Ben Hur trailer was the nickname of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, cargo, and the Trailer, 1-ton payload, 2-wheel, water tank, 250 gallon ( U.S. Army Ordnance Corps Supply catalogue designations G-518 and G-527 respectively). Specialized variants were also manufactured. The one-ton trailers were designed to be towed by vehicles rated -ton and upwards, like the

Dodge WC series The Dodge WC series, nicknamed "Beeps", and at first (from 1940–1942), nicknamed ''jeeps'',) is a prolific range of light Four-wheel drive, 4WD and medium Six-wheel drive, 6WD Military light utility vehicle, military utility trucks, produ ...

trucks, as well as -ton 4x4 trucks, and -ton 6x6 trucks, such as the

Chevrolet G506 The G-506 trucks, -ton, 4x4, produced as the Chevrolet G7100 (and originally G4100) models, were a series of (light) medium four wheel drive trucks used by the United States Army and its allies during and after World War II. This series came in s ...

and the much used

GMC CCKW GMC may refer to: Government India * Gandhinagar Municipal Corporation, in Gujarat * Gobichettipalayam Municipal Corporation, in Tamil Nadu * Guntur Municipal Corporation, in Andhra Pradesh * Guwahati Municipal Corporation, in Assam * Gwalior ...

trucks. The G-518 trailers were among the Allies' most built and used models with a total of 259,064 units made.

Description

The Ben Hur trailer was nicknamed after its major manufacturer, the Ben–Hur Mfg. Co., although there were many other companies that produced it between 1941 and 1945. Its primary purpose was to transport general cargo; the Signal Corps modified it to carry several different generators.

Variants

*K-52 equipped with a PE-95 generator *K-63 equipped with a PE-99 generator *K-63A equipped with a PE-197 generator *V-15 used for the AN/TPQ-2 radar *M24 ammunition trailer (used with M15 multiple gun motor carriage, auto 37mm & two .50 BMG) *M25 A-load carried a 25 KW generator for the tire repair truck *M25 B-load carried spares and fuel for the tire repair truck *G527 water carrier, nicknamed "water buffalo", capacity

Specifications

*Weight (empty): *Weight (loaded): off-road; on-road *Payload: off-road; on-road *Cargo volume: *Length: *Width: *Height: with canvas top *Axles: 1, with 2 wheels *Brakes: hand, parking only

Production

G-518 trailers were manufactured by over two dozen companies: *

American Bantam The American Bantam Car Company was an American automobile manufacturing company incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania. American Bantam is credited with inventing the original World War II ton jeep in 1940.To be distinguished from the U.S. ...

* Ben Hur Mfg. Co., Milwaukee, Wisconsin * Century Boat Works *

Checker Motors Corporation Checker Motors Corporation was a vehicle manufacturer, and later an automotive subcontractor, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The company was established by Morris Markin in 1922, created by a merger of the firms Commonwealth Motors and Markin ...

* Covered Wagon Co., Michigan *Dorsey Trailer *

Gerstenslager The Gerstenslager Company was a maker of past model body panels for several major auto makers. In the 1950s the company was best known for making large custom vehicles such as bookmobiles, canteens and mobile television units. History The company s ...

Henney Motor Company Henney Motor Company was an American manufacturer of limousine, hearse, ambulance, and taxicab bodies in Freeport, Illinois from 1927 to 1954. Some operations were moved to Canastota, New York Canastota is a village within the town of Lenox in ...

*Hercules Body, *Highland Body & Trailer Mfg. Co, Cincinnati *Hobbs Trailer & Equipment Inc, (then) Texas *Hyde, *

Keystone RV Thor Industries, Inc. is an American manufacturer of recreational vehicles (RVs). The company sells towable and motorized RVs through its subsidiaries brands including Airstream, Heartland RV, Jayco, and others. The company's headquarters is in ...

, *Mifflinburg Body Company, (were in) Pennsylvania *Naburs, *

Nash-Kelvinator Nash-Kelvinator Corporation was the result of a merger in 1937 between Nash Motors and Kelvinator Appliance Company. The union of these two companies was brought about as a result of a condition made by George W. Mason prior to his appointment a ...

, *Omaha Standard Body, *Pke, *Queen City, *Redman's Trailers, Connecticut, *Steel Products, *Streich, *Strick Trailers, Indiana, *Transportation Equipment Corp, Missouri *Truck Engineering Corporation, Indiana *

Willys Overland Willys (pronounced , "Willis") was a brand name used by Willys–Overland Motors, an American automobile company, founded by John North Willys. It was best known for its design and production of World War II–era military jeeps (MBs), Willys ...

, *Winter Weiss Defense Trailers, Denver, Colorado

Notes

References

General references

TM 9-883 1-Ton, 2-Wheel, Cargo and Water Trailers, 1943
*TM 10-1395 *TM 9-2800 Standard Military Motor Vehicles. dated 1 sept. 1943 *TM 9-2800 Military vehicles dated Oct. 1947 *TM 11-227 Signal Communication Directory. dated 10 April 1944
TM 11-487 Electrical Communication systems Equipment
dated 2 Oct. 1944

External links

LIFE: Side view of cargo trailer for general u... - Hosted by GoogleLIFE: Front view of cargo trailer for general ... - Hosted by Google
{{WWII US Soft Vehicles Military trailers of the United States Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944