Jerry Sanson, Staff Member Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum
American vehicle manufacturers received orders to cease making cars and trucks for the civilian market on February 22, 1942, thus making 1942 models some of the rarest for collectors to find. The shortened 1942 model year, however, did not mean that vehicle companies stopped turning out their products, but that those products were earmarked for military use. Staff cars, for example, were essentially civilian vehicles adapted for military use. They were typically painted in traditional military dull finish olive drab for the Army, but some retained civilian paint. Cadillacs were often painted black for those branches of the military that used them, and the Navy sometimes painted its Buicks in a two-tone gray color pattern.
The Army classified its cars into two categories, 5 Passenger Light Sedans and 5 Passenger Medium Sedans which were used to transport staff officers. Generals Douglas MacArthur and Dwight Eisenhower both used Packard Clippers as their transportation.
Requirements for Light Sedans included sturdy front and rear bumpers, combat-zone safety lighting, wheels that were interchangeable at the hub, one spare wheel and tire mounted in the trunk, suitable vehicle tool kit, first-aid kit, oil-bath type air cleaner, oil filter with a minimum life of 120 hours, and shock absorbers on both axles. Brakes had to be adjustable externally, headlights had to be sealed beam, and the ignition had to be designed to prevent radio interference, even though the cars were not normally equipped for radio transmission.
The cars had to be able to operate on unimproved roads, trails, and open country, either hilly or flat, and had to travel at a speed of at least 50 miles per hour on paved highway. Acceptable cars included Chevrolet model 2000, Ford model 2 GA-73B, and Plymouth model P-11. The Chevrolet and Ford models were built on 1942 body styles while the Plymouth was a 1941 body style.
Power for light sedans came from inline 6-cylinder engines ranging from 201.3 cubic inches for the Plymouth to 226 cubic inches in the Ford. The Chevrolet and Ford models could reach a top speed of 80 miles per hour while the Plymouth reached a top speed of 70 miles per hour.
Medium duty cars were larger thus providing more interior room and comfort for their passengers and were designed to deliver higher speed and a longer cruising range than the Light Sedans. Military requirements for these cars demanded a minimum weight of 4,000 pounds and an eight-cylinder engine. Military equipment requirements were otherwise the same as for the Light Sedans.
The Packard model 2001 was the standard vehicle that met these requirements. It could reach 90 miles per hour operating in normal top gear and 95 miles per hour when in overdrive. Power came from a inline 8-cylinder motor displacing 282 cubic inches. The picture accompanying this essay (above) shows a World War II Army Packard.
Trucks used by the Army included Jeeps made by Willys (model MB) and Ford (model GPW), which were used for transporting personnel and cargo, scouting, general transportation, and other uses; GMC model CCKW, a 2.5-ton 6×6 vehicle used for heavy transportation of troops, supplies, and equipment; Chevrolet model G506, a 1.5-ton 4×4 that was used for medium-duty hauling; and Dodge WC series 1/2- and 3/4-ton 4×4 trucks used for hauling and with specialized models used as ambulances and weapons carriers. The Army also used Diamond T model 980 12-ton 6×4 trucks for towing tanks and other heavy equipment needs.
The military’s need for vehicles meant that automobile manufaturers led a double life during the war. They continued manufacturing traditional products with some modifications to meet military regulations, and they retooled their factories to produce the specialized half-tracks, armored scout cars, tanks, engines, and other products that the war demanded for a contemporary mechanized military force. Civilian customers, however, were out of luck, left having to persuade whatever vehicles they owned to last until production of vehicles for their market resumed in October 1945.
