It hasn't been an especially wet late Winter around here so far although last night we did get a good amount of rain and even some snow after midnight. Even with the slight drying out we got I have had to lock my truck into 4WD just to get down to some of my bee hives and as I mentioned the other day the truck with my load of gravel sank to his axles in the mud behind the barn.
I did a little asking around last night and a driver of a truck just like the one that was used here estimated with the load and all that rig was topping off at around 15 tons or so.
Ten wheels and a load of gravel sunk that fast even with a covering of wood chips over a foot thick? Admittedly that is a rather wet area and get's little sun but it has also never been tilled or plowed and has been run over by many a tractor and hay laden wagon over the years.
It kinda makes ya wonder what one of these would do in a plowed field doesn't it?
I have seen reports of those things weighing in at as much as 40K. I simply cannot imagine something like that being of any value in farm country. Outside of the cities anyway. I am not even sure something like that can safely cross 90% of the small bridges we have scattered around here.
Just doing a bit of muddy musing this morning.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
On the other hand, it would be fun to watch an MRAP sinking to its bumpers as city cops try to make a way through fields & creek bottoms. :)
ReplyDeleteRP - Ya know I have a little experience with recovery vehicles and I find myself wondering if even one of the big converted M-60's would pull one of those things out of real mud. Even our old arty guns had to help pull themselves out.
DeleteA solidly anchored winch will. But an M-60 might not.
DeleteHowever, having used a very tiny excavator to pull a vehicle out of deep mud (a poorly tamped trench) I would give the tracked, weighty vehicle a lot of respect.
Another thing that could make a comeback in a, ahem, situation like that would be the humble moat. Given that the majority of these vehicles are remarkably similar, it should be theoretically possible to dimension a ditch and wall that would hang up the undercarriage. If that ditch were habitually filled with water, of course, it would be soft, and crossing would be unlikely with any wheeled vehicle. If the close bank were a verticle or even slightly overhung wall, I would think it should be rather effective, even if only 2 ft or so deep. At any rate, it would force the opposition to invest additional time and effort in barrier penetration.
ReplyDeleteWolfman - I have thought about the moat thing as well. It wouldn't even have to be that wide either if those front wheels went in first.
DeleteHah, I see a future theme for your story.
ReplyDeleteStephen - I was mulling that one over as well :)
DeleteJust like the Germans in the battle of the bulge with their new super tanks that couldn't cross many of the bridges or get off the roads. It didn't turn out well especially when they sucked down all the fuel being so heavy, just left them setting and walked home.
ReplyDeleteSf - Ya these things would make even poorer pillboxes :)
DeleteI think there's a reason we used treads before it was decided that we wouldn't fight in places other than the middle-east.
ReplyDeleteOdy - Ya know I seem to remember something about that when I was at arty advanced camp. I remember a lecture on why the Army did away with so many large wheeled vehicles like the old greyhounds and such.
DeleteIt is all about ground pressure, and how well you distribute your weight. Tracked vehicles rule the ground pressure war.
ReplyDelete