Industry | Automotive |
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Founded | Ocala, Florida, United States (1999 ) |
Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 4 |
Products | Automobiles |
Website | www |
Growler Manufacturing and Engineering, formerly American Growler, Inc., is an automotive manufacturing firm producing light tactical vehicles, originally based in Ocala, Florida, then in Robbins, North Carolina, and now in the HUBZone in Star, North Carolina. For over ten years, it has built a line of Light Utility Vehicles partly derived from drivetrains from M151 Jeeps. [1] Versions range from $7,000 in price kit form, a $15,500 tactical dune buggy, and a $33,000 version sold to the Dominican Republic's military.
Growler Manufacturing and Engineering started as Utility Vehicles Inc. in 1999 [2] who designed of new frames and bodies and remanufactured drive trains from military vehicles, primarily M151 jeeps, purchased through surplus sales. Through several acquisitions and renamings they ended up based in Star NC where they Growler produces light tactical vehicle and equipment trailers for the United States Marine Corps.
Growler's most expensive model at over $100,000 each, is the Growler Light Strike vehicle. [3] It was specially designed to be transported in the small cargo hold of the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft along with the Expeditionary Fire Support System towed mortar. [4]
The V-22 cargo compartment is five feet wide, five feet tall and less than 17 feet in length. In 2005, the Marines planned to buy 400 of the vehicles in a contract that combined with the mortar system was expected to total $296 million.
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the original jeep, and others such as the Vietnam War-era M151 jeep, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle, and other light trucks. Primarily used by the United States military, it is also used by numerous other countries and organizations and even in civilian adaptations. The Humvee saw widespread use in the Gulf War of 1991, where it navigated the treacherous desert terrain; this usage helped to inspire civilian Hummer versions. The vehicle's original unarmored design was later seen to be inadequate. The vehicle was found to be particularly vulnerable to improvised explosive devices in the Iraq War. The U.S. hastily up-armored select models and replaced front-line units with the MRAP. The U.S. military sought to replace the vehicle in front-line service under the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. In 2015 the Oshkosh L-ATV was selected for production.
AM General is an American heavy vehicle and contract automotive manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana. It is best known for the civilian Hummer and the military Humvee that are assembled in Mishawaka, Indiana. For a relatively brief period, 1974–1979, the company also manufactured transit buses, making more than 5,400.
This article is about the weapons used in the Vietnam War, which involved the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) or North Vietnamese Army (NVA), National Liberation Front for South Vietnam (NLF) or Viet Cong (VC), and the armed forces of the China (PLA), Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN), United States, Republic of Korea, Philippines, Thailand, and the Australian, New Zealand defence forces, and a variety of irregular troops.
The Gama Goat is a six-wheel drive semi-amphibious off-road vehicle originally developed for use by the US military in the Vietnam War. The Goat uses an articulated chassis, so that from distance it appears to be a four-wheel drive vehicle pulling a two-wheel trailer, but it is a single six-wheel vehicle with a four-wheel steering arrangement with the front and rear wheels turning in opposite directions. It was famous for its ability to travel over exceptionally rough and muddy terrain.
The Medium Tactical Vehicle Replacement (MTVR) is a series of vehicles, based on a common chassis that vary by payload and mission requirements. The MTVR is a purpose-designed military vehicle, although a small number of vehicles have been sold commercially for specialized operations such as wildfire fighting.
The Truck, Utility, ¼-Ton, 4×4, M151 or simply M151 was the successor to the Korean War M38 and M38A1 jeep Light Utility Vehicles. The M151 had an integrated body design which offered a little more space than prior jeeps, and featured all-around independent suspension with coil springs. It has since been replaced by the larger AM General HMMWV in most utility roles in frontline use. With some M151A2 units still in U.S. military service in 1999, the M151 series achieved a longer run of service than that of the World War II/Korean War-era MB/GPW, M38, and M38A1 series combined.
The Willys MB and the Ford GPW, both formally called the U.S. Army Truck, 1⁄4-ton, 4×4, Command Reconnaissance, commonly known as the Willys Jeep, Jeep, or jeep, and sometimes referred to by its supply catalogue designation G503, were highly successful American off-road capable light military utility vehicles, built in large numbers to a single standardized design, for the United States and the Allied forces in World War II from 1941 to 1945.
The MO-120 RT or MO-120-RT is a heavy mortar of French origin. The RT in the designator stands for rayé, tracté, which means rifled, towed. The MO-120-RT is currently used by the French Army, and has also been sold to more than 24 foreign countries or is produced under licence in various countries. The MO-120 RT is issued by artillery units, where it augments the 155 mm artillery, or infantry units in some countries.
The Logistics Vehicle System (LVS), nicknamed by U.S. Marines as "Dragon Wagon", is a modular assortment of eight-wheel drive all-terrain vehicle unit combinations used by the United States Marine Corps.
The Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV) is a vehicle program instituted to provide the United States military with light utility vehicles based on civilian trucks.
The Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is a United States military and United States Special Operations Command program to part-replace the Humvee with a family of more survivable vehicles with greater payload. Early studies for the JLTV program were approved in 2006. The JLTV program incorporates lessons learned from the earlier Future Tactical Truck Systems program and other associated efforts.
The M422 'Mighty Mite' is a lightweight ¼-ton 4x4 tactical truck, suitable for airlifting and manhandling. From 1959 to 1962, the Mighty Mite was built by American Motors for the United States Marine Corps.
The Willys MD, formally the M38A1 Truck, Utility: 1/4 ton, 4x4, or the G‑758 by its U.S. Army Standard Nomenclature supply catalog designation, was a four-wheel drive, military light utility vehicle, made by Willys and Willys Motors / Kaiser Jeep from 1952 to 1971. It was widely procured by the U.S. military from 1952 until 1957, after which U.S. purchases were reduced to the U.S. Marine Corps. The Marine version had minor differences from the units used by other branches.
Military light utility vehicle, or simply light utility vehicle, (LUV), is a term used for the lightest weight class military vehicle category. A Jeep-like four-wheel drive vehicle for military use by definition lighter than other military trucks and vehicles, inherently compact and usually with light or no armour, with short body overhangs for nimble all-terrain mobility, and frequently around 4-passenger capacity.
The M1161 Growler is officially the Internally Transportable Light Strike Vehicle (ITV-LSV) designed specifically for use with the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The M1161 and M1163 are the only tactical vehicles certified to fly in the V-22. Fulfilling multiple roles of light utility, light strike and fast attack vehicle, the M1161 Growler is smaller than most international vehicles in the same role. It has taken over duties of the M151 jeep-type variants and replaced the Interim Fast Attack Vehicle (IFAV).
The Jeep trailer was a small, 1⁄4 short ton payload rated, cargo trailer, designed in World War II, tailored to be towed by 1/4-ton U.S. Army jeeps. Versions of the quarter-ton jeep trailer remained in military use, by the U.S. or other countries, at least through to the 1990s.
The Oshkosh L-ATV is a light utility/combat multi-role vehicle that won the US military's Army-led Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) program. In the very early stages of the program it was suggested that JLTV would replace the AM General High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV) on a one-for-one basis. It is now suggested that the JLTV will part-replace the HMMWV, not replace it on a like-for-like basis.