(a).
Mechanical ditch digger undergoing tests at the Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Fort Belvior, Va.


(b).
Excavating a fox hole.


(c).
Troops jump into fox hole.


(d).
Earthwork operations.


(e).
Digging a trench.




Initials


(Official Army footage released by Department of Defense)

Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: An airborne mechanical ditch digger, designed to provide rapid protection for troops and capable of digging a trench four feet deep, 24 inches wide at the rate of 12 feet per minute, is undergoing tests at the Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Mounted on rubber tires, the ditcher is highly mobile and capable of road speeds of 35 miles per hour. The digging mechanism is hydraulically retractable for road travel or air transport.

The ditcher undergoing tests is designed to support earthwork operations on construction projects, dig ditches to a depth of six feet, excavate a foxhole in one to two minutes or a machine gun emplacement in five to ten minutes.

In the event of nuclear warfare, ditchers such as the airborne model undergoing tests now, and those that are to be standardized in the supply system this year (not airborne), will be needed to provide protection for front line and rear echelon troops against atomic blast and fallout.