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Waterproofed Vehicles Made Invasion Possible

15th September 1944
Page 28
Page 28, 15th September 1944 — Waterproofed Vehicles Made Invasion Possible
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Difficulties Which Had to be Overcome Before Vehicles and Equipment Could be Rendered Immune from Sea-water Effects

'THERE has been no subject around I which the veil of secrecy hag been more tightly .drawn. than . that concerned with the' waterproofing of vehicles, guns and all the other equipment and paraphernalia which goes to make up a modern mechanized army. Almost before the last man of the Baia+. had arrived back in England following the Dunkirk evacuation, plans were afoot for our re-invasion of the Continent, and preliminary investi gations were made into schemes for landing vehicles without the use of ports or the customary unloading facilities.

Quite early on it was decided to provide a large fleet of fiat-bottomed landing craft which, when fully loaded with vehicles, would be able to approach fairly closely inshore and, with a ramp in the bows, would permit of the vehicles being run straight off.

It was not possible for such a type of craft to get so Close in that vehicles could land " dry-shod " on the almOst flat beaches of Northern France, and this meant that it Would be neeessary so to protect them that they would be able to get from craft to shore, through a varying depth of taater, without in any way affecting their serviceability. There were such factors as the draught of the landing craft, which would vary according to the load, the slope Of the beach, height 'of the waves, the presence or otherwise of holes or runnels in the beach, and so on.

Early Investigations

At the outset, investigations were undertaken by the Department of Tank Design of the M.O.S. in respect of armoured. fighting vehicles—known to the Army as " A " vehicles—and by Combined Operations in respect df lOrriesknewn as " B " vehicles: Later on, another' department of -the M.O.S. investigated the problein of waterproofing " B " vehicles, but,. eventually, this :reaponsibility. was vested in a special branch of the Directorate of Mechanical Engineering at the War Office, whilst the " A "type • vehicles remained with the M.O.S. (D.T.D.). The approval of the' schemes, however, rests with the Director of Mechanical Engineering, who also co-ordinates all, the technical matter in connection with the waterproofing of all Army equipment.

In March, 1942, Combined Operations commenced trials at its training centre on the west coast of Scotland and, some months later, a stage had been reached when vehicles could be driven in waterup to a depth of 3 ft. 6 ins., but only for a short time. The corrosive effect of salt water proved to be a serious matter, and it was seen that the problem, as a -whole, was a manifold one mid resolved itself into the following main points:—(1) To waterproof the vehicle to enable it to function in salt water; (2) to ensure that no damage was caused during and after immersion; (3) to ensure that the vehicles or equipment should be able to run off the landing craft without fouling the ramp; and (4) to train drivers in the new technique. .

About August, 1942, the M.O.S. called upon various manufacturers of Army vehicles with a view to their devoting attention to the whole problem. In conjunction with the M.O.S. numerous experiments were carried out, as the result of Which what came to be known as the manufacturers' method was evolved.

The first vehicles to be so treated were tested out in the North Africa landings on November 9, 1942, and, so .far as it went, the try-out was successful, but the beach conditions in the Mediterranean were very different from what was to be expected in the English Channel.

About this time it was realized that the application of the, Waterproofing materials demanded considerable skill on the part of the perstintel, 'so that, in October, 1942, the Director of Military Training instituted. a series of training courses at various centres.

A continuous succession of trials was carried on in all weathers to check up on the methods so far evolved and to overcome the endless difficulties which kept on appearing. It was found that the elightest defect was always liable to cause complete failure, so that nothing short of 100 per cent. efficiency would suffice.

Owing to the enormous numbers of vehicles and other equipment which had to be waterproofed for the Normandy landings,. it was ienpossible for the whole to be done by experts, as the necessary number could not be made available in the time. Most of the work, it was foreseen, would, therefore, have to be done by the units, with expert supervision. •

It was considered that the methods adopted by the manufacturers, so ,far the only ones available, were too difficult to be carried out by the comparatively unakilled personnel in units with a sufficient degree of reliability, so it was doeid6d to improve and, at -the same time, to simplify the methods and materials used.

Search for a Substitute The first thing was to find a substitute for the Plastic material employed in the manufacturers' method which would ptove equally as effective but easier to apply. Eventually a waterproof, heat-resisting and electricalinsulating compound was evolved by the 31.O.S., in cooperation with an oil company and, so far, this company has produced over 9,000 tons for the British and American Armies and the R.A.F.

Prior to the landings in Normandy, R.E.M.E. undertook the supervising and checking Of treated vehicles and equipment and the responsibility for waterproofing 5,000 vehicles for the assault force, 11,000 reserve " B " vehicles, • and 3,700 reserve " A " machines_ There were 21 Army Group's forces which went' aShore in Normandy under most adverse weather conditions, with a loss of vehicles, attributable to defective waterproofing, of .a small fraction of I per cent.

All the follow-up and build-up vehicles were put ashore across the open beaches for an extended period, until jetties, ramps, etc., could be constructed.


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