Today in WW II: 9 Jul 1940 Battle of Calabria [Battle of Punta Stilo, the toe of Italy] fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British/Australian Royal Navies, 30 miles [48km] east of Punta Stilo. More ?

9 Jul 1943 US-British invasion of Sicily begins [night of 9-10 Jul].
9 Jul 1944 British and Canadian forces capture Caen from the Germans, a critical post-D-Day objective in Normandy, France.
9 Jul 1944 US forces reach the northern end of Saipan, finding thousands of Japanese civilian men, women, and children who commit suicide by leaping off the cliffs rather than be captured.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

M-917 20-Ton Dump Truck

The full nomenclature of the M917 is Truck Chassis, 75,000 GVWR, 8x6, for 20-ton dump truck, 12 cu yd dump truck. It is also called Truck, Dump, 20-Ton, 8x6.

The M917 vehicles are authorized in Corps units, primarily the Construction and Combat Support Companies and the Combat Heavy Battalions.

AM General produced the M917 while Freightliner produced the M917A1 and M917A2 vehicles.

M917 Truck, Dump Characteristics

	M917	M917A1	M917A2
Engine	Cummins Model NTC-400 400 bhp@2100rpm Big Cam I	Big Cam II	Detroit Diesel S60 12.7 liters (776 cubic inches), 430 HP, 1450 LB-FT Torque, DDEC IV Engine Controller
Transmission	Semi-Automatic, 16fwd, 2 rev.	Allison HT-750 CRD	Allison HD4070P (7 speed automatic, double-overdrive)
Transfer Case			Meritor T-2119 (1-speed)

The M917 is equipped with a pusher axle for equalizing the load on the rear axles. The M917A2 is also available with a Material Control System (MCS) for spreading materials in a variety of patterns. NSNs are:

M917 NSN 3805-01-028-4389
M917A1 NSN 3805-01-431-1165
M917A1 W/MCS NSN 3805-01-432-8249
M917A2 NSN 3805-01-488-7442

Truck, Dump, 20-Ton, 8x6 M917. Photo courtesy Freightliner LLC.

An M917 dump truck follows an M1114 HMMWV across a bridge, near north entry control point, Logistics Support Area Anaconda, Iraq, May 2006. The bridge was newly constructed by Horizontal Platoon and 2d Platoon of Bravo Company, 84th Engineer Battalion.

North Dakota Army National Guard using an M917 20-ton dump truck to reinforce an earthen dike, Pembina River near Neche, ND, 17 April 2006.

84th Engineer Combat Battalion (Heavy) loader and M917 trucks fill a tank ditch, Camp Bucca, Iraq, 26 June 2006. Note armored doors on the dump truck.

Thanks to James Grein for help with this page.