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thedrifter
05-21-04, 11:34 AM
FSD houses vintage prototype equipment
Submitted by: MCLB Barstow
Story Identification #: 2004520163953
Story by Mr. Rob L. Jackson



MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, Calif.(May 20, 2004) -- Not many people are aware that MCLB Barstow is the temporary home of a few historical pieces of equipment from an era that set the stage for the development today's military hardware.

Deep within the bowels of Fleet Support Division's storage lot sits a few prototype vehicles that never made it into the Marine Corps' inventory, some that never made it past the experimental phase, a few that saw little if any action, and one or two pieces that saw extensive action.

However, a few of those pieces are the predecessors to some of today's amphibious vehicles, according to Master Gunnery Sgt. James King, 11th Marine Regiment motor transport chief and volunteer with the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton museum.

The vehicles in question were developed just after World War II, during the Korean War and some as late as the Vietnam War, but for one reason or another they never got approved for use, King explained.

"Take for example the LVWX2 (landing vehicle wheeled - experimental) which was designed to haul troops and equipment from landing craft inland," King said. "The reason it didn't make it was because the Navy's beach master units were already using the same type of vehicle, the LARC-5."

LARC-5 is the acronym for lighter, amphibious, resupply and cargo, with a five-ton capacity. There were only two of the LVWX2 built in 1963 and they were for experimental use only.

There are two other vehicles on FSD's lot that closely resemble the LVWX2, built by different companies, and they also were for experimental use. These are called Land Vehicle Hydrofoil or LVHX-1 and 2. Unlike the LARC-5 or the LVWX-2, which were for land use, the LVH was designed for use on land as well as water.

Both vehicles were built with the same requirements with aluminum hulls 38 feet long and the capability of carrying a 5-ton payload at speeds of 35 knots. The difference between the two is the LVHX-1 has a submerged foil system, and the LVHX-2 employed surface-piercing foils forward with a single submerged foil aft.

According to the International Hydrofoil Society, during the trial program it became clear that the complexities and costs of such features, a foil retraction and high speed gas turbine propulsion presented too great a penalty to pay for the increased water speed. As a result, further pursuit of the hydrofoil landing craft was terminated.

"They also had problems with the tires and that's why it was a failed project," said King.

"The LARC-5 is what the Navy's Beach Master Group still utilizes today and what they'll do is when the landing craft actually come ashore and get stuck they will go out and push them back off again."

The LARC-5s are also used as envoys for amphibious tractors, to carry cargo, and used as medevacs just as its predecessor the LVHX's were designed to do, according to King.

Another piece of equipment that King pointed out, also a prototype, was a landing vehicle tracked recovery or LVTEX3. This vehicle had a land speed of 40 mph, tipped the scales at 45,704 pounds and came equipped with a .50 caliber machine gun to protect its three crewmembers and four engineers.

"It is experimental but it has the mine plow on the front of it and they only made two of those and that's the only one that's still around," said King. "It was going to be used to push through mine fields but it never went into production because they came out with the mine plows for the P5. They came out with the ones for the tanks but didn't want to use it on the amtracs any more because it was too burdensome for an amtrac to go out an do mine duty too."

Tucked between two of the experimental vehicles, like a newborn pup, sits an M76 amphibious cargo carrier which the Marines used extensively during Korea and Vietnam, according to King.

"They used them for snow a lot because before they had the actual SUSVs, this was perhaps the best little snow vehicle you ever saw," King revealed.

"It had its own heater inside the only bad thing about it was that the fuel tank was right where the pilot could see it and when thing started popping off, well you know."

The M76 steering was like an aircraft, could spin on a dime, was very fast and agile, and not that noisy because it had an air-cooled engine, said King.

Another item on the lot that never tested and is only one of kind is an LVT 76mm gun carrier. This particular tracked vehicle nearly dwarfs anything sitting next to it because of its size. This item is the only one ever built and was manufactured in 1951.

Pointing out a 105mm gun carrier, again only one of a kind, King emphasized that this particular machine was built with the same concept in mind as the 76mm gun carrier, was lighter than the 76mm but it also died on the drawing board.

"A lot of (the developers) sat there and said 'ok our concept for this is just not going to work,' so this is (a good example) of that drawing board stuff that never makes it," said King.

Saving the best for last, King showed what he and the history books said the precursor to today's amphibious assault vehicle, the LVT3C (landing vehicle tracked). It should be noted that this particular vehicle, according to history, is a second generation of LVTs, the first of which were used throughout World War II.

In 1950, 1200 LVT3Cs were modified by the Long Beach Naval Shipyard for use during the Korean War, according to King. It weighed in at 39,190 pounds, came equipped with a .50 caliber machine gun, could reach a land speed of 17.5 mph and water speed of 5.7 mph, and as of the mid-1990s it was still in used by allied forces.

"At one time there were more than 100 of these LVT3Cs here at Barstow, just waiting to be DRMO-ed, and some civilian company came in and purchased everyone of them and had them shipped to Florida. They are now part of Florida's artificial reef," King explained. "This one and one other are the only items left."

King also revealed that each one of the items currently stored at FSD were on display at Camp Pendleton for almost 30 years. People used to bring their fathers and grandfathers around to reminisce about them

"To this day I still get people asking 'whatever happened to the amtrac thing that was on top of the hill?'" said King jokingly. "Which is why everyone is happy that we've got a museum being built there so they can have a place to do that all over again."

Since 1993 this equipment has been stored at MCLB Barstow and until the museum at Camp Pendleton is completed, it will stay. Some of the items are in need of repair but for the most part, they look same as they did during their experimental and testing phases in the 1950s and 1960s.

"This is the prefect climate for those things because with this dry area, unlike Camp Pendleton, it will hold up for a long time," King concluded.


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/2004520165334/$file/LVWX2lr.jpg

One of only two LVWX2s, landing vehicle wheeled, built in 1963 is another example of some of the experimental vehicles that never got past its test phase. It was supposed to be the Marine Corps' version of the Navy's beach master LARC-5 vehicle. Photo by: Rob L. Jackson


http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200452017123/$file/Otterlr.jpg

The M76 amphibious cargo carrier, called the "Otter," because of its speed and agility, saw extensive use during the Vietnam War. FSD has one of two left in the Marine Corps stored on its lot. Photo by: Rob Jackson

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/image1.nsf/Lookup/200452017335/$file/LVT3Clr.jpg

An LVT3C, one of 1200 manufactured in 1950, is billed as the precursor to today's armored amphibious vehicle. These are considered as second generation LVTs, modified by the Long Beach Naval Shipyard and used during the Korean War. Photo by: Rob L. Jackson

http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/mcn2000.nsf/main5/549790041FCCC69485256E9A007183D0?opendocument


Ellie