[The] equipment ... among the most vital to our success in Africa and Europe were the bulldozer, the jeep, the 2 1/2 ton truck, and the C-47 airplane. Curiously enough, none of these is designed for combat.
- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
During World War II, dependable motorized transport, the Jeep, the "deuce and a half" truck, and the armored personnel carrier - fully tracked, half-tracked, or pneumatic tire vehicles - increased infantry mobility twentyfold and enabled it to keep pace with the rapid armor advance.
After the breakout of Normandy in July 1944, an acute shortage of supplies on both fronts governed all operations. Some 28 divisions were advancing across France and Belgium, each ordinarily requiring 700-750 tons a day. Patton's 3rd Army was soon grinding to a halt from lack of fuel and ordnance. The key to pursuit was a continuous supply of fuel and ordnance, thus leading to the Red Ball Express. At the peak of its operation, it was running 5,938 vehicles carrying 12,342 tons of supplies to forward depots daily. The Army raided units that had trucks and formed provisional truck units for the Red Ball.
ACE
The M-9 Armored Combat Earthmover is a highly mobile, full-tracked, air transportable armored earthmover and represents a significant enhancement to the combat engineers' capability. The M-9 ACE can be employed in a host of engineer tasks, such as clearing obstacles, preparing defilade and survivability positions, and a myriad of engineering construction tasks including dozing, scraping, grading, hauling, towing, and winching.
Airplane Crash Truck
Built for the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers, these trucks were used to fight aircraft crash fires and to aid in rescuing crash victims. In addition to foam and carbon dioxide-type fire extinguishers, this vehicle carried firefighting and emergency equipment such as pipe and bolt cutters, cable and grapnel assembly, three 100-foot high pressure hoses, a 16-foot ladder, crowbar, axe, and rope.
Bomb Lift Truck
The M1 was a shop lift truck modified to load bombs onto bomber and fighter aircraft. It was used extensively during both World War II and the Korean War. The M1 was manually positioned and used a hydraulic-operated lift platform to raise bombs weighing up to 2,000 pounds. It lifted the bomb and its handling stand approximately six inches so the aircraft hoist could raise the bomb into the bomb bay. The M1 was intended as an accessory to the M6 bomb service truck but was used as a stand-alone bomb loader. Field personnel developed simple "adapters" made from wooden boxes or 55-gallon barrels to permit loading bombs on fighter aircraft.
Cletrac
Literally, "CLEated TRACtor”, the savior of many thousands of mired aircraft in the ETO. Every base had one or more, usually in the custody of the Engineering units. Cleveland Tractor Co. Medium M2 Tractor has a gross weight of 13,800 lbs. and a maximum drawbar pull of 7,000 lbs. It also features an electric generator and an air compressor.
Dragon Wagon
Name given to a U.S. Army truck trailer especially designed to carry the thirty-ton Sherman tank to save it from unnecessary wear and tear.
Deuce And A Half
Production of the GMC Truck, 2-1/2-ton, 6 x 6, Cargo or CCKW "Jimmy", began in 1941 by General Motors Corporation and ended in 1945, with 562,750 manufactured. This GMC truck was the most commonly used tactical vehicle in World War II. The GMCs were originally fitted with a sheet metal type cab. This was replaced after July 1943 by a tarpaulin or canvas cab, not only for the economic use of steel, but saving volume when transported by boat.
DUKW
Acronym for a U.S. Army six-wheel-drive, two-and-a-half-ton amphibious truck used in World War II. The name came from the model number of the manufacturer, General Motors. D =year of origin (1942); U = utility; K = all-wheel drive; W = six-wheeled. It was first used at Sicily and could carry twenty-five men on land or fifty in the water.
High Mobility M/P Wheeled
The HMMWV provides a variety of wheeled vehicle platforms. These are cargo/troop carrier, armament carrier, TOW missile system carrier, shelter carrier and two ambulance variants (2- and 4-litter). The HMMWV will also be the prime mover for the AN/TRC-170 Radio Digital Terminal and the Pedestal Mounted Stinger System. The M998 is the baseline vehicle for the M998 series of 1 1/4-ton trucks, which are known as the HMMWV vehicles. The HMMWV vehicles include 11 variants. They are: M998 Cargo/Troop Carrier; M1038 Cargo/Troop Carrier, with winch; M1043 Armament Carrier; M1044 Armament Carrier, with winch; M1045 TOW Carrier; M1046 TOW Carrier, with winch; M997 Ambulance, basic armor 4-Litter; M1035 Ambulance, 2-Litter; M1037 Shelter Carrier; M1042 Shelter Carrier, with winch; M1097 Heavy HMMWV (payload of 4,400 pounds). All HMMWVS are designed for use over all types of roads, in all weather conditions and are extremely effective in the most difficult terrain. The HMMWVS high power-to-weight ratio, four wheeled drive and high ground clearance combine to give it outstanding cross-country mobility.
