Com-Central.net

I give you, the "Transphibian Tactical Crusher"

"98 TON AMPHIBIAN
The Transphibian Tactical Crusher at first sight resembles a monstrous tricycle, running backwards. Even though the machine weighs nearly 98 tons it is amphibious and travels through swamp and mire with ease. The mission of the "crusher" in Vietnam is to deny the enemy any type of concealment. It accomplishes this mission by knocking trees, brush, nipa-palm and bamboo thickets as well as jungle undergrowth and burying it with its rotating 12 ton drum-like wheels. The machine is capable of clearing up to 6.8 acres per hour of every conceivable terrain found in Vietnam. The "crushers" are maintained and operated by the 93d Engineers, a support unit of the Old Reliables"



courtesy of:
www.oldreliable.org/oc...2/p22.html

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!

- Doug_Kibbey

I give you, the "Transamphibian Tactical Crusher"

98 TON AMPHIBIAN
The "crushers" are maintained and operated by the 93d Engineers, a support unit of the Old Reliables

VERY INTERESTING!

"The crushers".... I would guess that means they had more than one.

Anyone near the Engineer School know if there is one of these things setting around there on display?

Sgt, Scouts Out!

- Roy_A_Lingle

Hi Doug! Hi Folks!


"The crushers".... I would guess that means they had more than one.

Anyone near the Engineer School know if there is one of these things setting around there on display?

Sgt, Scouts Out!

Seems there were only two, Roy...from the Army.mil/CMH site:

"Another land clearing device, the transphibian tactical crusher, was tested during mid-1967. This massive 97-ton machine used a pusher bar against large trees and cleated drums to chop up felled trees and small vegetation. During testing, trees forty to forty-eight inches in diameter proved to be no obstacle to the crusher. Two crushers were initially used to clear 2,083 acres in the vicinity of Long Binh and then assigned to the 93d Engineer Battalion (Construction) for use in a tactical environment near the Binh Son Rubber Plantation, thirty-five miles southeast of Saigon. Approximately 1, 300 acres were cleared in support of the 9th Infantry Division, but the crushers suffered an inordinate amount of time under repair. Therefore, after the testing was completed, no additional crushers were procured."

I've only found the one grainey picture of this thing....

...and in related developments, the LeTouneau Tree Crusher (only 60 tons, but the 100 tonner is discussed):


"THE LETOURNEAU TREE-CRUSHER could fell large trees and cut moderate size timber into sticks which were pressed into the ground.

Suggestions from the United States meanwhile included a 100-ton tracked tank­like vehicle, the three-wheeled LeTourneau tree-crusher, and a Rome Plow attachment for military tractors. A small number of tractors with Rome Plow attachments and accessories were ordered at once. Within hours after they had arrived, been assembled, and been hurried through field tests, large orders for Rome Plow kits were under preparation. While awaiting delivery, the test models in South Vietnam were put to immediate use and organizational training and operating plans were developed. The 100-ton tank was rejected as too hard to move; getting it from ship to shore in South Vietnam and subsequently to the jungle would have created impossible problems.

The LeTourneau tree-crusher was also originally rejected, even though it was capable of being broken down into four or five pieces for shipment. Flotation characteristics were appealing, but it was only marginally effective in the water. Although it weighed sixty tons, it was less trouble to move than some other proposed devices, but it was vulnerable-a target too big to miss in a tactical situation; a complex, though well-protected hydraulic system; and little prospect of extracting the machine if it became deadlined in the middle of the jungle. Nevertheless, the commanding general of the 1st Logistical Command arranged for rental and shipment of a test model to the Long Binh area. In the early spring of 1967 the tree­crusher proved its ability to perform in a swampy jungle; however, it was not reliable enough in South Vietnam and was returned to the United States when the lease expired."

Source: www.army.mil/cmh/books/ Vietnam/Engineers/ch7.htm