Signboard & Bulldozer

Bulldozer - Sony

bulldozer

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bulldozer toys

A bulldozer is a crawler (continuous tracked tractor) equipped with a substantial metal plate (known as a blade) used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, or other such material during construction or conversion work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device (known as a ripper) to loosen densely-compacted materials.

Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites, mines and quarries, military bases, heavy industry factories, engineering projects and farms.

The term "bulldozer" is often used erroneously to mean any heavy equipment (sometimes a loader and sometimes an excavator), but precisely, the term refers only to a tractor (usually tracked) fitted with a dozer blade. That is the meaning used here.

SonyDigital - Bulldozer

Some bulldozers, especially bulldozers in military usage, have been fitted with armor to protect the driver from enemy fire, enabling the bulldozer to operate in battle zones. The best-known use of an armored bulldozer is probably the use by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) of the IDF Caterpillar D9, for earth moving, clearing terrain obstacles, opening routes, detonating explosive charges, running over protesters, and demolishing structures whilst under fire. The extensive use of armored bulldozers during the Second Intifada drew controversy and criticism from human rights organizations while military experts saw it as a key factor in reducing IDF casualties.

Some bulldozers have been fitted with armor by non-government civilian operators to prevent bystanders or police from interfering with the work performed by the bulldozer, as in the case of strikes or demolition of condemned buildings. This has also been done by civilians with a dispute with the authorities, such as Marvin Heemeyer, who outfitted his Komatsu D355A bulldozer with homemade composite armor to then demolish government buildings