A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Last week I bought this little crane from a seller down south of Seattle on Craigslist. When I first moved to the island in the 70s the electric utility co-op had a similar hand winch unit on all their service bodied trucks. I always liked them, and I can't lift stuff like I used to. I called the seller and asked if I paid full asking price would he drop it off at a truck freight place and ship to me. I pay shipping (75 bucks). There was no close up photo, but I liked the enclosed winch. Well I picked it up at our freight terminal last night in the dark. When I arrived home my wife came out with a flashlight and we examined it. She read "portable bomb hoist" US navy ordinance dept etc. I was thrilled. I went out there at 'dawn's early light' and started measuring for the HD bumper to fabricate to mount it on my '47 tonner. Then of course I had to go to work. But stay tuned this spring as I build a mount and stays for this thing. The fine tooth ratchet is like a Swiss watch and it has some sort of 3/4 turn device coupled to the handle that automatically reverses direction without stopping to flip a lever. The base pipe measures 3 1/2" OD. What am I looking for a bottom 'cup'? Do they make 3 1/2" pipe?

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...1&d=1612498184


https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/attac...0&d=1612498165

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Neato GB. Great find.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

how cool !

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

We used one in original condition for MANY years. Great performance and durability and portability.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

NOMINAL pipe size 3" measures 3-1/2" OD. Sounds like a winner!

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Score!

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

The crane is made out of that size with an OD of 3 1/2". I need pipe that's got an ID of 3 1/2 and perhaps 4" OD. This becomes a socket that's bolted or welded to the bumper that the crane pivots in at the base. I suppose I could also find something that fits the ID of the crane's post and create a stud for it to drop onto. No rain gets in that way as well.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

back a few years ago a friend used to pull his correct craft ski boat out of the water and hang it in his boat house with two of these-tough/easy to use. likw gb I can't lift like I used to

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Here's a table of pipe sizes. Schedule 40 is what you're likely to find in a local vendor. Schedule 80 is for higher pressures and other arduous demands. Schedule 80 would more likely to be found in industrial type places.

Additionally, tubing should be able to be found in just about any combination of OD/ID and wall thickness. These sizes would be most likely found from an industrial supplier.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

From what I gather, the original unit was just the winch, the tube and the cable with hook. The portable part was that certain planes like a Catalina for instance carried bombs and torpedos beneath their wings. There was a hole in the wing above the rack and somewhere some 'U' shaped brackets for the tube to lay in. I think I read it has 15' of lift. The cable does not wind haphazardly around a drum. Instead the drum is machined with a spiral groove around it. Considering it's original purpose it was well engineered for good reason.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Thanks Pete! Looks like schedule 40 3 1/2" pipe is perfect. I'll start my search!

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Those are a nice unit! We had a couple of them at the museum which would have worked for loading ordnance on the center line of the Skyraider but never used them.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Retired ordnance officer here.... that’s pretty cool. Never seen one of those but we mainly transferred nukes.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

I wonder if it is a "area" thing.
Grandpa bought a couple of those from Hanford in Eastern WA.
Just saying I have never seen another like it outside of Washington.


He had one mounted on the rear corner of the blue goose. A 1954 3/4 ton international with a 9' box. It really did tear up the box over the years.
That bomb hoist was used for over 30 years lifting engines and such ... things that were really to heavy for it.
He had a built in jack stand in the bed ... pull a lever and it dropped to the ground then put in the pin. Now when you picked up weight the truck would drop a little bit.
Last time I used it was about 5 years ago. I backed up to a shed and then pulled a 6 cyl flathead engine from the back corner. Then loaded it into the bed, hauled it to the shop and used the bomb hoist to unload it.


Truck & hoist is gone today, what a useful tool.
Today we have electric hoist that do the exact same thing, I would not mind owning one of the old bomb hoist.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

GB,
I too, am restoring a 47 Tonner (pickup)
Would love to compare notes?


Thanks.


Rick [email protected] 425 766 7408

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Hi Rick, maybe you should check out my thread here called 'what in tarnation' and an earlier one called 'drums along the malbec', I'm sure there are more about me and my tonner world. I will give you a call tomorrow since it is Saturday. Late for me tonight, Almost 8 pm!

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

I rescued a similar unit from the local scrap yard.
It turns out it was a bomb loading hoist for a WW2 Mosquito plane.

My friend does voluntary work at a place that has a Mosquito so I donated it to that good cause.

Mart.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Or "Special Weapons" as the Army called them. From a guy who guarded them '72-'73.

Re: A bomb hoist for the rear bumper
 

Found a photo of Grandpas truck, get a idea how he mounted it.
Also cant see it, there was a pipe that would drop to the ground had a foot on it, used a bolt to pin it in place. When you picked up weight, it would squat a little til pipe was firm on ground and then solid.
Not sure, but think it may slide up into the mast for storage again held in place with a pin. Very simple but efficient.