ee OMEN Bea yee OU beMILITARY VEHIGLES OF WORLD WAR 2 Military Vehicles of World War 2 examines that extensive class of transport vehicle not covered by the term ‘Armored Fighting Vehicle’. ‘Much has been written since the end of WW2 about the development and use of the Armored Fighting Vehicle, but, until recently. litde serious attention has been paid to the fascinating military vehicles of the non-AFV variety andi i satisfying tO see that proper attention is at last being paid the supporting arms, without which the ‘teeth’ of an army would lack the essential bite to achieve victory. ‘This recent interest is not surprising, as apart from military nostalgia the post-war motorcar and truck industry benefited greatly from war time experiment and experience, a fact that has helped military vehicles of World War 2 find their place in transport history. ‘This book is. profusely illustrated with con- Temporary photographs. in black and white, taken ftom archives belonging to John Batchelor, Today, preserved jeeps, ambulances, tricks, scout cars, etc, are guaranteed to attract. ‘crowds of people whenever the vehicles go on display and the contemporary photographs are ‘supplemented by pictures of preserved vehicles, specially located and photographed in full color by Andrew Morland. Many of these display- vehicles have been lovingly restored in perfect detail, by enthusiasts, from remnants of vehicles discovered in scrapyards, Military Vehicles of World War 2 contains 30 ages of full color and 125 black and white photographs. JOHN CHURCH is an aviation engineer with Thilitary transport interests. He is an expert modeler and a former member of the Ist Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, with ‘extensive war-time experience to his credit From cover: Kropp “Boxer Track Light 6>1. Powered by A hori/oalally opposed --eybindcr ait cooled engine, from ‘hich ie detived its nickname of ‘Boxer’ Allswhecls were independently sprung ‘Rear cover: Dodge Model WCS4, 7214, Designated by the US Army as “ruck Ambulince ®4 Ton 4 als Patients! oF seven ‘walking sh Powered by a Deadge T24 G-ylinder 230.2 cubic 4 tanuciy netrol engine developing 76 bhp at 3,200 siving a top speed of 4 mph CRESCENT BOOKS: Distributed by Crown Publishers, Ine ‘One Park Avenue ‘New York, New York 10016MILITARY VEHICLES OF WORLD WAR 2wv ee VEC eSMILITARY eS C CRESCENT BOOKS NEW YORK1 SBN 0-517-469510 hgfedebda Copyright © 1982 by Blandford Press, Published 1985 by Crescent Books, distributed by Crown Publishers, Inc., One Park Avenue. New York, N.Y.10016. llrightsreserved. No part ofthis book may be reproduced or transmitted in any formorby any means, electronic or mechanical; including photocopying, recording orany information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Printed in Singapore by Toppan Printing Co. (S) Pte. Color photography by Andrew Morland Title page Intended for a limited life under operational conditions, the GMC DUKW-353 “Duck? confounded its early crities and remained in service for many years after WW2.CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 6 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 8 Production 36 German Production 44 aterproofing and Wadeproofing 45 portability 49 old Weather Operations 51 CIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES 54 58 Transporters 64 Machinery or Mobile Workshops 69 Amphibians 75 Gun Tractors 82 Ambulances and Associated Medical Vehicles 97 Communication Vehicles 101 Bridging Vehicles 106 Miscellaneous Specialist Vehicles 109 LOAD CARRYING VEHICLES 122 OPERATIONS 146 INDEX 159MILITARY VEH. SLES OF WORLD WAR 2 INTRODUCTION nthe eyes of the general public the ‘Tank’ and moured fighting vehicles as a whole, together with their crews, have had an aura of glamour not accorded to the more mundane branches of the Army. It is satisfying to see that proper due is now being paid to the supporting arms without which the ‘teeth’ of any army would lack the essential bite to achieve victory. Much has been written since the end of World War 2 about fighting vehicles and their develop- ment, and it is probably this wealth of infor- mation that has led the student of armoured warfare to realise that, without a vast and efficient support organisation supplying food, fuel and ammunition at the right time and place, pro- viding efficient recovery and repair facilities, bridges, communications and medical attention, armoured formations are soon reduced to im- mobile masses of useless metal. The first idea for providing mechanical self- propelled transport was the patent taken out in Britain by David Ramsey in 1634, but, like so many early inventions, its practical application was a failure due to the lack of a suitable source of power, However, in 1765, James Watt applied steam to provide power and Cugnot produced the first steam-powered wagon in 1769. Although the ‘Cugnot machine was unsuccessful as an artillery tractor the potential was there, and development of steam traction continued throughout the 19th century. The Crimean War provided the first instance of the use of military mechanical transport when British heavy artillery was hauled into position by Boydell steam traction engines. Later applications are to be found in the Franco-Prussian War and the Russo—Turkish War of 1878. The use of the Fowler engines by the Prussians jolted the French War Ministry out of its complacency and made it take a long hard look at the future of military transport. The British Army made good use of steam tractors during the Boer War, following their limited use in the Ashanti Wars of 1873, and the Aveling & Porter ‘Steam Sapper’ became the first steam traction engine designed especially for military Tt was already apparent that the slow heavy steam tractors had a limited application with poor cross-country performance, and the idea of improving mobility over bad ground was cr tallising into the application of endless track- ig machines. The germ of the idea seems to ‘e sprung ftom Edgeworth, in 1770, followed by Thomas Germain’s endless-track of 1801, with further variations on the basic theme by Palmer in 1812 and Barry nine years later, culminating in the all round track of Guillaume Fender in 1882. Applegarth then produced a tracked steam-powered tractor in 1886, followed by the Batter machine patented in the USA two years later. ‘These machines were heavy and slow and therefore unsuitable for the support of advancing fighting troops, being reminiscent of the cumber- some medieval siege trains. In fact, in Britain, the last applied operational use of steam traction was in providing the motive power for the 9.2 in, and 12in. howitzers of the Royal Artillery Heavy Regiments. The introduction of the internal combustion engine offering greater power-to-weight ratio, case of operation, etc., rang the death knell of the military traction engine and opened up the possibility of providing true mobility for the armies of the world, In the years from 1904 to 1914 the internal combustion (IC) engine de- veloped from its initial experimental stage into a reasonably reliable means of motive power. ‘Thus, by 1910, the British Army had begun to recognise the potential of the IC engined lorry, and mechanical transport began to be adopted on. a relatively large scale, although the motor-car had been used from 1902 for the transport of staff officers. In 1909, members of the Automobile Association moved a composite battalion of the Household Brigade from London to Hastings and back in their own private cars. In the previous year several Sheffield Simplex Standard 30 hp models had been used as gun tractors in the Grimsby area, travelling 80 miles at an average speed of 21 mph. ‘The value of the motor vehicle as an engine of war had, obviously, not gone unnoticed in other countries. In 1900, Lt Gol Layriz of the German. Army was advocating the use of motor-carsfor the carrying of dispatches and general liaison work and by 1908 lorries were used on manoeuvres by the German Army to transport troops and