GMC Lot 7 – lot 0119

G-508 6×6 TRUCK CARGO L.W.B. 2 ½ TON 6 X 6 W/WRECKER SET NO. 7 AND WHICH

Originally built to provide mobile facilities for maintenance and repair bus used for many other applications!

The GMC Lot 7 or also named “Set No 7” was originally built to provide mobile facilities for maintenance and repair. Original nomenclature was TRUCK CARGO L.W.B. 2 ½ TON 6 X 6 W/WRECKER SET NO. 7 AND WHICH.
The ‘Set No 7’ kit was the result of a need for a light recovery capability in small or separate units that were not authorized the 4 Ton Medium or 10 Ton Heavy wrecker equipment in their TO&E.

However, it proofed also very successful at airport support. There are many pictures of CCKW’s fitted with the Set 7 in use by the Eighth Air Force for bomb handling always on a 353 though.

Also, as an ammunition truck they were often in service. However, the 352 would not normally be used as an ammunition truck they often used for towing 105 mm howitzers, the Polsten AA (also in this Auction) etc. 105 howitzer ammo comes two rounds to a crate (long flat crates) which were normally hand loaded into the tractors and ammo vehicles. Ammo trucks usually weigh out before they bulk out due to the concentrated nature of their loads. Result was sometimes that they were overloaded as the CCKW combat load was 2.5 tons (5000 lbs.)
The weight of one 105mm ammo box (two rounds) is approximately 70 lbs. 5000 divided by 70 equals roughly 70 boxes or only 140 rounds. The LWB CCKW is 80 sq ft for the bed so we are talking about 25 boxes per layer at three square feet per box. Three layers of boxes (75 boxes) and the truck is than maxed out. On normal roads however the CCKW could handle 5 tons Moreover, the SWB gun tractors had to carry the seven detachment members (two up front and five in the rear with the gear), three big camouflage nets, guns stores and tools, personal kit for seven and personal weapons, small-arms ammo, rations, fuel, water, etc. etc. A rough count comes up with a load of 3500 lbs. BEFORE you add any howitzer ammo- you have 1500 lbs. left so throw in 20 boxes (40 rounds) of howitzer ammo and your ‘prime mover’ is full. Remember that the Gunners have to fit in with all this stuff, so the ammo was usually laid as a layer over the floor (don’t hit any mines, driver!) and then everything else stacked or stored as carefully as possible. It’s no wonder that many Gunners were badly injured if their tractors tipped or rolled over!
In Commonwealth tradition each Detachment (artillery have detachments, ships and tanks have crews), consisted of the Gun, the Tractor, and the Limber (a trailer as seen with the 25 pounder or a second truck, to carry the ammo).
The multi-purpose use of the Set No 7 made the vehicle very popular by its crew. It is a fantastic unit which was used on all theaters of the WW2.
This model comes in great condition and will be delivered fully serviced and with a Dutch licence!

This model comes in great condition and will be delivered fully serviced and with a Dutch road licence!

The American motor car industry produced outstanding number of military vehicles during 5 years of the  World War 2. Those were widely used not only by the U. S. troops but also by other allied troops. The U. S. was literally the arsenal of democracies.

As the World War 2 was the first modern mobile warfare, logistics was of greater importance than ever. Sometimes, it was even more important to ensure smooth supply lines than to develop better ordnance. Many kinds of vehicles were used for supply operations, and among them, the 2 ½ ton truck, known as “Jimmy” or “Deuce and a half”, was one of the most mass-produced vehicles, recording the total production of 810,000.

The GMC CCKW, also known as “Jimmy”, or the G-508 by its Ordnance Supply Catalog nr, was a highly successful series of off-road capable, 2​¹⁄₂-ton, 6×6 trucks, built in large numbers to a standardized design (from 1941 to 1945) for the U.S. Army. It saw heavy service, predominantly as cargo trucks, in both World War II and the Korean War.

The original “Deuce and a Half”, it formed the backbone of the famed Red Ball Express that kept Allied armies supplied as they pushed eastward after the Normandy invasion.

The CCKW came in many variants, including open or closed cab, long wheelbase (LWB) CCKW-353 and short (SWB) CCKW-352, and over a score of specialized models, but the bulk were standard, general purpose, cargo models. A large minority were built with a front mounted winch, and one in four of the cabs had a machine-gun mounting ring above the co-driver’s position.

The most widely used engine was Type 270 with a displacement of 4,416 cc, yielding 104 horsepower. The power was transmitted to the wheals via five-speed transmission. Two types of driving axles were offered to the truck. One is “Banjo type” manufactured by Chevrolet and the other is “Split type’ made by Timken.

Apart from the driving axles, many components, such as cabin, cargo body and chassis frame, varied according to the manufacturers and various uses. Variants included the normal steel-body cargo truck, water tanker, gasoline tanker, cargo-dump truck, and multi-role type with tipping cargo body. The most popular variant, GMC CCKW-353 with normal cabin and long wheelbase of 164 inch, weighing 4.8 ton, had carrying capacity of 2 ½ ton on rough roads and 4 ton on pavement. The maximum speed reached 72km/h.  Having the then first-class performance like these, the 2 ½ trucks ran across all the battle fields as a means of transport for the Allied forces and played an important role to bring about the victory of the Allies.

After its retirement from the U. S. Army in the early 50’s, they were transferred to all over the world and had a great influence on the progress of today’s military motorcars.

Info following Soon!

Lot-0119-TT-GMC-Set-No-7-Rev-2.0

Brochure: Lot 0119 T&T GMC Set No 7 Rev 2.0