The Armored Vehicle: Unsung Hero Of The American Military | War Machines | Timeline

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my name's dan snow and i want to tell you about history hit tv it's like the netflix for history hundreds of exclusive documentaries and interviews with the world's best historians we've got an exclusive offer available to fans of timeline if you go to history hit tv you can either follow the information below this video or just google history hit tv and use the code timeline you get a special introductory offer go and check it out in the meantime enjoy this video since the dawn of man he has battled to conquer enemy territory and defend his own to emerge the victor in battle he needed to move faster and hit harder than his enemy the ability to move swiftly and strategically meaning the difference between life and death one horsepower became 16 000 as boats rolled straight out of the sea and onto the land vehicles became moving fortresses their armament evolving in destructive power each machine had to be faster stronger and more lethal than the one before these new tools of war the key to triumph on land [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] a champion of military maneuverability since 1984 with an innovative design and range of equipment configurations it has been employed as everything from a troop and weapons carrier through to a battlefield ambulance the high mobility multi-purpose wheeled vehicle or hun b has been called a jeep on steroids but this revolutionary four-wheel drive is much more than a replacement for the jeep a jack of all trades this tactical vehicle replaced a whole generation of combat trucks the humvee's proportions make it instantly recognizable but its extreme width and low body are not for show this critical design feature reduces the risk of potentially fatal rollovers common in its predecessors during the war on terror the humvee proved to be a valuable member of the allied forces battle fleet with the ground clearance double that of a standard four-wheel drive it excelled in the harsh desert conditions of afghanistan and iraq traversing its speeds over 113 kilometers per hour the humvee's body is comprised mostly of aluminium lightening the vehicle's weight this enables the humvee to be delivered to any point on the battlefield by a sling load or airdrop with a two and a half ton payload the humvee can be up armored with added protection or equipped with weapons such as anti-tank missiles for frontline combat after more than 30 years of service the us army has begun to supplement the humvee with a range of specialized vehicles due to evolving combat requirements a new fleet of machines have joined the mission to master battlefield maneuverability when america was ripped into civil war in 1861 the country was transitioning into a new age of technology however traditional cavalry units would still play a major role in the conflict union cavalry regiments were typically better equipped than their confederate counterparts as they were supplied with horses that met strict mandates of age height and weight in contrast confederate recruits were required to provide their own mounts but were widely considered to be superior horsemen to the urbanized soldiers from the north however the cavalry might of each side wouldn't be truly measured until the battle of brandy station in a surprise attack a union force that included 9 000 cavalry clashed with a confederate army of equal strength the battle was the largest cavalry engagement on american soil after a day of fighting with both sides sustaining heavy losses the union claimed victory for the first time in the war the union cavalry had not only matched but surpassed their confederate counterparts in horsemanship and maneuverability [Music] the horse would continue as the superior machine of mobility well into the age of the internal combustion engine and the united states army would continue to use mounts right up to 1941 but as a mechanized nazi army carved its way through europe the us military recognized the urgent need for an all-terrain vehicle for reconnaissance supply and troop transportation a replacement for the horse that could challenge the german fleet which included the kubulbargan a versatile vehicle already conquering the battlefield described by the us army chief of staff as america's greatest contribution to modern warfare willie's mb was more commonly known as the jeep designed by the american baton company in 1941 the jeep could achieve top speeds of 105 kilometers per hour powered with a 45 horsepower motor a four-wheel drive and six speeds forward and two reverse they will go anywhere a tank can go and then some the jeep's brilliance lay in its simplicity and adaptability with protruding front wheels and a snub nose it was able to traverse steep inclines the jeep could carry a 300 kilo payload or tow half its own weight at just over a tonne its lightweight enabled it to be winched over obstacles or wrapped in canvas to traverse rivers the modern arnie marches on its deep and they say there's nowhere a jeep can't go during the last major german offensive of world war ii belgium's freezing conditions rented most vehicles inoperable the jeep however was unstoppable german command issued an order that any captured jeeps should replace the kubelwagen which could not stand up to its u.s counterpart [Music] after the allies claimed victory over nazi germany general dwight eisenhower named the jeep as one of the three tools that won the war continuing service for another 30 years the jeep had one fatal flaw its tendency to roll over