Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) trucks were mutually coherent ranges of military trucks, made in large numbers, in several classes and numerous versions, by

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

's branches of the U.S. 'Big Three' auto-makers during

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 ...

, compliant to

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

specifications,though Ford's and GM's more so than Chrysler's primarily intended for use in the armies of the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

allies, but also serving in other units of the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. Canadian factories produced some 850,000 vehicles in World War II, including some 50,000 armoured vehicles,

self-propelled gun Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

s and tanks, but the greatest significance is given to the vast majority – over 800,000 – of trucks and light wheeled vehicles, produced by Ford, GM and Chrysler of Canada. Until the currency restrictions of the late 1940s, the Canadian automotive industry's output provided a major part of British Empire countries vehicles. These territories levied reduced "

Imperial preference Imperial Preference was a system of mutual tariff reduction enacted throughout the British Empire and British Commonwealth following the Ottawa Conference of 1932. As Commonwealth Preference, the proposal was later revived in regard to the member ...

" duties on Canadian products, usually made by Canadian subsidiaries of the big U.S. auto manufacturers. In the late 1930s, Canada started drawing up standard designs, to prepare for the beginning of the war, which involved a unique and historic design-and-production collaboration between rival giant car-makers, especially Ford Canada and GM of Canada. Canadian Military Pattern trucks not only motorized the militaries of Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but were also sent to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

after the German invasion, as part of Canada's Gift and Mutual Aid program to the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

, comparable to the U.S.

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (),3,000 Hurricanes and >4,000 other aircraft) * 28 naval vessels: ** 1 Battleship. (HMS Royal Sovereign (05), HMS Royal Sovereign) * ...

Act. During the war, CMP trucks saw service around the world in the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

, the

Allied invasion of Sicily The Allied invasion of Sicily, also known as the Battle of Sicily and Operation Husky, was a major campaign of World War II in which the Allies of World War II, Allied forces invaded the island of Sicily in July 1943 and took it from the Axis p ...

, the Italian Campaign, the Eastern Front, the

Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

, the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

, the liberation of Northwest Europe, and the

Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied ...

. CMP trucks also served in post-war conflicts in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China), officially known as the Indochinese Union and after 1941 as the Indochinese Federation, was a group of French dependent territories in Southeast Asia from 1887 to 1954. It was initial ...

, and the Portuguese colonies in Africa. The

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's official ''

History of the Second World War The ''History of the Second World War'' is the official history of the British contribution to the Second World War and was published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office (HMSO). The immense project was sub-divided into areas to ease publication ...

'' called Canada's war-time production of soft-skinned trucks, including the CMP class, the country's most important contribution to Allied victory. Canada's trucks are considered to have "put the British Army on wheels". In the North African Campaign, the British Eighth Army fought

Panzer Army Africa The Panzer Army Africa (German language, German: ''Panzerarmee Afrika''; Italian language, Italian: ''Gruppo Corazzato Africa'') was a joint German-Italian field army that fought in the North African campaign during World War II. It consisted of ...

using almost exclusively CMP trucks, and the Allied progress from Sicily through Italy and France depended heavily on the Canadian trucks. By the end of the war, Canada's vast supply of trucks provided a vehicle for every three soldiers in the field — compared to one vehicle per seven American soldiers — making it the most mobile army in the world.

History

The rise to power in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

and the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

party in 1933 led to discussions in the mid-1930s between the

British War Office The War Office has referred to several British government organisations throughout history, all relating to the army. It was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, at ...

and the

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

concerning the possible production of military vehicles in Canada. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Canadian land forces had participated as a

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

in the British Army. In any future conflict it was assumed that Canadian forces would again be tightly integrated with those of the Mother Country, and so it would be essential that Canadian-manufactured equipment be compatible with British standards and specifications. Early in 1937, the

Ford Motor Company of Canada Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited (Canadian French, French: ''Ford du Canada Limitée'') was founded on August 17, 1904, for the purpose of manufacturing and selling Ford cars in Canada. It was originally known as the Walkerville Wagon Works a ...

and General Motors of Canada Ltd were each invited by the Canadian

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

to produce a Canadian prototype of a 15-

hundredweight The hundredweight (abbreviation: cwt), formerly also known as the centum weight or quintal, is a British imperial and United States customary unit of weight or mass. Its value differs between the United States customary and British imperial sy ...

