Posted by Brian in Oregon on September 27, 2000 at 00:36:05:
In Reply to: what is the rarest Power Wagon?? posted by Frank Johnson on September 26, 2000 at 17:04:12:
In 1952 W H Albee converted a PW to his Rolligon principle. It uses two large cylindrical bags in the rear and one in the front. Ground pressure ranged from 2.5 to 6 lbs/sq inch. There's a photo of one in Fred Crismon's "US Military Wheeled Vehicles" book actually running over a man, who suffered no injuries.
As far as military models go...
There was only one XM142 Bomb Service truck made which still exists (M56 chassis - a beefed up and stretched M37).
One M37 with simplified ignition.
Two WC53 Field Limos.
Three XM195 Field Utility Trucks. These are M37's with the wheelbase shortened one foot, and an integral cargo body. Kinda looks like a Land Rovers big brother. One was armed with an M27 105mm recoiless rifle for tests. One XM195 supposedly still exists in private hands.
Four LWB (Long WheelBase) M56's in 1952. It eventually came out in the mid 60's as the M283 for sale to foreign countries.
The original 3/4 ton Weapons Carrier was made on a much shorter wheelbase. It really looked like a super jeep.
There was also a couple of prototype Command Cars built on the 3/4 ton Weapons Carrier. The idea was to have a Command Car that looked like a normal Weapons Carrier to prevent sniping, strafing, etc. It had the cab assembly of the Knockdown Ambulance, and the canvas cargo cover had windows similar to the M42.
The T-233 & T47 Command & Recon truck were evolutionary steps in the WC series that went nowhere. It was almost a dead ringer for an oversized Jeep.
Dodge also made very limited numbers of the T237/T53 trucks (forerunners of the M37 they were air cooled) as well as the T53E1 cabovers.
Dodge also made a "super command car". It looks kinda like a 3/4 ton Command car but the body goes all the way past the tires, like the Weapons Carrier cargo sides do. It seats 3 in the front, four in the middle seat, and 3 in the rear. It still exists, because there is a rather poor photo of it in an outbuilding, which I think may be at VPW.
Dodge also made prototype "Low Silhouette" vehicles, sy=uch as the T226 and the later T225 (number sequence is correct). They look like ugly pygmy Weapons Carriers. No Low Silhouette trucks went into production, despite many entries from various makers ranging from 3/4 ton 4x4's to 3 ton 6x6's, except for Ford's Model GTB Cargo Truck (aka Burma Jeep).
I'm sure there are other 3/4 ton rarities. And I haven't even touched on the 1/2 tonners, as records are obscure for limited designs. There has to be some interesting prototypes there as well.