Continuing the conversation about the supply of cars to the USSR, we came up with another legendary car. Yes, not just a car, but its three hypostases, which are on display at the UMMC Museum of Military Equipment in Verkhnyaya Pyshma. The famous American "Jimmy", surrounded by love and care, are our heroes today.
Most readers, not even interested in military equipment, know this car from numerous Hollywood action films. Moreover, many have even seen this car in Russian and foreign museums and military newsreels. They saw … and did not see.
In the previous article, we talked about the legendary jeep. And then there was the no less legendary GMC CCKW-352/353, aka "Jimmy", the most massive military truck of the Second World War. Along with the Jeep, it was the "workhorse" of the US Army.
The number of these cars produced by the US auto industry is astounding. 562,750 units! In terms of quantity, this is more than each of the Willis manufacturing companies (Willis and Ford). True, in terms of the total number of Wilis cars, there are still more produced. And more metal went to Jimmy, so we have such a production parity.
"Jimmy" (there is another soldier's name for the car - "two and a half") existed in many guises. From an ordinary truck, although the word “ordinary” is difficult to accept here, to a mobile operating room. From a dump truck to a bomb carrier. Truly, an all-rounder to the core. A car for everything.
The beginning of the history of this car should be sought not in the design bureaus of automobile plants, but in the Pentagon. It was the US military department that finally approved the classes of military vehicles at the end of the 30s of the last century.
The main and versatile tactical truck was supposed to be a vehicle with a carrying capacity of 2.5 American tons (2270 kg) and with a 6x6 wheel arrangement. In addition to transporting goods and personnel, the car could also serve as a tractor for light field artillery.
Already by the name of the car, it is clear that General Motors Corporation was engaged in the development and production of the truck. The first production car naturally appeared in the Yellow Truck & Coach division of this corporation in 1940. It was a GMS ACKWX-353 truck.
The question immediately arises about the numbers 352/353. The material seems to be about 352, and the story is about 353. It's all about the different chassis lengths. More on this below. In the meantime, about the first serial "Jimmy".
The car had a universal cargo platform and, so far, a commercial-type cab, the radiator of which was protected by a grill. 2,466 units were built for the US Army.
Interestingly, the new truck almost immediately attracted the interest of European consumers. A military delegation arrived from Paris, which, after testing, signed an agreement on the supply of 1000 of these vehicles to the French army.
Alas, the French were out of luck. World War II began and France was occupied. But the "French thousand" were not lost on the American prairies. The cars were delivered to England.
The Americans modified the truck at this time. A truly military vehicle GMC CCKWX-353 appeared. It is quite difficult for a layman to understand this whole set of letters and numbers. Therefore, it is worth deciphering the letter designations of American cars.
So GMC. It's clear. General Motors Corporation, the actual name of the manufacturer and the name of the car.
The first letter is the model year (A - 1940, C - 1941).
The second is the type of cab (C - bonneted, F - above the engine).
This was enough for commercial models.
But for military vehicles, more letters had to be added. So, the letter K means the front drive axle, W - that the car has three axles, X - that the car is equipped with a "non-native" transmission. The digital index is the chassis code, and the heavier the model was, the higher the figure was.
The new car really became a military one. Appearance has become more ascetic. The inhabited part of the cockpit remained the same, but the hood and fenders were simplified. The bumper has also become different - in the form of a massive bar. The cars were equipped with a 6-cylinder carburetor GMC 270 engine with a volume of 4416 cc. see and with a capacity of 94 liters. with.
The capacities of the corporation made it possible to produce an absolutely insane number of cars for that time. From October 1940 to February 1941, 13,188 units were manufactured. Most of the cars had a base of 4166 mm. But there were 250 vehicles among them, which were intended for artillery. Artillery tractors.
These vehicles had a shorter wheelbase - 3683 mm. By the way, their appearance "killed" the letter "X" in the title. It was these cars, after some modernization in February 1941, that received the designation CCKW-352. In the future, under Lend-Lease, most of these cars were supplied to the USSR.
From that moment on, mass serial production began. In 1943, 130,843 vehicles were manufactured. This was the peak of the release of the described car. In the same year, the Chevrolet division was connected to the release of GMC CCKW, and the Yellow Truck & Coach company was transformed into the GMC Truck & Coach division.
The two odd things on the dashboard are the lights. It is made outside the panel, and not familiar to us inside the device.
During production, various changes were made to the design more than once, but this practically did not affect the appearance. From April 1943, the trucks received a soft-top cab called "tropical". True, this was caused, first of all, by the shortage of metal, and not by the peculiarity of the climate.
Every fourth truck was equipped with a ring turret for mounting a machine gun, which was located on the roof of the cab.
In 1941-1943, a variant of the GMC CCKW-353 model with a non-driving front axle was produced. It was designated as GMC CCW-353 and was delivered mainly under Lend-Lease. A total of 23,500 of these machines were manufactured.
