Studebaker US6 2½-ton 6×6 truck

The Studebaker US6 (G630) was a series of 2+1⁄2-ton 6×6 and 5-ton 6×4 trucks manufactured by the Studebaker Corporation and REO Motor Car Company during World War II. The basic cargo version was designed to transport a Template:Cvt cargo load over any type of terrain in any weather. Most of these were exported to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease by the US during World War II, since the competing GMC 6×6 CCKW design proved to be more suitable for Western Front conditions.

History

Design and development

In 1939–1940, the US Army Ordnance Corps was developing Template:Cvt tactical 6×6 trucks that could operate off-road in all weather. Studebaker, Yellow Coach (a GM company) and International Harvester all submitted designs that were accepted and went into production in 1941.

A total of 219,882 2+1⁄2-ton 6×6 trucks and similar Template:Cvt 6×4 versions in 13 variations were built. Studebaker was the primary manufacturer, which built 197,678 of them at its South Bend, Indiana plant, while Reo produced 22,204 more at its Lansing, Michigan plant from 1944 under a sub-contract. Reo trucks are identical to Studebakers, but Reo built only cargo-model trucks with the long wheelbase and without the front-mounted winch, more specifically referred to as the US6 U9. All production by both manufacturers ended in 1945.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Service

The US6 was manufactured primarily for export under Lend-Lease. The Soviet Union would become the largest foreign operator. The first Studebaker US6 trucks arrived in the USSR in the autumn of 1941. The Red Army organized a test of eleven 6×6 US6 trucks which took place between July 1942 and May 1943. The results were used to direct the enlargement of the payload from Template:Cvt.Template:Sfnp In 1945, it was lowered to Template:Cvt, although on improved roads they could carry up to a maximum of Template:Cvt.

Large numbers of Studebaker US6 trucks were supplied to the Soviet Union via the Persian Corridor in Iran under the US's Lend-Lease program. The truck fulfilled many important roles in service with Soviet military forces during the war, such as towing artillery pieces and anti-tank guns and transporting troops over long distances. It was renowned for its overall ruggedness and reliability, including its ability to run on poor-quality fuel. The Soviet Red Army also found them to be a suitable platform for conversion into Katyusha rocket launchers, although this was not their main purpose. The truck became affectionately known as the Studer by Soviet troops and was even recognized of its importance (to the Soviet war effort) by Joseph Stalin, who sent a personal letter of appreciation to Studebaker, in which he thanked it for the superb quality of the US6 for Soviet service.

Studebaker US6 trucks were also used by the US military in the construction of the Ledo Road in Burma, and the Alcan Highway in North America, during WWII.

Specifications

Engine and driveline

File:Hercules JXD engine right.jpg

Hercules JXD engine

File:Stude US6 shift patterns.jpg

Dump truck w/winch shift patterns

File:Stude US6 frame.jpg

Long wheelbase frame

The US6 used a Hercules JXD engine, with a Template:Cvt L-head inline 6 cylinder gasoline engine developing Template:Cvt at 2,800 rpm and of torque at 1,150 rpm. A conservative-type and highly-reliable engine with a compression ratio of only 5.82:1, it could use 68-octane gasoline. This same engine was also used in the M3 Scout Car and, later, M8 Greyhound and M20 armoured cars (the latter was a variant (lacking the gun turret) of the M8 Greyhound).Template:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

The Warner T 93 5-speed transmission had a very low first, a direct fourth and an overdrive fifth gear. A power take-off could be fitted to operate a winch (mounted just below in front of the radiator) and/or the hydraulic hoist on dump trucks.Template:EfnTemplate:Sfnp

The Timken T-79 transfer case had high and low ranges, a neutral position and could either engage or disengage the front axle. There was one output shaft mounted forward to the front axle (not used in 6×4 trucks) and two to the rear, with one for each rear axle.Template:Sfnp

Both front and rear axles were of the Timken split-type with a ratio of 6.6:1. The front axle had ball-type constant-velocity joints while the two at the rear were full-floating.Template:Sfnp

Chassis

The US6 had a ladder frame with three beam axles, the front on semi elliptical leaf springs, the rear tandem on quarter elliptical leaf springs with locating arms.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

There were two wheelbases, the short , used in semi tractors, dump trucks, and short cargo models, and the long , used in tankers, long cargo models, and the U9 chassis cab.Template:Efn All models had 7.50-20" tires and dual rear tires. 6×4 models, intended for on-road use only, were rated at , twice the 6×6's off-road rating.Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp

Cab

The US6 carried the design of Studebaker's M series civilian truck cab, although it was modified for military use. Studebaker trucks were different from other 2+1⁄2 6×6 trucks built for the war effort of the UA because vent windows were included in each door. These vent windows were separate from the main window that rolled down into the door-frame and could be swung out to help with the truck cab's ventilation.

