Volume 1l Issue 125

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 cksof
WbrldWbrll
The sweeping strategic manoeuvres made by armoured,
forces in World War II were made possible hy large-scale
mechanization of transport; without massive fleets of lowies,
Blitzkrieg would not have been possible and the tempo of the
conllict could not have been sustained.
Never had there previously been and in all possibillty w111 there subse-
quently ever be so mobile a war as was seen durrng World War IL
From the very outset, with the German Blitzkrieg on Poland, such
warfare relied on mobillty to push home the attack, During these early
years much reliance was placed on the speed and efficiency of
armoured thrusts backed by a mobile supply line. Unfortunately for the
Germans, much of their supply line was strll horsedrawn and the number
of available motor transport vehicles was totally inadequate to the task.
To compensate for this, many civil trucks were conscripted into service
along with the few surviving vehicles of the Poltsh army, In contrast with
thls, the Britlsh Expeditronary Force that landed in France in 1939 was a
fu11y mechanized formation,
During the evacuatron of Dunkirk very few vehicles could be rescued,
They were thus captured (along with many different types of French
trucks) by the Germans and pressed into service, leading to yet more
spare parts problems. After thrs the German logistic department tried to
rationalize matters in a standardization programme involving the Schell
system, but even this never reached its target before the end of the war,
Perhaps the loss of about 90,000 vehicles in France was a blessing to
the Brrtish mrlitary transport organization as it cleared all the 'dead wood'
that would probably have been used and continued in production, and
thus paved the way for fresh rdeas. The chronic shortage oi transport
forced a further temporary introduction of impressment until specific
types could be produced in greater numbers. The Commonwealth with
its many assets was given the orders to produce many of these urgently
needed tvpes, Canada made a contribution out of all proportion to the
Transport vehicles
were an essential
element in armoured
warfare. Tanks could
wear out their tracks in
under 100 km, hence
the needfor
transporters.
size ol its small automotive industry with its series of all wheel-dnve
tactical trucks ranging from 15-cwt 4x4 to 3{on 6x6, produced w-rth
various types of cabs from l94O to 1943, During the early period the
Canadlan chassis and cabs were burit to Canadian designs but to Bntish
specifications, The early wooden bodies were later replaced by press-
ed steel bodies,
The invasion of Europe was soon in the mrnds of the Alhed planners,
and considerable thought was being given to supplying the vast armies
that would make the attack across Europe into Germany, It would
require a supply system of a magnitude never before envisaged, and the
production of trucks would be at a premium for the next two to three
years. The British truck industry thus began to produce its own four-
wheel-drive vehtcles, such established names as Bedford, Ford, Karrier,
Thornycroft and Albron being to the fore, Once the Allied assault had
gained momentum the supply lines wouid soon be overstretched, and to
help overcome this problem heavier lO-ton trucks were also put into
production, The biggest supplier of all military trucks during World War
II was the USA, although it was slow at flrst to respond to the ever-
growing transport need of its own army and the now famous Lend-l:ease
system to the UK. As the whole mrght of Amerrcan industry turned on to a
war footing, however, trucks were produced in countless thousands,
ranging from the %-ton Dodge 4x4 to massive Mack prime movers and
Diamond T transporters,
Mainstay of the US Armywas the 2 t/rton GMC truck, seen here coming ashore
atSalerno in 1944. By this time, the logistic tail of the US Army had grown to an
enormous size.
Ifl ro A"#iih
To meet her urgent need for motor
and Australian tntcks
transport the UK turned to the Com-
monwealth for a degnee of support, the
major supp[er to the UK from the Com-
monwealth being Canada, Canada
hersell once on a war footing, had ur-
eenl n€,scl ro supply her own armres
with equipment as every transport
vehicle then in service was of crvil ori-
grn, During early 1937 Ford of Canada
had been approached to produce 15-
cwt trucks based on similar lines to
those of Bntish design, General Motors
of Canada also participated Ford's ex-
perimental vehicle was produced in
no great haste at the Windsor plant, the
pilot model being burlt up around a
Ford V-B chassis with wheels and tyres
imported from Enqland When com-
pleted in 1937 the vehicle was tested at
the then small army testlng ground at
Camp Petawawa near Ottawa, On Above: A I940 ChevroletWA is seen
arrival it was discovered that the spe- in the configuration developed by
cif,cation had chanqed to a four-wheel the LRDG for their operations in
drive applicatron. Nevertheless the North Africa. The vehicle illusttated
type gave a good account of itsell and carries a Lewis gun behind the cab
the Canadian Military Pattern Chassis and a Browning .30 cal M 1919 with
formed the basis of many 15-cwt and AA barrel above the dashboard.
B-cwt trucks, Durinq early 1940 the
standard pattern ofCanadian truck be-
gan to emerge with four-wheel dnve, models were produced rn the general-
and ln July of 1940, after Dunkirk, the service role, some with tLmber and
UK placed a preliminary order for some with all-pressed-steel bodies
7,000 vehicles. By Canadawas the
1941 and other types included water and
Emprre's main suppher of liqht and pelrol tankers. mobrle gun caJflages.
medium trucks, Standardization was wrreless house bcdies machrnery
again of the utmost importance within a vehicles (various types from l5-cwt
range of trucks includinq B-cwt, L5- mounted weldrng unrts to 6x6 fully-
cwt, 30-cwt and 3{on 4x4, 3{on 6x4 equipped workshops) office bodies,
and 3-ton 6 x 6 vehicles, Various Cana- ambulances and other medical re-
dian cabs were produced through the qurrement vehrcles, and breakdown
different stages of developmentt the and recovery vehrcles. Canada also
number I I cab was tdentifiable by the supplied many conventional types
radiator externally mounted to the from all the larete manufacturers, fltted
bonnet; the number 12 cab had the wlth mlhtary tyreVwheels and bodies.
radiator mounted instde the bonnet; Over 900,000 Canadian vehrcles were
the number 13 cab was a complete produced wrthin the five-year period,
revision in design to allow more cab The Australian commitment was not
tnterior space and better placing ofthe on so grand a scale the majority of
foot pedals, and also had a forward production trucks belng ln the llqht
sloping wrndscreen; and the number ranqfe. Most of the medium to heavy at the Ford subsrdiary plant a1 Two Chevrolet trucks pass through a
43 was basically a number L3 with a trucks were suppiied in kit or chassrs Geelong in Victoria state some 48 km rocky area of the desert carrying an
soft top, and cab form usually from Canada, to (30 miles) west of Melbourne. inlerestrngr ass ortment of weapons,
The 3-ton 4 z 4 became rhe mainsray which Jocally-buill bodies were including a Boys AntiTank rifle.
of Canaciian production, andwas a reli- added. Some of the conventional Specification
able vehicle produced by both Ford trucks supplied were used in halftrack Ford F60 wrdth2.29 m(7 ft6 in); helght3.05 m
and Chevroler. The body variatlons conversions, but this never progres- Powerplant: one 70.8-kW (95-bhp) (10ft0rn)
were enormous and can only be sed beyond the expenmental stage. Ford V-B petrol engrne Performance: max speed B0 km/h
touched briefly within this text AII All Canadian Fords were reassembled Dimensions: length 6.20 m (20 ft 4 in); (50 mph); 'range270 km (168 miles)

Below : T he C hevrolet C 60L GS truck

became the mainstay of Canadian
production andwas builtin a
bewildering variety of different
models includingwater and petrol
tanker s, am bu lances and r ecov ery
vehicles.

Above: This Canadian-built Ford 3-

ton truck is carrying a curious cargo
of lighting e qu ipme nt. C anadi an
Fords were also produced in
Australia, the Ford subsidiary plant
in Victoria S tate re- a s sembling
vehicles for use in the Pacific theatre.

2482
TheDrive on Smolensk
On 22 June I94I Hitler launched the most titanic invasion in history, aiming to defeat Betow: wheeted transport precedes a pair of
the Soviet Union before autumn. The spearhead of the attack consisted of two Panzer Panzer IIIs into a Soviet town during the
armies commanded byGenerals Hoti and Guderian; their taskwas to drive all-out triumphantGermanadvance.overhalf amillion
ioiMi";i: ti;; ."-t" i*orensk, trappiig iovietiories in a gigantilL.tii'iri
'::;fiY,"{"";i;39:lf:,ir""i::7:I\Y::itri:;t{'
encirclement. norses, for much transpoiremained horse-drawn
'When Barbarossa is launched,' declared Hit-
1er, 'the whole
world will hold rts breathl', and
lndeed the forces massed along the Soviet
frontrer from the Arctic Circle to the Black Sea
dwrng that early summer of I94l represented
the greatest concentratron of military force the
world had seen to that date,
Three German army giroups had under com-
mand 80 rnfantry dlvisions, 18 Panzer divisions
and 12 motonzed divisions, whrle behrnd them
waited another 2l infantry, two Panzer and one
motorized divisions in reserve: some two mil-
lion men, 3,200 tanks, 10,000 guns, Already in
position by mid-June to supply them were
enough stores dumps, fuel and ammunition re-
serves to feed them over a 565- to 645-km (350
to 400-mr1e) advance, and 500,000 iorries
waited in massed parks from East Prussia to
Rumania to rush rt forward on demand, To the
modern mind the only questionable (indeed
alarmrng) figure to emerge from the tables of
statistrcs among the planning memoranda for
Operation 'Barbarossa', rs that for 'stabling':
300000 horses were to play an apparently
essential part 1n this monumental military exer-
c1Se.
The drspositron of the army Groups (and the
directions of therr advances) were dictated to a
large extent by one inescapable geographical
factor, namely the Pripet Marshes, a virtualiy
uncrossable swamp nearly 160 km (100 mrles) 9-*
lrom north to south and 480 km (300 miles) from
east to west, divldlng Belorussia from the -k***
".--F ?
i#i*
Ukraine, Because of this, there could be lrttle 4 '*-;
contact during the first stage of the operation
between Army Group South launched from
Lubhn towards Kiev and the lower reaches of
the River Dniepr, and the two groups to the
north, These were Army Group Centre aimed "gc-Lffiga3 "
flrst at Smolensk and then (at least in ihe minds ,
tr :- *- * - *q*.".
oi the military leaders) at Moscow, and Army
Group North launched out of East Prussia flrst *.i#'-lir'* +'
towards Irake Peipus and then lreningrad, r.W*Y%j**
* -&,#*.* -*
- €ffi# *:ffiqd
Strengrth in the nonh ;#tufY.
la*e-qbe#e
S***a
It was in the northern sector that the greater ffis*;adk*
i€#'1:{t6,e :e{';
werght of the attack lay: 50 infantry, 13 Panzer ri:"'
'€5a*i",:iq{lt*q€F
and nine motorized divisions between the
groups, and ol the two, Army Group Centre *'e4;S{o*
-&+!w;
was the stronger. Under the command of the
icily aristocratic Generalfeldmarshall Fedor
von Bock were two infantry armres, the 9th and
the 4th, and two Panzer formations, lll Panzer
gruppe under General Hermann Hoth and II
Panzergruppe under General Heinz Guderian. ;q:q4
These were the armies whose commanders
intended to reduce Napoleon's feat of arms of ;%
129 years earher to hrstorical obscurity, for they
planned to reach Moscow in less than elght
weeks and to annihilate the Soviet army in the
process,
In this hope they were encouraged by Hitier,
who had assured them'We have only to kick rn
the front door and the whole rotten Russian operation, and could well execute the most his armoured spearheads towards the city of
edifrce will come tumbhng downl' exciting and spectacular military feat of the Minsk, curving up to it lrom the south to meet
To Cudenan, whose Panzergruppe con- century, perhaps of all history, And the lirst few Hoth's spearheads comrng down from the
sisted of three corps (XXIV XLVI and XLVII) days seemed to conflrm the prospeci. north. Thus would the Soviet forces immedrate-
containing four Panzer divisions this was the Guderian's first task was to throw his Panzer ly behind their attack fronts be isolated in a
supreme moment of hrs military career, It was gruppe across the Rrver Bug on each side of huge cauidron in which once their supplies
evident that he and Hoth between them com- the fortress of Brest-Litovsk, capture the for- had run out, they would have little alternative
manded the most signilicant forces in the entire tress and then drive precipitously forward wrth but to surrender.

