Strabokran (Mobile Gantry Crane)

This crane was captured at the end of the War, and may have been used in British tests of German rockets as part of Operation Backfire.

The Strabokran was designed to remove turrets and engines from tanks for maintenance. Later in the War, they were an essential piece of ground handling equipment for the V-2, loading the rockets onto launch trolleys from transport trailers. When being transported by road, the Strabokran could be collapsed and towed behind a vehicle. A team of eight could raise or lower the crane in about 20-30 minutes. The company that made the Strabokran, JS Fries & Son, was founded in Frankfurt in 1748 as a manufacturer of pewterware. After the War, the company was heavily involved with reconstructing many bomb-damaged bridges and public buildings in Frankfurt.