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Modern US Military Vehicles by Fred W Crismon Crestline Series Soft Cover
Modern US Military Vehicles by Fred W Crismon
The Crestline Series
Soft Cover
160 pages
Copyright 1998
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 4
PREFACE 5
CHAPTER ONEA Historical Review 6
SECTION IModern Wheeled Vehicles 18
CHAPTER TWOMotorcycles and Staff Cars 18
CHAPTER TH REE Commercial Trucks 24
CHAPTER FOUREmergency Vehicles 46
CHAPTER FIVETactical Trucks 56
CHAPTER SIXSpecialized Wheeled Vehicles 114
Fast Attack Vehicles/Light Strike Vehicles
Armored Cars
Self-Propelled Gun & Missile Carriers
Engineer & Quartermaster Equipment
Aircraft Ground Support Equipment
SECTION IIModern Tracked Vehicles 142
CHAPTER SEVENTanks, Armored Personnel Carriers, Self-Propelled Artillery, Missile Carriers, and Engineer Equipment 142
CHAPTER EIGHTSpecialized Tracked Vehicles 154
Recovery Vehicles (VTR)
Tracked Landing Vehicles (LVT)
Cargo and Personnel Carriers
INDEX 160
PREFACE
The United States military owns and operates perhaps the most varied collection of automotive vehicles to be found anywhere in the world. Between the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard, there are vehicles that traverse snow, sand, mud, swamp, paved roads, and any other type of surface one can imagine. They range in size from tiny four-wheelers and dune buggies to immense amphibious Hovercraft. Furthermore, these vehicles are utilized by military elements that are stationed on nearly every continent on the earth.
Trying to keep tabs on such a far-flung and diverse fleet of motorized equipment is impossible. Part of the problem is that much of the equipment is procured locally in foreign countries, and the only way to know about it would be to frequently visit the country where the equipment is used. Another problem is that some of the equipment, although built in the United States, is generally not in the public view.
During World War II, any new tank was considered classified, and they were often referred to as new "secret weapons." These attitudes of security prevailed well into the 1950s, but began to disappear as the public wanted to know more about the equipment, and as it became obvious there was no need to classify their very existence. The thickness and composition of armor is still classified in most cases, but the technical details of all of America's combat equipment is now generally available to the public. Indeed, the manufacturers now even print advertising material, something that was unheard of in World War II.
Of course, most of the military's motorized equipment is in the form of standard cars and trucks, and these are often simply civilian models put to administrative military use. But other vehicles are often very unique. The Air Force and Navy both require aircraft loading and servicing vehicles and runway snow plows. The Army has trucks that can be reduced in height for air drop operations. And all of the services require specialized fire and emergency vehicles.
Several of the armed services have specialized branches: the Navy has the Seabees, the SEALs, and the Marines. The Army has its Special Forces, and the Air Force also has special operations units, along with a combat engineer element known as Red Horse. These unique branches often have missions that require strange and unique motor vehicles. The Army's Special Forces and the Navy's SEALs both utilized high-powered dune buggies during Desert Storm for high speed reconnaissance missions. The Navy has a small fleet of huge 4x4 pickup trucks that tow inflatable boats used in shore protection operations. Perhaps less exciting, but just as important, the Navy and Air Force combat engineer units operate heavy equipment that one would not normally associate with a military unit, but they are necessary for quick preparation of runways, beaches and other surfaces for movement of supplies and equipment.
The compilation of photographs and data on U.S. military motor vehicles requires the assistance of hundreds of people from dozens of sources. Military test agencies, the using military units, contractors, military archives, photo labs, the Air Force's Combat Camera elements, and, of course, the manufacturers of the equipment have all been tapped in this effort, and without exception, all have responded with enthusiasm.
This has been an ongoing effort on the part of the author, who published U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles in 1983, and US. Military Tracked Vehicles in 1992. New equipment is constantly being evaluated and procured, which requires steady attention on the part of the researcher. This volume will pick up where the previous volumes left off. It is not intended to be totally comprehensive, as there are simply too many variations on many of the modern vehicles to even attempt that.
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