck was also accompanied by a tender "Maintenance truck No. 5" later renumbered as K-5.

See also

• Signal Corps Radio
• SCR-108
• Crystal radio
• List of U.S. Signal Corps vehicles

References

• Signal Corps Storage Catalog [1]
• Annual Report 1919 [2] page 249
• 1918 Military Signal Corps manual [3]
• New York Times 1915 [4]
• Electrical world vol. 66 [5]
• The Wireless Age [6]
• Automobile journal Vol. 39 [7]

External links

• US Army Signal Museum - SCR and BC lists
• NSA.gov - Umbrellas, Loops, and Tractors (PDF)