Hercules Recovery Vehicle
The M88A1E1 will provide towing capability for modern and future tanks. The Hercules is replacing the present M88 which is unable to tow the newer, heavier M1A1 tanks.
Jeep
All-inclusive Army nickname for anything judged to be insignificant from a raw draftee to an observation plane. The jeep, first used by the U.S. military in WWII, was an all-purpose vehicle for reconnaissance and cross-country travel. Development began in the 1920s and in 1940, the Army Quarter Master General invited bids on a 1/4-ton four-wheel drive truck. After testing models submitted by the American Bantam Co., Willys-Overland Motors, and the Ford Motor Co., the Army chose the Willys design. More than 639,000 jeeps were built by Willys and Ford during WWII.
The vehicle was supposedly named after the pet of Popeye's adopted son, Swee'Pea. Although the origin of the jeep's name is obscure, many believe that it was an abbreviation for general purpose vehicle. The jeep had a four-cylinder 60-hp. engine and weighed 2,200 lbs. It had both two- and four-wheel drive, six forward speeds and two reverse speeds, and a top speed of 55 mph. in addition to its great usefulness as a cross-country vehicle, the versatile jeep could be adapted to pump air or water; pull anti-tank guns, howitzers, or even plows; haul a 1/2-ton load; or even ford streams or flooded areas in water up to 40 inches deep.
Marine Corps Motorcycle
The KLR 250-D8 is the second generation of Marine Corps Motorcycle. Its proven versatility has made it a crucial asset to field commanders when used as an alternate means of communication. Its basic commercial design provides easy access to repair parts and commercial service facilities if required.
Mercy Class Hospital Ships
Both hospital ships are converted San Clemente-class super tankers. Mercy was delivered in 1986 and Comfort in 1987. Normally, the ships are kept in a reduced operating status in Baltimore, MD, and San Diego, CA, by a small crew of civilian mariners and active duty Navy medical and support personnel. Each ship can be fully activated and crewed within five days. Mercy went to the Philippines in 1987 for a humanitarian mission. Both ships were used during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. Comfort twice operated during 1994 ? once for Operation Sea Signal's Cuban/Haitian migrant interdiction operations, and a second time supporting U.S. forces and agencies involved in Haiti and Operation Uphold Democracy. In 1998, Comfort participated in exercise Baltic Challenge '98, a multinational exercise involving 11 European nations and the United States to improve cooperation in peace support operations.
USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) and USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) each contain 12 fully-equipped operating rooms, a 1,000 bed hospital facility, radiological services, medical laboratory, a pharmacy, an optometry lab, a cat scan and two oxygen producing plants. Both vessels have a helicopter deck capable of landing large military helicopters, as well as side ports to take on patients at sea.
Rescue & Salvage Ship
Fleet tugs are used to tow ships, barges and targets for gunnery exercises. They are also used as platforms for salvage and diving work, as participants in naval exercises, to conduct search and rescue missions, to aid in the clean up of oil spills and ocean accidents, and to provide fire fighting assistance. USNS Apache (T-ATF 172) is the last of the Powhatan class of ocean tugs delivered to the Navy in 1981.
The mission of the rescue and salvage ships is four-fold: to debeach stranded vessels, heavy lift capability from ocean depths, towing of other vessels, and manned diving operations. For rescue missions, these ships are equipped with fire monitors forward and amidships which can deliver either firefighting foam or sea water.
Standard Cargo Truck
The M1084 with MHE (Material Handling Equipment) is designed to transport cargo and soldiers. The M1084 has a payload capacity of 10,000 pounds and lift capacity of 2,500 to 5,000 pounds using the on board MHE. The cargo bed side rails are hinged for the ease of loading and unloading cargo. The cargo bed can be equipped with an optional bench seat kit for transport of soldiers. The bench seats are constructed of a non-wood material and attach to the cargo bed side rails. The seats can be folded down and stowed when not in use. Soldiers are assisted climbing in and out of the cargo bed area with the aid of a ladder stowed on the vehicle when not in use. A canvas and bows kit is provided to keep soldiers and cargo protected from the elements. The M1084 can be equipped with a self-recovery winch capable of fore/aft vehicle recovery operations. The winch has 280 feet of line capacity and 15,500 pounds bare drum line pull at 110% overload.
Submarine Tender
The L.Y. Spear class is designed and fitted to accommodate attack submarines and can service up to four submarines moored alongside simultaneously. The Simon Lake class was configured especially to service ballistic missile submarines, the last of this class was decommissioned June 25, 1999.
Submarine tenders are the largest of the active auxiliaries. Their crews are made up mostly technicians and repair personnel.
