Artillery and Prime Movers. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

 Last edition:

SPW 152 "Iron Pig" (BTR 152). National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Location: 6419 US-26, Dubois, WY 82513, USA

SPW 152 "Iron Pig" (BTR 152). National Museum of Military Vehicles.

This peculiar looking vehicle is an East German SPW 152 "Iron Pig", which was their variant of the Soviet BTR 152.  The armored vehicle was designed as an armored personnel carrier, but utilized for other things as well.  The gun in this one is likely an anti-aircraft gun.

This particular example bears the markings of the current Bundesherr and likely saw service in the reunited German Army after the country was reunited.

The Jeeps in these photographs are M151s, which will be dealt with elsewhere.

 Last edition:

Anti Tank Guns. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

Labels: 1940s, 4x4, Army, Artillery, Dubois Wyoming, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Tracked vehicles, Trucks, Weapons, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

Anti Tank Guns. National Museum of Military Vehicles.

 

Friday, November 7, 1924. A balanced budget.

The Weimar Republic announced the first balanced German budget since the end of World War One.

The Soviet Union produced its first domestically manufactured motor vehicle, the AMO-15 truck.

The Alvarado Hot Springs was created when a natural gas exploratory well taped into a geothermal pool in Los Angeles County.  It was operated commercially as a hot springs facility until at least 1961, following which it seem to have disappeared from history.

2BE began operating commercially, broadcasting twice a week, in Sydney. Australia's first commercial radio station would close in 1929.

Last edition:

Thursday, November 6, 1924. The 100th Anniversary of Christopher Robin and Winey the Pooh.

Labels: 1920s, 1924, 1924 Election, Calvin Coolidge, Girl Scouts, Norman Rockwell, Teenagers, The written word, Women

Friday Farming. The vehicles that changed the West.

I've written on this previously, but up until the end of World War Two, travel in Wyoming, in winter, and much of the West, was very limited.

Oh, sure, there were snowplows that went out on the narrow two lane highways, but off the highways?  Well, you better be pretty sure you could get back.

Now, my father only ever owned one 4x4 vehicle, and it was one he bought from me.  But we didn't go up in the high country or into the foothills once winter started.  That was out.  You stuck to areas that were relatively near a county road or that were blown off, and probably down around 5,500 feet or less. Beyond that?  Forget it.

And this was true for ranchers too.  Some men stayed up in the high country, but they stayed there. . . all winter long.  People often fed by horse drawn wagon (and in a few places, still do).

The Dodge Power Wagon changed that.  And it was a creature of the Second World War.

Lex Anteinternet: World War Two U.S. Vehicle Livery: National Museum...: 

The father of the Dodge Power Wagon, the 1/2 ton truck, a fair number of examples of which can be found in the Rocky Mountain West in spite of the small number produced, was in addition to being too light, too top heavy.

With the Power Wagon, you could now get there in winter.  Maybe not everywhere, but darned near everywhere, even up in the high country.

And that meant you didn't need to keep hired men up in the high country in line shacks all winter.  For that matter, with a trailer, you could easily feed in a fraction of the time it had taken with a wagon.  You probably didn't need hired men for that either, if you had them.

And while it would take awhile, really when NAPCO started converting Fords and Chevys into heavy duty 4x4s, it would also mean that sportsmen could get back there in the winter too.

Revolutionary.

Related threads:

A Revolution In Rural Transportation

Lex Anteinternet: A normal winter. How it used to be.

The Rise and Decline of the "SUV".

Lex Anteinternet: So you're living in Wyoming (or the West in genera...So what about World War Two?

Early Jeeps: National Museum of Military Vehicles Dubois Wyoming.

There are a lot of Jeeps depicted in this series of posts, with a fair number being World War Two Willys and Ford Jeeps.  This museum, however, has a collection of the very early Jeeps that preceded the Willys MB patter standariation.

The request for a 1/4 ton truck came out just before World War Two and one of the company's that responded was Bantam, a vehicle manufacturer which specialized in small cars.  Their introduction was very much like what the MB would become, except it was lighter.

Bantam always felt cheated by the military for not securing the contact, which they really couldn't fulfill.  The company ceased to exist in 1956.

Willys Overland specialized in in "overland" vehicles to start with, and  came up with what was really the best design for the competition, although it was submitted later than Bantam's.

Ford also competed, putting in an entry that was much like Willy's.

Last edition:

World War Two U.S. Motorcycles: National Museum of Military Vehicles Dubois Wyoming.

Labels: 1940s, Dubois Wyoming, Military, Motorcycles, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Transportation, World War Two, Wyoming (Dubois)

World War Two U.S. Vehicle Livery: National Museum of Military Vehicles Dubois Wyoming.

The 6x6 2 1/2 ton truck was, in my view, the greatest military implement of World War Two.  It's role in supply troops and logistical support was so significant that it cannot be overestimated, and proved more decisive in the Allied victory than any weapon or weapons system that a person can name.

The General Motors Corporation CCKW, depicted above, was the most common 2 1/2 truck used by the Western Allies.

The American made Studebaker was another example of a 6x6 2 1/2 ton truck, but it was rarely used by the Western Allies.  It was primarily used by the Soviets, without which they frankly would have been significantly horse drawn.

The father of the Dodge Power Wagon, the 1/2 ton truck, a fair number of examples of which can be found in the Rocky Mountain West in spite of the small number produced, was in addition to being too light, too top heavy.

The 3/4 ton WC 52 replaced the WC 40 fairly rapidly in terms of production.  A great 4x4 pickup, it's the direct progenitor of the post war Dodge Power Wagon and the post war M-37, the latter of which remains the best 4x4 truck the U.S. military has every fielded, outside of the HumVee.

The US military fielded an entire series of 6x6 trucks that were heavier than 2 1/2 tons, making the 6x6 picture somewhat confusing.  4 ton and 6 ton examples are depicted above.  Good trucks, there were too many types and after the war the Army settled on 5 ton 6x6 trucks, which were used well into the 2000s.

The WC-63 wsa frankly not a successful truck.  The engine was the same as the WC-52, that being a high compression flat head 6 cyl. While a good engine in its own right, that would be used for decades by Dodge, it was underpowered for this application.

In spite of this, after the war, Dodge made a small number of 6x6 civilian Power Wagons that utilized the same engine.  The Army variant was rapidly phased out of service.

An example of a 6x6 that I didn't know even existed.

The 3/4 ton version of the command car.

This photo features a 3/4 ton Dodge Carryall, a vehicle that would also see a civilian variant after the war.  Also depicted is a M3 half track, which we'll deal with separately, and a Willys MB Jeep, which we will also deal with separately.

Last edition:

World War Two Vehicles in Marine Corps use: National Museum of Military Vehicles Dubois Wyoming.

Labels: 1940s, 4x4, Army, Automobiles, National Museum of Military Vehicles, United States Marine Corps, Weapons, World War Two