Gama Goat

The Gama Goat, military designation M561, was a six-wheel drive, semi-amphibious, articulated off-road truck developed for the United States military in the Vietnam War era. Its single hull rides on a powered articulated joint that lets the front and rear halves flex over broken ground, and all wheels steer, the front and rear sets turning in opposite directions, which gave it a reputation for crossing mud and rough terrain that ordinary trucks could not. The name joins that of the joint's inventor, Roger Gamaunt, with the sure-footedness of a mountain goat. In March 1963 the Army awarded the research and development contract to the Chance Vought division of LTV Aerospace in Dallas; the production vehicles were finally built by the Consolidated Diesel Electric Company, with a liquid-cooled Detroit Diesel 3-53 engine replacing the overheating air-cooled engine of the prototypes. About 14,274 were built, including an M792 ambulance version, before it gave way to the CUCV trucks and the Humvee. Its awkward handling on pavement and in water kept it from becoming the general-purpose vehicle the Army had hoped for.