A railroad plough is a rail-mounted vehicle carrying an immensely strong hook-shaped plough, lowered onto the track and hauled by a locomotive to tear up wooden ties and bend steel rails out of alignment, wrecking a railway line so a retreating army denies its use to a pursuing enemy. Rail-destruction equipment of this kind was used by the Russian Imperial Army during its retreat from Galicia and Poland in the First World War, by the Czechoslovak Army in 1938 during the German occupation, and by German forces retreating through Italy and on the Eastern Front in the Second World War. It is a distinct device from the improvised rail-destruction tactic known as Shermans neckties, used by Union forces in the American Civil War.
Facts
Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Classification
Service Status Weapon ClassRail mounted plough, rail destruction vehicle 1 Connections
Operated By
Source Railroad plough, Wikipedia
Used In
Source Railroad plough, Wikipedia
Sources
1. Railroad plough, Wikipedia
Opening paragraph
A railroad plough is a rail vehicle which supports an immensely strong, hook-shaped plough.
service status
It is a distinct device from the improvised rail-destruction tactic known as Shermans neckties, used by Union forces in the American Civil War
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
Operated By: Wehrmacht, Article text
Railroad ploughs were in use by the Czechoslovak Army during the German occupation in 1938, and by German Wehrmacht armed forces retreating northward through Italy and westward from the Eastern Front in World War II.
Used In: World War II, Article text
Railroad ploughs were in use by the Czechoslovak Army during the German occupation in 1938, and by German Wehrmacht armed forces retreating northward through Italy and westward from the Eastern Front in World War II.
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