Friday, December 4, 2009

US 2 1/2-ton, 6x6 Trucks in WW II


Most people call them Duece and a 1/2 but in WWII, these trucks were the workhorse of the war. They typically hauled medical supplies, troops, and ammunition. They were made by GMC in 1941 and nearly 800,000 were made. There were other manufacturers but GMC was noted to have the best design and capabilities. The original design was powered by gasoline but in later years was converted to diesel truck.
The duece and 1/2 was also used in the Korean War, Vietnam, and some use in Afghanistan. The trucks that were used in Vietnam were under daily attacks by the Vietcong guerillas so they mounted armoured plates and armed the trucks with 2 x M60 7.62mm machine guns. This allowed the soldiers to get supplies to the fronts. In the first photo, The U.S. Ninth Army GMC CCKW truck, just after crossing the Rhine River, March 1945.

The second photo is another duece and 1/2 that is used at Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Thunderbird tour company uses these trucks to do tours in the canyon and the Canyon de Chelly maintenance uses them to run supplies into the canyon. These little stray kitties were sunning themselves on the hood of the truck last week.


www.olive-drab.com/idphoto/id_photos_cckw.php3
Tess

5 comments:

  1. Great story Tess. And the stray kitties, do they have a home? Could they live with me??

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  2. Well, there are about 8 of them that live in the shed near that truck. Do you want me to catch a few and give them to you? Tess

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  3. My dad was in the 9th USAAF in WWII. They got leave to go to Paris and took a jeep. Arrogant French drivers drove them off the road a couple times. Next trip the old man and his buddies took a deuce and a half and drove right down the middle of the road, scattering Frenchies all over the place. He said it was of his fondest memories of the war.

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  4. I bet!!! You seem to give these trucks the right of way. Are you still in the NW? Tess

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