World war 2 Studebaker trucks.

[plee4139]

I was watching a show about WW2 which used some very good computer simulations. They said the Studebaker produced many thousands of trucks and that they were from Detroit. I am aware of the Weasel and Pratt & Whitney engines for the B-17, but not trucks. Maybe they mean Dodge?

[Commander Eddie]

Studebaker built thousands of big trucks known as the US6 which went into service transporting troops and supplies. They also built smaller trucks, many of which were sent to Russia as part of the Lend Lease program. The Russians installed rocket launchers on them which you see all the time in period films about WWII.
I would have to look up the exact number of trucks they built for the war effort but I would venture a guess it was in the tens of thousands.

[Gunslinger]

They may simply have been speaking generically when saying Detroit. Many simply use Detroit as a shorthand way of describing auto companies in general. But...it also wouldn't be surprising if it was poor fact-checking on the part of the writers...that's long been a staple of the media.

Small correction...it was Wright engines for B17's. They did build some P&W jet engines under license later for the B47 jet bomber.

[new2drive]

Just an aside, a friend of mine in Kiev says MANY Stude trucks from WW2 are still on the roads today. When I told him I was restoring a 40, he told me about the all of the trucks still on the road there.

Now, you are telling me that the trucks used to haull around the Katyusha rocket batteries were Studebakers? Thatis pretty wild.

[Commander Eddie]

Just an aside, a friend of mine in Kiev says MANY Stude trucks from WW2 are still on the roads today.

I am not surprised to hear there are many still around there. I believe the Russians also used these trucks as templates to build their own. Some of the trucks your friend sees may be Russian made knockoffs. It might be interesting to ask him if he could research that. I would bet many Studebaker fans would be interested to know more facts about Studebakers in Russia.

[Corvanti]

more Russia & Studebaker info: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ghlight=Russia

[53k]

I am not surprised to hear there are many still around there. I believe the Russians also used these trucks as templates to build their own. Some of the trucks your friend sees may be Russian made knockoffs. It might be interesting to ask him if he could research that. I would bet many Studebaker fans would be interested to know more facts about Studebakers in Russia.

Two years ago our Potomac Chapter on a Fall Tour we had come back for the day (staying at Cacapon State Park in West Virginia). As another member and I walked away from our Studebakers a young woman asked about the cars and told us where she had seen one in a parking lot that was for sale. I was surprised that she recognized Studebakers. She said she was from Russia and Studebaker trucks were very famous there even to the day.
In Khruschev's memoires he commented that it was a sad state of Russian manufacturing that they were still dependent on Studebaker trucks.

[GEEMAC]

world war 2 studebaker trucks

[QUOTE=Corvanti;744574]more Russia & Studebaker info: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...ghlight=Russia[ WASN,T IN WW2 BUT SERVED IN THE KOREAN WAR IN52&53, HAD QUITE A FEW OF WHAT I BELIVE THEY CALLED THE OLD CKW,S OR 2/4S, DUCE & A QUARTER ECT. WAS IN THE THE 160INF REG 40TH DIVISON, HEARTBRAKE, CHORWAN, KUMWAUGH IMJIE PUNCHBOWL, MAN DID I EVER JOIN THE ARMY AND GET TO TRAVEL,BUT ONLY 18 YRS OLD AND NOTHING ELSE TO DO A THAT TIME, NO REGRETS. MAC.

[DEEPNHOCK]

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?search=WWII+Lend+Lease+Studebaker&title=Special%3ASearch

[Skip Lackie]

Discussion of the WWII US6 in chapter 6 here:

http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/StudebakerTruckHistory.asp

[Studebaker Wheel]

The actual number of trucks assembled by Studebaker for the war effort was 197,678. I have maybe 150 photos of these trucks including some used by the Russians as rocket launchers. This topic has been covered in several of my articles in TW over the years. A summary of the WWII effort is shown in image #4. I might add that the 6 X 4 and 6 X 6's assembled by Studebaker had Hercules engines and Bendix axles. The fenderrs were military style and the cabs similar to the M16 truck. As such it was mostly an "assembled vehicle" with most key components supplied by outside vendors.

[Gunslinger]

A bit off topic but still related, William Knudsen, the President of GM was appointed a Lt. General in the Army during WWII to serve as chairman of the War Production Board, which decided on material priorities for the war effort and to eliminate production bottlenecks. It's been rumored, though no proof has been found to my knowledge, that Knudsen made the decision to send the bulk of the Studebaker made trucks to the Soviet Union and a minimum to US forces as he wanted the GMC made trucks in the American Army. Supposedly he was looking out for General Motors that soldiers after the war would think first of GM for vehicles.

Urban legend or truth may never be known. It could well be from someone's fanciful imagination or a conspiracy theorist.

[gordr]

I think it had more to do with commonality of supply than anything sinister. If they had had two types of trucks serving the same role in the same war theater, they would have had to have a supply of spare parts to suit both types.

[rockne10]

The US6 was also the primary mule for building the Al-Can highway.

[8E45E]

I posted some photos of one here: http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.c...hlight=elegant

Craig