The purpose of the trailers carried by the Merkava tanks of the Israeli Army

@DefAviation ES 11·01·2023 · 21:20 0

Israel has already begun its ground offensive in northern Gaza against the positions of the Hamas terrorist group in that territory.

This is the Merkava MkIV of the Israeli Army, one of the most advanced tanks in the world
The weapons that the Israel Defense Forces have to wipe Hamas off the map

The Israeli Army has mobilized its armored forces in this offensive, including Merkava MkIV tanks. Some of the images of this offensive have shown these tanks pulling trailers, as we see in the photo by Ido Erez that heads these lines, in which a Merkava MkIVM Meil Ru'ach appears with one of those trailers next to the border with Gaza.

The trailers that carry the Merkava tanks and other armored vehicles of the Israeli Army are not improvised accessories. These are BackTrail logistics trailers, manufactured by the Israeli company Urdan Metal & Casting Industries Ltd.

BackTrail trailers have two wheels with their own damping systems. These two wheels are not fixed, as is the case with other simpler trailers, but rather rotate freely, allowing for easier reversing.

Urdan points out that the objective of these trailers is "extend combat capability, time and distance by a significant factor", as well as "deal with the challenge of distance and accessibility between the combat units and the logistics units." Thanks to these trailers, according to their manufacturer, the risks associated with resupply are also reduced and the operating periods of semi-independent units that operate dispersed without continuous or contiguous support from higher levels are extended.

There are four types of BackTrail trailers: for fuel (with 6,000 liters of capacity and independent refueling device), for ammunition (capable of transporting about 175 120 mm projectiles for the Merkava MkIV MG253 main gun), for general use (including small arms ammunition, grenades, mortar shells, spare parts, food and water, medical equipment and explosives) and for heavy loads(such as a power generator or camping equipment).

On these lines we can see the BackTrail for multiple uses, in this case transporting a gasoline tank, with its refueling system. In the first three photos of this entry you can see the fuel version.

The BackTrail can be pulled by tanks and other armored vehicles. In fact, the Israeli Army also usually uses them in its Namer (based on the Merkava MkI and MkII tanks) and Namera (based on the Merkava MKIV) infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), as well as in M-109 self-propelled howitzers. Above these lines we can see a IFV Namera dragging a general purpose BackTrail loaded with two fuel tanks. Furthermore, these trailers can also be towed by trucks. Below you can see a video of Urdan showing these trailers in action:

This other video from Urdan shows the operation of the wheels of these trailers:

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Main photo: Ido Erez. Rest of the photos: Urdan Metal & Casting Industries Ltd.