The hero of today's article was quite difficult to see even during the Great Patriotic War, even though more than 3000 (3100) of these cars were sent to the USSR under Lend-Lease. Even the manufacturers of these cars themselves are often confused when determining the brand of a particular car.
During the discussion of the previous materials, the question arose about some "similarity" of cars of the same class, but different manufacturers. The reason for the confusion is simple: manufacturers, fulfilling the requirements of the military, deliberately went to the unification of military equipment in order to release it as soon as possible. And in this they were absolutely right.
Not the last word in this unification was played by the size of orders. With all its might, the American auto industry could not completely close military orders with the help of any one firm. It was necessary not only to meet the needs of the American army and the Marine Corps, but also to provide the allies with equipment.
And something happened that we usually associate not with capitalism, but with socialism. The cooperation system worked.
Automobile concerns have abandoned the production of parts of units and components for cars and began to use units and assemblies from other companies in their designs.
But back to the hero of our story. Army truck International M-5H-6.
First, let's decipher the very name of this truck. In this index, M - "military", a military vehicle, "5" - a payload of 5000 pounds (2250 kilograms, 2 and a half American tons), "6" - the number of driving wheels, that is, 6x6.
International, respectively, is the name of the manufacturer. By the way, it's hard to believe, but this manufacturer has been known for its products for almost 200 years! The firm is one of the oldest automotive firms in the world.
And the history of the International traces back to agricultural machines, created by a self-taught mechanic back in 1831.
The firm "McCormick" (named after the creator Cyrus McCormick) merged with a competitor, the firm Deering (1891), renamed the International Harvester Company. It was in 1902.
The products of this company were marked not only with the full name, but also simply International and even the abbreviation IHC (later simply IH). And the first samples of cars of this company, created in 1905, were mass-produced only from 1907, and they were … buggies! That is, small carts designed to transport 2-3 people (or 300-350 kg of cargo) over rough terrain. The automotive branch of the firm was located in Akron, Ohio.
For our hero, "twin brothers" are two cars at once. These are Corbitt 168 FD8 and Marmon-Herrington TL29. Cars have nothing to do with IHC, but they use the same components in their designs. And it is these cars that Americans will most often name if they see International M-5H-6 in a museum in Russia or China.
Corbitt 168 FD8
Marmon-Herrington TL29
The fact is that there were not many of these cars in the American army. Cause? Banal. The cost of cars. International M-5H-6 is an expensive car. Compared to a similar GMC truck, this car cost 20-25% more.
Hence the refusal of the American military to buy IHC and a great desire to supply these cars to the Allies. Especially in the USSR and China. Although in the American army itself, International M-5H-6 cars appeared in 1942 and received numbers from W460525 to W461024.
According to the agreement, the USSR ordered 3,000 vehicles with a 6x4 wheel arrangement in the USA, without a winch and a front drive axle. It is these cars in the overwhelming majority that we see today in various museums.
International's civilian past has also influenced the military fate of these trucks. Paradoxical as it may sound, in the Soviet Union, cars are better known as specialized. The most frequently cited example of the use of American trucks is snow plows.
Soviet airfields were cleaning American cars. FWD, Ford, Dodge, International M-5H-6 or Chevrolet equipped with Snogo rotary auger cleaners. With a width of 2,650 millimeters, the Snogo was able to clear swaths of up to 2,500 millimeters. The thickness of the snow cover cleared by the Snogo cleaner should have been in the range of 0.5 to 2 meters.
The story about the car cannot be limited geographically. Automotive technology changes rapidly depending on operating conditions and customer requirements. And the latest developments of companies - suppliers of components play a huge role.
Let's take a closer look at the car itself and its modifications.
The truck had a 6x4 and 6x6 wheel arrangement, a steel or tropical cab (with a folding canvas top), a grille protected the radiator and headlights, and a winch could be installed in front of the radiator. By the way, if you remember the first Soviet KrAZ trucks, then you can easily find the American grille on the headlights …
As with many American trucks, the main purpose of the International M-5H-6 is a tractor unit. A car. designed for towing artillery pieces. In particular, 76 mm guns. Hence the rather short chassis base - 3785 mm. And a completely predictable upgrade - an increase in the length of the base for installing the body. Long base International - 4293 mm.
