OPERATION SWAMP FOX I TERRAIN AND SOIL TRAFFICABILITY OBSERVATIONS
Abstract
During the period of 21 August to 1 October 1961, the U. S. Army Transportation Corps conducted Operation Swamp Fox I in Panama. It was concluded that gullies, rivers, vegetation, slope, and wet surface-soil conditions were significant obstacles to vehicle movement. Because of difficult going conditions for conventional wheeled vehicles, they had to be dropped from the operation early in the program. The steep slopes appeared to present the greatest problem because of their frequency of occurrence. Vegetation effects were minimized by removing sufficient trees and underbrush from the trail to permit vehicles to pass without great difficulty. The use of structural diagrams proved to be a quick objective method for describing vegetation. In general, the soils encountered during the operation were strong enough to support the vehicles used in the operation. On the basis of the limited traffic tests conducted, it appears that the instruments and techniques used to determine the trafficability characteristics of fine-grained soils in humid-temperate climates are adequate for the determination of trafficability of tropical soils in Panama. Further testing is recommended. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1962
- Accession Number
- AD0290529
Entities
People
- A.a. Rula
- B.g. Schreiner