The M520 "Truck, Cargo, 8-ton, 4x4", nicknamed Goer, truck series was formerly the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
’s standard heavy tactical truck before its replacement by the
Oshkosh HEMTT
The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) is an eight-wheel drive, diesel-powered, tactical truck. The M977 HEMTT first entered service in 1982 with the United States Army as a replacement for the M520 Goer, and since that date ha ...
. As trucks go, the
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
-made Goer stands out due to being
articulated, much wider than other trucks, and lacking suspension on the wheels.
Some 1,300 of these trucks were built from 1972 to 1976. The majority were M520 Cargo Trucks. The tankers were designated M559 Fuel Servicing Tanker Truck, and the wreckers M553 Wrecker Truck. When fitted with its own crane, the cargo variant was designated M877 Cargo Truck with Material Handling Crane.
Overview
In the mid-1950s, the US military were looking for a new, extreme off-road, tactical truck series, with substantially increased load-carrying capacity. According to a May 2006 article in Classic Military Vehicle magazine, the United States Armor Board began evaluating and testing commercially available, large, wheeled, articulated-steering, earth-moving equipment for potential tactical application in 1956 / 1957. This resulted in development contracts for
4x4 all-terrain vehicles of various weight classes being awarded to
Clark Equipment,
Le Tourneau-Westinghouse, and
Caterpillar
Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths).
As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder ...
Tractor Company.
Clark provided a prototype, based on their Model 75 log-skidder, powered by a
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes engines, electric vehicle components, and power generation products. Cummins also services engines and related equipmen ...
6-cyl.
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
. Caterpillar's entries were in the eight-ton class and were designated: XM520 (8-ton cargo truck), XM553 ( wrecker recovering), and XM559 (, tanker).
Le Tourneau-Westinghouse offered three variants in the class: XM437 Cargo, XM438 Tanker, and XM554 Wrecker.
[
Without exception, the prototypes consisted of two segments: housing engine and driver's compartment in the front and using the rear part as main transport unit, whereby steering was accomplished by articulating the whole front unit relative to the rear, as opposed to pivot steering the front wheels conventionally. The large wheels with large, low-pressure tires were mounted without any suspension or steering mechanism, greatly simplifying the design. In order to keep the wheels on the ground on uneven terrain, the front and rear units could not only swivel around a vertical axis, but also along the vehicle's longitudinal axis, allowing significant articulation. In low gear ranges, the Goer had four-wheel drive capability, but on-road it was purely front-wheel drive.]
The Caterpillar design did well in testing, and in 1960, the company was awarded a multimillion-dollar contract for developing eight cargo trucks, delivered in 1961 and 1962, as well as two wreckers and two tankers in 1962. Another twenty-three units were ordered in 1963, then field-tested in West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
in 1964 and in South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...
in 1966.[
]
Production of official variants
Not until 1971 did Caterpillar eventually receive a production contract for 1300 units: 812 M520 cargo-vehicles, 371 M559 tankers and 117 M553 wreckers. Production began in 1972 and lasted through June 1976. When fitted with its own crane, the cargo variant would be designated M877. All variants except the wrecker existed both with or without front winch, whereas all wreckers had winches both front and rear.[ Early units, with a Cat D333 engine, were multi-fuel, but later ones, with the D333C powerplant, were diesel only.][
]
Field performance
Not only did the Caterpillar offer extreme off-road ability, including 20° longitudinal articulation and 30° side-slopes, it was also fully amphibious, using the wheels for propulsion in the water. The rear cargo-bed tailgate and drop-side doors, that allowed rapid discharge of cargo, had watertight seals to preserve the unit's swimming capability. In the US's involvement in the Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
, the Goer developed a reputation of being able to go where other trucks could not, and it was one of the preferred resupply vehicles after the pre-production units' introduction in 1966. They achieved a 90% availability rate, even though spare parts for the Goer were not an official part of the US Army inventory until 1972.
Nevertheless, the vehicle's lack of suspension made it too bouncy on hardened surfaces, making most drivers shy away from its 31 mph (50 km/h) top speed. The method for keeping bounce to a minimum on hard roads was to gently sway the vehicle left and right at top speed. The bilge pumps were often abused on hard road convoys as "super-squirters" by bored drivers as they would accumulate water in the hull, and drivers soon realized havoc could be raised by turning on the high volume pumps to douse passing and oncoming traffic. The oscillating cab was also dangerous as entering or exiting the vehicle with the engine off could put pressure on the steering wheel and when the engine was started the cab would turn without warning. Also, its oversize dimensions proved generally awkward, so in the 1980s it was replaced by the Oshkosh Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck
The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) is an eight-wheel drive, diesel-powered, tactical truck. The M977 HEMTT first entered service in 1982 with the United States Army as a replacement for the M520 Goer, and since that date has ...
series, that combined good on-road behavior with adequate off-road performance. As the Goers were surplused accordingly, it was done so under a demilitarization order similar to that of the M151 jeep. Core components in the steering and driveline were destroyed before the remains of the vehicle were sold off. Consequently, only very few vehicles remained in existence, in museums and private collections.
See also
* G-numbers
* M-numbers
* Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck
The Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT) is an eight-wheel drive, diesel-powered, tactical truck. The M977 HEMTT first entered service in 1982 with the United States Army as a replacement for the M520 Goer, and since that date has ...
(replacement in U.S. Army service)
References
Reference codes
* SNL G861 – Supply catalog standard nomenclature number (until late 1950s)
* FSN / NSN 2320 — various Federal Stock Numbers / National Stock Numbers, per variant, in the 1960s and 1970s
* TM 9-2320-233 technical manuals, dated 1972-1979
External links
M520 Goer at Olive-Drab
Detailed tabulated data
from TM 9-2320-233-20 technical manual
{{Post-WWII US Soft Vehicles
Wheeled amphibious vehicles
Articulated vehicles
Military trucks of the United States
Off-road vehicles
Caterpillar Inc. vehicles
Military vehicles introduced in the 1970s