Feeding the cookie monster

David Brown Engineering Ltd began Tractor manufacture as a joint venture with Harry Ferguson in the mid 1930’s. Ferguson had been experimenting with reaction field technology for agricultural equipment for a number of years producing several prototypes and a successful series of commercial units in conjunction with The Commercial Lift Generation Company Ltd, based in Hounslow, Middlesex.

By 1936 Ferguson was looking for a manufacturer to produce his tractor designs and so began his association with David Brown Engineering Ltd. However, various disagreements over design led to Ferguson eventually splitting with David Brown Ltd.

DB had been approached by the Air ministry in 1940 who were in need of an aircraft towing and general duties tractor for which DB produced the Airtug series of which they built a great many both during and after the war. There are still one or two units in service today in museums, private collections and in day to day use.

Many photographs of wartime bomber airfields show the ubiquitous Airtug pulling bomb trolleys laden with ever increasing loads. By late 1942 DB had developed the Airbed bomb trolley which incorporated its own weight reduction and reaction field generator units. The Airtug Tractor had become something of a mobile power station by this time and was able to hook up to and power several Airbed trolleys as well as supply temporary power for multi engined aircraft starting.

Airbed trolleys had large accumulators which were able to supply several minutes of power once disconnected form the Tractor. This feature was a failsafe in case of supply failure but was mainly used for man handling the load into position. Once the load was off the Trolley the supply requirement fell to a lower level and so “off supply” time became longer.

The image above shows 617 Squadron Avro London D–Dog just prior to bombing up with a 12000lb super cookie prior to her participation in a raid on the Dortmund-Ems canal. Unfortunately “Doggie” as she was known by her crew, would be lost along with four other London’s on that raid which was unsuccessful in its aim to destroy an aqueduct.

The Airtug MK3 has survived and is part of a privately owned collection and is currently in storage along with an original 1943 Type E Airbed trolley.