The majority were exported Lend-Lease to the Soviet Union.Įarly trucks used a commercial style closed cab, in December 1942 an open military style cab entered production. Studebaker built over 195,000 at their South Bend, Indiana plant between June 1941 and August 1945, REO built another 22,000 in 1944–1945. The US6 was very similar in layout to, and shared some components with, the CCKW. The GMC was classed as substitute standard M135 in the US but became standard in Canada. The REO design was standardized for all services as the M35, and continued standard until 1990. Chrysler, GMC, REO, and Studebaker submitted designs. In the late 1940s the military needed a new standard truck. Yellow's CCKW became the Army standard, International's M-5-6 became Navy and Marine Corps standard, and Studebaker's US6 was built for export to allied countries. Yellow Coach (a GM company), Studebaker, International Harvester, and REO Motor Car Company submitted designs, all except REO's were accepted and in production by 1941. Dump, semi-tractor, tanker, and other bodies were also planned. Army Ordnance Corps was developing a 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton (5,000 lbs, 2,300 kg) load-rated 6×6 tactical cargo truck that could operate off-road in all weather. Army vehicles on a road in Belgium, 19 January 1945 Half a century after World War II, the remanufactured 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton M35 trucks still met 95 percent of the performance requirements at 60 percent of the cost of a new FMTV vehicle. The front axle was typically disengaged on smooth highways, where these 'workhorses' often carried loads much above their rated capacity." According to Hyde (2013): "Each of the three axles had its own differential, so power could be applied to all six wheels on rough terrain and steep hills. It has been called the most important truck of World War II, and the 6×6 became known as the "workhorse of the army". The 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton cargo truck was considered such a valuable piece of equipment that General Eisenhower wrote that most senior officers regarded it as "one of the six most vital" U.S. A further ~118,000 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton trucks were built as 6x4 driven units. Army bought between 1939 and December 1945 (across all payload weight classes), just over one third (~812,000) were 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton trucks, the vast majority of which (over 675,000 units) were six by six variants-outnumbering the almost 650,000 World War II jeeps. Of the almost 2.4 million trucks that the U.S. military began replacing the 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton, ten-wheeled (6圆 and 6x4) trucks, that were originally classified as "light-heavy" in WW II, and "medium duty" later in their service life, with a significantly different design: the four-wheeled (4x4), cab over engine "light medium", but equally 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton rated, LMTV variants of the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles (FMTV). They were used in Vietnam and continued to be used with various modifications into the late 1990s. First fielded in the 1950s, the M35 family became one of the most successful and long-lived series of trucks ever deployed by the U.S. The nickname "Jimmy", a phonetical diminutive of GMC, could be applied to both their 6圆 and 6x4 units.Īfter World War II, the M35 series truck, originally developed by REO, became the standard 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton truck. In addition to the 6圆 trucks, a significant minority of these trucks were also built minus the front-wheel drive, as 6x4 trucks. Another 200,000+ deuces were Studebaker and REO US6, built primarily for Lend-Lease export, mostly to the Soviet Union, and many others have been exported to smaller militaries. Army was the GMC CCKW or " Jimmy", with over 560,000 units built. During World War II the most important model for the U.S. Originally, five different designs were standardized by the U.S. standard medium duty truck class after the war, including wide usage in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as the first Gulf War. The 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton trucks were used ubiquitously in World War II, and continued to be the U.S. The basic cargo versions were designed to transport a cargo load of nominally 2 + 1⁄ 2 short tons (5,000 lb 2,300 kg) over all terrain, in all weather. Also frequently known as the deuce and a half, or just deuce, this nickname was popularized post WWII, most likely in the Vietnam war era. The 2 + 1⁄ 2-ton, 6×6 truck was a standard class of medium duty trucks, designed at the beginning of World War II for the US Armed Forces, in service for over half a century, from 1940 into the 1990s. 1971 AM General M35A2 with winch and camouflage cargo cover Class of military medium duty trucks A Red Ball Express truck gets stuck in the mud during World War II, 1944.
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