WWI mechanical trench-digging machine - GIF

[Jon]

WWI mechanical trench-digging machine.




Previously:

Bucket chain excavator walking GIF
Bagger 293 bucket wheel excavator GIF
Trenchless V-plow pipe layer

[mklotz]

The auxiliary conveyor belts that throw the excavated earth to the side raise a quandary. On the one hand, creating a berm on the side of the trench facing the enemy means the trench doesn't have to be dug as deeply. Conversely, the berm makes it more difficult to go "over the top" in those suicidal charges against machine guns that killed off a European generation. Of course, you've got to put the dirt somewhere; it's not like you can ship it back behind the lines.

[Moby Duck]

When I hoe my garden with my old WW1 entrenching tool, I always imagine how difficult it must have been digging massive trench systems using such a puny tool. It never occurred to me that they had mechanised diggers back then.

[Jon]

TMK-2 trenching vehicle.