 the gama goat was a six-wheel-drive semi-amphibious off-road vehicle originally developed for use by the us military in the vietnam war. the 'goat used an articulated chassis, so that from distance it appears to be a four-wheel drive vehicle pulling a two-wheel trailer, but it is a single six-wheel vehicle with a four-wheel steering arrangement with the front and rear wheels turning in opposite directions. it was famous for its ability to travel over exceptionally rough and muddy terrain. the vehicle's nickname came from two sources; "gama" from the name of the inventor of its powered articulated joint, roger gamount, and "goat" for its mountain goat-like off-road ability. its military designation was m561, 6Ã6 tactical 1-1/4-ton truck. there was also an ambulance version known as the m792. the 'goat is prized among military vehicle collectors because it is so unusual and in short supply. the vehicle was replaced by the cucv and hmmwv. ==history== the concept for the vehicle came when the french army reported that the us army trucks provided to them were woefully inadequate for the terrain in vietnam. in 1959, arpa (now known as darpa) funded a research project called project 'agile' to develop a new tactical truck for the southeast asia theatre, as well as other projects of interest to the then-looming vietnam war. several companies bid for the contract, including clark, general motors and letourneau, but the contract was awarded to ling-temco-vought (ltv) aerospace, best known for their a-7 corsair ii aircraft. final construction of the vehicles was conducted by the consolidated diesel electric company (condec) at their factory in charlotte, north carolina. condec also had factories in schenectady, new york, where the gama goat was originally manufactured, and in greenwich, connecticut, where the parts for the gama goat were produced. in the early 1960s, the company moved to waterbury, connecticu
Articulated_vehicles Military_trucks_of_the_United_States Off-road_vehicles