Why LeTourneau’s INSANE Tree Crusher Will NEVER Be Used Again

Описание: In the 1960s, LeTourneau built 175-ton diesel-electric machines designed to flatten entire forests in a single pass. The G175 tree crusher stood 21 feet tall, rode on massive spiked steel drums, and could reduce mature timber to splinters while a single operator guided it from an air-conditioned cab.

This video explores the complete history of these extraordinary machines, from Robert LeTourneau's sixth-grade dropout origins to his company's 300 patents that revolutionized earthmoving. You'll learn how the G175 cleared over 2,500 acres of British Columbia wilderness for the W.A.C. Bennett Dam project, why the first season was a disaster of mechanical failures and mud-mired equipment, and how crews eventually made the machine perform as designed.

The story continues to Vietnam, where the U.S. Army tested smaller tactical variants for jungle clearing operations. The military wanted rapid deforestation to deny cover to enemy forces, but the crushers proved vulnerable in combat conditions. When the Army requested modifications including armored turrets and Claymore mines, the program was quietly terminated.

The video examines why nothing like these machines will ever be built again. Environmental regulations, changed economics, and a fundamental shift in how we think about forests have made the tree crusher concept obsolete. Today, the G175 sits as a roadside monument in Mackenzie, British Columbia, while the Vietnam-era machines rust behind a Texas workshop.

This channel covers the history of industrial machinery, heavy equipment, and the engineers who pushed mechanical technology to its limits.

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