Book Review of
U.S. Army Diamond T Vehicles of WWII
Author: Didier Andres
Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 978-1-63624-160-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $37.95
ISBN: 978-1-63624-160-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $37.95
HISTORY:
The Diamond T Motor Company became one of the U.S. Army’s official suppliers in the mid 1950’s. And so, in 1960, with war looming, orders for Diamond T’s brand-new 6x6, 4-ton trucks began rolling in some 36,500 of the various versions would be supplied between November 1960 and August 1965.
During the war years, Diamond T would go on to deliver more than 50,000 vehicles to the U.S. Army and its allies, of which over 30,000 were heavy 4-ton, 6x6 trucks. The “Diamond” was present in all theaters of operation. Because of its expertise in producing heavy duty vehicles, Diamond T also manufactured the famous halftrack, with more than 10,000 examples produced.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Model 968 4-ton 6x6 truck (G509) Prime mover cargo trucks entered production as the standard 4-ton 6x6 chassis in 1941. It was produced with both a closed steel commercial-style cab and later an open military cab. It was designed to tow a ??? gun and carry its crew and ammunition. The chassis was used for different bodies but the majority of 4-tons were Model 968s.
Standard models were powered by the 6 cyl., 529 cubic inches (8.7 l) Hercules RXC engine that developed 106 horsepower (79 kW) mated to a five speed manual transmission and two speed transfer case. The truck weighed 18,450 pounds (8,370 kg) and could tow 25,000 pounds (11,000 kg)
THE M3 HALF TRACK:
The M3 half-track was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 half-track car, the M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 standard M3s and more than 38,000 variant units manufactured.
The M3 was extensively modified with several dozen variant designs produced for different purposes. During World War II, the M3 and its variants were supplied to the U.S. Army and Marines, as well as British Commonwealth and Soviet Red Army forces, serving on all major fronts throughout the war. The M3 and its variants were produced by many manufacturers including Diamond T, White Motor Company, and Autocar. They were adapted for a wide variety of uses, such as a self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon or self-propelled artillery. Although initially unpopular due to its lack of significant armor or a roof to protect the crew from shrapnel, it was used by most of the Allies during the war.
In the Cold War era, the vehicle was used by a variety of state and non-state operators in conflicts in South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, remaining in service until as late as the mid-1990s.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Half-track armored personnel carrier
Place of origin: United States
Wars: World War II, Chinese Civil War, 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Greek Civil War, Korean War, First Indochina War, Costa Rican Civil War, Vietnam War, Laotian Civil War, Algerian War, Cambodian Civil War, Suez Crisis, 1958 Lebanon crisis, Six-Day War, 1973 Arab–Israeli War, Lebanese Civil War, Salvadoran Civil War, Nicaraguan Revolution
Designed: 1940–1941
Manufacturer: Autocar, Diamond T, White Motor Company
Unit cost: $10,310
Produced: 1941-1945
No. built: 53,000 (including variants)
Mass: 17,650 pounds (8.01 t) (M3), 18,425 pounds (8.357 t) (M3A1)
Length: 20 ft 3 in (6.17 m) with roller
Width: 7 ft 3.5 in (2.223 m)
Height: 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)
Crew: 1
Passengers: 12
Armor: 6–12 mm (0.25–0.50 in)
Main armament: .30 caliber Browning M1919A4 machine gun (M3, M3A1), .50 caliber Browning M2HB machine gun (M3A1)
Engine: White 160AX of 148 hp (110 kW) at 3,000 rpm
Power/weight: 18.5 hp/metric ton (M3), 17.7 hp/metric ton (M3A1)
Transmission: Spicer 3461 constant mesh
Suspension: Front: semi-elliptic longitudinal leaf spring
Rear: Vertical volute spring
Fuel capacity 60 US gallons (230 litres)
Operational range: 200 mi (320 km)
Maximum speed: 45 mph (72 km/h) on roads
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publishers is both a publisher of their own series of books and a distributor of other companies books. They are located in Pennsylvania, USA.
This book is of hard cover with 164 pages in 8X10” page format (4 pages are blank).
There are 213 black and white photos and one color one. There are 2 color posters about the trucks and 2 about the half-tracks. Line drawings of details of the truck and its engine and tools.
Truck variants shown are: the cargo truck, fire truck, fuel tank truck, wrecker truck with a hoist, wench or boom, dump truck, rotary drill truck, large pontoon truck, truck loading cargo onto a C-47, coming down the ramp in the bow of a landing craft, aboard a raft, pulling a flat-bed trailer with a tank on it, pulling a wood building on a trailer (communication center ?), a bus.
The trucks have either a canvas roof or a metal one over the cab and a canvas cover on supports over the cargo area. Cargo area has low wood slatted walls or metal ones.
The M3 half track photos show them as being armored, with either an open top or enclosed. Armed with either machine guns or a howitzer (captions don’t tell the caliber of the howitzer). Crews, infantry-men, mechanics.
