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This month’s military featured vehicle was a staple of operations throughout the world for nearly half a century in different iterations. Nicknamed the Deuce and a Half (due to being a two and a half-ton, medium duty truck), it inherited the moniker from its iconic World War II predecessor, the GMC CCKW, when production of the M35 series began production in 1950.
Used in everything from construction to combat operations, the M35 was built in a wide variety of configurations, with modularity and flexibility serving as an overall theme for its design.
A few years after the end of World War II, REO Motor Car Company designed a 2.5 ton 6x6 off-road truck to replace the aging GMC CCKW. It was a tall order, as the GMC had earned the admiration of Allied forces in Europe, where those vehicles kept ground forces supplied while they pushed eastward after the Normandy invasion. But the M35 proved to be more than up to the task. While the GMC stayed in production from 1941-1945, the M35 was in production in various configurations from 1950 up until 1999, and many are still in service with militaries throughout the world to this day.
With a production run spanning five decades and more than a dozen different configurations, the M35 series medium-duty trucks became a ubiquitous sight during almost any military operation, whether the task called for building a bridge or taking one out. Their relative ease of use and incredible capability has made them popular among collectors of military hardware, especially since most states don’t require special licensing to operate them.
“During active duty, you would have found this truck just about everywhere – out on the battlefield, at military bases, supporting a construction effort, anywhere,” explained Bill Dozer of Those Military Guys in Rancho Cucamonga, California, who specialize in maintaining vehicles like the M35. “These trucks came in a number of variants: Cargo, tank truck, van, wrecker, tractor, construction, gun truck, and even civilian models that were sold as military surplus to the public.”
The stock brake system on an M35 medium-duty truck are air-assisted-hydraulic six wheel drum brakes. It's a robust system, and because of its capability, most states do not require a commercial driver's license to operate this truck, despite its weight of roughly 13,000 pounds. Still, it's safe to say that there's been some improvements to braking technology over the decades, and the previous owner sought to get some of those benefits by installing a Wilwood disc brake kit, along with a set of wheels and massive 395/85/20 tires.
Perhaps the most interesting characteristic these of vehicles is the multi-fuel motor. Staying true to the M35’s theme of flexibility, these multi-fuel motors were designed to run reliably on a wide variety of different combustible fluids, including diesel fuel, jet fuel, kerosene, heating oil, and even gasoline. “Using gasoline really should just be used in emergencies,” Dozer says, “Though common practice within the Deuce community is to run gasoline mixed in motor oil.”
The power plant in this M35A2 is a Continental LDT 465, an inline 7.8-liter, six-cylinder turbocharged stump puller that generates 134 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque.
As you might expect, the cab of the M35A2 is all business. Keeping simplicity and durability as some of the highest priorities, the seats of the stock M35 were light on padding, and HVAC (both heating and cooling) were optional. This particular M35A2 has suspension seats, which should provide some cushioning from harshness both on and off-road. There's also a healthy aftermarket for trucks like the M35, and finding upgraded components is often just a matter of a quick Google search.
Although the standard M35 cargo truck is rated to carry 5,000 pounds off-road or 10,000 pounds on-road, the Deuce and a Half has been known to dispatch loads that are twice that rating. Hooked to a five-speed gearbox with a two-range transfer case, the M35 has a top speed of 58 mph and an operational range of 300 miles.
GIs probably took some solace in the notion that M35s equipped with the multi-fuel motor would run on just about anything combustible, from standard diesel to jet fuel and even kerosene. These motors would also run on standard gasoline, though it was only recommended to do so in emergencies. Its 134 hp output is deceptive - these trucks were known to haul nearly ten tons on some occasions. This particular motor is known as the LDT 465-1c, the C denoting the turbocharger and its ability to clean up the exhaust. Although the turbo only added a few horsepower to the mix, it both reduced the black exhaust emissions and quieted the motor's operation.
Although the M35 is typically a 6×6 (with ten tires in total on the ground), this particular M35A2 has been bobbed and converted into a four-wheel M35A2. With the bob conversion, the frame was cut and an 8-foot bed installed, and one of its three axles was removed in turn.
Acquired by Those Military Guys through one of their customers, this M35A2 has been retrofitted for civilian life, and the modifications made to it are there to make it a bit easier to handle on public roads. To that end, a custom power steering rack has been installed that “makes this truck turn easier than your mother’s Camry,” says Dozer.
Although these trucks top out at about 56-58 mph in standard form, their ideal cruising speed is around 48 mph, where you can expect to get about 11 miles to the gallon. With its 50-gallon fuel tank, the M35 can travel more than 500 miles on a single fill-up, assuming circumstances are fairly ideal and its not hauling any cargo.
Bobbing the truck not only makes its wheelbase shorter and inherently easier to manage in tighter spaces, it also reduces the M35A2’s weight, which should help with everything from top speed to gas mileage.
The Oshkosh-produced Light Medium Tactical Vehicle began production in the mid-1990s as a replacement for the M35 series of vehicles, but many armies around the world continue to keep the M35 series trucks in service to this day, almost seventy years after production first began.
Stay tuned next month as we dive in a check out our next installment of Month Military. What military vehicle do you think we should go check out? Tell us in the comments below!