by the 1980s the jeep was retired and replaced with the humvee although by this time the jeep had more than earned its stripes exceeding its original wartime mission to be a motorized version of the horse during the great war the railways the criss-crossed europe carried more troops and weaponry than ever before but these bails of supply weren't a go everywhere solution requiring large amounts of infrastructure to reach constantly shifting battlefields horses remained the only true all-terrain transport but they could be easily killed were expensive to feed and could cause disease amongst the troops the internal combustion engine would change all of that in february 1916 german troops marched through belgium on foot to take the french city of verdun it would be the longest single battle of world war one with over 700 000 combined casualties german forces had interrupted french railway lines leaving french defenses with one sole lifeline a 72 kilometer stretch of road from bali duke to verdun that would become known as avoisa cray the sacred road each week over 3500 trucks resupplied the french forces with 90 000 troops and 50 000 tons of ammunition with german front lines increasingly out of reach of their train and horse supply systems a critical shortage of drinking water munitions and food would be their downfall [Music] by december 1916 the french had recaptured much of the lost ground the combustion engine influenced french victory yet the adoption of the motor vehicle in wartime was slow it would not be for another 20 years that the horse would be completely surpassed when the british army became history's first completely motorized army in 1939 in the war on terror allied troops battling insurgents in iraq and afghanistan were routinely attacked with improvised explosive devices and roadside bombs this type of asymmetrical warfare where terrorists and guerrilla groups battle traditional armed forces with vastly different strategies had been on the rise since the vietnam war with the legendary humvee susceptible to explosive attacks the us military needed a new fleet of armoured vehicles the mine resistant ambush protected vehicle or mrap is not a singular machine but a team of multi-mission vehicles specifically engineered to save the lives of troops the mrap's v-shaped hull deflects explosive forces directing the firepower outwards away from the troops inside [Music] a raised chassis elevates the vehicle higher above the blast zone their armor plating and blast resistant glass were engineered with one mission in mind to reduce fatalities of allied soldiers in 2004 almost 70 percent of u.s casualties in the middle east were caused by ieds by 2007 troops protected in mraps suffered only six percent casualties all categories of mrap are capable of speeds up to 104 kilometers per hour enabling them to keep pace with combat vehicles some have remote weapon systems allowing a gunner to fire off rounds without being exposed to the enemy but all its protection comes at a heavy cost m-raps have limited off-road capabilities can struggle fitting into constricted urban areas and 72 percent of all bridges around the world cannot hold their weight as coalition forces withdrew from the middle east the u.s army believed the mrap to be no longer feasible for combat the mrap has however earned its place in history not just a sophisticated tool of military maneuverability but for the thousands of lives saved traversing the most dangerous war zones on earth to triumph on land armies need more than just superior means of maneuverability and supply they need an unrivaled combination of mobility protection and pure firepower in frontline combat the weapon of choice for armed forces around the globe is the iconic tank since the first behemoths crawled towards the german lines military developers have been on a never-ending quest to reach the pinnacle of armored mobile firepower engaged in battle in every climate and terrain on earth there is nowhere that a tank cannot or will not go [Music] charging the front line in modern ground force attacks is the main battle tank a machine with the heaviest armament and protection but superior mobility with the capability of firing a nine kilogram projectile at speeds over one and a half kilometers per second destroying targets over three kilometers away the leopard 2 is one of the leading tanks in its class [Music] when it was unveiled by the german army in 1979 the leopard 2 was the most advanced tank in the world featuring the perfect balance of firepower mobility and protection it can engage enemy targets with pinpoint accuracy destroying moving adversaries while traversing through terrain using laser rangefinders and sophisticated stabilization digital fire control systems reactive armor protects the leopard 2 against all known anti-tank weapons when hit by an rpg or missile a top layer of explosive flyer plates detonate this outward blast drives the projectile's energy away from the tank stopping it from penetrating the vehicle's armor the leopard 2 is a supreme example of evolution and ingenuity with plans to keep them in service until 2030 the leopard 2 series of techs will earn their place in history as heroes of battlefield firepower on the western front in 1916 allied forces and the german army were embroiled in one of the bloodiest battles in history determined to end the deadlock and crush through germany's line of trenches the british army embarked on a top-secret program that would change the face of battle forever on september 15 during the battle of the somme the british tank made its debut the first in a line of modified versions