(cwt) (¾-ton U.S.) payload rating, light infantry truck similar to the

Morris CS8 The Morris Commercial CS8, also known as the "Morris 15 cwt" was a British light military truck of the Second World War. Introduced in 1934 it was the most numerous vehicle of that size in the British Army at the start of the war but was replace ...

that had then been recently adopted by the British War Office. By 1938, Canadian military authorities had shifted their interest to heavier 4x4 and 6x4 designs. In that year, Ford and General Motors of Canada Limited were invited to produce prototypes of a 6x4 medium

artillery tractor An artillery tractor, also referred to as a gun tractor, is a specialized heavy-duty form of tractor unit used to tow artillery pieces of varying weights and calibres. It may be wheeled, tracked, or half-tracked. Traction There are two m ...

derived from the British 6x4

Scammell Pioneer The Scammell Pioneer was a British 6×4 (drivetrain), 6×4 tractor unit used in World War II as an artillery tractor, recovery vehicle and tank transporter. Development Designed as a 6×4 (drivetrain), 6×4 Off-roading, off-road vehicle for use ...

. By 1939, plans had been prepared for the mass production in Canada of a range of military vehicles based on fairly strict CMP British specifications. These trucks were originally designated "Department of National Defence (DND) Pattern"; however, when production volumes increased and it became clear that the Canadian-built vehicles were to serve widely in the forces of other countries, the class of trucks was redesignated "Canadian Military Pattern" (CMP). At the outbreak of World War II, Canada's large and modern automobile industry was shifted over to the production of military vehicles, outproducing Germany. Initially intended for Canadian military use, the vehicles were soon taken on by all British and Commonwealth forces. While the

Dunkirk evacuation The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...

in the spring of 1940 succeeded in rescuing close to 340,000 Allied soldiers who had been encircled by the invading German army, the British Expeditionary Force had been forced to abandon most of its military vehicles in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. There then arose an urgent need to replace those losses and to provide new vehicles to equip the rapidly expanding armed forces of the Commonwealth. The logical answer was CMP vehicles, based on the British specification and with large manufacturing capacity.

Production

Canadian Military Pattern truck with driver side windsheld open

Canadian factories produced around 850,000 vehicles in World War II, including some 50,000 armoured vehicles, self-propelled guns, and tanks. But of greater significance was the much larger number – more than 800,000 units – of trucks and light wheeled vehicles, produced by Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler of Canada. Thanks to a large pre-war automotive sector, Canada's great wartime achievement was to build more military trucks than the main Axis nations – Germany, Italy, and Japan – combined, matching the demands of mobile warfare in the age of

blitzkrieg ''Blitzkrieg'(Lightning/Flash Warfare)'' is a word used to describe a combined arms surprise attack, using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with ...

. Canada's military truck production focused predominantly on a broad range of medium-rated vehicles. Light jeeps and trucks over 3 tons capacity, required by the Canadian Army, were purchased from outside suppliers. Canadian industry production included both modified civilian commercial designs (306,000 of which were classified as "Modified Conventional Pattern", MCP), as well as dedicated military-purpose designs, conforming to the Canadian Military Pattern specification, in roughly equal numbers. Most CMP trucks were manufactured by the Canadian

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...

division of General Motors, and Ford Motor Company of Canada. The two manufacturers quickly ramped up their Canadian production utilizing the reserve production capacity that had remained idle ever since the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and through an unusual act of collaboration between the two rival companies — the use of interchangeable components. A smaller number of CMP trucks were assembled from Canadian-made

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

and parts, typically first built on Canadian production lines, then broken (knocked) down, crated, shipped overseas, and re-assembled in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

(2,600),

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

(9,500), Italy, and

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Following British convention, CMP trucks had

right hand drive Left-hand traffic (LHT) and right-hand traffic (RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes called the ' ...