From July 1943, the metal cabins were replaced by tarpaulins, with fabric doors and side windows made of transparent plastic. Such a cabin compared to a metal one had two serious advantages - firstly, it reduced the consumption of scarce metal, and secondly, it reduced the total height and volume of the machine, which was important when transporting by sea vessels.
But in the conditions of the Russian winter, the cloth cabins of "Lend-Lease" trucks caused justified criticism. In total, five types of cabins were installed at GMC:
- typ 1574 and later typ 1608 - the all-metal cab used on the CCW and CCKW models;
- typ 1615 - all-metal cabin used on AFKWX;
- typ 1619 - tropical cab with tarpaulin top for CCKW models;
- typ 1620 - canvas top tropical cab for AFKWX models.
The main body type was the universal cargo platform, which the Americans called the Cargo. In addition to it, there were dump bodies (the same universal platform, but with a visor and a hydraulic lift), fuel and water tanks, compressor stations, vans for various purposes, cranes and aerial bomb loaders.
Separately, we can note the improvised combat vehicles based on the CCKW. In the US Army, in the field, these trucks were mounted on missile launchers, Browning anti-aircraft machine guns of 12, 7-mm caliber and 40-mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns.
These cars also ended up in the USSR, albeit in scanty quantities, since we were receiving massive deliveries of Studebaker US6 trucks. However, some CCKWs were even fitted with BM-13 rocket launchers.
Let's take a closer look at the car.
Control devices in GMC cars looked quite traditional for today. Although for Soviet drivers of American cars, it was unusual for the graduation of the scales in a non-metric system. To quote the GMC Truck Owner's Manual published in 1944:
"The speedometer has the following divisions: 0; 16 km / h; 32 km / h; 48 km / h; 64 km / h; 80 km / h; 96 km / h. The thermometer shows the temperature of the water in the cooling system. The water temperature can change in depending on road conditions, but it should be between 60-85o C, if the water temperature rises to 100o Celsius, stop the car immediately and find out the cause of overheating."
In general, the non-metric calibration system for instruments and instruments caused quite a lot of trouble for Soviet drivers and commanders. The already mentioned "manual" is written literally "step by step". Otherwise, for example, it is simply impossible to repair a car.
Now under the hood. To the already mentioned engine GMC 270. Carbureted 6-cylinder engine GMC 270, volume 4, 416 liters (cylinder diameter 101, 6 mm, stroke 96, 04 mm). Engine power was 102-104 horsepower (SAE) at 2750-2800 rpm.
Top speed on the highway is 72 km / h (45 miles), fuel consumption is 31-35 liters per 100 kilometers on the highway and 65 to 75 liters per 100 kilometers on rough terrain.
Torque was transmitted to the transmission via an Inland 754379 dry single plate clutch located directly behind the flywheel. One of the few drawbacks of this three-axle model was probably the need for frequent clutch adjustments.
The slip-on gearbox was manufactured by Warner. It had 5 speeds forward and 1 reverse (fifth gear overdrive) and was located directly behind the clutch behind the crankcase block.
On the left side of the gearbox there was a power take-off shaft for additional equipment - a winch, a hydraulic pump and other devices. The CCKW-353 and CCKW-352 used two different types of drive axles, which were produced by Timken-Detroit Axle Co and Banjo (the latter was already mass-produced for Chevrolet trucks).
Trucks with separate rear axle drives and banjo drives had significantly different transmissions (different differentials, transfer cases, cardan shafts). Regardless of the wheelbase, axle types and cab, the truck could be equipped with a winch.
The winch was installed between the side members in front of the radiator behind the front bumper. It was driven by a propeller shaft from a gearbox.
Now about the bodies. It also has its own nuances. Three types of on-board platforms were installed on the trucks of the described models. The first was used until August 1942. It was made of steel and consisted of 10 or 14 cut-out stamped parts.
From August 1942 to February 1944, the bodies were made of wood. Produced at furniture factories. The reason is simple: savings in metal, which on each body was up to 450 kg.
Since February 1944, the bodies have become universal. The sides were metal, but the floor remained wooden. Solomon's solution! By the way, special folding seats for personnel were installed on all types of bodies.
Well, the traditional tactical and technical characteristics of the CCKW-352/353:
Years of issue: 1941-45.
Engine: GMC 270, gasoline, carburetor, in-line, six-cylinder, low-valve.
Engine power: 104-106 HP
Overall dimensions: 6928 x 2235 x 2200 mm
Ground clearance: 250 mm
Maximum speed: 72 km / h
Fuel consumption: 38 liters per 100 km
Tank volume: 150 liters
Vehicle weight: 5100/4540 kg
And the last thing. At the very beginning of the article, we wrote that some of the readers saw this car "in person", but did not "recognize" it. This is a fairly common case. If you compare the photos of two trucks, the small Jimmy and the numerous Studebaker, everything will fall into place.
The total number of vehicles supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease was 477,785, of which about 300,000 off-road trucks. And each of these cars was at the front really worth its weight in gold. Including CCKW-352.
