[This article was first published in Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin, which was then called Army Logistician, volume 1, number 2 (November–December 1969), pages 16–19.]
Difficulties experienced by the U.S. Army during the logistics buildup in Vietnam underscored the urgent need for new Logistics Over the Shore (LOTS) equipment similar to the MEXEFLOTE pontoon equipment developed by the Military Experimental Engineering Establishment, Christchurch, England. MEXEFLOTE is derived from a combination of MEXE, which indicated the developer of the equipment, and FLOTE, which describes the test item’s floating capabilities.
This experimental equipment is currently being evaluated by the U.S. Army Materiel Command and the U.S. Army Combat Development Command.
The British MEXEFLOTE is designed to be employed as lighterage, a barge, towboat, helicopter landing and supply pickup platform, causeway, floating pier, and as a liquid (water) transporter. With special adaptation, MEXEFLOTE can also be used as a POL tanker and a floating or beached POL storage reservoir.
MEXEFLOTE consists of three types of basic pontoons—bow, center and stern. Each pontoon is constructed of high strength structural steel.
Each of the equipment’s pontoons is 8 feet wide and 4 feet 9 inches deep. The bow section is 26 feet long. Center and stern sections are 20 feet long. The bow section’s ramp is raised or lowered by a built-in hydraulic jack.
The test raft MEXEFLOTE is 126 feet 10 inches long and 24 feet wide. It is composed of three bow, twelve center, and three stern pontoon sections. This configuration can be altered by adding or subtracting pontoon sections. The pontoons have no projections on the deck or sides. They are joined rigidly side-by-side and end-to-end by connectors which are lowered into slots in the pontoon sides and ends.
MEXEFLOTE is self-propelled by two 75-horsepower British-made Dorman diesel engines mounted on its stern. Each engine is equipped with a 38-inch diameter by 22-inch pitch 3-blade propeller. The test item can be assembled in the water by a trained 8-man crew in approximately 45 minutes.
The U.S. Army General Equipment Test Activity (USAGETA), Fort Lee, Virginia, is responsible for conducting a military potential test of the MEXEFLOTE.
At various marine locales in Virginia, evaluations are being made of the MEXEFLOTE's potential as initial deployment lighterage, in LOTS operations, and in fixed-port operations. The extent to which the test item may be substituted for other standard lighterage equipment and landing craft during sustained logistics operations is being investigated. Also under evaluation is its nonlighterage capability for use in causeway, floating pier, and helicopter cargo transfer operations.
On conclusion of LOTS testing, MEXEFLOTE is scheduled to undergo a series of movement adaptability (MOVAD) tests to determine the transportability and delivery of the disassembled experimental MEXEFLOTE by all modes of surface transportation (rail, highway, cross-country, and marine).
All operational and organizational maintenance performed on MEXEFLOTE is accomplished in accordance with information contained in the test item’s maintenance package and the British manufacturer’s instruction manuals.
Maintenance data sought by USAGETA engineers during each phase of testing include such items as time consumed in both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, frequency of maintenance services, problems encountered during maintenance operations, environmental effects, special tool requirements, adequacy of the equipment’s maintenance package, and safety of maintenance operations.
Throughout all subtests, evaluations will be made of the degree of ease, simplicity, and effort expended in operating and servicing the MEXEFLOTE during normal use conditions.
Testing accomplished to date favorably indicates that MEXEFLOTE has possibilities for future military use.
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