M520 Goer

The M520 'Goer' "Truck, Cargo, 8-ton, 4x4" truck series was formerly the US Army’s standard heavy tactical truck before its replacement by the HEMTT.

Mid 1950s the US military were looking for a new, extreme off-road, tactical truck series, with substantially increased load-carrying capacity. According to a May 2006 article in Classic Military Vehicle magazine, the United States Armor Board began evaluating and testing commercially available, large wheeled, articulated-steering, earth-moving equipment for potential tactical application in 1956 / 1957. This resulted in development contracts for 4x4 all-terrain vehicles of various weight classes being awarded to Clark Equipment, Le Tourneau-Westinghouse and Caterpillar Tractor Company.

Clark provided a 5-ton prototype, based on their Model 75 log-skidder, powered by a Cummins 6-cyl. Diesel engine. Caterpillar's entries were in the eight-ton class and were designated: XM520 (8-ton cargo truck), XM553 (10-ton wrecker recovering) and XM559 (8-ton, 2.500-gallon tanker) [1]. Le Tourneau-Westinghouse offered three variants in the 15-ton class: XM437 Cargo, XM438 Tanker and XM554 Wrecker. Without exception, the prototypes consisted of two segments, housing engine and driver's compartment in the front and using the rear part as main transport unit, whereby steering was accomplished by articulating the whole front unit relative to the rear, as opposed to pivot steering the front wheels conventionally. The large wheels with big, low-pressure tyres were mounted without any suspension or steering mechanism, greatly simplifying the design. In order to keep the wheels on the ground on uneven terrain, the front and rear units could not only swivel around a vertical axis, but also along the vehicle's longitudinal axis, allowing significant articulation.

The Caterpillar design did well in testing, and in 1960 the company was awarded a multi-million dollar contract for developing eight 8-ton cargo trucks, delivered in 1961 and 1962, as well as two 10-ton wreckers and two 2500-gallon tankers in 1962. Another twenty-three units were ordered in 1963, and field-tested in Germany in 1964, and later in Vietnam in 1966. Not until 1971 did Caterpillar eventually receive a production contract for 1300 units: 812 M520 cargo-vehicles, 371 M559 tankers and 117 M553 wreckers. Production began in 1972 and lasted through June of 1976.