2483
The Drive on Smolensk
-s- l
Thrs was all achieved in five days ol breath-
:aking exhilaration which seemed to confirm
iitler's pronouncements and the optrmrsm of
.re Wehrmacht leaders, The waier-proofed
.anks of the l Bth Panzer Division forded ihe Bug
before dawn on the morning of the attack, and
3uderian himself crossed the river in an assault
bcat soon aftenn'ards; his XXIV Corps captured
,rtact all the bndges immedrately to the south
:i the fortress, and aithough the Brest-Litovsk
garrison reacted qurckly and organized a reso
-:rte delence whrch lasted some days, Gude-
rian's mobile units sped past and were 50 km
132 mrles) on at Kobrin by the evenrng of their
rs day.
By 24 June, only 60 hours after ihe launch of
2484
Pa:-r!e&+'r
the attack, the l Tih Panzer Divlsion was driving
into Slonim, over 160 km (lO0 miles) from the
frontier and half way to the Germans' first
objective. There Guderian visited the drvision,
taking part in a skrrmrsh wtth Soviet infantry just
pasi the village of Rozana, in which he himself
acted as vehicle machtne-gunner, beiore nar-
rowly avoiding capture by more Sovret iniantry
on the way back to his command post, Gude-
rian escaped this fate by rapid acceleration
throuEh the surprised enemy, It was all very
exciting; and three days later, on the afternoon
of 27 June, the leading tanks of the 17th Panzer
Division drove lnto Minsk to meet the spear-
heads oi Hoth's III Panzergruppe, which had
covered 320 km (200 miles) in flve days and
'AbatUewon'- aGerman soldierpasses ffte
debris of victory in a Soviet town. Although the
advance of the Panzer Divisions continued at a
hectic pace, the thousands of Soviet troops which
had been cut off often putup a hard fight,
especially in urban centres.
accomphshed the first stage of their mission.
But behind them they had left pockets of
Soviet troops who, unlike those enemy lorces
simrlarly encircled the year before in France,
showed little inclination to lay down their arms
and surrender, There were four of these pock-
ets: the fortress at Brest-Litovsk, six divisions
around Bialystok, six more at Volkovysk, and
another l5 between Novogrudok and Minsk
itself, The task of first containing and then des
troying and capturing them was assigned, in
Hoth's and Guderian's minds, to the German
rnfantry of the 4th and 9th Armies trudging
stolidly behrnd the Panzer divisions. t
Difficult roads l
il
The trouble was that the inlantry were now t
quite a long way behrnd, lor the roads shown on n
the 'Barbarossa'maps proved in the majority of t
cases to be hitle but mud tracks ,,ryhich were I
qurckly reduced to foot-deep dust, through t
which rt was impossrble to move at much more
than 5 km,/Lr (3 2 niph) And of the half million
lorries which were supposed to be bringing
not only troops but also the next issues of
ammunition and fuel, a large proportion had
been captured in France and proved to be
totally rnadequate for carrying heavy loads
across rough country, besides having no re-
serve of spare parts, Moreover, they had
already been driven from France across half
Europe and therr useful inileage had been
almost consumed,
The 28th Matorized Division reached Smolensk on
July 16. But many Soviet divisions were still active
to the west and the advance was halted, perhaps
fatally, as Hitler dithered over ultimate objectives.
 Trucks of World War II
Not surprisingly, arguments arose, Guderian
and Hoth were convinced that they must im-
mediately race farther ahead, first to Smolensk EAST
and then to Moscow, confident that speed PRUSSIA
would prove the decisrve factor ln this cam-
paign, And with a burst of ihat lnsubordination I I I Panzergruppe
which was later to mark the vrhoie oi the Rus- Hoth
sian invasion, on I July Guderian and Hoth re- **. o
leased Panzer units towards the next obstacle, 1. Roslav
the River Beresina, and were threatened with
court martial for so doing by their immediate
superior, General Gunther von Kluge.
T-34 success
On the same day, Guderian's Panzers met for
f\l
the flrst time a Soviet T-34 tank, which blocked
their advance for three hours, knocked out five
PzKpfw III tanks and was only removed by an
attack from the rear with an 88-mm (3 46-in)
gnrn. Fortunately no more T-34s were encoun- I I Puzergruppe

tered in the area and then, on 3 July, the order Guderian 7********!,!E
came for the next stage of the advance, So from
hts illicit bridgehead over the Beresina, Gude-
rian launched the l8th Panzer Division towards
the River Dniepr, which was reached on 5 July.
Here the division beat off a Soviet counterat- POLAND '.1 -
tack and then warted untrl all three ol the Pan- Z+tVt--- Moscow
0m 50

zergruppe's corps were hned up along the riv-
er between Orsha and Stary Bykhov - with
both flanks 'in the air', an increasingly tenuous
supply organization and ihe support infantry
two weeks' hard marching behind theml No
wonder von Kluge remonstrated violently, and
at first expressly forbade any attempt at further
advance.
But every day the Germans waited there the
Soviet defences would strffen untrl the task of
crossing ihe Dniepr would become impossible
for anything less than an army group, Eventual
1y von Kluge gave way: 'Your operatlons always
hang by a threadl' he muttered, but gave per-
mission for the next stage.
Threehardweeks
The next three weeks were occupied with
the hardest fightrng II Panzergruppe had yet
expenenced, for although advanced units of
the 29th Motorized Division reached Smolensk
on 16 July, fierce fighting still raged behtnd
them and there was as yet no sign of Hoth's lll
+
0r 50
>t -- "
@ R!ssian pockets
Panzergruppe spearheads. For l0 days II Pan-
zergruppe had three separate objectrves to
pursue: to bar the Soviet forces it had bypassed
srnce crossing the Dniepr lrom escape south or
east, to seek contact with III Panzergruppe
flghtinqr its way down from the north west, and
to widen its hoid on the land east of Smolensk
(towards Roslavl and the River Desna at Elnya)
into a solid bridgehead for ihe final thrust to-
wards the Germans' great goal, Moscow.
But on 29 July Hitler's adjutant, Colonel
Schmundt, arrlved at Gudertan's headquarters,
bnngrng wrth him Hitler's fehcitations and the
Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross (Guderian
was only the fifth man in the army to receive
them) and also the first hint of changes of plan
ffi.i
100
00 150
A
",. 'N
L--
The staggering pace of Guderian's advance
woftied not only the Soviets but also the German
staff , who feared that the enemy divisions which
had been bypassed were still a threat and that the
armour would outrun its supplylines.
and emphasis,
Moscow was perhaps not so important ai:e:
all, The rollinq wheatlands of the Ukralle
would provide the granary from whrch :h=
ever-growing Axis armies could be fed aie
moreover, down in that direction lay the Bak:
oilfields,
Moscow could wait. Guderian for the m:-
ment must go no farther east.

Above: A substantialpropottion of the Gemar

transpart remained horse-drawn throughour
World War II, motorized transport being
concentrated in the Panzer divisions and the
motorized divisions.

Left: Marching on the road to Moscow in i E i. 2 .

Napoleon's veterans had complained that ie :ea:

and dust of the Russian summ er was worse :ja:
Egypt.ltwas the same for the Germans ::. - l'4 - .

