Polar Transportation Equipment--Four-Wheel-Drive Vehicle with High-Flotation Tires.

• Main Author: Beard, W. H.
• Other Authors: NAVAL CIVIL ENGINEERING LAB PORT HUENEME CA
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1969
• Subjects: Surface Transportation and Equipment; *VEHICLES; POLAR REGIONS; SNOW VEHICLES; CARGO VEHICLES; WHEELS; ICE; PERMAFROST; FLOTATION; DRIVES; ROADS; TIRES; MILITARY TRANSPORTATION; McMurdo Station; Antarc*; Antarctica; Ice; permafrost
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0854380; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0854380

A four-wheel-drive vehicle with a V-8 engine, automatic transmission, 11:00 x 15 bar-tread, high-flotation tires, and a panel delivery body was tested over improved roads on abutting areas of snow, ice and frozen ground at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for a 2-year period between Deep Freeze 67 and 69. It was used to haul light cargo and passengers both summer and winter in all kinds of weather, including temperatures to -50F. It was driven with ease by numerous drivers with varying degrees of winter driving experience on both smooth and rough roads, through snowdrifts up to 2 feet deep, and up 20% grades covered with patches of ice. Only minor maintenance and repairs were required in 15,000 miles of operation. During Deep Freeze 68, a four-wheel-drive vehicle similar to the test vehicle except for a station wagon body was adopted by the Naval Support Forces, Antarctica, as a command vehicle for McMurdo Station. The vehicle with either body configuration is recommended for inclusion in the equipment allowance list for a polar coastal station where fast comfortable transportation is essential for effective operation. (Author)