even though most of them were built in Canada, which primarily used left-hand drive vehicles. The CMP specification proved versatile, and it formed the basis of a wide variety of different truck types and even some armoured vehicles. There were no less than ninety types of CMP army vehicles on twelve different chassis, including three different types of wireless trucks, four ambulance types, and thirteen field-workshop vehicle types. In Australian service (almost always with the No. 13 cab), the vehicles were known as the "Chev Blitz" or the "Ford Blitz". Around 410,000 CMP trucks were manufactured in Canada, with GM contributing 201,000 and Ford making the remainder. The most prevalent models were 4x4, 3-ton trucks (common types were the Chevrolet C60S and C60L, and the equivalent Ford F60S and F60L), with just over 209,000 vehicles made. Additionally, Chrysler was enlisted to produce another 180,000 Dodge trucks, just over three quarters of which were 3-ton trucks. These were to also be used in the CMP role, although they differed somewhat from the CMP pattern, being fitted with standard Dodge control cabins, on longer wheelbases, and mostly being two-wheel drive. Furthermore, roughly 9,500 additional bare 4x4 CMP chassis were made, mainly for conversion to armoured cars and other vehicles in Allied countries. Canada's production of CMP trucks alone exceeded the total military truck production of Nazi Germany. The British ''

'' (the United Kingdom's official history of the war) argues that the production of soft-skinned trucks, including the CMP truck class, was Canada's most important contribution to the eventual Allied victory. After 1945, newly manufactured and modified war surplus CMP trucks were used in several

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an armies (e.g. the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

), and around the world (e.g.,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

, and

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

). CMP trucks were adapted after the war for a variety of civilian roles including forestry, grain transport, fire-fighting, and snowplowing. In

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, after the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

, many CMP trucks were converted to log transporters or off-road trucks at construction sites with upgraded brake systems and more powerful engines.

Canadian Military Pattern types

The Ford-built CMP trucks used a , Ford V8 Flathead engine while most of the Chevrolet-built CMP trucks had an , ,

straight-6 A straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine balanc ...

overhead-valve An overhead valve engine, abbreviated (OHV) and sometimes called a pushrod engine, is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with flathead (or "sidevalve") engines, where the va ...

Chevrolet engine. An

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

-made

GMC straight-6 engine The GMC straight-6 engine was a series of gasoline-powered straight-six engines introduced in the 1939 Model year#Automobiles, model year by the GMC (automobile), GMC Trucks division of General Motors. Prior to the introduction of this new engine ...

powered the C60X 3-ton truck. The Ford and Chevrolet trucks shared a standard cab design, which evolved over the years of production. The first (designed at Ford by Sid Swallow), second and third cab designs were called No. 11, 12 and 13, respectively. The first two types were similar, the main difference being a two-part radiator grille in the No. 12 cab (its upper part was opened with a bonnet, which was known as the "Alligator cab"). The final No. 13 cab, an entirely Canadian design made from late 1941 until the end of the war, had the two flat panes of the

windscreen The windshield (American English and Canadian English) or windscreen (Commonwealth English) of an aircraft, car, bus, motorbike, truck, train, boat or streetcar is the front window, which provides visibility while protecting occupants from t ...

angled slightly downward to minimize the

glare Glare may refer to: * Glare (vision), difficulty seeing in the presence of very bright light * Glaring, a facial expression of squinted eyes and look of contempt * A call collision in telecommunications * GLARE, Glass reinforced aluminium, an ...

from the sun and to avoid causing strong reflections that would be observable from aircraft. All the CMP cab designs had a short, "

cab forward The term cab forward refers to various Rail transport, rail and road vehicle designs that place the driver's compartment substantially farther towards the front than is common practice. Rail locomotives In steam locomotive design, a cab-forwa ...

" configuration that gave CMP trucks their distinctive

pug The Pug is a breed of dog with the physically distinctive features of a wrinkly, short-muzzled face, and curled tail. An ancient breed, with roots dating back to 400 B.C., they have a fine, glossy coat that comes in a variety of colors, most ...

-nosed profile. This design was required to meet the original British specifications for a compact truck design that would be more efficient to transport by ship. The specifications also demanded right-hand drive. Internally the cab had to accommodate the comparatively large North American engines and it was generally cramped. The standard cabs were then matched up with a variety of standard chassis, drive trains and body designs. Chevrolet-built vehicles could be recognised by the radiator grille mesh being of a diamond pattern, whereas Ford-built ones had grilles formed of a square mesh. Dodge production started later. Early prototypes used the No. 13 cab, but production vehicles retained a commercial cab and longer conventional control similar to MCP vehicles. This enabled more rapid production, while retaining similar specifications for chassis, drive, and mounting of vehicle rear bodies. The production of CMP truck bodies in Canada was subcontracted out to smaller companies in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

and

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, organized into the wartime "Steel Body Manufacturers Association" by the

Department of Munitions and Supply The Department of Munitions and Supply was the Canadian federal government ministry responsible for co-ordinating domestic industry during World War II. It was created by the ''Department of Munitions and Supply Act'' with C.D. Howe as its Minist ...