after a late spring thaw temperafures soa-.e.i a::

the wear and tear on both men a,rd zen:cr'es ieg.'a:
to take a heary toll.
m E#*"n lisht trucks
German light trucks before the out-
break of World War II were of com-
mercial 4x2 design u,'rth only super-
structure details to identify them as
army vehicles,
The Phaenomen Granit had an air-
cooled engine and was used in gneat
numbers, most speciflcally in the
ambulance role, Although the Granit
was a useful vehicle for the transpofi of
goods and supplies on hard roads, the
type's cross country ability left much to
be desired, A specification for a 6x4
truck was published and the response
from the industry was immediate,
Daimler-Benz had already built its
Daimler-Benz G3 6x4 model from
1928, many for sewice with the Ger-
man railways Biissing-NAG of Brauns
chweig was also involved with its Btis-
sing-NAG G3 I, in production from 1933
to 1935, Whilst all vehicles were fitted
as standard with petrol engines, a few
diesel enqines were also fltted ex-
perimentally. Daimler-Benz, Buessing-
NAG and Krupp produced chassis
which were also used as the basis for
armoured car bodies, Althougth a wide
range of vehicle types were still ln ser- by a V-B enginet this model was flrst Specification The Germans made extensive use of
vice during the invasion of Poland the used by the Czech army, and later bY Krupp Kfz 8I captured light truc ks and vehic Ie s
Schell programme had introduced the the Germans. The Praga RV models Powerpiant: one 38.B-kW (52-bhp) manufacture d in H ungary,
idea ofstandard truck designs. For ex- were aqain 6x4 types, and were built Krupp M3O4 4-cylinder engine Czechoslovakia and France. Their
ample the Daimler-Benz 15004 was as general-service trucks, wireless Dimensions: lenqth 4,95 m (16 ft 2.9 i own models,like theKrupp L2H43
built as the planned replacement for vehicles and command cars The wrdth 1,95 m (6 ft 4,8 in); height 2,30 m seen here, were similar to
all current 2-ton payload types in ser Schell proeramme was designed to (7 ft 6.6 in) contemporary British six -wheelers.
vrce, many of which served in the Ger- make these 6 x 4 vehicles obsolete, but Weisht:2600 kq (5 732 lb)
man army for general-service use. as production of Schetl types ioutd
Ttoop carrier versions were built on never keep up with demand the older Below: The Krupp Kfz B I (L2H43) had

the lines of hearry cars with fold-down models soldiered on to the end of the an air-cooled'Boxer' engine and an
hoods. war, some still being Lrsed Lmmedtate- al l- inde pe nde nt suspe n s ion ; i t was
Steyr of Austria built three basic ly after the war in cMlian hands. used in a number of different roles,
tllpes: a general-service truck, a healry including prime mover for the 20-
command car and a troop carrier, all mm (0.7 8 - in) anti- aircraft gun.
powered by an air-cooled V-B engine.
Steyr also provrded a 6x4 cargo Steyr
Model 640, which was also produced
,n ambulance and command car
zariants, One of the most common
lpes used during the early days of
World War II was the Krupp Kfz 8I
3x4, which was generally employed
as anartillery tractor, a role in which it
superseded the earlier Kfz 69 pur-
pose-built artillery tractor, The Krupp
Boxer, as it became known, was po-
-rered by a 4-cylinder horizontally
cpposed engine and had all-round in-
Cependent suspension,
Hunqary burlt few vehicles: one 6 x 4
personnel carrter for 14 men was the
Botond. In Czechoslovakia Tatra pro-
iuced the Tatra T92 2{onner powered

trI
B\ the late
iiplr
1930s
Blitz
the German military
nventory presented an enormous
.:qnstic problem, with over i00 dtffe-
rent vehicle types in service.
A desperate programme lo ratlondl-
'ze thrs situatron was put in hand under
-:e leadership of General von Schell,
,'.1o was then director of mechaniza-
-:n. Hrs aim was to cut down the vast
:-:mber of types and bring in a degree
:- standardization which, when plans
.';ere flnalized, allowed just 30 vehicle
:_.pes.
ln the 3{on medrum cateqory OPel's
desigm was the most successiul The
Opel Blitz 4x2 was of a conventionai
,a;rout and ieatured a Pressed steel
::mmercial type cab wtth wooden
i:cdy. Under the so called Schell proq-
:a::lme all 4x2 vehicles were deslq-
:-ared Typ S. The 4 x 2 was produced tn
many different variants, for example
general sewice, fuel tankers house
body etc, As the need for better cross-
country performance became a pre-
mium it was decided by Opel to pro-
duce a four-wheel-drive 3{on truck
with the designation Typ A and based
on the same basic vehicle desiqn as
the Typ S, The addition of a driven
front axle gave tremendous advan-
tages over the normal 4x2 truck, and
the wheelbase for the 4x4 was shor-
Opel Blitzes of the Afrika Korps are
seen on a busy road in Libya, I 94 1.
For all his panache as a tank
c ommander, R om m e I cons is te ntlY
neglected the logtistics of the Afrika
Korps and imposedan i'mpossrb/e
burden on his transport columns.

I -c5
OpelBlitz (continued)

tened by 15 cm (5.9 in), A two-speed

transfer box qave the vehicle a choice
of l0 forward qears, Durinq the pro-
duction span from 1937 to 1944 some
70 000 Opel Blitz trucks were built, as
well as over 25,000 'Allrad' (four wheel
drive) models. By lale 1944. however
manuJacture was totally disrupted bv
Allied bombing and the Allied adv-
ance across Europe, making plans to
produce vehrcles in 1945 fruitless, The
variations of body design were numer-
ous the most popular model being the
house body. The Blrtz's possibilities
were endless, and the vehicles were
used as field ambulances, mobile
laboratories, Iaundries, mobile com-
mand posts, freld caravans, radio vans,
cipher offices, and mobile workshops
to name just a few. The body was made
of timber and compressed card to save
valuable steel, Later durinq the war
when raw materials were desperately
short, the cabs were produced from lies: the rear shaft was shofiened and Specification Above: An Opel Blitz Kfz 3l
wood and pressed card and termed the driven axle was moved forward to OpelBlitz ambulance model. The Germans
Ersatz cabs. During the winter cam- line up with the sprockets, and be- Powerplant: one 54. B-kW (73. 5-bhp) also used heavy car cftassjs
pargns on the Eastern Front even the cause of its performance the Maultier, Opel O-cylinder petrol engdne ambulances and captured some,like
four-wheel-drive vehicles were almost as the vehicle became known, was Dimensions: lenqth 6.02 m ( 19 ft 9 rn); the Austin K2. It was also used to
brought to a standstill, and the Waffen- accepted for standard production, width2.265 m(7 ft5.2 in); height carry mobile operating theatres.
SS developed a umque three-quarter Similar conversions to Ford and Daim- 2, 175 m (7 ft 1.6 in)
track vehicle from an Opel Typ A and ler-Benz vehicles were also carried Weights: chassis 2 100 kq (4,630 1b); Performance: maxrmum speed BC ic:
obsolete PzKpfw I tank track assemb- out, but were not so numerous, payload 3290 ks (7,253 lb) h (50 mph); range 410 kn (255 niles.

E#*"" heavy trucks

Most German healry trucks were basi-
cally civil-based vehrcles or Typ
models under the Schell programme.
The majority were 4x2 4Vz to 6 ton-
ners, such as the MAN ML4500 which
was also burlt rn Austria Oy OAf. tfre
Mercedes-Beru [4500A is a typical ex-
ample of the type of German vehicle
used by the Wehrmacht. Powered by
a Darmler-Benz OM67/4 O-cylinder
dtesel engine, it formed part of the
backbone of German army transport,
and in one variant mobile antt-aircraft
equipment was built on the Mercedes
chassis in the form of a 37-mm Flak
gnrn,
An attempt was made to produce a
tank transporter unit for use with
PzKpfw I tanks, and a 4x4 version of
the Btissing-NAG 6.S-ton lorry was
used, Very little progress was made in
this direction, and most tank haulagre
was carried out by the 6x4 Faun
L900D567 with a payload capacity of
BB00 kg (19,400 1b). The German truck
rndustry was never able to supply
enough types to transport tanks, half-
tracks with trailers eventually taking
over this role,
With the German takeover of
Czechoslovakia in l93B many useful in-
dustrres felt into German hands and
were put to use supplying the German
armed forces, In Kolin the excellent
6 x 6 Tatra 6.5-ton truck was produced
with some outstanding features: they
rncluded a tubular frame and indepen-
dent front and rear suspension, and
power was supplied by a l2-cylinder
air-cooled 157-kW (210 hp) engine
Skoda also supplied healry trucks to
ihe Germans, the Skoda 6 5T6 6x4
A Biissing-Nag 454 6 t/*ton 4x4 truck
carries a PzKpfw I command tank in
Afrika Korps colours. Only a small
number of these vehicles were
produced, the most widely used tank
transporter being the Faun 6x4,
whichwas capable of carrying the
PzKpfwll.
Right: The control offar-flung
S armour e d for ces depended on a
reliable network of radio
communications, b a s e d on mo bile
radio stations mounted on heavy
trucks. This vehicle is part of a
G erman division al he adquar ter s
outside Tobruk in I 941 . Heavy trucks
were mainly used for specialist tasks,
general supplies being entrusted to
lighter vehicles and the r ailways.
cargo truck qenerally being used in
conjunction with four-wheel trailers.
4l Skoda also produced one of the oddt-
ties of World War II, the 4x4 Skoda I75
built as an artillery tractor for use in
rough conditions on the Eastern Front,
1t featured huge steel wheels
( 1 500 x 300 mm front and
1500x400mm rear), Some of these
production models were used ln North
West Europe.
Hanomaq tractors were used to haul Overall the German transport sys- Dimensions: lenEth 10.40 m (3= ..
one or two laden traiiers and were pur- tem relied mainly on the railways, and 1.4 rn); width2 50 m (B ft2 -a ::l ::-t::
pose-built for this role: the Model on the road greater emphasis was 2,60 m (B ft 6,4 in)
SSI00 was employed by the army and placed on medium trucks, Weight: 9200 kg (20 2821b)
the Luftwaffe, the latter usinq the type
to tow fuel bowsers. It was strictly a Specification
commercial type which was made FaunL900D567
available to the crvil market, A largrer Powerplant:one I i 1,8-kW (150-bhp)
but similar type was produced by Faun Deutz F6M517 6-cylinder diesel
with a 13.54-litre engdne, and this vehr engme
cle could be adapted to flt railway
lines.
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li',:,

;;13.1J;1 ,;;1"1;r -i;-*.':i1' lo;1iJi ';t'*.r- t:!.re:ai'4: t:i:tilitl:,]rti lll {.i :1j:l Jl t}.: j-t;::l:'r:1ll'i:le::'
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 Tru*i<- *f W*rid Tv'ar 13

',,. .l a .r,. . - rt) .r: !f'

,lt t
.it:t Kl.t t'"'t) .tl:

,A**t'g:.4fi in*red:"bi'e.qri;rlu;e oi
-
-hicies ai,iJ etu rls ar tht caveiL;
,.'ej.r;n,?sc,tool in Metz afte, its
.?pture .hy h,he li,S 95ift Jnfan fry
)ittisian. The tank ssn:-na:l*rs are
. 4 2 -; Draganll'a-qcns, Ifi e F cst
.'.iell, used A n'r erir:an l: n.(
ir-:nsp*ri. S/sr: y;sibie a,*e f-rucks
.z a d* byfr df, OpeJ, Suss;::g-"nIag
: .::r filrcen.
E;9-n l: Jl Sedfc'r g 3- ton trask uti!]'t GS
: ab tn'Atlickey Murise' carnouii*ge
j;tr!sfi e rhas ifs fa;'pauJ.rn raJJed baeJr
. /-i eal lls tanl(. fierilord,; ea:rieci
. . . : iif i; 3: andwaier t;ir&sona
,=r:;'.fu *.{:ie supersfri;cf ur€. yft e 3-
::r,ne'r ruas t*ihe Eritisk arrfiy what
: : (: 2 i ta1fier was f* d"he AmevJf,€tis
t