moving at only six kilometers per hour the british army's mark 1 was not designed for speed the mission of the tanks was to cut through the hail of machine gun fire crush the barbed wire and allow infantry to break through the german line in 1916 many of the german army had never seen a motor vehicle let alone a tank at the site of a mark one rolling toward him a german soldier shouted the devil is coming 49 tanks were engaged in their inaugural battle and although most were destroyed allied forces would cross the german line to liberate the french town of fleurs but for all the advantages the line of british tanks provided there were as many drawbacks new unproven weaponry tanks have been rushed into battle sir winston churchill a longtime champion of tank development said my poor land battleships have been let off prematurely on a petty scale the tanks were mechanically unreliable and prone to breakdowns initially conditions for the eight men inside were horrific with the engine seated in the middle nothing separated it from the crew temperatures could reach a scorching 50 degrees celsius the noise from inside the tank combined with the sound of bullets hailing down on the armor outside was deafening when the tanks were hit with machine gun fire searing fragments of armor would fly around inside the hull so troops had to wear protective leather and chainmail masks to avoid injury leaking poisonous gases would often lead entire crews to lose consciousness and a direct hit by a grenade could cause the fuel tanks to burst open incinerating anyone inside but the british army was convinced that the tanks were the key to victory and development charged ahead whilst the british worked continuously on rolling out improved versions of the tank the french toiled on their own designs for mobile armored firepower with armament encased in a 360 degree rotating turret and an internally divided hull that placed the engine at the rear and the crew at the front the renault ft set the standard for tank layouts of the future developed in 1916 the blueprint is still used in today's modern tanks at a mere 6.5 tonnes and only requiring a two-man crew to operate the renault ft was considerably smaller than its british counterpart the combat strategy behind the ft was to swarm the battlefield and overwhelm combatants by sheer force of numbers [Music] renault produced over 3 000 with most entering service in 1918 but by the time the bulk of the fts rolled off the production line the war was over they were later used in world war ii but by this time their technology was obsolete and the ft was no match for the new breed of battle tanks germany's world war one defeat by the allied forces was a failure that adolf hitler vowed he would avenge his obsession with creating the ultimate mobile armored fighting force would lead to a type of warfare that would change history on january 11 1934 the german army weapons department was tasked with designing the primary battle tank of the nazi forces intended for tank on tank combat the resulting panzerkampfargan commonly known as the panzer 3 would become a symbol of blitzkrieg [Music] germany's lightning war strategy was designed to pummel the enemy with mass concentrations of tank firepower followed by mechanized infantry assaults and reinforced by artillery and air attacks unlike most tanks during the second world war the panzer 3 had an intercom system and radio communications capabilities invaluable for coordinated attacks but as the war continued it was clear that the allied tanks outpassed the panzer iii both in firepower and armor during operation barbarossa germany's invasion of the soviet union the panzer threes took their place among 3 600 nazi tanks the panzers held their own against the bulk of the russian armed forces but the german panzer crews soon discovered the soviet t-34s the t-34s possessed unprecedented high-velocity anti-tank firepower and seemingly impenetrable armor angled at a slope the heavy armor often deflected rounds away from the tank when german tank general mon kleist first encountered the t-34 he called it the finest tank in the world the panzer 3 was simply no match yet it was not the t-34 that would prove to be the panzer 3's greatest adversary germany simply did not have the resources necessary to sustain the attack on the russians oil reserves were severely depleted and fuel ammunition and troops were running out ill-equipped to continue fighting in the bitter russian winter the offensive froze to a halt the panzer three's final defeat would come at the hands of an enemy that could not be fired upon the freezing cold in hospitable terrain and extreme climates are a brutal reality of land-based combat and after world war ii new tank design focused not only on improvements in firepower but also on increased mobility and adaptability during the 1960s the united states army issued a daunting challenge they wanted an amphibious tank light enough to be airlifted but with the strength and power to tackle a main battle tank the united states army's m551 sheridan would charge into the vietnam war in 1969. it is fast highly maneuverable and mounts a weapon system that will destroy any known armor the sheridan was designed to be landed by parachute and to swim across rivers its mobility was excellent in all terrains eventually all cavalry squadrons were equipped with the all-terrain vehicle with a speed of 70 kilometers per hour on land and 5.8 in water [Music] infantry troops who were desperate for direct fire support praised the sheridan but command was critical of the sheridan's vulnerability to landmines and rocket-propelled