The G-506 trucks, -ton, 4x4, produced as the Chevrolet G7100 (and originally G4100) models, were a series of (light) medium

four wheel drive The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, more often known as Four Wheel Drive (FWD), was a pioneering American company that developed and produced all-wheel drive vehicles. It was founded in 1909 in Clintonville, Wisconsin, as the Badger Four-Wheel Dr ...

trucks used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, 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 th ...

and its allies during and after

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 ...

. This series came in standard cargo, as well as many specialist type bodies.

History

The G506 was a

United States Army Ordnance Corps The United States Army Ordnance Corps, formerly the United States Army Ordnance Department, is a Combat service support (United States), sustainment branch of the United States Army, headquartered at Fort Gregg-Adams, Fort Gregg-Adams, Virginia ...

supply catalog designation for the -ton, 4X4, truck

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 ...

built in large numbers by the

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 ...

Motor Division of GM. Their official model numbers were initially the "G4100", and later the "G7100" series.Crismon, Fred (1994): ''U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles''. Motorbooks International, Crestline Series, , p.258-260 They became standard -ton 4x4 trucks for the US Army and Army Air Corps during World War II. During World War II, the US military purchased a total of 167,373 four by four 1-ton trucks, and Chevrolet supplied the great majority of them. According to the 1946 revision of the U.S. military's ''Summary Report of Acceptances, Tank-Automotive Materiel'', Dodge (Fargo) – the initial standard supplier of U.S. -ton 4x4 trucks – contributed 6,762 VF model, G-621 series trucks in 1940; and Ford (Marmon-Herrington) and Diamond T supplied another 6,271 and 136 units respectively, leaving 154,204 Chevrolet trucks. However, some 47,700 of the G7107 and G7117 model trucks were shipped 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 ...

as part of the Lend-Lease program.. The Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

's logistics/transport capabilities improved dramatically in the spring and summer of 1943 largely as a result of the steady supply of American-made trucks (such as

Studebaker US6 Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Man ...

s and the Chevrolet G506s) for the USSR.

Specifications

Engine and driveline

The G506 used a Chevrolet BV-1001-UP, a

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 v ...

inline-six cylinder

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American and Canadian English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as Autogas, liquefied petroleum gas and Common ...

developing at 3,100

rpm Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

and of

torque In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Wh ...

at 1,000 rpm. This is a smaller version of the engine used in the

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 ...

. All models had a four-speed manual non-synchronized

transmission Transmission or transmit may refer to: Science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Transmission (mechanical device), technology that allows controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual tra ...

and a two-speed transfer case.

Chassis

The G506 had a

ladder frame A vehicle frame, also historically known as its ''chassis'', is the main supporting structure of a motor vehicle to which all other components are attached, comparable to the skeleton of an organism. Until the 1930s, virtually every car had ...

with two live beam axles on semi-elliptic leaf springs. GM banjo type axles were used, these axles were also used in later GMC CCKW ton (2,268kg) trucks. There were three wheelbases, extra short wheelbase used only on the G7128 Bomb servicer, short wheelbase (a majority of production), and the long wheelbase. All models had

hydraulic brake A hydraulic brake is an arrangement of braking mechanism which uses brake fluid, typically containing glycol ethers or diethylene glycol, to transfer pressure from the controlling mechanism to the braking mechanism. History During 1904, Frederic ...

s with vacuum boost, 7.50-20" tires and dual rear tires.

Body

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 The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860 by ...

, 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.

Versions

*Model G4103 book symbol YK - stake and platform COE, K-33 truck *Model G4112 book symbol YQ - truck cargo, LWB, 4X4, *Model G4163 book symbol ZP - truck cargo, W/Winch, 4X4, *Model G4174 book symbol ZQ - truck cargo, LWB, 4X4, *Model G7103 book symbol NE - cab *Model G7105 book symbol NG - panel body, see also K-51, and K-70 van *Model G7106 book symbol NH - dump body, less winch (9,008 built without a winch) *Model G7107 book symbol NJ - cargo body, less winch (86,871 built) *Model G7113 book symbol NK - cab (tractor) *Model G7116 book symbol NL - dump body, with winch (5,133 built with a winch) *Model G7117 book symbol NM - cargo body, with winch (26,207 built) *Model G7127 book symbol NP - truck cargo, LWB (long wheelbase, 383 built) *Model G7128 book symbol NQ - M6 bomb service truck G35 (extra-short wheelbase, 7,868 built) *Model G7132 book symbol NN - stake and platform COE, K-54 Truck *Model G7163 book symbol NR - telephone body, with earth borer, see also K-44 truck *Model G7173 book symbol NS - telephone maintenance body, see also K-43 truck ;

Army Air Force The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

versions *E5 turret trainer *J3 field lighting truck *J4 field lighting truck *J5 field lighting truck *fire truck, class 135, fog and foam

Notes

References

* * * * * * * *

External links

Chevrolet G506 at Olive-Drab.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chevrolet G506 Trucks Military trucks of the United States G506 Soft-skinned vehicles World War II vehicles of the United States Motor vehicles manufactured in the United States Military communications of the United States Military vehicles introduced from 1940 to 1944