.-. ;''r: fl,'* Largres t v* jziti* whie h,

: ;.i:' =J,r.-
"be;:rcdsl'€ri a.ri.nr€sse.
,. :i veniries v\r.re ail oJ cld stlc<, veiv itttle concern being giverr 10 truck Gerrnan Jr:rces.
.-,iri:n (factor-es sL:ch as GAZ and Zis sipprlyinq most) o: Ce"siins that were Japran had lrttl-- use for iro:cr rfaiscorr due tc ts comrrlltrr-Lents in s and :rci
.-- :20 9.1 ;.,'in.\.Tto'cc'l;.55' rlol 'lire 1.-ie'v-LJ i.rfln'gr.g'ro:
-./ .lr 6c i : .(,- --.'6s lhoJelO1e^J-C ,v.
. r' t-e "i)
suir,piv lrurks ircnl ahe USA, Cairada and lhe UK USA suppiied thought that ihe operalcns -r; r:. Ci fa ,A'oL, d have led to rnore eiiecrtr,,e
-rl,8lC trucks ilcluclirrg rnost ci the produclion line cf ihe :itudebaKer ''n:.C '-1 ' rjl. e, | ^q -- .: r -dO . -e .r'rn) rU rno I-,p t.tral O
rmpror,,e iis curreni vehtc e r;ng;, a.I some 5 <4 r,eh cles u;er-e obia ned from
.-,-rgr .,.rosi Gerran veiticlgs ',r.,ere civil-orientale.j, te,/L.l.Jptr,cnis were Scamnnelt anct Tholrvcrcfr in Enclland, and from Tatra in Czechoslovakia. After
-- . :.ed ir-. r-iu,,-.r truck rnanufaciurers, Cpel ',,nrlih lis Bl tz be,r J fhe r.ncst .LJe :) l: .-r'J ' flo. .t.).1^.C 1 .; \l' 9j,'r--o-SrroeCatoO,- i
:'': ,.'','rle lhe Biiirsh iised iarge stngie r^rheels, llre Gerinans chose to rhe mcsr v", del', used rr,.l irie n the iapanese army. At the ourbreak of hcstil t:e,.
, ' ,ir dua i-ear ',rrheels on tireir +i7l trLrrks olhe, m.:nula,;rlTer: to '- -jJl rp: o. , " ^ ,' )4.a0) r.e- cles '.r7*,p ^ 11, Io-1 .s. ine ro s .t 'o ,c
. \, C ' oi t-y '. ,.sqe' J^u,,- L'rtr V' ceJ-sB,,. ri_on envrsagecifailed to materralize, largely because the biE manliacturei-s
. - ". '-1.r<ne l' Snrl Li0r0iward (fo-vola and Nissan) r,rrere ordered to pfoduce aei-o engines.
- :- : ,, La r, h;r.-t i heteroqeneous coliectiln oi vehicies ii-i servrce -he developrrent.f specal n-rilitar-y lypes and. eve"n mcre impcrtant, ine
'.- r. .'t: i": r,.-rL '.'..j4 .' : \ : - .r Fr o , reec ior srandard zat on obl:aineci clui-tng ihe rnrar is evidenl to this day in rr, tttarl,
.,:? Lll r-:.c - -C /' rnrTle l r r9 . 'i " .il LL o1l r?l i-: , Jot:. c
:: . .- r1e Cein'rali iorcr.s Fi.'t r.iras rlr. m,:j .-,upp ibr ro ihe ltalran and

2,4?,',J
 OBe[ Blitz
Ape! Blitz truckswere among the many vehicles used by theAfrika
Korps, although the continual backwards-and-farwards of the
desertwar saf,v the Germans equippedwith Iarge numbers of
captured vehicles ; indeed, Rommel preferred. captured Brilish
trucks for desert operations, their lalge single rear tyres providing
more traction than the twin rear twes of the Opel. iVonefieless, llre
Ope! Blitzwas a mainstay of theWehrmacht logistics eflort,
although the production o{ almost I00,a}A vehicles in seven years
compares unfavourably with aver half a million GMC 2 t/zton 6 z 6
trucksproducedfrom l94I to 1945.

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 Trucks of World War II

,i',ililfiiti:!' .l',r::1i
.i."j{ia!fj:_i::-:l:l
ru
ffill,1;ifis
fi.Ti,i:l=:!1 W
>K nuc Matador
-:-= AEC Matador 4x4 tractor fust
and was built to a
-:::-ed rn 1939,
-.',--
Cdrce specification to tow 4 S-in
5 S-in (140 mm) and 6-tn
-l-:::m),
-:2-::n) howrtzers. The requtrement
-:.--
::l a four-wheel tractor with sea-
::: -:: the crew and ammunitton stow-
==:l The early production vehlcles
----r a cab roof of drfferent shape to that
-: -a:er production trucks, the latter
:a-, -::g a crcular hatch for air observa-
--::, ',';hen not in use this was covered
:; : small canvas sheet, The basic de-
.-; :i ihe cab was verY simPle and
:,--:. berng burlt on a wooden frame
-:;-:, s:eel sheets. The body was of con-
-.-::-::ral ttmber construction wtth a Approximately 175 Matadors were
:::c ia-dboard and a side door for use
:-; :-e gun crew. SPecial runners were
: :: tc the floor to allow shells to be
::-:-"-ei io the rear tailgate for unload-
:; -ie Matador was Powered bY a
:-:,-:.der 7.58-litre AEC engrne pro-
::::-E 71 kW (95 bhP), allowing a toP
;e:icf 58(torkn/h (36 mPh). For Pulling
: ::!:ses examPle extractlng quns
:::- nud) a 7-ton winch was fitted with
-: :::1250 ft) of wire roPe. The Matador
-,'.'- theatres of the war' In
-ed rn itmost
-:,: jesert proved to be extremelY
:,r:':ar -wrth the gun crews for tts re-
-=. ';; and photogrraPhic evidence
.:-:-,',-s ihat some had the tops of the
:..s Jrt down to door levei, Matadors
::;::: also pressed into service in the
r=-:r to tow transporter trailers be-
::-.= lf ihe lack of proper tractors for
::-: p-jrpose. Total production of Mata-
i:rs -,';as 8.612. The RAF was also a
:-:-:r jser of this vehicle, 400 being
.'.:c.:ed tn various offerings, The
Gen-eral Load Carrier had a special
= :sei body with droP down sides
-,: -a'lgate to facrlitate easy loading'
--: --:-c support Posts could aiso be
:::-:-;eci. Special flat Platform trucks
;;::e :lso supplied to transport heary
such as dumPers and com
=l-!nent
::-:ss:rs. An armoured command Post
-.';== :lsc burlt on this chassts, called the
Dorchester, rn which accommodation
-:;.. :l:r'rded intenally for higth- or
AnAEC Matador comes ashore from
an American tank landing shiP
during the Allied amPhibious
operation at S alerno. I ntroduced as
a-n afiillew tractor in I939, some of
the 9,000 froduced served for manY
vears poit-war, an indication of the
soundness ofth e basic design.
low-powered radio transmitting and
receiving equrpment and an external
penthouse could be erected. As these
vehicles were considered Prime
targets they were carefully disguised
to look like general-service trucks
built in 1942 as self-propelled giun car-
riaQles and comprised a 6-pdr anti-tank
gun mounted in an armoured box. The
cab and body were also armoured,
Otl-er vanants included power equip-
ment 20 kVA, power equipment
50 kVA, air-traffic control, and an ex-
perimental 25-pdr port6e The last did
not proqress beyond the prototype
stage,
The last of the Matadors were au-
ctioned off rn the mid-1970s, this late
disposal date provinq the sound
strenqth and reliability of these trucks,
Specification
AECMatador
Powerplant: one 70,8-kW (95-bhp)
AEC O-cylinder dresel enqne
Dimensions: lenqth 6.32 m (20 ft 9 in);
width 2.40 m (7 ft 10.5 in); height 3. l0 m
(10ft2in)
Weights:unladen 7189 kq ( 15,848 lb)
and laden L 1024 kg (24,304 ]b)
Performance: maximum speed 58 km/
h (36 mph); radius 579 km (360 miles)
ThisAEC Matador has beenfitted
with the'streamline' cab roof .
Developed from a HardY (AEC)
designof the 1930s, theMatadorwas
a medium attillery tractor used to
move the 5.5-in ( I 40 -mm) medium
gun.