grenades often casualties of a vietcong rpg ambush the sheridan's aluminium body was reported to almost melt in the attack [Music] however the gun provided to be an effective anti-personnel weapon and the sheridan continued to fulfill reconnaissance night patrol and road clearing duties in vietnam until the 10th of april 1972 when the last u.s armoured cavalry unit prepared for redeployment back to the united states whilst hitler's blitzkrieg was cutting through europe british tank design had languished the churchill 3 initially designed for trench warfare was heavy slow and undergunned in the new age of mobile warfare it was no match for the speed and firepower of the german panzers the british army knew they would need a superior tank if they were to defeat the third reich a new and improved churchill mark iii was built armed with a 57 millimeter main gun with a top speed of only 24 kilometers per hour compared to the panzer 3's 40 it was still slow but these were desperate times for the british and so the churchill was sent to north africa for the second battle of el alamein the churchill proved to be an unlikely hero displaying extraordinary hill climbing ability over the african dunes what it lacked in speed it made up for in its survivability on the battlefield its 102 millimeter thick armor withstood heavy punishment although the churchill was thriving in north africa britain was still desperately short on tanks the fleet was boosted by the arrival of the usa's newly introduced medium tank which troops called the general sherman designed by the u.s army ordnance department in 1940 the relative ease of production allowed huge numbers to be manufactured as many as 2 000 per month with a fully traversing turret and a main 75 millimeter gun the sherman would go on to become one of the most prolific tanks of world war ii while neither tank was perfect together the churchill and the sherman were greater than the sum of their parts with the churchill's strength and agility and the sherman's speed and firepower they quickly proved to be an unbeatable combination against the axis tanks none of rommel's tricks and none of his much boosted weapons could stop the british and american tanks during those days of fierce fighting that led to the big breakthrough the churchill and the sherman defied all odds and crushed the axis tanks the victory was a major morale boost both on the battlefield and the home front and would be a decisive turning point in the war as winston churchill himself famously said before alamein we never had a victory after alamein we never had a defeat since their inception tanks have become one of the most dominant weapons on the battlefield equipped with the world's most sophisticated technology they are faster stronger and more accurate than ever before setting new standards in design armament protection and electronics is the american third generation main battle tank the m1 abrams recognizing the invaluable knowledge of ten crews the u.s government asked experienced operators to participate in the abrams design process during the 1970s powered by a 1500 horsepower multi-fuel turbine jet engine the abrams weighs over 62 tons equipped with thermal imaging sites abrams crews can seek find and engage enemy targets in darkness and low visibility the abrams long-range gunnery capability allows the tank to strike targets up to three kilometers away even while on the move with a computerized stabilization system keeping the gun platform steady at all times the 120 millimeter main guns four types of ammunition are stored in a blast proof chamber at the back of the turret protected by blowout panels providing greater crew safety while exact specifications are classified top secret the abram's sophisticated composite armor is a mix of steel ceramic uranium and kevlar a synthetic woven fiber that is five times as strong as steel the armor is so advanced that the m1 is capable of withstanding a direct hit from an anti-tank explosive or kinetic energy round designed during the cold war the first abrams tank came off the chrysler defense production line in 1978 for over 10 years the m1 remained untested in combat until operation desert storm in 1991 over 1800 m1a1s were deployed to fight saddam hussein's forces armed with russian board t-72s after the initial airstrikes the untested abrams were placed on the front line tank on tank the t-72s were no match at the end of the skirmish kuwait was liberated without a single loss of life amongst american tank crews an ever-evolving fighting machine the abrams is constantly being upgraded with the latest in technological advances allowing it to continue as the main battle tank of the united states army for decades to come the onset of mechanized warfare in world war one not only changed the way wars were fought it also spurred development of mobile fighting machines an army can only move as fast as its slowest unit and mechanizing the infantry would be the key to triumph armoured personnel carriers provided troops with mobility protection and armament on transit to the battlefield but as arms developed they soon evolved into infantry fighting machines during the cold war the united states army commissioned an infantry fighting vehicle or ifv that would be fast enough to keep pace with the abrams tank allowing both vehicles to work in formation during combat in 1981 the m2 bradley infantry fighting vehicle was introduced with a 600 horsepower turbo diesel engine the bradley rapidly transports a crew of three as well as six fully equipped infantrymen high performance shock absorbers prevent injury to troops during transport