Vehicle Description
To be OFFERED AT AUCTION at Auctions America's Auburn Spring event,
May 11-13, 2017.
Chassis No.
BILL OF SALE
Estimate:
$ 20,000 - $ 30,000 US
The U.S. Army 2-1/2-ton series, 6X6 trucks were the most widely
used tactical transport vehicle of World War II. Over 800,000 were
produced, 562,750 by GMC alone. The first GMC 2-1/2-ton, 6X6 was
basically a six-wheel drive commercial type designated the
ACKWX-353, which entered production in 1939. The French government
ordered a sizable number of ACKWX-353s in 1939 which were diverted
to the British when France fell to the Germans in 1940. In 1941,
the militarized version of the 2-1/2-ton 6X6 went into production.
Code named CCKW-353, which translated as follows: C=1941;
C=conventional cab; K=front wheel drive; W=tandem rear axle; 353=
164-inch wheelbase. Early production models featured a pressed
steel, civilian style, rounded cab. As production progressed, the
all steel cab was replaced by a simplified cab, as displayed, with
a canvas roof and side doors. The GMC "Jimmys" made up the bulk of
the famous Red Ball Express which operated across Northern France
during the fall of 1944. With most railways out of action, the U.S.
Army organized a massive "road lift," involving over 5,400 trucks
averaging a daily delivery of 5,143-tons. Studebaker and
International Harvester also manufactured 234,000 of the 2-1/2-ton
6X6 trucks.
