Dodge WC series information

Dodge WC series
The most produced variants in the range were the 3⁄4-ton, 4×4, WC-51 and WC-52 Weapons Carriers – shown a WC-51: short front bumper, without winch.
Type	1⁄2-ton, 3⁄4-ton 4×4 truck 11⁄2-ton 6×6 truck
Place of origin	Warren Truck Assembly, Michigan, United States
Service history
Wars	World War II Korean War Various post 1945 conflicts
Production history
Manufacturer	Dodge / Fargo, assembled at Lynch Road Assembly, Hamtramck, MI
Produced	1940–1945
No. built	Total: ≈382,350 excl. variants Consisting of: 1⁄2-ton 4×2 models 1,542 units All 4×4 Models ~337,600 units – across: ~82,390 1⁄2-ton units (1940–1942) [1][2] [nb 1][nb 2] and 255,195 3⁄4-ton units (1942–1945) 11⁄2-ton 6×6 Models 43,224 units [4][5]
Variants	D8A  1⁄2-ton, 4×4 (1941, Canada) – 3,000 units [6] D3/4 APT   3⁄4-ton, 4×4 (1945, Canada) – 11,750 units [6] VF-401 – VF-407  11⁄2-ton, 4×4 (1940) – 6,472 units [7][8] T-203B  11⁄2-ton, 4×4 (1941) – 1,500 units WF-32 / G-618   11⁄2-ton, 4×2 (1942–1944, Iran) – 9,600 units
Specifications (WC-51 / WC-52[9])
Mass	5,250 lb (2,380 kg) empty (5,550 lb (2,520 kg) with winch)
Length	166+7⁄8 in (424 cm) (176+1⁄2 in (448 cm) with winch)
Width	82+3⁄4 in (210 cm)
Height	81+7⁄8 in (208 cm)
Engine	Dodge T-214 92 hp (69 kW)
Payload capacity	1,500 pounds (680 kg)
Transmission	4 speed × 1 range
Suspension	Live beam axles on leaf springs
Ground clearance	10+23⁄32 in (27.2 cm)
Fuel capacity	30 US gal (114 L)
Operational range	240 mi (386 km)
Maximum speed	55 mph (89 km/h)

The Dodge WC series (nicknamed "Beeps"^{[nb 3]}) is a prolific range of light 4WD and medium 6WD military utility trucks, produced by Chrysler under the Dodge and Fargo marques during World War II.^{[nb 4]} Together with the 1⁄4-ton jeeps produced by Willys and Ford, the Dodge 1⁄2‑ton G-505 and 3⁄4‑ton G-502 trucks made up nearly all of the light 4WD trucks supplied to the U.S. military in WWII – with Dodge contributing some 337,500 4WD units^{[nb 5]} (over half as many as the jeep).^{[11][5][nb 6]}

Contrary to the versatility of the highly standardized jeep, which was mostly achieved through field modification, the Dodge WC‑series came in many different, purpose-built, but mechanically uniform variants from the factory, much akin to the later family of High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles. The WC series evolved out of, and was part of a more extended family of trucks, with great mechanical parts commonality, that included open- and closed-cab cargo, troops and weapons carriers, (radio) command, and reconnaissance cars, ambulances, carry-alls, panel vans, and mobile telephone installation and (emergency) field workshop trucks.

The Dodge WC series were essentially built in two generations. From 1940 to early 1942, almost 82,400 of the 1⁄2‑ton 4x4 Dodge trucks were built — initially called the VC series, but the great majority, from 1941, in the WC series, and in more variants.^[10][14][2] Contrary to what Dodge's nomenclature suggested, the 1941 WC models were a direct evolution of the 1940 VC models, retaining the U.S. Army's G-505 Ordnance Corps Supply Catalog number.

For 1942, the trucks bodies and chassis were largely redesigned – heavier frames and drivetrains uprated them to carry 3⁄4‑tons off-road. And widening their tracks, while greatly shortening the wheelbase on the main models, plus lowering the bodies' center of gravity, gave them a much more square stance, with a much better break-over angle and side-slope stability. The trucks thus became the shorter G-502, 3⁄4‑ton, 4×4 Truck (Dodge), and from 1943 also the longer, stretched G-507, 11⁄2‑ton, 6x6 personnel and cargo truck (Dodge) — all while retaining Dodge WC model codes. Although the 3⁄4‑tons improvements meant substantial design changes, they did retain some 80% interchangeable components and service parts with the 1⁄2‑ton models^[14] — a vital Army requirement, for field maintenance and operability of the trucks.^[15]

Dodge was the U.S. Army's main supplier of 1⁄2‑ton trucks, and its sole supplier of both 3⁄4‑ton trucks and 11⁄2‑ton 6x6 trucks in World War II.^[5] With over a quarter million units built through August 1945, the G-502 3⁄4‑tons were the most common variants in the WC‑series.^[5]
After the war, Dodge developed the 3⁄4-ton WC‑series into the civilian 4×4 Dodge Power Wagon; and in 1951, the WCs were replaced by the very similar 3⁄4‑ton 4x4 Dodge M-series vehicles .

Though the majority of Dodges built were 'Weapons Carriers', "WC" was not abbreviated from this, but a regular Dodge model code – initially "W" for 1941, and "C" for a nominal half-ton payload rating.^{[nb 7]} However, the "WC" model code was simply retained after 1941 — for both the 3⁄4-ton, as well as the 11⁄2‑ton rated 6x6 Dodges.^[14]
All in all, not counting mechanically related variants, the WC series alone involved 52 model versions (thirty 1⁄2‑ton 4×4, eight 1⁄2‑ton 4×2, twelve 3⁄4‑ton 4×4, and two 11⁄2‑ton 6×6 models). Creating vehicles of a common platform in such a variety of designs, with payloads ranging from 1⁄2‑ton to 11⁄2‑tons, had no equal in its time, and is seen as an extraordinary feat of the WWII American auto industry.^[17]

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