. The wide variety of truck body designs included general service (GS) / troop carrier, fuel / water tanker, vehicle recovery (

tow truck A tow truck (also called a wrecker, a breakdown truck, recovery vehicle or a breakdown lorry) is a truck used to move disabled, improperly parked, Vehicle impoundment, impounded, or otherwise indisposed motor vehicles. This may involve recoverin ...

), field ambulance, dental

clinic A clinic (or outpatient clinic or ambulatory care clinic) is a health facility that is primarily focused on the care of outpatients. Clinics can be privately operated or publicly managed and funded. They typically cover the primary care needs ...

, mobile

laundry Laundry is the washing of clothing and other textiles, and, more broadly, their drying and ironing as well. Laundry has been part of history since humans began to wear clothes, so the methods by which different cultures have dealt with this u ...

, wireless house (radio HQ), machinery (

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tool (machining), cutting tools to make parts, usua ...

/ welding station), folding-boat transport, artillery tractor, and anti-tank gun portee. In the list below, a drive specification of NxM means that the vehicle has a total of N wheels and that M of those wheels are driven. The military specifications did not permit more than two wheels per

axle An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotation, rotating wheel and axle, wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In ...

.This restriction could have several possible benefits. First, a standard axle length would simplify the use of standard loading ramps, partial bridge decks, and bridge decks in which the road bearing

girders A girder () is a beam used in construction. It is the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams. Girders often have an I-beam cross section composed of two load-bearing ''flanges'' separated by a stabilizing ''web'', ...

protrude above the road surface on the top side. Second, the load of trucks of a standard axle length is more directly and safely transmitted down to the longitudinal spans supporting the bridge under the bridge deck by positioning the spans apart to match the standard axle length. Third, allowing only one wheel at each end of an axle would ensure that all wheels would be fast to change. Finally, minimizing the tread width would very slightly reduce a vehicle's vulnerability in minefields while following other vehicles of the same standard axle length. The British standard load capacities of 8 cwt (400 kg), 15 cwt (760 kg), 30 cwt (1,525 kg) and 60 cwt (3,050 kg) correspond roughly to the American loads of 1/2, 3/4 ton, 1.5, and 3

short tons The short ton (abbreviation: tn or st), also known as the US ton, is a measurement unit equal to . It is commonly used in the United States, where it is known simply as a ton; however, the term is ambiguous, the single word "ton" being variously ...

, respectively. The 60-cwt CMP trucks were usually called 3-ton lorries or trucks (60 cwt being 3

long ton The long ton, also known as the imperial ton, displacement ton,Dictionary.com - ''"a unit for measuring the displacement of a vessel, equal to a long ton of 2240 pounds (about 1016 kg) or 35 cu. ft. (1 cu. m) of seawater."'' or British ton, is a ...

s).

Chevrolet (General Motors Canada)

COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Militair sleutelt aan een pantservoertuig TMnr 10029126

As well as trucks, CMP chassis were used for the Fox Armoured Car, the design of the British Humber Armoured Car adapted for production by GM. General Motors Canada built 1,761 Otter Light Reconnaissance Cars, which were an adaption of the Humber Light Reconnaissance Car Mark III for a C15 chassis

Ford (Ford Canada)

The Ford Lynx Scout Car, also known as "Car, Scout, Ford Mark I", (4x4, 101-inch wheelbase), was the hull of a

Daimler Dingo The Daimler scout car, known in service as the Daimler Dingo (after the Dingo, Australian wild dog), is a British light, fast four-wheel drive reconnaissance vehicle also used for liaison during the Second World War. Design and development ...

on a CMP chassis.

