The armored bulldozer is a basic tool of combat engineering. These combat engineering vehicles combine the earth moving capabilities of the bulldozer with armor which protects the vehicle and its operator in or near combat. Most are civilian bulldozers modified by addition of vehicle armor/military equipment, but some are tanks stripped of armament and fitted with a dozer blade. Some tanks (called tankdozers) have bulldozer blades while retaining their armament, but this does not make them armored bulldozers as such, because combat remains the primary role — earth moving is a secondary task.
The first armored bulldozer (D7A) was developed by the British during World War II. This was a conventional Caterpillar D7bulldozer fitted with armor to protect the driver and the engine. The work was carried out by Jack Olding & Company Ltd of Hatfield. The bulldozer was one of several specialist armored vehicles that were collectively referred to as "Hobart's Funnies" and were operated by the British 79th Armoured Division in support of armored assaults.
The bulldozers were produced in preparation for the Battle of Normandy with the tasks of clearing the invasion beaches of obstacles and quickly making roads accessible by clearing rubble and filling in bomb craters.
As Allied armies advanced through Europe, the armored bulldozer was found to be too slow—there was a need for well-armored, obstacle clearing vehicle that was fast enough to keep up with tank formations. This need was met by the Centaur Bulldozer—a Centaur tank with the turret removed and a bulldozer blade fitted. Centaur bulldozers were still in use with the British Army at the time of the Korean War.
Modern use
Armored bulldozer of the Serbian armed forces
Modern armored bulldozers are often based on the Caterpillar D7 and D9. The attributes that make the D9 popular for major construction projects make it desirable for military applications as well. It has been particularly effective for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and for the United States armed forces (the Marine Corps and the US Army) and the Canadian Army in Iraq[citation needed], both using an armor kit developed and manufactured by Israel. Following the success of the armored D9, Caterpillar Defense Products started to manufacture and sell armored bulldozers, mainly for the United States Armed Forces.[1]
The Israeli Armored D9 — nicknamed Doobi (Hebrew: דובי; lit. teddy bear) — is a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer that was modified by the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Military Industries and Israel Aerospace Industries to increase the survivability of the dozer in hostile environments and enable it to withstand heavy attacks.
The main IDF modification is the installation of an Israeli-made armor kit, which provides armor protection to the mechanical systems and to the operator cabin. The operator and commander are protected inside an armored cabin ("the cockpit"), with bulletproof windows to protect against bombs, machinegun, and sniper fire. The IDF also developed a slat armor add-on to deflect RPG rounds. The fitted armor package adds roughly 15 additional tons to the production-line weight of the D9. The modified D9 bulldozers can be fitted with disparate features, such as crew-operated machine guns, smoke projectors, or grenade launchers.
During the Second Intifada the armored D9 bulldozer was an effective tool against Palestinian fighters, as they were almost impervious to Palestinian weapons and withstood even RPGs and belly charges with more than 100kg and even half a ton of explosive. Therefore, they were used to opening safe routes for IDF forces and detonate explosive charges. The bulldozer was used extensively to clear shrubbery and structures which could be used as cover.
Following several incidents where armed Palestinians barricaded themselves inside houses to prevent house demolition and killed soldiers attempting to breach the entries, the IDF developed "Noal Sir Lachatz" (נוהל סיר לחץ "Pressure Pot Regulation") in which D9s and other engineering vehicles were used to bring them out by razing the houses.
During the first Gulf war the United States purchased tractor protection kits (TPK) from the Israel Military Industries (IMI) for their Caterpillar D7 bulldozers.[citation needed] The armored bulldozers were mainly used in mine clearing applications. During the preparation to the war in Iraq in 2003 the United States Army purchased several D9 armor kits from the IDF and used them to produce similarly fortified D9s. These have been used to clear destroyed vehicles from roads, dig moats, erect earthen-barriers, and construct field fortifications. D9s have also been used to raze houses which sheltered insurgent snipers. Military reports on the Conflict in Iraq say that the D9s were found very effective and "received highly favorable reviews from all that benefited from their use".[2]
D7 with Mine-Clearing blade
US Army D9Rs with Israeli IDF armor kits
Other military forces
Other military forces, such as the Lebanese army and the Egyptian army, also used armored bulldozers, to destroy civilian homes.
The Soviet military developed dedicated dozer-blade-equipped armored vehicles, the IMR series, based on main battle tank chassis.
The Islamic State has used armoured bulldozers, including civilian bulldozers up-armoured with steel plate and slat armour, capable of withstanding small arms fire and even rocket propelled grenades, as SVBIED's or suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. The tonnes of explosives packed into these armoured bulldozers are capable of destroying entire buildings.
An armoured fighting vehicle or armored fighting vehicle (AFV) is an armed combat vehicle protected by armour, generally combining operational mobility with offensive and defensive capabilities. AFVs can be wheeled or tracked. Examples of AFVs are tanks, armoured cars, assault guns, self-propelled artilleries, infantry fighting vehicles (IFV), and armoured personnel carriers (APC).
