1943 Chevrolet Lend Lease Truck
Between 1940 and 1945, large numbers of trucks of all categories were delivered to the U.S. Army by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors. Over 160,000 of these trucks were the G-506 light four-wheel drive trucks – which became the standard 1 1/2-ton, 4×4 truck for both the U.S. Army and Army Air Corps during the war. In addition, many more thousands were delivered to Allied forces as part of the Lend-Lease program.
Delivery of Chevrolet cars to Lend-Lease from the United States began in 1942. Until the end of the war, the number of these vehicles in the Soviet Army exceeded 47,000 units. Thanks to these trucks, the level of mechanization and mobility of combat formations has reached a new level. Chevrolet trucks were used both in combat units and in the rear. They were used to transport infantry, as artillery tractors, ambulances, mobile radios, to deliver ammunition, etc.
1943 Chevrolet Lend Lease Truck in amazing condition. This 1943 Chevrolet Lend Lease Truck was powered at the front by a Chevrolet BV1001, 6-cylinder in-line with overhead valves, gasoline-fed for a total capacity of 3,858 cc, or 72 horsepower. It was capable to giving the truck unladen a top speed, of a flat road of 80 km/h, for an operational range of 430 km.
Almost all G-506s had closed Chevrolet cabs, shared with the closed cab versions of the GMC CCKW – except for three models. A panel van version was built for the Army Signal Corps, open cabs were used on bomb servicers and cab over engine types were used for long-bodied cargo trucks. The pilot models had flat top panels of the front fender, but production trucks had arches over at the fender crowns.
Not for nothing did Chevy advertise the trucks during the war as “Vehicles of Victory.”More than 75 years after it was designed, the small Chevrolet truck is still a favorite with collectors. This fully illustrated series of trucks and their many uses within the U.S. Army including cargo trucks, panel delivery trucks for the Signal Corps, dump trucks for engineers, telephone trucks, tractors, and bomb service trucks for the air force. It also covers their part in the Lend-Lease program, and their continued use after the war.