but more than just a battle taxi the bradley sports a main 25 millimeter chain gun firing 200 rounds per minute it can also be armed with optically tracked anti-tank missiles making it a highly effective tank killer specifically designed to penetrate armor the turn missile travels at the speed of sound using an optical sensor to correct its trajectory to a target over three and a half kilometers away during the bradley's first deployment in the gulf war it destroyed more tanks than the m1 abrams while serving in iraq asymmetrical warfare initially proved a challenge for the bradley vulnerable to anti-tank weapons receiving constant upgrades the bradley gained the same explosive reactive armor as the leopard 2 and abrams tanks since 2007 the united states army has favored the use of m-raps over the bradley but with more than six thousand seeing combat over the past 35 years the m2 bradley has proven to be a fearsome fighting machine after the dawn of mechanized warfare the british army needed a versatile armored vehicle to swiftly deliver troops and equipment into the heart of battle at only 157 centimeters tall and 206 wide it was easy to underestimate the british universal carrier 113 000 carriers were built for service between 1934 and 1960 and it remains the most produced armored fighting vehicle in history often serving as a machine gun platform and commonly armed with the 0.303 brain the vehicle was commonly referred to as the brain gun carrier it's a machine wall and britain's growing mechanized army is hard at work with only 7 to 10 millimeters of protection the carrier was too lightly armored to perform as a tank however it proved invaluable in an infantry support role powered by an 85 horsepower v8 petrol engine the carrier would deliver troops to the battlefield where they would dismount to engage the enemy as a general rule the bren gun is not fired from the carrier which is merely used to rush up heavy firepower to the vital spot the carrier displayed remarkable agility its small size and advantage as a go anywhere vehicle capable of reaching 48 kilometers per hour it was fast for its time even the german army recognized the virtue of the universal carrier many were abandoned in france after the blitzkrieg attacks and german forces made their own modifications repurposing the carriers for reconnaissance and patrol it also served as an artillery tractor due to a towing attachment that allowed it to haul britain's main 57-millimeter anti-tank gun rain carriers have already proved their value under modern conditions and wherever the british army fights there they'll be found on the job although one of the first armored personal carriers to ever go into battle the universal carrier is still revered to this day as an unlikely hero of world war ii and the forefather of apcs to come [Music] in the 1950s at the request of the united states army the food machinery corp developed an all-terrain machine that would become one of the most successful armored vehicles of all time [Music] entering service in 1962 against the communist forces of north vietnam and the viet cong the m113 armoured personnel carrier received a fiery baptism the natural barriers and unfriendly terrain in vietnam make it tough for today's modern machines of war but surprisingly american mechanized units have surmounted these obstacles through ingenuity and sheer determination powered by a v6 two-stroke diesel engine the m113 could reach speeds of 68 kilometers per hour on land it was also partially amphibious capable of crossing small rivers with the tracks providing propulsion when the enemy can be anywhere armor means a lot to the footsold the m113 was constructed with aluminium lighter than steel it was thick enough to protect the two crew and 11 troops against small arms fire but at 18 tons it was still agile however the widespread use of landlines revealed a fatal flaw in the strength of the m113s underbelly and attacks from an rpg would ignite the vehicle instantly rather than risk being incinerated in an aluminium coffin troops would ride on top during transit leaving them completely exposed to the enemy the loss of troop lives necessitated immediate improved protection for the m113 which was provided in the form of two shielded machine guns for the left and right rear positions and steel plate belly armor that covered the underside of the vehicle today's mechanized cavalry means mobility and speed a prime requirement of modern warfare despite its shortcomings the versatility of the m113 has kept it in active service with an inexhaustible range of variants constituting half of the us armored vehicle fleet in 2007 the us army began replacing m113s with the m2 bradley yet their versatility means that large numbers will remain in a variety of support roles one of the most widely used armored fighting vehicles of all time over 80 000 m113s have been produced since 1960 21st century warfare has demanded rapid advancements in armoured personnel carriers reinventing armed and armoured mobility the striker is the most advanced armored fighting vehicle on today's battlefield designed for the united states army the striker blurs the lines between heavy and light vehicles moving infantry to the battlefield quickly and securely whilst providing firepower for the squad during dismounted assault when the first striker brigades were deployed in iraq the vehicle caused controversy due to its use of wheels instead of tracks whilst tracks offer superior off-road capabilities the eight-wheeled striker is easier to maintain and can travel at 100 kilometers per hour faster than any other armored fighting