The GMC CCKW

World War II magazine this month has an article about the 148th Motor Vehicle Assy Company in Europe by Lloyd Goss Sr.

They could assemble up to 50 deuces per day from the boxed ones!

He does refer to them as both deuce and a halfs and Jimmys

dr deuce wrote:World War II magazine this month has an article about the 148th Motor Vehicle Assy Company in Europe by Lloyd Goss Sr.


He does refer to them as both deuce and a halfs and Jimmys

Interesting he would say this , I have taken my truck to many local car shows and events and get the opportunity to talk to a lot of old timmers many who are WW11 vets who come up to admire my truck and tell me some stories, ( like boy would I like to have a buck for every time I bounced my ass in the back of one of these" 6 bys " ) and I always love to talk to these vets, and the one I always ask them is did you ever call them deuce and a halfs and I have never had a WW11 vet ever tell me yes, its always no! never heard them called that ,we always called them GMC's or 6 by's with the latter being used the most. The term deuce and a half I believe didn't come on the radar scope untill the 50's. The use of deuce and a half in WW11 in my book is a myth . I believe one should try to keep history correct for future generations , Go ahead and call M211's deuce and a halfs for that is what they most likely were called ,but lets not try to rewrite WW11 history at least while there are still WW11 vets left that know the difference. So the next time someone comes up to you to admire your WW11 truck and says hey" nice deuce and a half, simply smile ,and say thank you but this is a WW11 truck and they were not called deuce and a halfs, that term came along latter, back then most GI's simply called them 6 by's . History will love you

JIM 42CCKW

I am well aware of the controversy over deuce.

I was just quoting him as a WW2 vet.

If the term deuce and a half is not truly a WWII term it still would not be unusual for a WWII vet to use the term as it has become a part of our language, regardless of when the term originated.
Even though I am not old enough to be a WWII vet, growing up during the 40's I remember using the term Jimmy for these trucks, as my grandfather bought one in 1946 and we always called it The Jimmy.
In my belief using current language is not rewriting history. In order to communicate the use of current terms to describe something is acceptable in order to get the point acroiww. If someone approaches you and says " Hey is that a deuce and a half?" then it would be most acceptable to say Yes, however during WWII they called these Jimmys. Now you have taught a little history without embarassing them and giving them the opportunity to make a connection.
It is not going to be unusual if someone uses current terms for things that were called something else 60 years ago.

My dad, a WWII Army Air Corp vet always corrected me when I called our CCKW anything other that a 6X6. By the time of Vietnam, the two and one half trucks when called deuce and a half.

My two cents worth. Lee

Agreed Lee and whether we use the terms 6x6, Jimmy or deuce and a half an instant image pops into our heads as we know what these terms refer too.
Merry Christmas to all and a very Happy New Year.

Yesterday , while waiting for my wife to do some shopping in Sam's a lady about my age approached me and inquired about the t shirt I had on that had CCKW's on it with 2 1/2 ton printed above the trucks. She said " m where did you get that shirt? My husband drove deuce and a halves when he was in the Army and I want to get him one. " I graciously gave her a brief history lesson on the trucks and then gave her this web site address so she could purchase some of Bill's great items he has for sale.
No communication problem and possibly a happy lady and her husband .

I always grit my teeth when I hear people only refer to our CCKW's as WWII trucks. Lets not forget that they were used plenty in Korea by US and other allied UN forces. How about an "after WWII" photo page here?

CCKW's were still in service in some US Units in 1955. While agree that "Duece and half" is NOT a WWII term, later vets could have used the term.

Remember that Isreal used many Ex French GMC's in combat and GMC's served in Indochina with the French.

It was interesting that on a trip to Viet Nam several years ago, I got our guide/driver to understand that I wanted to take photo's of "Old Army Trucks". Working Ex-US M Series 2.5 and 5 ton 6X6 trucks are still quite common in "South" Vietnam.

Our guide's English was pretty good. He was puzzeled but once he understood what I wanted to photograph, I was suprised when he would point to any 6X6 truck and say "Oh look there sir, a GMC. They are very good trucks" He pronounced it "Gee Em See". I asked him why he called them GMC's? With another puzzled look, he said that's what everyone always called them. I'm sure it is a holdover from the French CCKW's.

"Gee Em See's - They're not just for WWII anymore"!

Cat Man

I was thinking about this "deuce" thing today and came up with an some interesting questions:

If a Jimmy (deuce) was a 6x6 or 6 by, what was a Diamond-T or a Ward LaFrance, or a Mack NO or a Dodge 62-63? They are all 6x6's and could be abbreviated as 6 by. After all we are talking about the wheel-axle configuration here with 6x6. Granted all the others combined did not equal the number of CCKWs, but still cornfusion could exist. With Jimmy, at least there is limited cornfusion: CCKW, AFKWX or possibly an AFKX-352 or 804. And also what would you call a Studebaker? It is a deuce, a 6x6, a 6 by but not a Jimmy and you had both in Alaska.

Hmmmm

Someone in here wanted the WW2 mag that I was quoting:

"World War II"

Cover with "STALINGRAD" in red banner

page 23

"commands"
"Some assembly required"