Great snap Mike, I think you captured the equivalent of "The Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot!"
I sure agree Johnny. A great photo (as so many of Mike's Classic photos are).
In that photo is of course Ladder 59.
Also I can see what looks like Field Comm in the distant right, and those solid, tough Mack Pumpers and Tower Ladders that performed overwhelming well beyond any limits, during those Tough, Busy, FDNY War Years.
As a side note, some places like Providence, RI and Chelsea, Mass put them back to work into some of their busiest companies after some rehab work.
Regarding Ladder 27, I started hanging out around that firehouse in the early 1970s and at that time, Ladder 27 was already a Rear mount.
I guess when a young "Johnny Gage" was only One Year Old, it was around that time that a young, handsome, slim, merry mailman, named Willy D was one of the many buffs hanging out on that very famous Intervale Ave chasing fire trucks. As that handsome Merry Mailman remembers, then (1972-73) Ladder 31 was already a Mack Tower Ladder.
It was either 46/27 or 82/31 where the buff mobile spent most of it's time during those busy fire activity days.