Introduction:

Wings & Wheels Publications (WWP) is a company from Czech Republic, specialized in producing photographic reference books for modelers.

WWP released the US Army Earth Movers, Part 1 (R075) couple of years ago. The title covered dozers, graders and scrapers used by the US Army during the WW2. This review deals with the publication which offers a continuation to the series, covering post-war US Army engineering vehicles: US Army Earth Movers in Detail, Part 2 (R083).

Review:

I got the book at a model show and browsed through it immediately. My first impression was very positive; it is printed on a high-quality paper, well structured, professionally presented and full of large full color photos… definitely a great example of WWP’s dedication to produce the best possible reference material a modeler could wish for.

Here are the basic facts:

Title: U.S. Army Earth Movers in Detail, Part 2 (U.S. Army Post-war Dozers and Wheel Loaders)
Publisher: Wings & Wheels Publications (WWP)
Code: R083
Authors: Jan Horák, Chris Hughes and František Kořán
Format: softcover (22x24 cm)
Pages: 144
Color: full color
Language: English
ISBN: 978-80-87509-53-1
Retail Price: $39 (€32)

The book features over 400 color walk around and detail photos of vehicles photographed in military museums and private collections, as well as about 40 images taken during the Vietnam War. The book is organized in 16 chapters, color coded on page edges for easy navigation:

• Content (002-009)
• Allis Chalmers HD5F DROTT 51G (010-019)
• Allis Chalmers HD5G (020-033)
• Case M450 Airmobile Dozer (034-039)
• Caterpillar D7E and D8 in Vietnam (040-041)
• Caterpillar D7E (042-055)
• Caterpillar D7F (056-065)
• Caterpillar D7G (066-077)
• Caterpillar D8 15A (078-097)
• Caterpillar 955K (098-105)
• Wheel Loaders & Wheel Dozers in Vietnam (106-107)
• Hough International 58 (108-115)
• Caterpillar 830M/MB (116-137)
• Graders in Vietnam (138-139)
• Caterpillar 130G (140-141)
• Special Vehicles (142-143)

The book opens with a chapter on Contents, which briefly describes the use of US Army earth movers during the cold war as well as listing all the vehicles covered in this title. The photographic reference manual starts with Allis Chalmers HD5F DROTT 51G, showing this tracked loader in detail... blade, hydraulic system, suspension and driver compartment. The vehicle was photographed in Swiss Army Museum. The Allis Chalmers HD5G follows, photographed at the same location, offering a very thorough walk around of this particular dozer variant. The next chapter covers a small Case M450 Airmobile Dozer photographed at Ft Hood, Texas. After some photos of the entire vehicle, more detailed images follow again showing the driver's compartment, suspension and blade details. A two-page chapter on CAT D7E and D8 in Vietnam provides an introduction to the Caterpillar bulldozers. I like the addition of photos of vehicles from the theater of operations as these are a great reference of how the dozers actually looked in the field. The chapter on Caterpillar D7E opens with a brief description of the origin of the vehicle and its use during the Vietnam War. Detailed photos of D7E follow, as well as images of the Rome Plow variant. A big plus are 4 pages of the D7E Rome Plow in Vietnam! Caterpillar D7F comes next, displaying the vehicle photographed at Texas Military Forces Museum. This variant was not used in Vietnam. Caterpillar D7G was also not used in Vietnam, but it saw service in operations in Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, and this chapter shows the vehicle in detail. Caterpillar D8 15A chapter follows, showing details of the blade, blade ropes and pulleys, winch, engine, suspension and drivers compartment with dashboard and steering levers. Next up is Caterpillar 995K crawler loader, again providing ample of details for anyone interested in this particular variant... blade, suspension, 5-finger ripper, cab details... it's all there. Wheel Loaders & Wheel Dozers in Vietnam is a short chapter again giving introduction to wheeled engineering vehicles used in Vietnam War. Great reference photos! Hough International 58 loader is covered next, delivering photos of the vehicle taken in the Swiss Army Museum. A huge chapter on Caterpillar 830M/MB follows. These were primarily designed for hauling specially developed suspension scrapers, trucks and heavy machinery and were extensively used in Vietnam. The chapter provides a wealth of reference photos covering details inside and out, from the blade details, engine, air cleaners and hood, winch, suspension, to cab and cab interior, as well as rear towing frame details. The book closes with three short two-page chapters. Graders in Vietnam shows in theater photos of these vehicles used in the Vietnam War, Caterpillar 130G displays several images of this motor grader, while Special Vehicles chapter gives some detail on the tree crushers, compacting rollers, etc. used in Vietnam.

Conclusion:

US Army Earth Movers in Detail, Part 2 (R083) is a very impressive title from WWP. With over 400 large and clear photos showing US Army bulldozers and loaders used during the Cold War and very interesting info on the vehicles, this book is a must for all those interested in military engineering vehicles.