people in history the striker can operate as an 8x4 or can be switched to an all-wheel drive a state-of-the-art system enables the tyres to be inflated or deflated according to speed terrain and weather conditions should any tyre blow the striker can keep moving thanks to the run flat system of inner tubes even with all eight tyres flat the striker can keep moving at speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour light and mobile striker brigade combat teams are capable of being rapidly deployed over long distances and are immediately battle ready on arrival with 10 different variants of striker available each company can tailor their configuration of vehicles according to the mission objective most striker variants are not designed to engage heavily armoured combatants so the striker provides lighter protection than a tank for the two crew and nine troops inside when it comes to armament the striker teams can call in the right variant to provide the necessary firepower this allows striker teams to combine heavy weaponry with the mobility that a lighter vehicle affords the striker can be fitted with a 105 millimeter cannon equal to the firepower of an m1 abrams and the largest gun ever fitted to a mechanized infantry vehicle during its service over the last decade the striker has proven to be the most sophisticated armored fighting vehicle in the world today triumph on land has always required different means of deployment and an assault from the sea has often turned the tide of warfare the armored amphibious vehicles would evolve just as other species had done for millions of years before it making the journey from the sea to the land all the while growing more powerful and advanced [Music] demands placed on modern amphibious assault vehicles are as extensive as they are daunting required to operate in oceans and rivers as well as harsh off-road terrain and need to handle scorching desert heat or temperatures as low as -50 degrees celsius the current amphibious assault vehicles of the united states marine corps not only meets these demands it exceeds them with the success or failure of an amphibious assault hinging on the initial landing the crucial role of the contemporary aab is to spearhead the mission securing the beach before charging in land the aab's boat-like hull and water jet propulsion system allow it to travel at 13 kilometers per hour in water with standing three meter swirls when transitioning from water to land trax suspension allows the vehicle to operate over reefs and other obstructions that would be impossible for a lesser landing craft once on land the aav operated by a three-man crew becomes an armored personnel carrier for 21 marines capable of a top speed of 72 kilometers per hour during battle it provides troops with combat support and is armed with a 12.7 millimeter machine gun and a grenade launcher that can hit targets 1.5 kilometers away the evolution of the aav has been ongoing for more than 40 years spearheading an attack from the waves the aav will continue to provide armoured protection on the battlefield for decades to come after the deadly japanese attacks on pearl harbor the united states was forced to enter a war that it had tried to avoid the americans knew that defeating the japanese would require victory over the other axis powers of germany and italy amphibious assaults would be essential on every battlefront requiring a seaworthy troop and transportation carrier to bridge the gap between ship and shore designed in april 1942 and created in just 38 days the first amphibious wheeled military vehicle was deployed at first it was known only by its production code acronym dukw the troops simply called it the duck forging a watertight hull with seals on all bearings a rudder for steering and water and a propeller for propulsion the six-wheeled military supply truck was converted to an amphibious vehicle the duck was not armoured if the hull was breached a bilge pump would keep the craft afloat initially the duck was met with enormous skepticism from the military with many convinced it could neither be effective on land or water but on the 10th of july 1943 over 900 ducks went into battle for the first time during the allied invasion of sicily with the large ships beached away from the sicilian shore and a storm ensuing the ducks operated as a ferry service straight from ship to beach and then on by road to our advanced dumps yes the ducks are playing a vital part in the smooth working of our supply organization the invasion of sicily was a success for the allies who are now on the edge of mainland europe general eisenhower praised the duck's role in the campaign in a report to washington he called for accommodation for the officer responsible for its development eventually the duck's design incorporated the spears device allowing variance in tire pressure to be controlled from the dashboard the duck was the first vehicle to allow the driver to vary the tire pressure from inside the cab a feature that is now standard on many military vehicles [Music] the dark would once again be put to the test during the greatest amphibious operation in history the d-day invasion of normandy during the operation 40 of all supplies brought ashore were transported by the 2000 ducks they also acted as floating ambulances ferrying the wounded from land to the hospital ships although the duck was only intended to last long enough to meet the demands of combat in world war ii the amphibious carrier surprised even its harshest critics amphibious assaults are widely acknowledged as some of the most difficult military operations painstaking