Distinguishing a short base from a long one is quite simple. This feature is still used by many car manufacturers today. The secret is in the spare wheels. On a short base, the wheels were attached behind the cab. The long base made it possible to place spare wheels under the body on the right side.
Both truck modifications were equipped with identical bodies, almost indistinguishable in appearance. The only difference was in size. For short-wheelbase cars, a body of 2750 mm was used, and for long-wheelbase cars - 3650 mm. Both body types were metal and were manufactured by the same firm, Galion Allsteel Body Co in Galion, Ohio.
The first International M-5H-6s were powered by a 5205 cc FBC-318B liquid-cooled six-cylinder carburetor engine. cm and a capacity of 100 horsepower.
Later, by order of the United States Marine Corps, the engine was replaced with an FBC-361B. However, this engine was also replaced by RED-361B in 1942-43.
During the modernization, the car also received a new transfer case (Thornton Tamdem Co. from Detroit), a completely new tropical cab with a soft top, and an additional 80-liter fuel tank. The tires were increased to 8, 5x20. The machines were equipped with a 4.5-ton Heil 125-IH or Tulsa 18Y winch.
The Marine Corps liked the vehicle so much that the U. S. Marine Corps ordered 34,525 of these trucks! And after hull 5 562, the aircraft was ordered by the US Navy (U. S. Navy). To the credit of the company, the order was fully completed even before the end of the war.
Even today, though not in the army, you can see many International M-5H-6 in the most incredible modifications. Yes, the car "left the service" a long time ago. In 1952, another truck, the International M41, was standardized by the American army.
But even in "civilian" dump trucks on this chassis, evacuation and repair vehicles, tank trucks with a capacity of 2800 liters, truck tractors and auto repair shops are still running. Not much, but there is.
It's just that U. S. Navy once ordered 2 210 additional chassis trucks from International for special vehicles such as telephone cable handlers, oil well servicing vehicles, firefighters, rescue vehicles, mobile radio vans, and machine tool shops. And home-grown craftsmen appreciated the quality of these machines, and …
We are not going to tell you what they know how to do in America with those cars that "drove in".
In general, speaking about the quality of these trucks, even about the need for such vehicles for the USSR in the first years of the war, it is worth remembering that everyone, including the Americans, was in some "shock" from the war. The production had to be rebuilt in record time.
Manufacturing firms, responding quickly enough to the demand from the army, really did the incredible. Even unsuccessful technical solutions were brought to mind over time. But at the first stages of the war, at the cost of a lot of blood, heavy losses in technology, they nevertheless played their positive role.
Well, the traditional technical characteristics of the hero of the material:
Vehicle weight: 5 260 kg
Dimensions: 4, 3 x 2, 6 x 2, 37 m
Engine: 6-cylinder, carburetor
Power: 100-126 horsepower
Carrying capacity: 2 250 kg
Maximum speed: 67 km / h
Fuel consumption: 42 liters per 100 km
Produced: over 30,000 units
Delivered to the USSR: about 3,000 units.
What can be said in terms of comparison? A worthy rival to our GAZ-AAA and ZiS-6. The first was inferior in carrying capacity (a little, but nevertheless), the second was superior. But the Achilles' heel of Soviet trucks at that time was frankly weak engines.
GAZ-AAA
ZIS-6
Both the GAZ-AAA with a 50-horsepower 4-cylinder and the ZiS-6 with a 73-horsepower 6-cylinder engine were significantly inferior in power to the American. Accordingly, the overseas truck surpassed ours precisely in terms of cross-country ability, which, in fact, was one of the criteria for a military multi-purpose truck.
You can put it this way: worthy rivals who carried everything that was loaded on them. Cargo, equipment, guns, rocket launchers. Someone did it better, someone worse. But they did one hard job.
I would not like to give the palm to the American, which was produced by several concerns in rather greenhouse conditions. And do not forget that our trucks were assembled not at the best time for this, not by the most trained personnel.
The military roads were the same for everyone.