A military engineering vehicle is a vehicle built for construction work or for the transportation of combat engineers on the battlefield. These vehicles may be modified civilian equipment or purpose-built military vehicles. The first appearance of such vehicles coincided with the appearance of the first tanks, these vehicles were modified Mark V tanks for bridging and mine clearance. Modern military engineering vehicles are expected to fulfill numerous roles such as; bulldozer, crane, grader, excavator, dump truck, breaching vehicle, bridging vehicle, military ferry, amphibious crossing vehicle, and combat engineer section carrier.
A combat engineer is a type of soldier who performs military engineering tasks in support of land forces combat operations. Combat engineers perform a variety of military engineering, tunnel and mine warfare tasks, as well as construction and demolition duties in and out of combat zones.
The Caterpillar D9 is a large track-type tractor designed and manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. It is usually sold as a bulldozer equipped with a detachable large blade and a rear ripper attachment.
A bulldozer or dozer is a large, motorized machine equipped with a metal blade to the front for pushing material: soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, though specialized models riding on large off-road tires are also produced. Its most popular accessory is a ripper, a large hook-like device mounted singly or in multiples in the rear to loosen dense materials.
The M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle (CEV) is a full-tracked vehicle used for breaching, obstacle removal, and pioneering operations. Production commenced in 1965 and ceased in 1987. A total of 312 of all variants of these armored engineer vehicles were produced.
The IDF Caterpillar D9 — nicknamed Doobi — is a Caterpillar D9 armored bulldozer used by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It is supplied by Caterpillar Inc. and modified by the Israel Defense Forces, Israeli Military Industries and Israel Aerospace Industries to increase the survivability of the bulldozer in hostile environments and enable it to withstand attack.
Yahalom is a sayeret unit of the Israeli Combat Engineering Corps of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
The Israeli Combat Engineering Corps is the combat engineering forces of the Israel Defense Forces.
Hobart's Funnies is the nickname given to a number of specialist armoured fighting vehicles derived from tanks operated during the Second World War by units of the 79th Armoured Division of the British Army or by specialists from the Royal Engineers.
The LAV III is the third generation of the Light Armoured Vehicle (LAV) family of armored personnel carriers built by General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada (GDLS-C), a London, Ontario, based subsidiary of General Dynamics. It first entered service in 1999, succeeding the LAV II. It is the primary mechanized infantry vehicle of both the Canadian Army and the New Zealand Army. It also forms the basis of the Stryker vehicle used by the U.S. Army and other operators. The Canadian Army is upgrading its LAV IIIs to the LAV 6 standard. Early in its development history it was referred to as the 'Kodiak', but the name was never officially adopted.
An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured fighting vehicles, such as tanks and armoured personnel carriers. Most ARVs have motorized tracks, like a tank or bulldozer, enabling the ARV to operate on uneven ground. The term "Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicle" (ARRV) is also used.
The M9 armored combat earthmover (ACE) is a highly mobile armored tracked vehicle that provides combat engineer support to frontline forces. Fielded by the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Army, its tasks include eliminating enemy obstacles, maintenance and repair of roads and supply routes, and construction of fighting positions.
The Caterpillar D7 is a medium track-type tractor manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. and most commonly used as a bulldozer.
Nagmachon is a heavily armoured infantry fighting vehicle fielded by the Israel Defense Forces. The Nagmachon evolved from the NagmaSho't armoured personnel carrier (APC), which in turn was based on Centurion tank Sho't hulls from the 1970s and 1980s. The vehicle carries thick belly armour designed to withstand mine-blasts and mountings on the front hull for various engineering devices such as mine plows, mine rollers and bulldozer blades. With its belly armour and the relatively heavy armour of the Centurion hull, the Nagmachon also carries explosive reactive armour to counter high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge rounds, such as rocket propelled grenade (RPG) RPG-7s.
Iron Fist is a hard-kill active protection system (APS) designed by Israel Military Industries (IMI), with a modular design allowing adaptation to a range of platforms ranging from light utility vehicles to heavy armoured fighting vehicles. The concept was revealed by IMI in 2006 and was expected to enter Israel Defense Forces tests by mid-2007. The system has been successfully tested against a wide variety of threats including rocket-propelled grenades, anti-tank guided missiles and tank-fired high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) ammunition and kinetic energy penetrators.
IMI Systems, previously Israel Military Industries, also referred to as Ta'as, was an Israeli weapons manufacturer. The company manufactured weapons, munitions and military technology mainly for the Israeli security forces.
Namer, means "leopard" and also a syllabic abbreviation of "Nagmash" (APC) and "Merkava", is an Israeli armoured personnel carrier based on a Merkava Mark IV tank chassis. Namer was developed by and is being assembled by the Israeli Ordnance Corps. It has entered service in limited numbers with the Israel Defense Forces since the end of 2008. Due to budgetary constraints, the introduction of the Namer into the IDF has been slow, leaving the ground forces dependent on the M113 until 2027.
A demolition vehicle is a vehicle used to demolish buildings and other structures.
The IMR-2 is a Soviet and Russian tracked military engineering vehicle built on T-72 main battle tank chassis. IMR stands for Inzhenernaya Mashina Razgrazhdeniya, meaning "Clearing Engineering Vehicle".
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