National Guard Trucks Driving Under Water

I'm surprised they didn't run into a surprise obstacle floating or stuck under water, I guess the truck was big enough to push stuff out of its way as it goes along. Then again, they did eventually get stuck, so...

It does kinda look like fun (short lived) as it were... nasty water, though...

snorkels only work to an extent... haha

reply to post by LadySkadi


Yeah it really just seems like an all around bad idea. No visibility driving around on streets... Still the awesome factor is undeniable.

the old willys army jeeps had snorkles, a sealed, water-tight ignition system, and a pull-throttle on the dash.
as kids we had one, and used to run it underwater, sitting on the backrest and steering with our feet.

This is nothing new.
those guys ran too deep, got stuck in the mud and stalled.

amatures...heheheh

reply to post by BadNinja68


Old Wyllis Jeeps are awesome. Ever see footage of them wrapped in canvas and floated across a river? Things were amazing.

Originally posted by ConspiraCity
snorkels only work to an extent... haha

They need to fit periscopes too.
Next time maybe?

the snorkel isnt for driving completely underwater, its for fording rivers and such, those morons probably frakked up those vehicles now
Fail soldiers

Not a new invention. Had the exact same "snorkel" on my Land Rover years back.

Cruised and did some fine fishing in Alaska, The Yukon and the NWT but the only time I had problems in a river system was getting high centered. "Snorkel" or not, you ain't going anywhere when this happens.

Had to get a back hoe from an Inuit village 20 miles up river to give us a friendly nudge and then we were off again, down the river and 90% submerged.

And no...you don't get completely submerged. about 80-90 %.

Nice vid and a reminder of better times fishin'...

Thanks!

Those snorkels are meant for fording across limited water obstacles like a small river where you can see the bank on the other side, not long drives like this. Even with a snorkel, common sense would tell you that if it's deeper than the top of the cab, you don't go in.

I don't blame the guys on the bridge for laughing at them.

Strangely enough, this is one type of obstacle where the Russian Army is better equipped. (More of their vehicles are fully amphibious, but with a trade-off in armor.)

Now if it was a Marine unit, there could be a chance where they have some proper amphib gear. However the units equipped with landing craft tend to have more focus on beachhead landings and assaults than doing stuff like support operations and disaster recovery.

reply to post by Domo1


Bloody driver would need a snorkel too at that depth.

Not quite that unusual, so it seems.

Originally posted by Domo1
reply to post by eXia7

 

That'd be a bamf bug out vehicle

Exactly what I was thinking. Well after I thought what the hell are these idiots using trucks as submarines for? I guess the National Guard may be having a hard time training common sense. Either way, want one of those trucks. I'd leave at least two feet between water level and snorkel... promise.

Its all the poison they put in their food to help brainwash

What it looks like out of the water M1078A1, The wiki tells nothing about driving it completely submerged under a rail bridge ('') Gee ,there is even a video on you tube about safe operation of this truck. look like the TM- Manual did not sink in. The training video mentions "Don't put your self in a catastrophic situation." It could happen to you" Time for the US Army to add this very type of situation to TM and update the you tube video .

I would say that water is about 11 feet deep according to the photo of this truck.

WIKI

If you listen to what the camera man says. He tells his buddy about the snorkel being right behind the cab. I know this was said on the first page of this thread, but the answer to it was said right in the video.

Nonetheless, thanks for posting this. After my laughter died down, then I felt like the rest of you. What idiots.

Also, what got my laughter going was when the camera man said, "Are you guys that stupid?" As loud as he said it, you know they all heard him.

A friend had a jeep with a diesel rigged with a snorkel that was a foot above the windshield. i can remember a couple time crossing a river with the jeep completely under water the only thing sticking out was the snorkel. exhaust pipe and our heads.

Great way to impress girlfriends.

The NG trucks did a couple things wrong.

For one thing i would have taken the gun ring cover off the one so that some one could have rode with there head out to direct the driver and kept a eye on the snorkel.

Other thing would have been to cable the two trucks together so when the lead truck got in trouble the rear truck could have pull them back.

Originally posted by speaknoevil07
How did the driver see to drive.? is there a camera or some system on top? the murky water you could not see, I scuba dive and you cannot see in that water. so how could they even get as far as they did? inside cab snorkels too right? I mean the cabs had to be soaked in side...............hum . Wow.

They must have had the windscreen wipers on. Also Screenwash with "all seasons" additive.

lol

wtf

reply to post by SJE98


Those are the most awesome trucks and I want one. Fantastic Military Transport Vehicle.

just thought i'd throw this in.

www.austinchamp.com...

austin (uk company) built the champ around the end of ww2 if i am not mistaken. i knew a guy who had salvaged one and it was a shed. took him approx three years to rebuild. it could drive underwater and had breathing apparatus in the dashboard box. steering wheel shaft extended to allow driver to stand at the rear quarter of the vehicle with control levers on the steering wheel.

in the competition to supply the various forces of the uk around the world, it lost out to the series1 landrover due to cost. it's a shame really as it was imo an exceptional vehicle.

btw the guy sold it to a company that supplies military vehicles to the film industry.
i've been tinkering with landrovers for 25 years. there is a cheaper alternative to buying a snorkel for those interested which are quite expensive. some rainwater downpipe, a few elbows,fixing clips and a tub of neox or other waterproof type grease and you are half way there.
i myself have recently surfaced from a three month karmic sympathetic restoration of a classic 33 year old beast of a vehicle. got the snorkel in the workshop when/if needed.
f.

I hope everyone was okay. Props to those guys for trying to get wherever they were going to help.
No props for the belligerent man filming, calling people names.