Don't be intimidated.

[armydriver]

Every time I show up for some military vehicle gathering jeeps abound and my CCKW is the only 2 1/2 ton there. Some things I do know for a fact. That during WWII , especially in Europe and North Africa a lot more combat troops rode to war in CCKW's than in jeeps and in fact few soldiers ever got to ride in a jeep, much less drive one. I also know that General Eisenhower singled out the CCKW as being one of the most important vehicles to contribute to victory in Europe. I also feel that jeeps outnumber CCKW's today , problably at least 9 to one and in some places even to a greater extent. That makes your truck pretty scarce but one fact really stands out. A jeep can't run over a CCKW but a CCKW can squash a jeep.

[Matt]

Hi AD,

I think the reason there are more Jeeps than trucks about is partly due to the size of a truck,where most folks can fit a Jeep into their garage or drive they might not be able to accomadate a truck.also the French continued to produce Jeeps under licence and,in Europe at least,many "WW2" Jeeps are actually post war ones dressed up to look the part.

I must admit I don't understand the bickering that (somtimes) goes on between owners of different types of military vehicles,they are all pieces of history.

Matt.

[armydriver]

You are right Matt about the post war dress up jeeps. I encountered a 48 CJ2 that was dressed as an MB and pretty much hawked to the public during the Randolph Air Show as a WWII jeep.
Actually here in the states there are so many jeeps in regards to other vehicles, because jeeps were user friendly and ended up as ranch, farm and hunting vehicles. Trucks were considered work vehicles and were used a lot on farms, in the logging industry and of course in the oil field. When they wore out they were left to rot away and many were scrapped. As the civilian jeeps were continually produced a lot of the parts fit the WWII jeeps and there was no shortage of parts to keep them running.
The Dodge weapons carriers and half tracks pretty much have met the same fate as the CCKW's.

[jhscpa]

I wonder if you could park today's "big" SUV in a family garage? After riding in "armydrivers" Betty Boop in a parade last Saturday and surounded by SUV's, I was surprised by the relative size of a CCKW to a SUV. If the SUV would have had heavy steel plate, I think we would be in trouble. At least the CCKW cargo body was big enough for the Red Ball Express.

[armydriver]

The trucks of WWII are indeed large, but pale in comparison to the new Big Rigs of today. I am reminded of how small a B-17 is compared to a C-130 of today, yet in it's time it was massive. It appears as we all age we get smaller in comparison to the new kids on the block.