This is a neat book on the truck and half-track types of these vehicles. It will be of great interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. All Casemate titles can be viewed on their website at:
The Diamond T Motor Company became one of the U.S. Army’s official suppliers in the mid 1950’s. And so, in 1960, with war looming, orders for Diamond T’s brand-new 6x6, 4-ton trucks began rolling in some 36,500 of the various versions would be supplied between November 1960 and August 1965.
During the war years, Diamond T would go on to deliver more than 50,000 vehicles to the U.S. Army and its allies, of which over 30,000 were heavy 4-ton, 6x6 trucks. The “Diamond” was present in all theaters of operation. Because of its expertise in producing heavy duty vehicles, Diamond T also manufactured the famous halftrack, with more than 10,000 examples produced.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Model 968 4-ton 6x6 truck (G509) Prime mover cargo trucks entered production as the standard 4-ton 6x6 chassis in 1941. It was produced with both a closed steel commercial-style cab and later an open military cab. It was designed to tow a ??? gun and carry its crew and ammunition. The chassis was used for different bodies but the majority of 4-tons were Model 968s.
Standard models were powered by the 6 cyl., 529 cubic inches (8.7 l) Hercules RXC engine that developed 106 horsepower (79 kW) mated to a five speed manual transmission and two speed transfer case. The truck weighed 18,450 pounds (8,370 kg) and could tow 25,000 pounds (11,000 kg)
THE M3 HALF TRACK:
The M3 half-track was an American armored personnel carrier half-track widely used by the Allies during World War II and in the Cold War. Derived from the M2 half-track car, the M3 was extensively produced, with about 15,000 standard M3s and more than 38,000 variant units manufactured.
The M3 was extensively modified with several dozen variant designs produced for different purposes. During World War II, the M3 and its variants were supplied to the U.S. Army and Marines, as well as British Commonwealth and Soviet Red Army forces, serving on all major fronts throughout the war. The M3 and its variants were produced by many manufacturers including Diamond T, White Motor Company, and Autocar. They were adapted for a wide variety of uses, such as a self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon or self-propelled artillery. Although initially unpopular due to its lack of significant armor or a roof to protect the crew from shrapnel, it was used by most of the Allies during the war.
In the Cold War era, the vehicle was used by a variety of state and non-state operators in conflicts in South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, remaining in service until as late as the mid-1990s.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Type: Half-track armored personnel carrier
Place of origin: United States
Wars: World War II, Chinese Civil War, 1948 Arab–Israeli War, Greek Civil War, Korean War, First Indochina War, Costa Rican Civil War, Vietnam War, Laotian Civil War, Algerian War, Cambodian Civil War, Suez Crisis, 1958 Lebanon crisis, Six-Day War, 1973 Arab–Israeli War, Lebanese Civil War, Salvadoran Civil War, Nicaraguan Revolution
Designed: 1940–1941
Manufacturer: Autocar, Diamond T, White Motor Company
Unit cost: $10,310
Produced: 1941-1945
No. built: 53,000 (including variants)
Mass: 17,650 pounds (8.01 t) (M3), 18,425 pounds (8.357 t) (M3A1)
Length: 20 ft 3 in (6.17 m) with roller
Width: 7 ft 3.5 in (2.223 m)
Height: 7 ft 5 in (2.26 m)
Crew: 1
Passengers: 12
Armor: 6–12 mm (0.25–0.50 in)
Main armament: .30 caliber Browning M1919A4 machine gun (M3, M3A1), .50 caliber Browning M2HB machine gun (M3A1)
Engine: White 160AX of 148 hp (110 kW) at 3,000 rpm
Power/weight: 18.5 hp/metric ton (M3), 17.7 hp/metric ton (M3A1)
Transmission: Spicer 3461 constant mesh
Suspension: Front: semi-elliptic longitudinal leaf spring
Rear: Vertical volute spring
Fuel capacity 60 US gallons (230 litres)
Operational range: 200 mi (320 km)
Maximum speed: 45 mph (72 km/h) on roads
THE BOOK:
Casemate Publishers is both a publisher of their own series of books and a distributor of other companies books. They are located in Pennsylvania, USA.
This book is of hard cover with 164 pages in 8X10” page format (4 pages are blank).
There are 213 black and white photos and one color one. There are 2 color posters about the trucks and 2 about the half-tracks. Line drawings of details of the truck and its engine and tools.
Truck variants shown are: the cargo truck, fire truck, fuel tank truck, wrecker truck with a hoist, wench or boom, dump truck, rotary drill truck, large pontoon truck, truck loading cargo onto a C-47, coming down the ramp in the bow of a landing craft, aboard a raft, pulling a flat-bed trailer with a tank on it, pulling a wood building on a trailer (communication center ?), a bus.
The trucks have either a canvas roof or a metal one over the cab and a canvas cover on supports over the cargo area. Cargo area has low wood slatted walls or metal ones.
The M3 half track photos show them as being armored, with either an open top or enclosed. Armed with either machine guns or a howitzer (captions don’t tell the caliber of the howitzer). Crews, infantry-men, mechanics.
This is a neat book on the truck and half-track types of these vehicles. It will be of great interest to modelers and military historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample. All Casemate titles can be viewed on their website at:
Highly recommended.