Barge, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo, 'BARC' 3-X

Barge, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo, 'BARC' 3-X. . , During the Korean War, the need for an improved amphibious vehicle was noted. General Frank Besson advocated the need for large scale, massive capacity vehicles capable of operating in inclement waters. With this view in mind, the Pacific Car and Foundry Company worked with the offshore oil rig manufacturer LeTourneau incorporated, to design and build four prototypes in the early 1950s, dubbing them 'Barge, Amphibious Resupply, cargo,' or 'BARC.'

This is the third of the experimental designs, the 3-X, which was delivered to the Army for testing in November of 1953. Designated to be loaded aboard massive cargo vessels before deploying to shore, the BARC could easily carry a fully equipped infantry company of 125 men, or haul sixty tons worth of supply containers and vehicles in one trip. In addition to the four prototypes, fifty five other hulls were eventually built, and although the total production was sixty vehicles, only around a dozen would be sent out at any time.

By the dawn of the twenty-first century, only a single unit, the 309th Transportation Company, 11th Transportation Battalion, maintained an active BARC, which was finally on October 15, 2001. The 3-X is one of the few BARCs on display, and due to its early acceptance by the Army just after the Korean War, is by far the oldest. The 3-X served as a training craft for all future BARC crewmen for a full decade. When the hull was finally pulled from active use in 1963, Fort Eustis saved the prototype as an example, leading to its preservation and display today.