About US Trucks from 1947 to this day

During the Cold War, the United States developed and deployed a variety of trucks for military use. These trucks were designed to transport troops, equipment, and supplies in a variety of environments, including the harsh cold weather conditions of Europe and other regions.

One of the most iconic trucks used by the US military during the Cold War was the M35 "Deuce and a Half" truck. This was a two-and-a-half-ton cargo truck that was used extensively by the US Army from the 1950s through the 1990s. The M35 was designed to be highly reliable and capable of operating in a variety of environments, including the extreme cold weather conditions of northern Europe.

In addition to the M35, the US military also deployed a variety of other trucks during the Cold War, including the M54, M809, and M939 series of cargo trucks. These trucks were larger and more powerful than the M35, and were capable of carrying heavier loads over longer distances.

The US military also developed specialized trucks for use in cold weather conditions, including the M123A1C tractor and M127A1C semi-trailer combination. These trucks were used to transport fuel and other critical supplies to remote locations in Alaska and other cold weather regions.

Overall, the US military's truck fleet played a critical role in supporting its Cold War operations, allowing troops and supplies to be rapidly transported across large distances and difficult terrain, and this between the Korean War, Vietnam war, Nigaragua Intervention, Somalia, Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. With constant deployments, specifications and usage changed over time. And it was not just about softskin trucks and light tactical vehicles (classed as "trucks" anyway, the difference was in the weight load), but also artillery tractors such as the M578.

In search for the new light US Army workhorse

Post-war military Jeeps

The original WW2 Jeep was used and imitated around the world. France for example copied it via Delahaye and Hotchkiss, and the latter after 1954 manufactured Jeeps under license. In Japan it was built by Mitsubishi Motors and Toyota. The British Land Rover was also largely inspired by the Jeep, as the British Army avidly used it in WW2. This utilitarian vehicle was hailed by industrial designers and museum alike, the Museum of Modern Art describing it as a masterpiece of functionalist design. Ernie Pyle called it, with the G.I. Pocket Stove, "the two most important pieces of noncombat equipment ever developed." These arrived soon also on the surplus market. Civilian applications were legion, pushing the chassis and engines to their extreme limited, like the Philippine's Jeepney, a stretched-out heavily modified bus made from a Jeep, also heavily decorated. Comimg from surplus MBs and GPWs, they have become a symbol of "modern" Philippines. Backyard assemblers also constructed replica Jeeps with stainless steel bodies and surplus parts for the local market.

In the US military, the Jeep started to age in the 1950s and found several successions, each time only gradually improved but very much on the same flavour as the original. Outside the CJ, earliest derivative mostly used abroad, the M38 was soon the true successor of the model, and the Ford M151 Mutt in the 1970s, up to the Humvee.

US Army Trucks from 1947 to this day

Compared to the situation in WW2, the ordnance bureau in the cold war, when asked to gradually replace its park of worn-out mass-built trucks, like the iconic GMC CCKW choose a universal platform that could be used for all tasks and specialities, the Reo (and many others) M35 (175,000 built and more) or the M39 (same specs) by International Harvester, declined into multiple version such as the M54 tactical truck (150,000+). But the need for smaller trucks led to define also the M37 3/4-ton 4x4 (136,000 built) which soldiered in the Korean War and Vietnam. To Come:

• HEMTT M977 10-ton 8x8 (1982)
• M915A2 series 15-ton[v] 6x4 (1990)
• LMTV[t] M1078 2+1⁄2-ton 4x4 (1991)
• Freightliner HET[x] M1070 Heavy 8x8 (1993)
• MTVR 7-ton 6x6 (1999)
• 7000MV HD 6x6 (2005)
• MTV M1083 5-ton 6x6 (2005)
• LVSR Heavy 10x10 (2009)

Soft-Skinned Artillery Tractors

M4 High Speed Tractor, too late for WW2, right for the Korean War


M8A1 High Speed Tractor


M548 tractor, from the Vietnam to the Gulf War.




During the Cold War, the United States military deployed a variety of artillery tractors to transport artillery pieces and other heavy equipment. These tractors were designed to be highly maneuverable and capable of operating in a variety of environments, including rough terrain and extreme cold weather conditions. One of the most widely used artillery tractors during the Cold War was the M578 Light Recovery Vehicle. This vehicle was based on the M107 self-propelled howitzer chassis and was used primarily to recover and tow damaged or disabled vehicles, including artillery pieces.

Another commonly used artillery tractor was the M548 tracked cargo carrier. This vehicle was designed to transport ammunition, supplies, and other equipment, and was capable of carrying up to 10,000 pounds of cargo over rough terrain. The M578 and M548 were both used extensively by the US military during the Cold War, and were deployed in a variety of conflicts, including the Vietnam War and the Gulf War. These vehicles were praised for their reliability and versatility, and played a critical role in supporting artillery operations on the battlefield.

In addition to these vehicles, the US military also deployed a variety of other artillery tractors during the Cold War, including the M35 cargo truck, which was often used to transport artillery pieces and other heavy equipment, and the M114 armored personnel carrier, which was sometimes used as a towing vehicle for smaller artillery pieces.

(More to come)

Links/Src

Books

Encyclopedia of Modern U. S. Military Tactical Vehicles
M520 Goer - M561 Gama Goat Articulated Trucks of the US Army in the Cold War - Tankograd 3018

Links

Willys M606 on military-vehicle.org
bizarre-american-gun-trucks-in-iraq

Videos

WW1 Vehicles

Allied ww2 Vehicles

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Axis Trucks

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Sd.Kfz 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 were half-tracks designed just before the war as prime movers, to carry supplies, ammunition, personal, and tow artillery. Many were also converted during the war as armored versions carrying AA FLAK guns (Flakvierling, 37 mm, or the legendary 88 mm Rheinmetall als used as tank hunters), or were converted as nebelwerfer (rocket launching armored vehicles). They were built by Hanomag, Steyr, Mercedes-Benz, Bussing and many other manufacturers until 1945, over 20,000 half-tracks.

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Cold War & Modern Vehicles

Modern Trucks