>K tedford QL
interest was expressed, but as no tm-
mediate requirement was envrsaqed
the matter proceeded no filther. Then
Bedford decided to undertake private
development on a low-pnorrty basis
with an eye to future military orders
After the outbreak of war the War
Office issued orders for large quantl-
ties of 4x2 vehrcles and also told Bed-
ford to proceed with a prototype 4x4
3{on gteneral servrce truck, In Octo-
ber 1939 a specification was approved,
and on I February 1940 the first pro-
totype was completed and was out on
road tests, Within a month two more
had joined it for extensrve factory and
milltary tests, The usuai army tests
were completed and the fitments for
special tools installed, and drivers be-
qan training to operate this new truck,
It had taken one year exactly from the
flrst prototype to the first productlon
vehicles, a commendable feat in a time
of gEeat stress and shortaqJes. The Bed-
ford QL was desiQlned to use its four-
used by the Army fire service, the
Bedford QL fire tender was
introduced in ]943 and saw sewice
in northwestEuroqe.lt towed a
trailer pump, and cartied an integral
water tank, hoses andPTO (Power
take-off) pump in the mainbodY.
tsedford QL (continued) Trucks of World War II
: --=:i drive on rough terrain, but
drsengaqe the front drrve for use
-:
:--d roads to ease the wear on tyres
:-
-,-: gearbox the chanqe berng
=-=:ied by movingr a lever on the
.=::edary gearbox. Another feather rn
::lorci's cap (and a surprise one) was
:= lack of normal teething troubles
r'lng the QL's early use, It was only
about one year rn sewice that the
=:r siQm
rst of trouble occurred and a
:::ner peculiar one at thati a tendency
::r the vehrcle to shudder when the
:rakes were applied slightly These
l:ports were followed up immediate
,_.- and it was found that only a small
,?C?:FSSffi
lroportlon of vehiales were shovurng tii:]iit:],9,9t::::
.::-s laulr Afier some rime spent on rn- ti:){i.:;,6idlii]rr:r::::1ru
'.-estrgation the fault was found to be ffi;:3}i
:t!:*:i;tr;i;ii6ir!::a)?
sLmple, and the deep-treaded cross-
sountry tyres were replaced by nor
mal road tyres whereupon the prob-
lem ceased.
The first production vehicle was the 6-pdr port6e a vehrcle desrgned to raised (alonq with the cab) on a special A Bedford QLB light AA (Bofor s)
steel-bodied QLD issued to unrts of the transport and fire a 6-pdr anti-tank qun frame for deep wading. When fully tractor comes ashore from a'Cjass 9'
Army Service Corps as a general car- from the body It was necessary to elevated the vehicle's automotive ferry during the 2 I st Army Group's
rrer. From this model stemmed many modify the cab by cuttrng off the upper parts were raised 2 13 m (7 ft) and the March 1945. The
r?ftine crossrng in
variants including the QLT 3{on troop half and fltting a canvas top, and when driver m (10 ft). The vehrcle was
3.05 QL saw sewice tor many years alter
carrier with a modified and leng- this type became redundant the sur- approved for production in the event the war, finally retiring in the earty
thened chassis to accommodate the viving vehrcles were converted back that the waterproofrng system then in J960s.
extra long body to caruy 29 troops and to greneral-service types after being use faiied. The Bren was developed by
krt, The QLT was popularly known as rebodieo lhe RAF was a malor oper. the Mtnrsl"y oJ Supplv by taking a sran Specification
the 'Drooper The QLR wireless house ator of the Bedford QL many being dard Bedford QLD and replacing the BedfordQLD
type was used by all arms of the sig used as ruel ankers with swingrng rear wheels wrth components from the Powerplant: one 53.7-kW (72 c.-l
nals. The truck featured an arxiliary booms to refuel aircraft, Two ex- Bren Gun Carrier, thus creating a half- Bed lord 6 cyhnder petrol er-cr, :-:
qrenerator, and other varrants on thLs penmental vehicles that never prog- track The atm of thts scheme was to Dimensions: lenqrth 5.99 m (i9 ... :-
house type body were command ressed beyond the prototype stage reduce rubber wear The vehicle was j
wrdlh 2.26 m (7 it 5 in) herghi . :- : -'
cipher offrce and mobile terminal car- were the Giraffe and Bren, The Giraffe consrdered adequate durinq tests, but 10 in)
rrer v^hicles A specral requrrtrmenl was designed for amphibrous land- the shortaqe of rubber did not mater- Performance: maxmum speei : . r-.
ior use in the Western Desert was a ings: all the major components were rahze and the pro.lect was dropped. h (38 mph); radius 370 kn (23C r:=:

Leyland Hippo

wrth a rotary offset printrng machine, removed, ofa Coles Mk 7 or Neal Type The 1 0 - ton 6 x 4 format became
and a photo-mechanrcal type equrp- QMC crane, widely used in the British anny alter
ped with a rotary offset printer, work the war Manufacturers included
tables and plateracks. Entrance to all Albion, Foden and Leyland- The
these bodies was through a singrle door Specification Leyland Hippo,mtroduced tn -l-143. :s
in the rear. Because of the lengrth of the Leyiand Hippo Mk 2 GS seen here with WD pattern op'n ah
body the spare wheel hadto be trans- Powerplant: one 74, 6-kW ( 100-bhp) andtheGS body.
ferred from behind the cab and placed Leyland Type L 6-cylinder dresel
under lhe rear of the chassis. engme Weights:unlacie :.-:=- <1 -: - -- -
A post-war fittinq was the adoption Dimensions: length 8,31 m (27 ft 3 in); andladen l97i . k; 1: l:i :
of a 9092litre (2,000-lmp gal) AVTUR width 2.46 m (B ft l in); height 3.33 m Performance: r:a . i :- -c- :l,
refuelier body and, with the rear body (10 ft l1 in) miles)
 Italian trucks
l.l"::_,- ci ltaly's trucks were of old de-
.-;- but dulng the burld-up of the
-,.- :r. amed forces before the out-
::=- cf World War ll some measure
:: -=ciarrlization was achreved. The
--]es supplier of trucks to the ltalian
:r:::,,--n-as Flat, Fiat vehicles equipped
:-:r cf the transport units, vehicles
:<= .::e Fiat TL37 4x4 hght truck hav-
-:; --ge wheels and tyres to suit the
:=:::,r] of Ethropia and the Western
l--se::. The OM Autocarretta 32 was a
-:-;,re hght truck, and was highly re-
by its crews, and even by Brit-
=-=:ded
i:- l3cps when examples were cap-
--::j The type was intended primart-
.r ,:: mountain operations, and fea-
--:ej a 4-cylinder air-cooled diesel
=:-;:e and rndependenl suspension
:::: and rear, The gearbox was cen-
:J; mounted and drove both front
-,: rear
:-:k
axles direct, The medium-
lalgre was dominated by the Fiat
38R =x2 and the Lancia 3 RO N 672{on The F iatl Spa Dovunque was built by
{ .. 2 The latter vehicle also formed the kW (62-bhp) engine, and the Fiat burettor, which had a tendency to clog
'=.'. cf a mobile antr-aircraft mount. 665NL, The latter was quite advanced up in dusty conditions. the Spa factory, at that time under
-: s:e'1 these trucks a hand-cranked in truck body and cab desigm, F iat control.'Dovunque' means
-:=r:a start unit was placed forward of The Germans used largre numbers of Specification cr os s - coun try Qiter aLly' g o
:,: :rankshafi. The power unit was a Italian vehicles, these seeing service OMAutocarretta anwhere').
, -:-<::s two-stroke engrne. The Fiat Libya
on almost every German front, In Powerplant: one I5.7 kW (2l-bhp) OM
E33 BM rvas built on similar lines to the the British discovered that Italian Autocarretta 32 4 cylinder engine
diesel-engined trucks were of great Dimensions:length 3,80 m (12 ft 5.6 in); A Fiat/Spa Model3SR 2 t/z.ton 4x2
l.l:sr lta-Lial tarks were of the liqhter value because of their lack of a car- width 1.30 m (4 ft 3.2 in); heiqht 2. 15 m truck is seen in use as an artillery
.,:es a:ed could therefore be carried (7 ft 0,6 in) observation post in the pause after
:-'-:: bcdres of the Lancia, though a A Lancia 3 RO N 6 t/z- ton 4 x 4 AU P Weisht: 1615 kq (3,560 lb) the end of Operation'Crusader'.
=:r-larspofrer trailer could also be (Au tocarro U n ifi cate P e s ante, ot
-.=: T-;,.o other widely used vehrcles Standard Heavy Truck) is dug out of
,r:r: -:e Fiat 626BL powered by a 46- the sand in North Africa.

USA
E:
GEI-
: Dodge WC62
able the production lines to complete
vehicles at a much faster rate, The two
types used the same engine, clutch,
Lransmrssion, front axle. steering gear.
wheels, brakes, tyres, radiator, fan and
belt, windshield, seats and electrical
system. Basically designed as infantry
carriers, these vehicies found their
way into all arms of the American
forces, including the Army Air Force,
DurinQlstringent mllitary tests the vehi-
cle proved to have excellent stabllity
as a result of its low centre of gravity
and wide{read tyres, Sx-wheel drive
and hrgh ground clearance enabled
AWC62 towing an anti-tankgun(the
M 1 57 -mm adaptation of the British
6-pdr) halts infrontof Munichcity
hall as the7thArmy moves through
thecityinApril 1945.

