The GMC CCKW is a 2.5 ton 6X6 U.S. Army cargo truck that saw service in World War II and the Korean War, often referred to as a "Deuce and a Half" or "Jimmy". The CCKW came in many variants, based on the open or closed cab, and Long Wheel Base (LWB 353) or Short Wheel Base (SWB 352).
History[]
Built to 812,262 copies, CCKWs were employed in large numbers for the Red Ball Express, an enormous convoy system created by Allied forces to supply their forces moving through Europe following the breakout from the D-Day beaches in Normandy, from August 25 to November 16, 1944, when the port facilities at Antwerp were opened. At its peak the Red Ball operated 5,958 vehicles, and carried about 12,500 tons of supplies a day.
The designation CCKW comes from model nomenclature used by GMC; the first C indicated a vehicle designed in 1941, the second C signifies a conventional cab, the K indicates all-wheel drive and the W indicated tandem rear axles. The term "Deuce and a Half" is not a post war term and was applied to all 2½ ton cargo trucks. Including the DUKW, General Motors in the US produced 562,750 of these 2.5 ton trucks just prior to and during World War 2.
Versions[]
- Truck, cargo, 2½-Ton, 6X6, long-wheelbase / short-wheelbase
- Water tanker 700 Gal.
- Fuel tanker 750 Gal
- Dump
- Flatbed
- Ordnance Maintenance Truck, Van
- K-53 truck Van
- K-60 truck Van
- M27 Bomb Service Truck
- M27B1 Bomb Service Truck
- M1 chemical Service Truck
- Dental Operating Truck, Van
- Surgical Truck, Van
- Water purification truck
- Fire Engine
- Tractor cab
Initially all versions were of closed cab design (having a metal roof and doors) with all steel cargo beds. But as the war progressed an open cab version was designed that had fixed 'half doors' and a canvas top/sides and the steel bed was replaced by a wooden one to conserve steel. The wood bed proved unsatisfactory and a 'composite' bed with steel sides and framing, but with wooden slats for the bed, was developed. Later on the 'wood/steel' composite bed was replaced by an all steel composite bed.