coordination of air land and sea vehicles must be undertaken and beach landings almost always encounter hostile enemy forces not to mention natural barriers while traditional landing craft are capable of accessing only 15 percent of the world's coastline one amphibious assault vehicle is able to access 80. the motto of the crew operating the united states navy's el cac hovercraft is no beach is out of reach the lcac or landing craft air cushion is used to transport weapon systems equipment cargo and personnel both from ship to shore and across the beach it can carry 180 fully equipped troops or even an m1 abrams tank elcacs achieve extraordinary lifting power by efficiently channeling air powerful fans fill the hovercraft's skirt with enough pressure the air escapes the skirt lifting the hovercraft's fully laden 185 ton weight four gas turbine engines providing a total of sixteen thousand horsepower propelled the lcac up to 75 kilometers per hour while most amphibious assaults are made from between 1.5 and 3 kilometers offshore the elkhack is capable of launching an assault from over the horizon this gives troops unprecedented advantage as they advance on the enemy from a position that blurs the lines between sea and sky production ended in 2001 with a total of 91 elk acts delivered to the u.s navy each unit costing over 23 million us dollars as the navy's number of active ill cats decrease they will make way for the amphibious war machines of the future 925 kilometers off the japanese coast lies the island of iwo jima during the pacific war the island was a base for japanese bombers heavily fortified it was defended by around 23 000 japanese troops who would protect it with deadly force u.s armed forces had identified iwajima as an ideal location from which to advance towards the japanese mainland so preparations for an amphibious attack on the island were made determined to be better equipped than on any other campaign in the pacific the navy demanded a vehicle that would efficiently transition troops and cargo from the waters to the beach the landing vehicle tract or lvt was an amphibious supply and combat machine that would prove to be the backbone of the entire campaign on february 19 1945 the largest american naval force ever assembled in the pacific began its attack on iwo jima the lbt had the capacity to transport six crew and thirty troops powered by a seven cylinder 250 horsepower radial gasoline engine it could reach speeds of up to 11 kilometers per hour in the water charging to 40 kilometers on land at first the americans faced minimal opposition from the japanese the ship to shore operation worked perfectly but just over an hour after landing eight thousand troops ashore the japanese unleashed a murderous barrage of machine gun fire and heavy artillery upon the crowded beaches within the first few days of battle the lbt would supersede its initial purpose evolving into an assault vehicle armed with twin browning machine guns the vehicles worked in teams under a barrage of japanese rocket and mortar fire the first lbts would send in artillery to soften the enemy the second wave would follow up with infantry support unloading of supplies goes forward in the face of harassing fire and volcanic stands which [ __ ] the progress of rolling stock after a savage battle that would last a month costing the lives of 6821 troops and nearly 20 000 japanese defenders the marines succeeded in seizing iwo jima the lbt had proven a success and the battle of iwo jima would be remembered as one of the ultimate amphibious assaults from what point is a modern amphibious assault launched from where do landing craft disembark before delivering ground forces into enemy territory operated by the united states navy the wasp class are mighty amphibious assault ships and the first in history to allow for the operation of el cacs capable of launching 25 aavs three elk a fleet of tanks and battle trucks and 2 200 combat ready troops the wasp class are the ultimate platform for launching an amphibious assault the wasp class have a well deck at the stern allowing vessels to dock directly within the ship by taking on water the ship is able to lower its stern flooding the well deck this docking station gives the u.s marine corps marine expeditionary unit unprecedented amphibious capabilities in addition to supporting amphibious vehicles the wasp class can hold up to 30 helicopters in its fast hangers with nine helicopter landing spots available it is also the first ship ever designed to operate the harrier two aircraft capable of vertical or short takeoff and landing with air land and sea coordination imperative to the success of an amphibious assault the wasp class is equipped with the technology to provide unprecedented over the horizon assault capability unmatched in might and power the wasp class is the key to triumph on land [Music] [Music]
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Channel: Timeline - World History Documentaries
Views: 143,488
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Keywords: History, Full Documentary, Documentaries, Full length Documentaries, Documentary, TV Shows - Topic, Documentary Movies - Topic, 2017 documentary, BBC documentary, Channel 4 documentary, history documentary, documentary history, military history, most amazing military vehicles, us army, war documentary, armored vehicles, new military vehicles, history of war, ww2 allied victory, military vehicles
Id: SCa1Uw73URA
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Length: 50min 13sec (3013 seconds)
Published: Sat Nov 13 2021
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