The l+tonDodgeT2l4was
elongated to Produce theWC62'
both shownherewith French trooPs
in the south of France in August I 944'
:he vehicle to give a good account of
itself over really rough telrain. Produc-
:ion of the personnel carrters con-
:inued throughout the war, many being
drstributed to other nations includhg
the Free French, who were equiPPed
almost entirely with Amerlcan mat6r-
jel. The majority of these vehicles
were supplied with a complete canvas
tiit, though a certain percentage was
f,tted with a pedestal grun mount on the
passenger side of the cab to carry a
12.7 -mm (0, S-in) machine-gnrn. Appro-
ximately 43,300 Dodge 6xO trucks
were produced between 1943 and
1945. Very few vartants were de-
veloped on this chassis: one such was a
scout car with an armoured shell fitted
around the Dodqe chassis and power-
plant; another was the mounting of twin
12.7-mm (0,5-in) machine-gn-lns (on a
Gun Mount M33) on the rear body. This
model was developed and tested in
1943, but no further progress was
E€= H*"ri"an medium trucks
When one thinks of US milttarY
medium trucks, the GMC 2Y2ton 6x6
immediately springs to mind, Howev-
er, this type is discussed overleafand
other types are treated here,
Semt-trailer tractors come into this
category with designations from ZVz-
ton to S-ton, These special-purpose
vehicles were used to haul larqe trail-
ers of all descriptions, The qeneral-
service bodies were used in great
numbers during the advance across
Europe, proving extremely useful in
such orqanized deploYments as the
'Red Ball Express' route. Starting with
some of the less publicrzed vehicles,
the Autocar Model U4I44T 4 x 4 tractor
was basically used in the USA, verY
few crossing the Atlantic and the US
Army Arr Force being a major user for
the fuel bowser{owtng role, Another
early model, the GMC AFffi-s0z-BE
COE tractor, was used to tow early
horse box trailers for the cavalry. The
GMC was powered bY a 6-cYlinder
9l-kW (122-bhp) enqine. Perhaps the
two most popular and publicized trac-
tors were the Autocar Model U7I44T
and the Fed6ral 94x93, which were
used in qute largre numbers for haul-
age. The Autocar was used by artillery
units to tow van bodies, fitted out with
radio equipment mostly for use by anti-
aircraft units, These trailers were de-
signed to use a front dolly wheel for
use as full towinq trailer, thouqih when
the trailer was coupled to the tractor
the dolly could be towed behind the
whole assembly. Early vehicles had
Rxed steel cabs, ffiese later beng
changed to soft tops in line with most
other American-produced mrlitary
transport vehicies. Many soft{op veht-
cles were fltted with a nng mount for a
I2]1-mm (0 S-in) machine-qun The
Studebaker pr o duce d almos t
200,000 2L/z-ton trucks, similar to the
GMC 6x6, butmore than half of that
produ ction went to the S ovie t U nion
under Lend-Lease. ManY were
produced with the Studebaker
commer cial- ty pe clos e d c ab.
-t
. :r_:,- '-l
;l
It5
.&
,
r{
{D*
Dimensions: length 5,71 m (18 ft
made, The 6x6 saw extenslve use of vehicle preservation societies,
post-war until the Korean War, after 8.75 in); width 1.91 m (6 ft 3,4 in); herght
which the type became surPlus as a Specification 2.21 m (7 tt 3 in)
Performance: speed B0 hn/h (50 mph);
result of wear and the introduction of DodgeWC62
new equipment, TodaY the WC62 is a Powerplant: one 68,6-kW (92-bhP) radius 386 kn (240 miles)
much prized vehicle wrthin the ranks Dodge 6-cylinder peirol engine
Federal model was used in the same
basrc wav. the power unit for lhis lype
beino the Hercules O-cYlLnder RXC
engrne.
In the 4ton cargo ranQle the FWD
HARI saw extensive servtce with
American, Brttish and Canadian
forces It was powered bY a Waukesha
GB2 O-cvlinder engine ManY of the
trucks were instrumental in hauling
supplies along the Allied supply line
from Persta Io lhe USSR. One interest-
ing deployment of the FWD in British
servic-e was its use to tow mobile
smoke generators. The RAF used the
truck as mobile power supply vehicles
and as snow plouqihs, the latter betng
fitted with a Bros rotary plouqh, for
which the rear body was replaced by a
Iarge Climax R6 petrol engine unit
TrJnsmission of power to the plough
was hvofold, first by V-belts to the rot-
arv parts then through lransmtsslon
shifis to the rolor assemolY wi'h a Specification The attack transporl William
Tilghman r's /oa ded for the Allied
charn drive ior flnal power to the rake Diamond T 968
Diamond T supPlied a 6x6 medium Powerplant: one 79-kW (106-bhP) armies in north west Europe . Visible
areboth major types of medium
truck, the Diamond T 968 this being Hercules RXC 6-cylinder Petrol
one of the US Army's cargto trucks unttl enqine truck, including the cab-over-engine
(COE) AFKWX 6x6, also made by
the end of the war Variants included Dimensions: length 6.82 m (22 ft 4 5 1n);
tipper, map reproduction, wrecker width 2,44 m (8,0 ft); height 3 0l m (9 lt GMC.
and bitumen tank vehicles. A total of 10 5 in)
10,551 was built, and a fwther 2, 197 Weights: unladen 8357 kq (18,424 lb) Performance: maximum sPeed 64 km/
h(40 mph); radius266 km(165ml]es)
were supplied as long- and short- and laden I 1939 kq (26,320 lb)
wheelbaie vehicles (cab and chassts) 3r...F€-:l:i;
Ior frtmenr of speciai engineering
bodies. These were supplied to many
other countries durinq and after World
War IL
o/o:
Hcilf ctmillion
The break-out from Normandy and the Soviet destruction of the Army Group Centre
limmies
ontheEasternFrontpresented theAllieswith aformidablelogistics problemin the
t/tton 6xG
summer of 1944. At tfue heart of the massive transport effort, the GMC 2
truck, known as the'Jimmy" servedingreaternumbersthan any other heavy
transport vehicle.
In 1939 the design of US milrtary trucks was By now Europe was at war and American
standardized: only two of each type of class involvement seemed hkely, Once the lrend-
would be considered from commercial manu- Lease aqreement was in operation, early GMC
facturers, Classes of vehicles would be 7e-ton, 6x6 trucks were shipped to the UK Before
IVz-Ion, ZYz-Ion,4-ton and 7Yz-Ion, and manu- proceeding, it is worth a look at the early de
facturers would have to compete for produc- velopment and production models, In 1939 the
tion contracts By 1941 just 16 manufacturers crvillderived GMC ACKWX353 was in produc-
were eligible to compete, and their prcducts tion and in general use in the USA Very few
were to include as many common mechanical actually saw combat, but the type was used rn
parts and accessortes as possible, Up to June its thousands by the armed forces and National
1940 the Quartermaster Corps had tested anC Guard. Many were strLl in service after the war
approved three vehrcle types: the lrlz ton rn home-based units, The cab and bonnet were
Dodge 4x4,ZVz ton CMC 6 x O and 6-ton Mack as those of crvrl models, including some
6xo chrome, A heavy channel girder was added as
{:. &l front bumper, and a heavy-duty brushguard
+" was fitted to protect the front, A milrtary body of
standard desrgn was used, The cab-over-en-
qrne (COE) version was designated Sunny ltaly was not always so sunny, and south o{
AfKWX352: its silhouette was htgh, making BolognainOctober 1944 itwas themule thatnade
concealment in the field difficult, but was found mosl progrress . N ev er thele s s, th e J ee ps and G M C
to be worth the sacrrfrce because the length 'Jimmy' 2 t/rtonners ploughed through the mud.

Breakout!
When General George S. Patton's newly-created 3rd Armyinitiatedthe Allied
break-out from Normandy in Augmst I944, it was the herald of a sustained, massive
F +s advance that was to strainthe logistical base that had been buiit up on the Channel
"sf, {'-*..
F: coast. Foremost amonq the reguirements of a modern army are petrol, ammunition
and food, and untilthe clearingofthe Scheldt estuary in November 1944 such
,

*+ $i t; supplies had to be tmcked the hundreds of miles across France to where the Ailied
:+'
'+uftl
-€. .r spearheads were battedng at the entrances to Germany.
eo$ l-
l]:,

i: -i-
;

: : ll
L:r.isr::r:r- :,

,...^.F*i.r*-
,,':,11 i,l;,:

+!i:.ij::11!i:
.::: 1r.--::;
 Trucks of World War II
,.aved allowed a larger-capacity body to be
=lted No brushguard was iircorporaied, anci
-i'rer models had separate sidehghts aoded to
.re main headlghts. The succeedrng model
and probabiy the most famed soit-skrn vehicle
,f World War Ii followrng the Jeep) rnras the
ICKW Like all American trucks it was de-
._-toped
from off rhe_shetf civrt parts i::i11!|ryt
Goodreliability i 'l

-he re,rabr,- y oi lhese rrucks overhe ne, L

:/. VtrcrS wts maqninc-.n ond rn'l-ed 40

. .ors l,leris s il-orts und-ng. A I earry mode]s
:-ad the steel panel cab, thrs being replaced l'

'' -op canlas -rlr a:td srde screens The ha:d i*

::r're lines of the steel-panelled cab were lost
,i *rrng this transformation, but progress called ffi ,,,..: , , ..,.,:.: ,).,, -*.,,. , -:
,r extra shipping herght but lcwer silhouette.
-:e panel cab was retained on models in ser
:e and this type served until lhe 1970s in
qrSX
:-any countrres. The rnitial orders lor the nor
:-:l control types was placed wrth the Yellour }
:uck Company, a firm partly owned by GMC ;r
.-:C later absorbed fully rnlo the parent com-
:-,:x. The standard cominercial bonnet then in
-::duction was replaced bJ'a srmple pressed
- :el unit with squared mudguards
irom the outsei the Yellow Truck Company
.-i drlficulty 1n producing the vast numbers ol
'-. .. ' American LST(Z)s unload supplies direct onta the
'':-'::, - Normandybeach-head.The2lz-toncMc6x6
: l'n'r:;-;'" 6;::"" truckswiilbeheadingforthemainsupplydumpat
;'.,..*":' ..
.-r'r..-,i.?.;:., ',.t1':: ' Sfl6,fromwheretheywilljointhe'RedBall
?:-
...,.t: | . _ E*press'.
:

.':4
',g,
#-
=-l
t:

+::S:.,a;'rt,

ll,r':'jqi#*&
c -:L::".1:
.:-j

l -::.-:"
t=+=' '
;i':.:

t#
#,;F;

.
,.:
Half a m,illionJimmies

trucks required, a situation partly resolved

when Studebaker was called rn to produce
trucks of this type. For some reason Studebak-
er trucks used slightly different pressings on
the cab and bonnet, and were powered by a
Hercules engine, Because ofthe non-standard
desiqn most of these Studebaker vehicles
were exported. As GMC took over the lactory
of the Yellow Truck Company production
quickly increased, and outside contracts were
also given to Reo and international Harvester,
The majorlty of these ZVz-lon trucks were
produced as cargo vehlcles, but variants were
numerous and lncluded the dump truck de-
signed for the corps of engineers with the op-
tion of use as a troop carrier. Removable seats,
a front rack and an adjustable cab protector
could all be used to transform the truck to a
normal type general duty vehicle.
Loadingproblems
The Douqlas C-54 transport aircraft used in
ihe latter part of the war was equipped with
iricycle landing gear which left the cargo hold
more than 305m (l0ft) above ground level:
loading and unloading would have been almost
rmpossible with conventional trucks, and sub-
stantial damagte was envisaged to alrcraft, sup-
piies and trucks. So Garwood produced a spe-
cral high-liit body for use on the ACKW353
chassis. The hydraulic scissor{ift system util-
ued a tailgate adlustable to varying aircraft
heiqhts, and the hydraulic feed came from a
:elescopic pipe mounted at the rear of the sub- ing matenals, A more complex handltng truck One of the more unusual adaptations of the Jimmy
was issued to the army air force, consisting of was theDUKW, anexampleof whichis seenover
Irame.
two U-shaped frames in the upside down posi- the bow of theoldbattleshipUSS Arkansas on
Very few GMCZVz-Ionnerswere burlt speci- D -D ay. M ore than 2 1,000 of the fully amphibious
ncally-as wreckers, though a couple of mate- tion; through the top of these passed a double- trucks were built by I 9 45.
nal-handling types were often designated as channel girder to carry the hoist used for the
s'uch. The chemtcal servlce truck MI featured carriage of bombs between ammunitton
a double ghannel on which a liftrng hoist could dumps and aircraft, The Heil Company of Mil-
travel. Its main function was to transport che- waukee, Wisconsin, was responsible for pro- This amazing vehicle onginated from the ur-
ducing thrs body and frame, of whrch 2,286 gent need to discharge suppltes from ship to
mical barrels, and a special locker was built to
accommodate the appropriaie decontaminat- were built, One of the rarest applicatlons for shore when many port factlities were out of
the CCKW was as a 6-wheel tractor to tow action and shrps were frequently forced to walt
semi-trailers; most of these were based on the weeks to unload their cargoes. A standard
Wherever the armieswent, theJimmieswent too. A Chevrolet NK-G-7113 4x4 tractor. GMCZVz-Ion chassis was used and a complete
convoy croises the Rhine on the pontoon bridge boat shaped body was fitted around rt. One
built to replace the famous bridge at Remagen A major development in the success of
(seen jn the background) which finaL|y collapsed Allied amphibious landings was the rntroduc- priot model was built and demonstrated to the
I 0 days after its capture. tion of a fully amphibious truck, the DUKW. US Army, but was not at flrst greated with en-

