WW II Tractors / Bulldozers

During WW II crawler tractor / bulldozers were used by the U.S. military for combat construction in Europe, Asia, the Pacific, literally all over the world. They also served as prime movers for artillery, and for a multitude of other tasks. The crawler tractors had unsurpassed capability to move and tow in the muddy jungles of the Pacific islands which made them especially prized by SeaBees, Marine Corps and Army units in the Pacific Theater. When equipped with a bulldozer blade, they could level ground for roads and airfields as well as clear debris, construct fortifications and much more.

Spring 1944 photo of bulldozers at the Engineer Depot, Thatcham, England in preparation for the D-Day invasion, 6 June 1944
Spring 1944 photo of bulldozers at the Engineer Depot, Thatcham, England in preparation for the D-Day invasion, 6 June 1944. Click for larger image.

Today in WW II: 20 May 1940 German General Rudolf Veiel's 2nd Panzer division reaches the English Channel at Noyelles, splitting the Allied defense.  More ↓
20 May 1940 Largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, opens in Poland. Before liberation in 1945, about 1.1 million people died there, 90 percent Jews.
20 May 1941 Germans launch Operation Mercury, the Battle of Crete, the first airborne invasion in history.
20 May 1942 First African-American seamen taken into the United States Navy.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Chart of WW II Tractors / Bulldozers

Tractor / Bulldozers were produced in great variety, from small, air transportable units that flew with airborne engineers to hulking brutes used to move the heaviest field artillery under adverse conditions.

According to TM 9-2800 (1 September 1943) War Department tractor / bulldozers were standardized under three general nomenclature groupings, with several commercially available models in each group, as follows:

While other tractors were procured during WW II, the most common were the standardized units listed.

In this chart of military tractors and bulldozers from the WW II period, click on the photo link to go to the page of photos and information for the specific truck. See also Military Tractors.

Recommended Books about WW II Tractors / Bulldozers

Thanks to az_mike_miller for recommending "Bulldozing the Way: New Guinea to Japan."

Vehicle Description Photo Link
CA1 Clarkair Crawler CA1. Air transportable tractor/dozer with Braden winch. Developed by Clark, and approx. 1100 built by Clark Equipment Co. and American Machine and Metals Inc. for US Army during WW II. Thanks to Stephen Sarkany for corrected information. Clarkair Crawler CA1
M-450 M-450 Air-transportable Bulldozer M-450 Air-transportable Bulldozer
R-4 R-4 Caterpillar Bulldozer/Tractor R-4 Caterpillar Bulldozer
D-4 D-4 Caterpillar Bulldozer/Tractor D-4 Caterpillar Bulldozer / Tractor
D-7 D-7 Caterpillar Bulldozer D-7 Caterpillar Bulldozer
TD-18 TD-18 International Harvester Tractor / Bulldozer TD-18 International Harvester Tractor / Bulldozer
TD-40 TD-40 International Harvester Tractor / Bulldozer TD-40 International Harvester Tractor / Bulldozer
HD10W Allis-Chalmers Co. HD10W Tractor / Bulldozer Allis-Chalmers Co. HD10W Tractor / Bulldozer
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