Field mechanic in Vietnam

[wilco]

A friend of mine was a field mechanic in Vietnam, He told me that the first thing they did with the 2 1/2 ton was to turn up the govener, so they would run 70!
( sounds scarry, but if you getting shot at o well !!)
He has since passed away and I never asked if it was the gas of diesel Duces he "tuned"
Any one have any comments?

 

[beaubeau]

Hey wilco, I was in Motor Transport 1967-1971, and I went to several schools fot MT and eventually I was a Driver Inst. for Busses and TT. I was with the Engs while in V.N. and drove just about anything our Company had. Well anyway, one thing I remember at MT school was that RPMs. are limited for several reasons, one being the Ballancing of the combination of the Flywheel and clutch preasure plate Assembly. Too high of any RPMs. can cause these to Blow apart. Lots of heavy metal comming through the floor causing loss of limbs and then some! Even today in modern trucks rpms are limited for the same reasons, although today things are ballanced a little better. I also have over 2,000,000 miles in Commercial Trucks.
Also balancing of these MVs are not limited to the engine. The drive train is not the greatest when speeds are over 50, or 55mph. Tires were not ballanced years ago on big trucks like they are today.
One more thing, there were no roads in V.N. where we could drive much over 50mph., and Speed does not save lives even in V.N.!! No vehicle faster than a bullit, rocket, or Land mine!!! Good luck, Phil

 

[cbvet]

I too was a field mechanic in 'Nam. I never heard of anybody doing this, but I guess it's possible.
Our biggest threat when on roads, was mines. We were very watchful for signs of disturbed dirt or blacktop.
Yes, the VC would bury mines in or UNDER blacktop. They would sometimes show up as a discolored spot, or concealed by some debris (like a C-ration can) on the road.
I was mostly in very open country, not jungle. Would have been difficult for snipers to hide.
Eric
CBVET

 

[KaiserM109]

Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

We were very watchful for signs of disturbed dirt or blacktop.

Eric
CBVET

Blacktop!! All we had in the Delta was dirt and occasionaly gravel.

Ditto on no roads that could be navigated at 50. I once got a speeding ticket in an M109 in "Ambush Alley" outside Dong Tam. If I'd known why he was pulling me over, I'd have run him over!

 

[cbvet]

RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

KaiserM109 wrote "Blacktop!! All we had in the Delta was dirt and occasionaly gravel."
That's because there were very few SeaBees in the delta. We were busy up north paving roads for Marines!
Eric
CBVET

 

[vtdeucedriver]

RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

Welcome Home boys!

 

[beaubeau]

RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

Hey, cbvet,do U remember a big Yellow Tanker that would go around the countryside and Dribble this Black Sticky Oil an the Dirt roads around I Corps? That was me in about 1969. It was a mixture of Roofing tar, or Bunker oil and Old JP4 from the air wing. I went around and dumped that stuff on the dirt roads for Dust Suppression!!! Lots of guys hated me for getting their vehicles dirty. That stuff stuck to the tires and would slop all over their vehicles! It was suppose to help in Mine detection. But those little Gooks still found a way to get the mines in. Good luck, Phil

 

[73m819]

RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

the rule in v.n. was NEVER run over a coke or beer can, thay would tend to go boom

 

[cbvet]

RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

Sorry Phil, but I don't remember that particular truck. I left 'Nam in June of '68.
I recall we had some kind of "road oil" truck too. I think they just dumped all the drained motor oil, hydraulic oil, brake fluid, & gear lube in it.
It was a mess & it stunk!
Didn't help much with the dust.
And you're right Ron. Avoid all obstacles in the road unless they're walking.
Eric
CBVET

 

[ida34]

RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

I got a ticket during Desert Storm. I was in my deuce at the tail end of a convoy at night. I was at the fast portion of the accordion effect. It was laughable. What were they going to do? Send me to the desert?

 

[vtdeucedriver]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

Hey, cbvet,do U remember a big Yellow Tanker that would go around the countryside and Dribble this Black Sticky Oil an the Dirt roads around I Corps? That was me in about 1969. It was a mixture of Roofing tar, or Bunker oil and Old JP4 from the air wing. I went around and dumped that stuff on the dirt roads for Dust Suppression!!! Lots of guys hated me for getting their vehicles dirty. That stuff stuck to the tires and would slop all over their vehicles! It was suppose to help in Mine detection. But those little Gooks still found a way to get the mines in. Good luck, Phil

The stuff was called Peneprime, I think the spelling is right.

 

[beaubeau]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

Ida34 U just reminded me of something I experienced in VN. I got a speeding ticket in Nam from MPs. They would set up Speed Traps and clock us. The leagle speed limit was 25mph.
Well, the MPs figured how to Time a vehicle at a Certain spot on the road. They used mirrors and a Stop watch. The could Time the distance between 2 mirrors and citate us with a ticket and a fine of $15.00. How low can they go!!?? When I think of the time I detonated a Mine at a speed of 52mph with a M51A2 with 12 tons of Hot Asphault on, and the Speed did save my life, or at least my legs. On the forum for VN pics are pics of the M51A2 I was driving, before and after detonating a mine. Good luck, Phil

 

[KaiserM109]

Re: RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

... there were very few SeaBees in the delta. We were busy up north paving roads for Marines!
CBVET

I'm sure those Marines needed a hard, flat surface more than we did. After all, their first MOS was Rifleman and they were good at it.

I have pictures of our peneprime depot at Dong Tam in flames during the '68 Tet. We lost a D8 trying to put out the flames; driver lost his boots when they stuck to the tractor’s deck.

The MP caught me speeding between his mirror boxes. I was coming out of Dong Tam in an M109A2 going to FSB Moore and trying to get there before dark. It was in March '68 right in the middle of Tet and I still had to go through the west end of My Tho with no security, just my passenger with an M16. I had the pedal to the medal. When the MP got off my running board I put it right back down and walked it right up through the gears. I wish now that I had saved that ticket. That truck is why my first MV had to be an M109. It was the biggest target I ever drove and it never got hit.

Road mines?!! God bless our hillbilly from Hazard, KY who went through the gate every morning before daylight with the mine sweep crew. They dug lots of crap out of the road! Charlie got to where he would just blow them at night to put a crater in the road. Our 5 tons (15th Combat Engineers, 9th ID) would fill them in the next morning and the convoys would be running by 1000hr.

You SeaBees were good and we certainly could have used your help, but we were 250 mi. inland. Someday, over a beer, I’ll tell you about the shoot-out between our flame tracks (M113s with the same flame cannon as a riverboat) and the monitor boats on the river when they took umbrage at us calling our tracks “Zippos”. The only thing I’ll say now is that our #1 track retained the name “Granddaddy Zippo”.

A post note, I’m really glad to see merchandise in Costco that says “Made in Vietnam”. They deserve it. Capitalism is doing what bullets couldn’t.

 

[ida34]

RE: Re: RE: Re: RE: Field mechanic in Vietnam

The best part of getting a ticket in a military vehicle is that the ranking person in the vehicle gets the ticket. Not the driver. At least that is how it worked back in the 90's. It sucks to be the TC.