2498
 Trucks of World War II
iusiasm, At about this ttme Colonel McAuliffe
was faced with the problem of landing supplies
cn European beaches, After an introductton
ald demonstration McAuliffe initiated an order
:or 2,000 vehicles, the first of about 2t 000 built
up to late 1945. Technically it was apparent that
}le GMC powerplant, transmission, transfer
:ase and all mechanical components could be
--tsed
without too many problems. A decision to
economize on steel led to construction of the
jriver's compartment in p11wood, thouqh the
rull was fabricated of welded steel plate. The
propeller tunnel was raised as high as possible
e: the rear of the body as a compromise be-
:,Teen an aft location for increased efficiencv
=iC a iorward location for reduced vulnerabill
--.-. To assist in cleanng shipped water three
.1Ee pumps were specifled: a self-priming
pump, a standby high-capacrty pump
=anfolda hand pump for use when the propshaft
=d not turning,
-,';as

Lend-Lease vehicles
The first GMC 6xO vehicles to see actron
,';ere probably the earliest models sent to the
- K under the Lend-Lease agreement, The ear-
.'est
recorded action with American units was
-:- the Pacific theatre, although much larger
:-umbers were used in Europe and North Afrr-
:a. The first of these to see action was durino
Allied assault on North West Africat it wai
=e
rere, during the advance on the Kasserine
?ass, that many were destroyed by the Ger-
rans, Aiter the defeat of the Axrs forces in
-{rica, thoughts turned towards the invasion of
Srcily and lta1y, and to the eventual landings rn
:rance, During all of these campaigns lhe ZVz-
::n GMC, or Jimmy as it had become known in
re field, performed with outstanding success.
)uring the landings in the south of France the
: rench units involved were supplied solely
.'.rth equipment from the USA. rncluding hun-
:reds of ZVz-Ion 6x6 trucks.
Perhaps the greatest requirement for trucks
:ame with the invasion of North West Europe,
luring the early stages followrng D-Day only a
-:nited number of trucks could operate be-
:ause ofthe size ofthe beach-head, and vehr-
::es were to a degree stifled in movement. The
IUKW came into its own during these earty
iays before the 'Mulberry' harbours could be these the vast Allied armies would soon have lanuary 1945, and theGerman thrustthroughthe
=rected, shipping stores from ship to shore come to a hait (and on occasion did) so special Ardennes has been blunted. Vehictes of the goth
i.rmps before the supplies were taken forward supply routes were organized, the most famous Infantry Division move through the centre of
:- irucks to the front line, By D+60 about 2,000 being the American 'Red Ball Express', This Bastogne, whichhad beenheroically held by the
IUKWs were operating on the Normandy organizatlon ran trucks day and night on 1 0 l st Airborne D ivision.

rcast, about 800 of them in British service. Dur-
lg these first few days much wreckage was
icating about, causinq a high destruction rate
:: DUKW propellers and rudders, Many
:agedies occurred with DUKWs, but such had
ieen expected given the environment in
-;hrch the vehicles worked,
DUKWlandings
A similar fate attended the landrno of US
lrlarine Corps howrtzers by DUKW duiing the
-.vo Jima landrngs in the Pacific, T\uelve loaded
IUKWs were to disembark from their tank
-=nding ship: in a heavy sea the first vehicle out
:romptly sank wrth gun and crew, and ihe
s.ame fate befell the followrng seven. Four
IUKWs managed to start the shoreward jour-
:-ey: two DUKWs were swamped on the
-:icreline, making it imposstble to rescue the
;:"ins, and only two howitzers could thus be
:rcught into action.
Back in Europe the breakout from Normandy
-=: long supply hnes to be maintained. Wrthout
selected routes cleared of all civihan and non-
essential military trafflc, and because of the
narrow French roads a one-way system had to
be devised. Supplies were loaded at St Ld then
dumped at an area west ol Paris, On the return
journey the trucks traveiled on a different
route, thereby creating a huge loop, GMC ZYz-
ton trucks were used in their hundreds on this
route to carry fuel, supplies and ammunition.
Many trucks towed cargo or fuel tratlers, As
was to be expected, the long journey took a
heavy toll of both drivers and trucks, so mainte-
nance and recovery depots were placed at
stages along the route, Some 132 truck com-
panies were used in the early days of this supp-
ly line.
GMC 2Yz-Ion trucks are still in service,
French-owned vehicles being sold as surpius
in 1985, Israel still has the type on its inventory,
The'Red B all Express' was typical of military
as do many third-world countries, Post-war /ogritjcs roufes in that it was reser|€d solely for
ZVz-lon trucks were based on the same design, military traffic. What civiljan trafrc existd was
and this type of truck will remain in American strictly forbidden fo use tfte roads, in order to
military service for many years to come, allow themaximum flowof log:istics to thefronL
ffi Mack heavy trucks
The Mack company is one of the oldest
American truck manufacturers still in
existence, the company having started
in tBBg as wagton builders. With the
advent of the combustron engine Mack
was well to the fore in the aqe of truck
progress and by 1939 was weil estab-
lished to produce trucks for miiitary
use.
The first types to see combat were
supplied to the British tn the Western
Desert and consrsted of two 6 x 4 types,
the Mack E)CBX and NR4, SuPPIied in
cab and chassis form these were
bodied as tank transporters to carry
light tanks, such as the 'HoneY' (M3
Stuart) tanks then in use by the British
The NR4 had detachable ramPs whtle
the EXBX had a hinged arrangement
nicknamed 'Bees Knees'. The NR4 was
also supplted ds a general-servlce car-
ner for long hauls across desed ter-
rain. The rear bogie axles were
spaced farther apart than normal, to
accommodate the larqer 1400x20
high-flotatron tyres that were a 'must' tn
soft sand conditions All EXBX cabs
were of steel construction based on
the pre-war crvil type. The NR4 had an
open military cab with canvas top or
alternatively an ali-steel cab was sup-
plied When the vehrcle was useo in
hot areas a spacer plate was fltted to
the rooffor cooltng purposes Many of
these trucks were also used to supply
the USSR via Persia. The famous 'Red
Ball Express' supply route across
North West Europe also made exten-
sive use of the NR models, many tow
ing four-wheel trailers. Perhaps the
most prominent Mack truck, the resuit
largely oi its immense size and power,
was the 772-ton NO 6x6 vehicle used
by American and British armies to haul
hear,ry artrliery such as 155-mm (6. l-in)
howitzers. First seen in actron in Italy
where heavy artillery was required to
blast out enemy strongPoints, the
-.I Japanese trucks
Japanese industry produced trucks on
similar lines io other couniries but in
much smaller numbers The lighter
end of the scale saw ltn-Ion Io ZVz-lon
4 x 2 trucks Typical of this type was the
Nissan 80 cargo truck Patterned on
the American Federal CDE Trucks
sold to the civil market were of the
same design and an attractive subsidy
was offered in anticipation of the need
to conscrlpt vehicles, The Toyota I{B
I 7z-ton 4 x 2 was powered by a 6-cylin-
2500
Abcsve: The Mack 7 )/rton 6x6 ModeL
NO2 prime mover was largelY used
to tow the 1 5 5 - mm' Long Tom' gun
and the 8-in howitzer. Other models
were used aswreckers.
Macks had to negotiare hatr-ratstno
bends in the slow advance. Arr unusual
feature on the NO model was that tt
dispensed wrth the usual universal
jornt on the front wheel drive in favour
ol a bevelled double gear reductlon ln
the axle ends to allow both drive and
steerinq. A larqe yoke was rnstalled in
the rear of the body, anelled out and
fltted with a chain, block and tackle, for
the purpose of llftlng the trail of the
heavy guns when the front limber was
not in use Most post-war British
varrants had this item fitted The Cana-
dian army was also a major operator of
Mack hearry trucks during World War
I]
Dimensions: length 7,54 m (24 ft 9 tn); The Mack NM series of 6 - ton 6 x 6
trucks was develoqed from a
Specification width 2 62 m (B ft 7 rn); heiqht 3 15 m
MackNO (10 ft4 m) commercial design of 1939, butwas
similar to the standard design built
Powerplart: one I 1B 6-kW (159-bhP) Weights: unladen l27Ol kq (28 000 lb)
MackEY 6 cyhnder enqtine andladen 19813 kq(43,680 lb) by Brockway, Corbitt or White.
der 4B-kW (65-bhp) engine, and aqtain versron with steel panel cab was used duced, the Isuzu Type 2 7-ton beingt
one example; power was supplted bY
Aner'con oestgn tnfluerce was o'.i- post-war by the Japanese self-defence
dent as this vehtcle was pattemed on iorces By lar the most popular vehtcle a 6-cylinder 75-kW (100-bhp) engine
the Chevrolet 1936 model. The Nissan rn the japanese truck industry was the
I80 272{on cargo was a late model and Isuzu Type 94 produced in 6x4 con Specification
featured a w-ooden cab, and a modrfled frguration with a limited number of 4 x 2 Isuzu Type 94
Powerplant: one 52.2-kW (70-bhp) 4-
mooels Abour 40 ditterent vorlarls
While the basic lsuzu I t/rton 6x4 were built on this chassis. The slx- cy[nder diesel engtne (Type 94A) or
6-cylinder diesel engrne (Type 94B)
was used as a prime mover and wheeled truck aiso sen'ed as an artll-
general-purpose truck, some 40 lery prime mover One interestinq de- Dimensions: lenqth 5 43 m (17 ft 9 B in);
width 1.95 m (6 ft 4 B in); herght 2.25 m
s pe cial- pur p o s e v ar ia n ts w er e buiIt velopment to emerge was the amphi-
bious Toyota SUKI: the body was boat (7 ft 4.6 in)
on the chassis.
shaped and fabricated of steel plates,
and the axles and wheels were sus- Water supply was often aProblem on
pended beneath this body. Nearly 200 Japan's far-flungisland emptre. so
-truckssucfi
of these 2-ton trucks were built Very as theNtssan 180 I t/z-ton
few lapanese heavy trucks were pro- 4x2were often used aswater tankers.
Armed Forces of the World

ag$cl
Malaysia's armed forces are relatively young. the
nation having come into being only in September
1963. Virtually allthe arms and equ pment in service
at that time originated from British sources. Since
that period, however, as replacements and addi-
tlons have become necessary the armed forces
have looked further afield for their requirements.
The only military operations that have been under-
taken in the wake of independence have been
aga nst Communist guerrilla groups operating along
:-: r:-c:e -nai borderareas and in the inaccessible
n3:f,er reg:on beNveen Sabah, Sarawak and lndone-
s a. Just as during the Malayan Emergency of 1949-
60, the terrorists retain the initiative ln choosing
where to strike, witn the result that the army and
police, even in collaboration with the Thai armed
forces, generally fight a containment campaign
rather than an all-out war. Units of both armies have
scored several notable successes against Commun-
'st
base camp areas in recent years.

