History

• Dodge, a division of General Motors, had a long history with the U.S. military. First as Dodge Brothers trucks, Dodge provided trucks and staff cars to the Army during World War I. These vehicles, however, were based on civilian engineering with no military applications. In 1942, all civilian auto and truck manufacturing halted to produce military vehicles. The lightweight Dodge four-wheel drive, half-ton WC series trucks were the first Dodge military trucks off the line for combat purposes.
  
  

Types

• The WC series 4X4s belonged to the G505 family of half-ton Dodge military vehicles. In all, 38 models were developed. Among those models were: A closed cab version with longitudinal troop seats, an open cab with transverse seating, reconnaissance vehicle, ambulance, panel truck, open cab weapons carrier, open cab pickup, closed cab pickup, two-wheel-drive pickups and other models. Production varied depending on the need of the vehicle. The 1941 Dodge Army reconnaissance vehicle, for example, numbered 9,365 units. More than 2,500 versions of the closed cab with longitudinal troop seating were produced. But only 362 two-wheel drive closed cab pickups were built during the first year of production. In all, 79,771 half-ton trucks were manufactured in 1941 and 1942.
  
  

Size

• The typical 1941 Dodge 4X4 Army truck sat on a 116-inch wheelbase, although ambulances and emergency repair trucks were placed on a 123-inch wheelbase. The track width measured 59.3 inches and it sat on 7.50 tires with 16-inch wheels.
  
  

Mechanicals

• Under the hood on a typical G505 WC series Dodge Army truck was a 230.2 cubic-inch, inline 6-cylinder engine. Power ranged from 78 horsepower with 222 foot-pounds of torque---the twisting force generated inside the engine to give the truck hauling power and acceleration---to 99 horsepower and 255 foot-pounds of torque. Power was transmitted via a four-speed manual transmission. Stopping power was provided by hydraulic brakes.
  
  

End of the Line

• The 1941 Dodge trucks, which were secured from the truck maker through War Department contracts, gave way in late 1942 to the three-quarter ton G502 WC series Dodge trucks. Eighty percent of the 1941 Dodge half-ton truck parts were interchangeable with the three-quarter ton models.