Tow truck Ward LaFrance
MF48604KS

Kit contains:

• Resin parts
• Metal photo-cutting board
• Metal axles to make the wheels mobile, if desired
• Pre-cut windows
• Rubber wheels
• Assembly instructions with parts list and color photos:  Download instructions

The Ward LaFrance Truck Corporation was an American manufacturer of trucks and fire engines founded by Addison Ward LaFrance in 1916 in Elmira Heights, New York. The U.S. Army's M1 heavy-duty tow truck was built by Ward LaFrance and the famous Kenworth company. It was equipped with a 9t front winch and a 22t rear winch. In 1943, following improvements developed by Kenworth, the lifting system was changed from manual to motor-driven, which became common to both manufacturers under the model designation M1A1.

For this new version, the most distinctive feature was the presence of a tarpaulin-covered driver's cab, and all these vehicles were powered by the same engine: an 8,210 cm3 in-line 6-cylinder Continental 22 R. Its distinctive bumper was designed to break through small trees and other obstacles.  Between 1943 and 1945, 3,500 M1A1s were produced. After the war, these heavy-duty recovery trucks were much appreciated by civilian users for their sturdiness, until the 1970s, despite their excessive fuel consumption.