Snow and Ice Control
15
4
THE HMMWV SNOWPLOW
Overview
In the recent past, especially in troop units in U.S. Army Europe
(USAREUR), the Army had limited access to snow removal equipment. The
only pieces of equipment available were motor graders, the armored combat
earthmover (ACE), and the front-end bucket loader on the small emplacement
excavator (SEE). The SEE was designed with snowplowing capability, but
snowplows for the SEE had not been approved and none were in the inventory.
Also, the SEE was a scarce item and heavily used where deployed.
Because of the winter deployment of troops into Bosnia and earlier into
Macedonia, HQUSAREUR requested a quick response to the problem, especially
in Macedonia for Task Force Able Sentry (TFAS). At that time TFAS had a 1966
2-1/2-ton truck rigged with an old 10-foot snowplow that could still do yeoman
service on local paved roads. TFAS also had a Unimog with snowplow; however,
it performed marginally because of age and lack of maintenance. When it was
operational, it performed effectively and efficiently. In addition to the truck and
the Unimog, TFAS had a SEE with a very old German snowplow that worked
well; however, there was a serious problem in keeping up with maintenance on
the SEE tractor. In one 18-month period, the SEE was never operational due to
problems of getting parts and performing maintenance.
In 1996, a special team was organized by HQUSAREUR to go to Macedonia
to review requirements for the upcoming winter season. The TFAS commander
requested a quick resolution to ensure safe, efficient, and effective snowplowing.
HQUSAREUR (DCSENGR) asked the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and
Engineering Laboratory (USACRREL) to send someone proficient in snowplows
and snowplowing, not only to help in determining problem solutions, but to be
prepared to teach snowplowing operations and conduct hands-on training. All of
these mission objectives were successfully accomplished.
USACRREL obtained a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) snowplow speci-
fically engineered for the commercial Hummer. The plow was manufactured by
the Fisher Engineering Co., and the mount and on-vehicle components of the
plow were designed and manufactured by Arrowhead Equipment, Inc. In a short
period of preliminary testing it became obvious that such a combination worked
well. It was further determined that the weight and size were compatible and the
drive line components were well within the design range for a snowplow.
Previous Page