The Army
Over the past five or so years. Malaysia has spent
considerable amounts of her gross national product
cn upgrading and expanding her armed fcrces in
order to meet a projected military threat from the
Communist countries of Laos, Kampuchea and Viet-
1am to the north. The army has increased its
strength to 100,500, and the following units and
;ormations are in being:
cne corps HQ,
'ourdivisional HOs,
12 infantry brigades (with 35 infantry battalions, one
mechanized infantry battalion plus more forming,
and support units),
'cur armoured cavalry reconnarssance regiments,
'ourfield artillery regiments,
:ne air-def ence regiment,
'rve signals regiments, and
:ne specialforces brigade group.
To outfit the mechanized infantry battalions and
:ne newly formed Malaysian Armoured Corps a the lightweight ltalian Model 56 pack howitzer, of
:ompetition was opened in 1978 for a new genera-
: cn of armoured vehicles. By 1981, and after much
:nanglng of operational requirements and procure-
-ent numbers, a series of contracts was signed
,',',ih several West European manufacturers. These
:cluded deals with the Belgian firm SIBMAS for 162
l'its 6x6 Armoured Fire Support Vehicle (with the
German government refused to grant an export li- Since about 1980 Malaysia has steadily-ma-easec
cence to Thyssen Henschel for its TAM tank and her defence expenditure in response to the CuEa:
TH-302 APC, from Communist Vietnan andlaos. r?ecrenl
The new vehicles join a collection of American, a?quisitions have included CondorAPCs fom
T hyssen H enschel, S corpion reconnajssancie
French and British types which will gradually be
vehicles from Alvis, and these SIBMAS 6 . 6
passed on for second-line and lnternal security arm our e d fi re - suppo r t ve hicle s -
duties. These include some 93 Ferret scout cars.
100 or so AML-60 and AML-90 armoured cars, 40 or
AT-105 and Panhard M3 APCs, Fe"=: s::-: :.:=
so Panhard M3 APCs, 100 of the original Cadillac
Shorland patrol cars; AM L-60 ano A\,'--3-
Gage V-100 Commando and 138 of the later V-1 50
armoured cars; and SIBMAS fire s'jcD::
Commando armoured vehicles fitted with either
vehicles;
twin 7.62-mm MG, 90-mm MECAR gun or 20-mm
cannon turrets. The 12,000-strong Police Field
artillery : (towed) 1 05-mm (4. 1 3-inr M56 :::<
Force also operates specialist internal security
howitzersand l39.7-mm (5.5-in)rrec -- j--:
(mortars) 81-mm (3.19-in) British Ll ;
armoured vehicles ln the form of the GKN Sankey
a o u r weapons: B9-m m (3. 5-in r lv"l 2 C':.:,.=:-
nt i-a rm
AT-105 APC, the Short 58401 APC and Shorland
patrol car.
launchers; 106-mm 14.17-in) M40 anc ' 2:---
(4 72-in) MOBAT recoilless rifles; ano SS' "
The other major arm of the Malaysian army is the
ATGWs;
artillery. This operates only two types of weapon;
anti-air weapons: 40-mm U70 Bofors anc 4C--*
M'1 Bofors; and
which some 1 14 are in service, and around 12 elder-
ly British 139.7-mm (5.5-in) medium guns.
smal I a rm s : 9-mm Browning pistol ; 9-n:r: St=- - ;
SMG; 5.56-mm (0.219-in) M1641 ,5 5&r"r-
A f ull list of the equipment used by the Malaysian
HK33, 5.56-mmAR70, 7.62-mm (0.3-;nr G3 a-:
army includes the following:
7.62-mm FALautomatlc rif les; 7 62-rrr-r -a 3-::
armour:Scorpion 90 light tanks; Stormer, Condor, LMG; 7.62-mm L7 GPMG; and 12.7-mr 3 :--
Commando V-l 00, Commando V-1 50, SB401 Browning HMG.
,

:ivo-man Cockerill CM-90 turret and 90-mm/3.54-in

'rl < lll gun) plus 24 of the AFSV's armoured recovery
,ehicle version; with the West German firm Thys-
sen Henschel for 459 examples of its Condor 4x4
(with either a 20-mm
'-noured vehicle in the APC
:3nnon or twin 7.62-mm/0.3-in turret), command
:cst and ambulance verslons; and with the British
'rm Alvis Limited for 26 of its Scorpion tracked
-econnaissance vehicles equipped with the Cock-
:::ll 90-mnr gun, and for 25 of its tracked Stormer
+PC model (l2 fitted with the 20-mm gun turret and
-3
with the twin 7.62-mm MG turret). An MBT and
:V procurement to complement these vehicles in
:r armoured regiment was shelved when the West

The Malaysian armed forces were forged in the

long confrontation with C ommunist insurgents
kom 1949 to 1960, and when the nation came into
being in 1963 most of the equipmentwas of Britkh
origin. Here two Malaysian soldiers return from
operations against Communist guerrillas near the
Rajangriver.
Armed Forces of the World
Desigmed as a private venture by BN Constructions
Fenoviaries et Metalliques, the SIBMAS APC has
ben ordered in two different versions. Seen iere
n typicalMalayiungle, this k
theAFSV model
atmea win Cockerill CM-90 turret and 90-mm Mk
lll gan.
The Air Force
-c support the army in the field during counter-
-s,igency operations and to provide the primary
r€:errence to outslde aggressors there is a 1 3'000-
sircng air force, which is divided into two Air Re-
; irs and a Support Command. The main strike
':-:e comprises a single fighter squadron with 13
S ::,,., nder-equipped Northrop F-5E Tiger lls, four
:-5. ccerational trainers and two recently-delivered
=:--: lgereye tactical reconnaissance fighters
=-':^:g combat squadrons are belng formed with
:: -:'-rb shed McDonnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
=
;-::--ccrnbers and six TA-4 Skyhawk operational
s,svd
trainers from the USA. There are also two dual-role
COIN/training squadrons flying 12 Aermacchi
M.8.339 advanced trainer/light strike aircraft, which
displaced the 12 or so survivlng Canadair CL-41 G
Tebuans that are now with the 600-man Air Force
Reserve.
All primary and basic training duties are under-
taken by the three f light schools which f ly mainly the
Pilatus PC-7, with a few remaining BAe Bulldog
'102s and a,handful of Bell 47G and A6rospatiale
Alouette lll helicopters. Transport, liaison and VIP
duties are handled by four squadrons of fixed-wing
aircraft. one with six Lockheed C-130H Hercules,
two with 14 de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribous
and one with two BAe 125s, two Fokker F.2Bs and
12 Cessna 4028s. There is also a maritime patrol/
SAR squadron with three specially configured Lock-
heed C-'130H-MP Hercules transports. All helicopter
lift and liaison operations are flown by two squad-
rons equipped wlth 36 Sikorsky 5-61A-4 Nuris and
two squadrons with 24 Alouette llls.
The Navy
To match the army's modernization plans the
11,0O0-strong navy has embarked on its own prog-
ramme, of which the two MM.3B Exocet-armed
West German 'Type 1 500' class f rigates about to be
delivered are the Iargest component. These willjoin
the Yarrow-buill Rahmat and the ex-Brltish 'Type
41 I 61' Hang luah f rigates as the largest surface unit
combatants. The frigates are supported by a mod-
erately sized light forces fleet that comprises four
'Spica-M' class MM.3B Exocet-armed missile boats
(with a further four MM,40 Exocet-armed units on
order), four 'Perdana' class MM.38-armed missile
boats, six 'Jerong' class 40- and 57-mm Bofors-
armed fast attack craft and 22 40-mm Bofors-armed
large patrol craft of the'Kedah" 'Sabah' and 'Kris'
classes.
The mine warfare fleet has been completely re-
built, ex-British 'Ton'class minesweepers being re-
placed by four modern ltallan-built 'Lerici' class
minehunters equipped with the latest French mine-
hunting system and PAP-I04 mine disposal vehi-
cles.
Malaysia has recently purchased two Northrop
RF -SE Tigereyereconnar'ssance aircraft; this one
sports the new national insignia on the engine
intake. Malaysia's F-SE Tiger IIs are now being
supplemented by 36 refurbished McDonnell
DouglasA-4Sl<yhawks.
Similarly the fleet support component has been
increased by the recent commissioning of three
West German- and South Korean-built logistic sup-
port vessels which can undertake not only under-
way replenishment with stores and f uel, but also the
training, command and control and troop transport
roles. All three have a helicopter landing deck aft,
together with a vehicle deck, embarkation ramps to
port and starboard plus a divers' decompression
chamber. To aid in the amphibious warfare role
there are also two ex-American LSTs which double
as light forces tenders, plus five LCMs, 15 LCPs and
nine RCPs. There are also a small number of auxili-
ary vessels and two survey shiPs.
The Police
The Royal Malaysian Police has recently commis-
sioned two 1,3001on coast guard patrol cutters built
in South Korea, and two more are planned. These
vessels have facilitles to carry and operate one of
the air force's Sikorsky 5-61A-4 helicopters if re-
quired. The larger units are supplemented by 15'PZ'
class patrol boats {itted with a 40-mm Bofors gun
and some 36 smaller patrol craft carrying 20-mm
cannon and 7.62-mm MGs. There is also a small
customs and excise force with six large and one
small patrol craft that carry small arms.
The reserves for the navy number 6Q0, although
both these and the actual active numbers are to be
increased over the next few years. The army's re-
serves total 60,000 men with 45,000 more in the
Malaysian Territorlal Defence Army and 15,000 in
the Local Defence Corps. ln addition to the 21 batta-
lions of the Police Field Force there are 89 units with
3,100 men in the Area Security Unit (or Home
Guard), and 1,200 border scouts (in Sabah and Sara-
wak). All of them serve ln the paramilitary role,
together with some 250,000 personnel of the Peo-
ple's Volunteer Corps (or RELA) organization.