Ernest Holmes Company 1916 Tank Top

Ernest Holmes Sr. was a mechanic in Chattanooga, Tennessee who is credited with inventing the tow truck in 1916. After helping a friend recover his car using three poles, a pulley and a chain hooked to the chassis of his 1913 sedan, Holmes realized that his contraption could be useful beyond just this one need. After refining his invention, Holmes began manufacturing what we now know as the traditional tow truck or wrecker, receiving a patent on his design in 1918. Holmes sold both turn key tow trucks and the wrecker body as a bolt on unit to auto shops, racetracks, and garages, and went on to design a multitude of tow truck offerings, covering just about every recovery need, including heavy-duty use by the U.S. military.