Armored bulldozer

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An armored IDF Caterpillar D9R bulldozer, nicknamed "דובי" (Teddy bear) in Israel.
Its armor allows it to work under heavy fire.

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 adding of armor and military equipment, but some are tanks stripped of armament and fitted with a dozer blade. Some tanks 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.

1 World War 2
2 Modern Usage
- 2.1 Israeli usage
- 2.2 United States usage
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] World War 2

Centaur bulldozer

World War 2 Armoured bulldozer.

The first armoured bulldozer was developed by the British during World War 2. This was a conventional Caterpillar D8 bulldozer fitted with armour 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 strange armoured vehicles that were collectively referred to as Hobart's Funnies and were operated by the British 79th Armoured Division.

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 armoured bulldozer was found to be too slow - there was a need for well-armoured, obstacle clearing vehicle that was fast enough to keep up with tank formations. This need was met by the Centaur Bulldozer - a Cromwell 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.

[edit] Modern Usage

Modern armoured bulldozers are often based on the Caterpillar D9 and D7.

Caterpillar does not manufacture a military version of the D9 and D7 per se, but 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) in Iraq.

[edit] Israeli usage

IDF D9R with slat armor.

IDF D9L, which won the Battle of Jenin 2002 during Operation Defensive Shield.

IDF D9R razing house in Rafah during Operation Rainbow at May 2004.

The Israeli Armored D9 — nicknamed Doobi (Hebrew: דובי‎; lit. teddy bear) — is a Caterpillar D9 bulldozer that was modified by the Israel Defence 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 D9R, the latest generation of D9 bulldozers in IDF service, has a power of 410 horse power and drawbar pull of 71.6 metric tons (about 716 kN). It has a crew of two: operator and commander. It is operated by the TZAMA (צמ"ה = ציוד מכני הנדסי, Mechanical Engineering Equipment) units of the Israeli Engineering Corps.

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 an 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.

The IDF uses the D9 for a wide variety of engineering tasks, such as earthworks, digging moats, mounting sand barriers, building fortifications, rescuing stucked, overturned or damaged armored fighting vehicles (along with M88 Recovery Vehicle), clearing landmines, detonating IEDs and explosives, clearing terrain obstacles and opening routes to armored fighting vehicles and infantry, as well as structures demolition, including under fire.

During the Second Intifada the armoured D9 bulldozer gain notoriety as being an effective tool against terrorists and Palestinian threats, 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 used to open safe routes to IDF forces and detonate explosive charges. The bulldozer used extensively to clear shrubbery and structures which used as cover to Palestinian attacks. In addition they razed houses of families of suicide bombers. These action met criticism by Human Rights organizations and sometimes described as a collective punishment and claimed it breeds hatred more than it deters.

Following several incidents where armed Palestinians barricaded themselves inside houses 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; most of them surrendered because of fears of being buried alive but some, including senior terrorists, were killed when the bulldozers toppled the houses over them after they refused to surrender.

During the Battle of Jenin 2002 D9 bulldozers razed houses from which militants fired upon Israeli soldiers or contained possible IEDs and booby traps. After the deadly ambush in which 13 soldiers were killed the D9s razed the center of the camp and forced the remaining Palestinian militants to surrender, thus finishing the battle with an Israeli victory.

In Rafah and near the Philadelphie Route the D9s razed thousands of buildings according to human rights reports; Israel claimed it is a security measure necessary to discover and destroy smuggling tunnels and destroy firing positions that threaten the forces in the area, while Palestinians claimed it was to create a "buffer zone" and punish Palestinians for IDF casualties.

While Palestinians saw the D9 as a devastating weapon, and human rights groups criticized it for the massive damage it caused to Palestinian infrastructure, Israelis and military experts [1] saw the D9 as a necessary tool for combatting insurgency and terrorism and a key factor in reducing IDF casualties.

[edit] United States usage

US Armoured D7 bulldozer

During the first Gulf war the USA purchased tractor protection kits (TPK) from the Israel Military Industries (IMI) for their Caterpillar D7 bulldozers. The armored bulldozers were mainly used in mine clearing applications.

During the preparation to the war in Iraq in 2003 the United States Army has 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 (similar to the Israeli usage). 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" (Field Report: Marine Corps Systems Command Liaison Team , Central Iraq , 20 April to 25 April 2003).