GMC, 2 1/2-ton, 6x6, Cargo, CCKW - (G 508) Truck

By Sergio Toyos

This truck was named according to the production nomenclature of the General Motors Corporation company of the time, since the Second World War had begun. The acronym CCKW was assigned by it using its standard system:
C= Designed in 1941
C= Standard Body
K= Front wheel drive
W= Rear wheel drive

Nicknamed by the soldiers as "The Jimmy", this truck began to be produced in 1941, ending production in 1945, with a total of 562,750 units being manufactured off the assembly line in different versions. It was the most commonly used tactical vehicle in World War II. It then continued in service until 1956, even being used in the Korean War. The CCKWs were originally fitted with a metal cabin (called a "closed cabin"), but after July 1943 it was replaced by a canvas one to save metal and reduce the volume for boarding (called an "open cabin"). They were designed and produced in two basic versions of chassis and wheelbase.:

"Short": 145 inches (CCKW-352) for artillery trailer.
"Length": 164 inches (CCKW-353) for troops and cargo.

The configuration of the box was multiple, according to the various needs emerging from the conflicts in which it had to participate. It was equipped with a GMC 270 6-cylinder engine, which provided 92 hp. Its weight was 20,700 Kg for the short chassis model and 22,500 Kg for the long one. It had a width of 2.16 m. Its height without awning in place was 2.35 m. The basic cargo version had seats for the troops folded into the box. Other variants included:

Air compressor
750 gallon tank
Two 350-gallon fuel tanks and Jerry Cans
Tipper.
Shop van (ST-5 and ST-6 body)

They could be equipped with Gar Wood (2-U512) or Heil (JJ-104-B, 125G or 125G1) winches, but only if the front and bumper were factory built for that purpose. A letter code had to be created to identify the various types of bodies:

A: Loading without winch
B: Loading with winch
C: Tanker
D: Naphtha tanker without winch
E: Gasoline tanker with winch
F: Van
G: Water tanker without winch
H: Tipper with winch

After the Second World War, enormous quantities of these noble, rustic and strong vehicles were distributed throughout all the former battle fronts in states of maintenance. The armies of the countries in which they were located rebuilt their own fleets of vehicles and then sold the surplus to contractors. These, in turn, resold gigantic batches of vehicles of all types to countries around the world, to fulfill both military and civil tasks.

It should be emphasized that in Korea, after the war, gigantic repowering plants were installed for military vehicles used in the conflict. It is notable the way in which all types of materials were collected, establishing large factories, where all the vehicles intended for later use were remade, using the incredible quantities of spare parts available for this purpose..

Our country received part of this material after the Second World War, along with Studebaker, Chevrolet and Ford Canada trucks, and Sherman armored vehicles (English version), Crusader tanks, half-tracks and T 16 or Bren Carrier weapons-carrying vehicles.
The national organization that handled the transactions to import them was a state organization called IAPI (Argentine Institute for Exchange), which purchased enormous quantities of material of all kinds that were prohibited to us by the United States, as a result of our abstention in the participation in the world conflict. The material was purchased from a Belgian contracting company, which sold in-use material, some quite battered and others, literally new, with enormous quantities of spare parts still boxed. With this flood of automotive material, our Armed Forces became motorized and began a new era and a new doctrine.

Source:
Asociación Argentina de Coleccionistas de Vehículos Militares

A.A.C.V.M
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