Thanks ShortRound, that really helps a lot! Just a question though, as I thought that a normal marine rifle battalion didn't have any organing motor transport?
So, does the Battalion Landing Team of an MEU also have all these vehicles? Or are they distributed to them from the different platoons in the MSSG?
Also, there seem to be a lot of versions of the D7 Caterpillar. Because no one else makes them, I've had to order some D7's from those 1/300 guys across the pond, but I'm beginning to have second thoughts if its the correct type or even usable in a conversion.
Yes, as an Army Vet, I'm out of my territory, but I could not help myself. I could not find a picture of the specific fuel truck, but the tank was shaped like a regular tanker trailer cross-section, but only 6 to 7 feet long. There would be two mounted in the back of a M35 truck.
Rutgervanm wrote:Also, there seem to be a lot of versions of the D7 Caterpillar. Because no one else makes them, I've had to order some D7's from those 1/300 guys across the pond, but I'm beginning to have second thoughts if its the correct type or even usable in a conversion.
From logging many hours in it, I can specifically state that the USMC uses the Catepillar D7G dozer. Looks mostly like your bottom picture with the low tracks, not the high ones in the top pic. Accessories that are put on the rear include rippers for breaking up dirt (3 big 'teeth' on a short lowering arm) a winch, or just the normal tow point. Most seemed to be the CARC paint OD Green, though I do remember seeing one in a Green/Black woodland camo wannabe and of course some in Desert coloring.
Thanks Cpl. Blakeman that clears things up. As one who have worked with them, could you tell me how many bulldozers are used by a single enginering platoon?
@ ZMONSTER: would those two fuel tanks be mounted in the breadth or in the lenght? If you catch my drift? Next to each other or behind each other. Also, how many would be employed by a Motor Transport Platoon?
@ Shortround, those vehicles in batallion CP, are they organic to the H&S company? Or do they come from support units?
The 2 tanks would be one behind the other, straight line to the length of the truck. My unit had one for the Battalion. We had 25-30 5-ton, 2 2.5-ton, 12 HUMVV, 1 5-ton wrecker,
A larger unit would probably have a larger tanker trailer, with smaller units being equipped with the single truck with 2 600 gallon tanks. Here is an old 1990 2 1/2 ton truck sold surplus to a Fire Dept. as a Brush Fire Rig, belonging to the West Hanover Township Fire Company #1.
Has to be a long bed truck, to fit both tanks and the fuel pump; and is an add-on kit. My new source is a former 44B Metal Worker, he actually rigged one of these POL trucks.
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Rutgervanm wrote:Thanks Cpl. Blakeman that clears things up. As one who have worked with them, could you tell me how many bulldozers are used by a single enginering platoon?
That entirely depends on the type of engineering unit. I was in an Marine Wing Support Squadron that would build expeditious airfields pretty much anywhere you could get flat. I remember us having 4 of them at one point but usually one was in the shop for repairs or in the field.
Equipment Engineering platoons attached to an infantry element could have as many as ten from my talks with folks, but they never fielded more than around 4 to 6.
For rapid deployment they were placed on the backs of fifth wheel flatbeds (M860A1 Trailer) pulled by LVS (logistic vehicle supply, aka Hemmt in the US Army)
LVS pulling a D7 on M860A1
LVS with pallets (we called them air force pallets) on M860A1
To offload any vehicle on the flatbed it could either have the small ramps lowered at the rear like the bottom picture shows for light vehicles/trailers or it could actually maket the gooseneck portion in the front hinge down to make it flat for heavier moving cargo (like the D7). Of course there was always the option with tracked vehicles to do what we called a 'combat offload' where the D7 operator pivoted on the trailer 90 degrees and simply drove off the side, taking the 3 foot drop with the blade then raising the blade to lower the front of the tracks. This wasnt done unless the situation mandated the risk of damaging the equipment. The rear ramps were not rated to take the full weight of a D7 from what I remember and I always saw them used with rubber tired vehicles.
Rutgervanm:
Sorry it took so long to answer this question for you.
A Marine Infantry Battalion has 43 Hummers of various types split between the Headquarters & Service Company and Weapons Company. This is per Marine Corps Document MCRP 5-12D, Organization of Marine Forces. I dowloaded it a while ago, but don't remember from where. You will have to do a net search or PM me and we will work something out. It is a large pdf file.
Only thing left for me to ask is whether or not the full complement of vehicles is brought along on an MEU tour? Due to limited space on the PHIBRON it might be conceivable for the Marine Rifle Battalion to leave behind some of it's designated vehicles?
As far as a MEU, no they dont take along everything they have, they leave some back and adjust the loadout to the MEUs specifics. I've seen a full complement of engineer equipment on one MEU and just one TRAM and one D7G on another.
Rutgervanm wrote:Thanks Cpl. Blakeman that clears things up. As one who have worked with them, could you tell me how many bulldozers are used by a single enginering platoon?
That entirely depends on the type of engineering unit. I was in an Marine Wing Support Squadron that would build expeditious airfields pretty much anywhere you could get flat. I remember us having 4 of them at one point but usually one was in the shop for repairs or in the field.
Equipment Engineering platoons attached to an infantry element could have as many as ten from my talks with folks, but they never fielded more than around 4 to 6.
For rapid deployment they were placed on the backs of fifth wheel flatbeds (M860A1 Trailer) pulled by LVS (logistic vehicle supply, aka Hemmt in the US Army)
LVS pulling a D7 on M860A1
LVS with pallets (we called them air force pallets) on M860A1
To offload any vehicle on the flatbed it could either have the small ramps lowered at the rear like the bottom picture shows for light vehicles/trailers or it could actually maket the gooseneck portion in the front hinge down to make it flat for heavier moving cargo (like the D7). Of course there was always the option with tracked vehicles to do what we called a 'combat offload' where the D7 operator pivoted on the trailer 90 degrees and simply drove off the side, taking the 3 foot drop with the blade then raising the blade to lower the front of the tracks. This wasnt done unless the situation mandated the risk of damaging the equipment. The rear ramps were not rated to take the full weight of a D7 from what I remember and I always saw them used with rubber tired vehicles.
Hope this helps.
sorry, gotta ask, where are the happy meals if its airforce?
clansittingducks wrote:sorry, gotta ask, where are the happy meals if its airforce
Look for the building with the air conditioner and the music blasting on the intercom, thats where the air force will be.
We always joked that only the airforce would make a pallet that is impossible to pick up with a forklift, unless you put wood under it. They must not like moving anything around.