Dodge (Chrysler Canada)

Chrysler of Canada built about 180,000 Dodge military trucks from 1939 to 1945, mostly for the CMP role, and following the same naming convention. Three quarters of these were 3ton models of various D60 (Dodge T-110) types. To achieve a quick increase in production output of trucks providing equal functionality, it was deemed acceptable for the Dodges to forgo the standardized cab used on Fords and Chevrolets; and like the other two automakers, Dodge fitted its own engines. Although regular Dodge cabs were fitted, they were right hand drive (except for those for Canadian domestic use) and had a gunner's hatch in the roof. Initial production D60s had 8.25x20 tires and dual rear wheels; they were subsequently switched over to the larger CMP-specification 10.50x16 size and axles with single rear wheels, as well as being fitted with British-pattern rear bodies. Operator's and technical manuals for the Dodges also mirrored the Ford and GM CMP manuals. Most of Dodge's models were two-wheel drive, with a high and low-range rear axle. Only the 3,000

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence, Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above Ply ...

–based D8As and 11,750 units of the ('Air Portable'; ), Canadian-built versions of the ton were equipped with four-wheel drive. All Dodges were powered by the Chrysler straight-six flathead gasoline engines – the D60 models' engine delivered at 3,600 rpm. The initial 60 cwt (3-ton) Dodge types (engineering codes T110L-S, T110L-3, T110L-4, as well as the later T110L-14) were not formally D60s, leaving 124,961 (91% of the 3ton trucks) with a CMP-type name-code (based on serial numbers). Including the D8As and D15 units, a total of 156,829 (87%) of Canada's Dodge trucks received a CMP type-code. The D3/4 APT (for 'Air Portable') was based on the U.S. Dodge WC-52, but was powered by a long engine-block, like the 3tonners, rated at . The first batch of 5,000(serial nrs. 91,151,283 to 91,156,282) were wide, but this presented an issue with their air-portability, so the second batch of 6,750{serial nrs. 91,166,034 to 91,172,783) were built with narrower beds of width. Winch capacity of the D3/4 was The first, wider batch were also referred to as 2M1A, and the second, narrower series as the 2M2A.

Outside Canada

Chassis and vehicle production was licensed to Australia, allowing local production, while other vehicles were shipped to Britain in part-assembled "knocked down" form. These were delivered as kits, and had final assembly in factories in Britain. Air-portable versions had the top half of the cab superstructure and exterior components stowed — to allow the vehicles to fit in the hold of transport aircraft — and could easily be re-fitted on receipt in theatre. Bare chassis were created for alternative bodies to be fitted, reducing the shipping requirement to India. Bodies for these vehicles were locally produced in India from available materials, frequently built entirely from wood, creating a diverse range of "Indian Pattern" vehicles. To meet the pressing demand for military vehicles during World War II, several Commonwealth countries designed light armoured vehicles based on Canadian-made CMP chassis. Special chassis were created to aid in this purpose, featuring rear mounted engines and central steering positions. Armoured cars used these or standard chassis depending on design and availability. {, class="wikitable" , - , +List of CMP-based vehicles outside Canada , - ! Manufacturer ! Vehicle ! Chassis ! Drive ! Wheelbase ! Notes , - , rowspan="2" , Ruskin Motor Bodies

Ford Australia Ford Motor Company of Australia Limited (known by its trading name Ford Australia) is the Australian subsidiary of Automotive industry in the United States, United States–based automaker Ford Motor Company. It was founded in 1925 as an Austral ...

, Rover Mk I , Ford F60L , rowspan="2" , 4×4 , , , - , Rover Mk II , Ford F60S , , , - , rowspan="2" , General Motors
Holden Ltd , Rhino AC , , 4×4 , , Prototype only , - , 6×6 Heavy , , 6×6 , , Design only , - ,

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

, Armoured Carrier Wheeled Indian Pattern, ACV-IP , , 4×4 , , Most used CMP chassis , - , , Marmon-Herrington Armoured Car, SARCShort for South African Reconnaissance Car. , , 4×4 , Various , , - , Hutt Workshops , Standard Beaverette, Beaverette (NZ) , , 4×2 , , , - , , C8AX
"Puddlejumper" , Chevrolet C8A , 4×4 , , Created in New Zealand.

Footnotes

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Gregg, William, (ed.), ''Blueprint for Victory: The story of military vehicle design and production in Canada from 1937–45'', The Canadian Military Historical Society, Rockwood, Ontario, 1981, . *

External links

Maple Leaf Up's extensive website on CMP Trucks

CMP Trucks at the War&Peace Show 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canadian Military Pattern Truck Military trucks of Canada World War II military equipment of Canada World War II vehicles of the United Kingdom Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944