Richard gets to grips with the big cranes that are used in salvage yards in Louisiana, but some of the machinery proves uncooperative.

Hammond tries out the track hoe, demolition machine and wrecking ball - and learns it is a far more delicate job than he first thought.

The Striker fire engine is the most powerful in the world. Based at Dallas Fort Worth Airport, Hammond undergoes some gruelling training to be a fireman.

At the Denver Regional Landfill site, Richard operates a bulldozer, a compactor, and a scraper in a mountain of stinky rubbish.

Richard Hammond heads out to try out the dangle head processor, the feller bunchier, and the log loader in a bid to become a lumberjack.

Richard Hammond travels to Fort Bliss in El Paso to learn how to be commander, gunner and driver of an Abrams M1A2 tank in a three-day crash course.