Giant Of The Earthmovers is a 1950s Caterpillar film that highlights the company’s new bulldozer tractor, the Caterpillar D9. A Caterpillar salesman pulls his car up in front of his office. Inside, he addresses the camera as he talks about the new D9 earthmover (01:10). A D9 operator stands on a D9 tractor (02:20). The operator demonstrates the control panel and the adjustable seat. The salesman and a client of his watch the D9 move earth. The operator easily steers the D9 as he maneuvers the tractor around the work site. There is a good shot of the wheels and tracks of the machine (06:00), followed by footage of the operator making a ditch cut by tilting the blade (06:20) using its hydraulic tilt cylinder. A D9 tractor pulls logs during a logging operation, winching the logs into position (07:07). A D9 equipped with a torque convertor pushes a scrapper (08:30); another bulldozes dirt. A D9 with a modified straight blade pushes coal at a coal plant. There are several shots of D9s bulldozing, pushing scrappers, and hauling logs before the promotional film concludes with the salesman back in his office talking about the D9.
The Caterpillar D9 is a large track-type tractor designed and manufactured by Caterpillar Inc. It is usually sold as a bulldozer equipped with a detachable large blade and a rear ripper attachment The D9, with 354 kW (474 hp) of gross power and an operating weight of 49 tons, is in the upper end of Caterpillar’s track-type tractors, which range in size from the D3 57 kW (77 hp), 8 tons, to the D11 698 kW (935 hp), 104 tons. The size, durability, reliability, and low operating costs have made the D9 one of the most popular large track-type tractors in the world.
The D9 is a series of heavy tracked-type tractors, propelled by Caterpillar tracks and usually used as bulldozers. The series began in 1954 with a prototype tractor called the D9X. Ten D9X prototype models were built in 1954. In 1955, the 286 hp (213 kW) D9 was introduced to compete against the more powerful Euclid TC-12. The D9 came equipped with a 1,473 cid D353 which powered the D9 right up until the 1980 introduction of the D9L. In 1956 the D9 had its engine power raised to 320 hp (240 kW). The new 335 hp (250 kW) D9E replaced that model in 1959. Two years later, in 1961, the legendary 385 hp (287 kW) D9G was introduced, that remained in production for 13 years. Over its 13-year life the D9G became the main crawler on many job sites, testifying to its sturdiness and design.
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