Talus MB-764 is a four-wheel drive launch tractor which was specifically designed for the
RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
, to launch and recover inflatable inshore lifeboats from beach and shorebased launched lifeboat stations.
The Tractor is produced by the
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
company of Clayton Engineering Limited who are based in
Knighton,
Powys
Powys (; ) is a Local government in Wales#Principal areas, county and Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh succession of states, successor state, petty kingdom and princi ...
.
[OS Explorer Map 201 - Knighton and Presteigne Tref-y-clawdd a Dyffryn Elan, Author: Ordnance Survey. Publisher: Ordnance Survey. Work: Folded Map. ]
Development
The MB-764 was the first launch tractor designed and developed in conjunction with the RNLI to launch the institutions smaller inshore inflatable lifeboat fleet. Clayton’s based the design of the MB-764 on Ford ''County Commercial Cars''.
At the design and development stage the company presented two
Prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
models. The first being the main take up by the RNLI. The first of these launch tractors went into service with the RNLI in 1975 and since then over 30 tractors have been operated by the Institute around the United Kingdom and Ireland. The basic design, operating and performance characteristics have not changed from the initial design concept vehicle, with the exception of the propelled wading capability.
RNLI Talus MB 764 Fleet
See also
*
Talus MB-H Launch tractor
*
Talus MB-4H launch tractor
*
TC45 launch tractor
*
Talus Atlantic 85 DO-DO launch carriage
The Talus Atlantic 85 DO-DO launch carriage is a Drive On - Drive Off lifeboat launch and recovery carriage used by the RNLI to launch its Atlantic class inshore lifeboats.
Design
The design is by Clayton Engineering Limited, who worked with ...
References
{{reflist, 2
Royal National Lifeboat Institution launch vehicles
Sea-going tractors
Tractors
Rescue equipment