The massive truck was created in Hungary back in the early 1990’s. In an esteemed stroke of innovation, the Hungarian company MB Drilling that manufactured this monster attached 2 MIG engines to a Soviet Tank.

Big Wind was designed to eliminate some of the most catastrophic fires faced in the world, particularly those that stem from oil tanker leaks.  This machine has been used to dispel well fires in Hungary, but since the Gulf War began soon after it was created, the Big Wind was sent off in a cargo carrier to the oil fields of the battlefield of Kuwait.  This is certainly a one of a kind piece of machinery, that, when called upon, is usually the only thing that can get the job done.

It needs to be operated by a crew of 3 – a driver, a controller in the back to run the jet engines and water jets and a fire chief.  When the water is turned on, six nozzles unleashes a water blast that becomes a massive steam spray, with water moving at about 220 gallons per second.  To put that in perspective, this thing would suck a standard suburban swimming pool dry in less than  minute.

Over the next two years, a team of 14 apprentices will spend every Thursday working on the fire engine, returning it to full working order.

It will then return to Burghley House, where it had been in storage, and will go on public display as an important part of the town’s heritage – and to inspire other young people to consider a career in engineering.

John Searle, 21, who is currently in the second year of a four-year apprenticeship, said: “Back in 2014, Burghley House approached Cummins and asked if the apprentices would be interested in restoring a 1957 Ransomes tractor which was totally rebuilt. That was so successful that, this year, Burghley asked if we would be take on a much bigger, more complex task.

“We arranged for the fire engine to be delivered to us on the back on a truck. Now it’s in the workshop we have begun the complex process of taking it apart, photographing and cataloguing all the parts and working out what needs fixing or replacing.”

The apprentices have been tasked with completing the work with limited supervision. They have spent hours researching Merryweather fire engines in the library and online, looking for information on their design and construction.