 The Army's CH-47 Chinook helicopter is often called the Workhorse of Vietnam. Early in April 1967, the Army established the feasibility of airlifting these helicopters from their approximate point of manufacture to the battlefields of Vietnam. Airlift began with a partial disassembly of the helicopters at the New Cumberland Army Depot in Pennsylvania. The disassembly involved removal of the pylons, the rotors, and drive shafts, all of which were secured within the helicopter itself. The front and aft transmissions were transported separately. Two Chinooks were actually included in the test, both handled in the same manner. After the partial dismantling, the aircraft were transported over land from New Cumberland to Olmstead Air Force Base, towed by M-52 tractors. Until now, the helicopters, after completion of certain installations and modifications at New Cumberland, were ferried to the west coast and then transported overseas by ship. The ocean voyage alone takes about a month. If the Chinooks could be airlifted, the travel time to Southeast Asia would be greatly reduced. Olmstead, a special New Cumberland Army Depot crew, supervised the loading of one of the Army's largest helicopters gross weight 33,000 pounds aboard a C-133B, the largest turboprop transport in the U.S. Air Force inventory. It has a payload capability of over 100,000 pounds. With the helicopter aboard, the cargo masters took off for South Vietnam. The special Army Depot team assigned to the project flew to the same destination by means of other air transport. The team's mission was to supervise the offloading and reassembly of the helicopters so that they could be swiftly deployed to wherever they might be needed in the combat area. Today, this same function is being accomplished by crews trained by the initial team. The air transport test was a success. Where surface movement by land and sea normally took a total of 46 days, air transport, including disassembly, loading, travel, offloading and reassembly, required only 10 days, a significant saving of a minimum of 36 days. What was initially a feasibility test has now become standard procedure. Chinooks are currently being airlifted to Southeast Asia on a scheduled basis and ways are being explored to further reduce the time involved. The new Chinooks are exchanged on a one-for-one basis for those that are old or severely damaged. These are flown back to the states by the same C-133Bs for major overhaul and repair. Air transport of CH-47s is not meant to eliminate surface movement, but to supplement it. The shipment of a full company of Chinooks is still done most expeditiously by a freighter, but for the quick replacement of those suffering from attrition, airlift is the most effective procedure. The value of this development to our fighting forces in Southeast Asia is, of course, considerable. Early in 1967, the Tropic Test Center of the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command evaluated the Mobile Ion Exchange Unit. Developed by the Army Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center, the unit is a self-contained water demineralization and radioisotope removing system. It's assembled in a band-type body mounted on a two-and-a-half-ton truck. The unit is to be used under environmental conditions found in temperate and tropical areas and under controlled arctic conditions. Its main purpose is to make contaminated water safe for drinking and general use. This equipment is used in conjunction with the standard water purification equipment known as the ERD-LATER, which has the capability of removing all suspended particles from 3,000 gallons of water per hour. The Mobile Ion Exchange Unit is also capable of demineralizing slightly brackish water for drinking purposes as well as for softening water as required for laundries and boiler plants. The unit has not yet been standardized and is still under development and test. Early in 1967 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, an intensified Type II confirmatory test was conducted on the M102 105-millimeter Howitzer. The test was performed under the supervision of the United States Army Artillery Board. The M102 was developed to replace the M101A1 105-millimeter Howitzer in situations requiring both a lightweight artillery support weapon and extended range. The M102 can be rotated 360 degrees on its base and was especially developed for insurgency type warfare. A limited number of these items have been employed in Vietnam. The test items were subjected to various types of moves such as overland towing by wheeled vehicles designed to check the reliability and maintainability of the weapon which had been modified and improved. The test was conducted under simulated combat conditions utilizing batteries of the 101st Airborne Division. A second type of move was a parachute drop from a winged aircraft. About 10% of the test operations was conducted under blackout conditions. Another of the various types of moves involved transportation of the test items inside a helicopter. They were also carried by Chinook spy means of slings. Records were kept of the time and duties required to displace and replace the test items when delivered to different positions by the different modes of transport. Weapon emplacement positions consisted of varied types of terrain with slopes of varying degrees and directions. This was to expose the difficulties if any and the time required to stabilize the weapon for immediate delivery of fire in the types of soil encountered. Repeated firings were also part of the test. The objective of identifying remaining equipment deficiencies so that additional changes could be incorporated into production and retrofitted into fielded items was only part of the test goal. Another aim was to establish the minimum crew and the most efficient assignment of duties for the crew members. And still another was to determine any training deficiencies and or training problems encountered in employing the items. The results of the intensified type 2 confirmatory test of the M102 Howitzer not only determined operational capabilities and maintenance requirements but indicated the value of utilizing TOE troop units for obtaining a measure of performance under actual theater conditions. The unprecedented use of connex containers has led the Army to redesign and augment existing equipment to permit more efficient handling and transport of the container at all levels of logistical operations. Connex containers are proving to be the most practical answer to the tremendous problem of moving and storing supplies for Vietnam where upwards of 40,000 of them are protecting valuable contents and speeding their delivery to troops in the field. Made of steel, connex comes in two sizes. The most popular is type 2. It is approximately 8.5 feet long, 6.5 feet wide, and 7 feet high. It weighs 1,500 pounds and has 295 cubic feet of usable space and a maximum payload of 9,000 