Rome plows/Rome ploughs

The plow tractors were equipped with a very sharp "stinger blade" which weighed more than two tons and was able to cut down trees, which were then burned. When fully equipped, a Rome plow tractor weighed 48,000 pounds without the Rome plow kit. Rome plows were mounted on Caterpillar D7E bulldozers of the 59th, 60th, 501st, 538th, 687th, and 984th Engineer Companies (Land Clearing). The plows took their name from the city of Rome, Georgia, where they were made by the Rome Plow Company (now located in Cedartown, Georgia). Rome plows were first used in III Corps (Military Region III) to destroy trees and other jungle flora that could be used by enemy forces. Major land clearance operations did not commence, however, until May 1967 with the arrival of the 169th Engineer Battalion.