History Lesson: Silent Hoist's Cranes

By JIM "BUCK" SORRENTI - AT Field Editor In going through my archives I came upon a collection of images that illustrate a bit of Tow Americana/History. These are but a few of the Silent Hoist wreckers from my archives, with some working jobs. I will share others soon. Here's a look at some awesome equipment many towing and recovery companies have and still do use for recovery work. The Silent Hoist crane units are legendary among those in the know. The Silent Hoist Co. was headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y., and began manufacturing forklifts and container-handling equipment in 1918. It became The Silent Hoist & Crane Co. Marty Flaska acquired its line of cushion-tire forklifts in 1994 and founded Hoist Liftruck Manufacturing, based in Bedford Park, Ill. The Silent Hoist & Crane Co. were the manufacturers of these crane units for the U.S. Navy during WWII. My research shows that these units were deployed on aircraft carriers and referred to as a U.S. Navy Crash Crane. The crane units featured here are the Silent Hoist Q50 and the Q40 mechanical-driven cranes. The outriggers extend outward hydraulically and the boom extends hydraulically. The outriggers lower mechanically by screw type. The Q40 is rated at 20 tons and the Q50s are rated for 25 tons. These were limits set by the military and most anyone who has worked them will tell you they are powerhouses and are extremely under-rated machines. The boom raises and lowers via a winch. There are two winches, one that raises and lowers the boom and the other winch goes to a 3-to-1 block on the Q40s and a 4-to-1 block on the Q50. The Q40 has a four-part block and Q50 has a five-part block. The Q40 has a long mast and the Q50 has a short one; only the Q50 has a spare tire holder. The swing is driven by a screw-type configuration. They will swing with the lift on level ground. Swinging a heavy load uphill is not recommended. Being mechanical-driven units, they will not stop lifting or working, so you must think for them and know its limitations. Besides the two winches, there is a gearbox that operates the swing. The two winches and the swing can all be operated simultaneously. You would be amazed how perfectly timed and smooth the operation is. I truly cannot stress enough how capable these machines are. Here's the kicker: there were only 50 of these units made, 11 Q50s and 39 Q40s. After the war a few industrious tow companies purchased these cranes and made them into recovery units. Here is the lowdown on the units pictured here: • B&F Towing of New Castle, Del., uses the Oshkosh/Silent Hoist Q50. It was previously owned by Short's Garage. • Bosco's Automotive in Enfield, Conn., operates the 1962 Oshkosh/Silent Hoist Q50, which was originally in use by the U.S. Navy as an aircraft crash crane. • Ernie's Wrecker Service of Vernon Hills, Ill., operates the Q50. • Guaranteed Motor Services Towing of New Brunswick, N.J.,has a few of the Silent Hoist units including the 1960 Oshkosh Q40. • Helmrich Towing of Pennsauken, N.J., owned the 1960 Oshkosh/Silent Hoist Q40 crash crane, which is now in service at A&M in East Hartford, Conn. • Highpoint Garage of Union City, N.J., works the 1960 Oshkosh/Silent Hoist Q40 that was once owned by Guaranteed Motor Towing. It was modified in 1980 with the new Oshkosh cab. • George Logan Towing in North Brunswick, N.J., altered their Oshkosh/Silent Hoist Q40 crash crane in 1960 with a Mack DMM600 cab. It was purchased in 2004 by Plunske's Garage. • Mackey Towing of Robbinsville, N.J., has the Q40 that was once owned by Guaranteed. • Nelcon Service Center of North Haven, Conn., owns a Q40. • Plunske's Garage of Wallingford, Conn., owns the Oshkosh/Silent Hoist Q40 with a Mack DMM600 conversion originally done by George Logan, in North Brunswick, NJ. • Spillane's Towing Service from Windsor, Conn., "Super Hook" Oshkosh/Silent Hoist Q50 ex-U.S. Navy aircraft crash recovery crane. The International tanker that had crashed on I-84 West in Hartford, Conn., was one of the first jobs done by Spillane's with the Q50. • Tolland Automotive of East Hartford, Conn., has a Q50. • Illinois IDOT has a Q50 wrecker. The Silent Hoists were specifically built to handle naval aircraft recoveries and have "technology" built into them that dates back to the late '50s. While these were versatile and impressive units that have earned their rightful place in the history of recovery work, they don't compare to today's modern rotators and other heavy-duty recovery units. The rating capacity on these Silent Hoists is a fraction of what a modern rotator can handle. Even with the modern day rotators there are operators who get into trouble because they think they could do anything with their rotator and end up bending booms and breaking things. At the same time there are operators using some old iron who have done and still do some amazing recoveries. Whether the equipment is old or new it's the operator who gets the equipment into trouble if they don't know what they're doing. It all comes down to having a trained capable operator doing the recovery. It's the mechanics of these old units that I love. This coming from a guy who still rides an old 1969 Shovelhead with only four gears and drum brakes. You just have to know how to use the equipment to its capabilities. Some of these images were taken by well-known vehicle photographer Mark Redman, a few by Bill Ludewig and others were sent to me through the years from several of the companies represented and fans of old wreckers. Show Yours @ TIW Do you have a recovery to share with TIW readers? Send some pics and info to the editor at bdooley@towman.com; your recovery may even be selected for print in American Towman magazine!

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