pounds. Type 1 on the right has the same height, width, and payload but is only half as long. It weighs 1,000 pounds and provides 135 cubic feet of space. A third type is specially designed for use with weapons and electronics equipment. The dehumidified connex is essentially a type 2 container with a steel liner and breathing system. Recently, the Army Materiel Command's Mobility Equipment Research and Development Center at Fort Belvoir, Virginia has undertaken a crash project aimed at speeding up the handling and transport of connex containers under a variety of terrain conditions, ranging from underdeveloped beaches to forward combat areas. Field studies disclosed a need for equipment that could self-load, transport, and unload two or more connexes without the help of cranes, forklifts, or other special handling equipment. To meet this need, a tilt-bed trailer capable of handling three fully loaded connexes was designed and built in 110 days by the R&D Center and Barnes and Reinecke of Chicago. The Gooseneck trailer is towed by a standard international harvester two-wheel tractor and powered by a 240-horsepower diesel engine. A hydraulic cylinder 8.5 inches in diameter tilts or retracts the bed in just 15 seconds. It can be controlled from the cab or from the side of the trailer. Containers are loaded by tilting the bed and skidding them on with the help of self-contained winches. Shives on the rear of the trailer align the connexes with the bed. The reels move through an arc that forces the connex to move upward as well as forward. This action frees the container that has settled in sand or mud. When the far end of the connex is on the trailer, the bed is lowered to allow the container to be pulled to the front. The bed is designed with a flat cargo surface so that it may be used with many other types of cargo. The bed-raising process is repeated until all three containers are loaded. Two men can perform the entire operation in only seven days. If necessary, one man can do the job alone. Improvements are being made to permit a more simplified method of loading. The tractor trailer can turn in a radius of 38 feet and can easily maneuver through crowded beach areas. It can climb 40 degrees slopes. An automatic constant horsepower hydraulic assist on the rear wheels provides extra power in low and reverse. The tractor trailer can travel at convoy speeds of 30 miles per hour on improved roads. With the help of the rear wheel power assist, the vehicle can ride over rough terrain and forward streams up to 4 feet deep. It is 40 feet 9 inches long, 9.5 feet wide, and weighs 43,000 pounds. Loaded with connex containers, its height is 11 feet 8 inches. Using the articulated steering, the driver can pivot the prime mover 90 degrees to either side to maneuver his vehicle through narrow trails. A 118 gallon fuel tank gives the transporter a cruising range of about 200 miles. When he gets to the site, the operator can release the tie-down chains and winch cables and drop the containers in a matter of minutes. All connexes may be unloaded simultaneously by tilting the bed, and driving off. On smooth ground, the driver can unload the containers in equal distance apart, just enough to allow troops to gain access to the supplies. The mobility equipment R&D center has improved the military rough terrain forklift to meet an urgent need for a cross-country vehicle that can transport as well as transfer a single Type 1 connex. Re-designed to meet performance specifications engineered at the center, the forklift can operate in up to 5 feet of water. 4-wheel drive and 4-wheel steer combine to give it a high degree of mobility. Powered by a 185-horsepower diesel engine, the vehicle can climb grades up to 45 degrees and carry a full load 26 miles per hour over improved roads. The vehicle can shift the load from one side to the other, tilt it, extend or retract it, and oscillate it. These functions permit exact placement of the load even on rough terrain. The forks can be raised up to 12 feet and have a self-leveling feature that maintains them in the same position relative to the ground as the load is raised or lowered. The vehicle is more mobile, reliable, stable and serviceable than the standard rough terrain forklift. Several hundred are currently being procured with many slated for use in Southeast Asia. Identical improvements have been made to the smaller version of the rough terrain forklift, which can handle connexes weighing up to 6,000 pounds. Several hundred of these are now in the process of procurement. A 20-ton rough terrain crane, now coming off production lines and headed for Vietnam, will solve the mobility problems encountered with the 20-ton standard crane. Over 600 are now under procurement. The AMC's study also disclosed a need for simple equipment that would give combat troops the capability of lifting the connex and transporting it for short distances. Hardware involving trailer and truck-mounted A-frames were selected for development. The truck-mounted A-frame is 15.5 feet long, 3.5 feet wide and 10 feet high, and can be mounted on standard 5-ton cargo and dump trucks. Weighing 3,360 pounds, the unit can be delivered by a Chinook helicopter and installed in about 45 minutes in the folded mobile position. It stands about 14 feet above the road. The boom can be placed into lifting position in about 5 minutes. The normal spring capacity of the truck is 6,000 pounds. By putting blocks between the frame and the rear axle, or ballast on the front of the vehicle, the capacity can be increased to 10,500 pounds. Powered by a 20-horsepower standard military gasoline engine, the A-frame can lift a 10,500-pound connex 8 feet. Free from hydraulics and other mechanisms normally employed in lifting devices, it is simple to operate and maintain. The truck-mounted A-frame can be used in place of the truck-mounted medium record. The trailer-mounted A-frame can be towed at convoy speeds by cargo and dump trucks and folded to a height of 10 feet. It weighs 5,600 pounds and is easily transportable by the Chinook helicopter. More stable than the truck-mounted model, it can handle and transport the connex with ease. However, it is harder to maneuver and more difficult to get into operation. Efforts are being made to reduce the time required for installation. Using a four-part lifting cable, the unit can load and unload connexes from line-haul vehicles. Manual adjustments permit three different boom positions for lifting other cargo and equipment as high as 15 feet. As mobile as its prime mover, it can haul the container over secondary roads and rough terrain for longer distances than the truck-mounted unit. At the destination, the prime mover is freed to transport men, equipment, or more containers. Like the other specially developed connex handling and transport devices, the A-frames will help to speed the flow of supplies and equipment from beach or dockside to the man in the field.