НЕМЕЦКОЕ ЧУДОВИЩЕ - Гигантский плуг МАМОНТ

This hyperplow did indeed miss the anti-tank ditches by a hair, but in the wrong direction. Ottomeyer had been making giant plows since its inception, but its full apotheosis came with the 1950 adoption of a program to reclaim swamps and wastelands in the areas bordering the Netherlands (west of Bremen) to feed the rapidly expanding population due to refugees from the East and displaced persons. The giants of the "Mammoth" series appeared in the company's fleet in 1948, and this particular monster, "Oldenburg," dates back to 1960 (first fielded in May 1960), and it remained in service until 1972 (!). Along with steam tractors, they were used in the mid-20th century for drainage and reclamation work. They were used to cut channels in peat bogs and ordinary swamps up to 180 centimeters deep (indeed, in more or less firm soil, this monster could anchor any nuclear aircraft carrier...) and up to two and a half meters wide, through which water was drained. But that's not all; this twenty-eight-ton plow is also a half-track and symmetrical... The track is designed (and positioned slightly higher than the wheel) for a reason. The wheel runs on unplowed soil, while the track runs on the moldboard. A wheel would simply sink in, but otherwise, it works just fine. Incidentally, two (sometimes four) traction engines were needed for the system to operate for a reason: they didn't actually go into the swamp themselves, despite their swamp-going wheels, but ran parallel, with the plow being pulled back and forth by winches using a cable. Apparently, after struggling with manual plowing control on the "Mammoths," in 1960 the new unit received its own hydraulic control system with a 27-horsepower drive, which was located right in the middle of the unit. The plow was guided by a cable and pulled from the left side of two traction engines to the right of the other two, creating a large "X" shape with the plow in the middle. The lateral distance between the two traction engines could be quite large and was limited only by the length of the cable. After each plow pass, the traction engines moved forward to the desired furrow width. The cable system was developed by Mr. Max Eyth. Why did the inventors of the idea use such ancient steam locomotives? The thing is, in 1960, there was practically no alternative to them in Germany. They had 460-500 hp each. Diesel tractors of that power aren't commonplace even today, let alone back then... Not every "demobilized" tank in West Germany had that kind of capability. And if you factor in maintenance, the practically eternal steam engines, requiring only water, firewood (or even dried peat—it'll do), and a little oil of any quality, were a godsend. Without them, nothing would have worked, seriously. Even if the tanks had been adapted, it wouldn't have helped. Their service life and cost of ownership pale in comparison to these monsters. As it is, two (or, in severe cases, four) giants with 460-500 hp each cut through the marshy ground like a knife. Due to this operating feature—pulling in both directions—the plow was symmetrical, double-sided, with its shares cutting the soil alternately, depending on the direction of travel. The locomotive engines were based on a Fowler engine with a Henschenl steam boiler. Many components were modified and reinforced by Ottomeyer to enable the conversion of high traction power of 450-500 hp each. These were the most powerful self-propelled locomotives in the world. From the 1950s to the 1970s, The marshy lands of the Emsland region had been cultivated, having been deemed unsuitable for human habitation since the 1700s. However, with the invention of the deep plow for extracting peat from beneath the sandy topsoil, the next 20 years saw the plowing of northwest Germany, covering five counties, 12 hours a day, six days a week, from Easter to October. Traction motors are located on both sides of the field, used as a winch to pull the double-sided plow two meters deep through the soil. They needed to go this deep to mix the deeper peat with the topsoil for better fertilization. Plow weight with hydraulic adjustment: 28 tons. Plow pulling power: 500 hp. Daily water consumption: 1000 liters. Brown coal briquettes: 1 ton. Rope length: 400 meters. Daily cultivated surface: 2 hectares (equivalent to 5,000 men with pikes, as this was a disciplinary measure during the Nazi regime). In fact, the giant plow with two steam tractors somewhat shocked the world in 1972.