Studebaker also designed the open-type military truck cab which was featured on the GMC CCKW (later models), but their major customer, the USSR, preferred the closed cab for their generally harsh (cold-weather) climate. While Studebaker's open-type truck cab became the American standard, production of the US6 with the closed-type truck cab was restarted after only 10,000 units of the former.Template:Sfnp

Models

• Cargo U4
  Cargo U4
• Tank U5
  Tank U5
• Tractor U6
  Tractor U6
• Dump U11
  Dump U11
• Dump U13
  Dump U13

The U1 and the U2 cargo trucks (which had a frontally-mounted winch) had a short wheelbase and the spare tire was mounted behind the cab, thus allowing a truck-bed measuring only Template:Cvt long. These "prime mover"-style bodies were not a success as the US6 was to be mainly used for transporting cargo.Template:Sfnp

The U3/U4 and the 6×4 U7/U8 cargo trucks had a longer wheelbase, which allowed the spare tire to be mounted under the Template:Cvt truck-bed. 197,000 trucks with the Template:Cvt truck-bed were built.Template:Sfnp

The U5 tank truck had a long wheelbase and a two-compartment Template:Cvt tank mounted on the truck-bed. Tanker trucks were not equipped with winches.Template:Sfnp

The 6×4 U6 semi-tractor was the only semi-tractor version in the entire US6 truck series. Semi-tractors have limited off-road performance and, therefore, the U6 was rated for a 5-ton load on improved roads. For this same reason, they had no frontally-mounted winch.

The U9 cargo truck had a long wheelbase and lacked a frontally-mounted winch. The Soviet Katyusha multiple rocket launcher could be mounted on their truck-beds Template:Cn span

The U10/U11 (end-type) and the U12/U13 (side-type) dump trucks had a short wheelbase. Both types had the dump-body mounted on a sub-frame at the rear of the truck, with the end-type dump having a hydraulic cylinder attached to the chassis with a lever arrangement while the side-type dump had the hydraulic cylinder mounted directly to the truck body.Template:Sfnp

Dimensions

ModelTemplate:Sfnp	Wheelbase	LengthTemplate:Refn	Width	Height	Weight emptyTemplate:Refn
U1 Cargo (U2 with winch)	Short	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:CvtTemplate:Refn	Template:Cvt
U3 Cargo (long) (U4 with winch)	Long	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:CvtTemplate:Refn
U5 Tank Template:Sfnp	Long	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt Template:Refn	Template:Cvt
U6 Tractor	Short (6×4)	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:CvtTemplate:Refn	Template:Cvt
U7 Cargo (long) (U8 with winch)	Long (6×4)	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:CvtTemplate:Refn
U9 Cab/chassis	Long		Template:Cvt	Template:CvtTemplate:Refn
U10 End dump (U11 with winch)	Short	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:CvtTemplate:Refn	Template:Cvt
U12 Side dump (U13 with winch)	Short	Template:Cvt	Template:Cvt	Template:CvtTemplate:Refn	Template:Cvt

• Cargo truck (Privately owned and fully restored)
  Cargo truck
  (Privately owned and fully restored)
• Cargo truck (in Berlin, May 1945)
  Cargo truck
  (in Berlin, May 1945)
• Cargo truck (Museum exhibit)
  Cargo truck
  (Museum exhibit)
• Tractor-semitrailer (Museum exhibit)
  Tractor-semitrailer
  (Museum exhibit)
• Tractor-semitrailers (along the Persian Corridor, some time in 1943)
  Tractor-semitrailers
  (along the Persian Corridor, some time in 1943)
• Katyusha mobile-type multiple rocket launcher (Museum exhibit)
  Katyusha mobile-type multiple rocket launcher (Museum exhibit)
• A battery of Katyusha MRLS firing (at Stalingrad, some time in 1942)
  A battery of Katyusha MRLS firing
  (at Stalingrad, some time in 1942)

Legacy

File:GAZ-51 during the VII Aircraft Picnic in Kraków.jpg

A GAZ-51 truck

Some Studebaker US6 trucks that were shipped to the Soviet Union during WWII were used by GAZ to study and built their own new post-war model based on it, the GAZ-51 truck, which would use the cab and front end of the Studebaker model, albeit in a slightly modified form. This truck would eventually undergo mass production in 1946. The construction of the Studebaker US6 also strongly influenced the construction of the postwar ZIS-151 truck, which then evolved into the ZIL-157 truck and remained in production up until 1994.

The Studebaker US6 truck became a legendary vehicle with its Soviet operators at the time and was called the "King of Roads" by soldiers due to their reliability and dependability, and is still popular in Russian vehicle-collector circles and clubs. In the United States, these trucks are seen as the symbol for the Lend-Lease program to the USSR.

See also

• List of the United States military vehicles by supply catalog designation
• List of the United States military vehicles by model number
• GMC CCKW 2+1⁄2-ton 6×6 truck