The Red Army relied on a single passenger carriage before the war, the GAZ-M1, nicknamed the emka. Its mono-drive design proved less than ideal for military needs.
Even before hostilities began, the Gorky factory produced a four wheel drive passenger car and developed a family that included a sedan, a convertible, and a pickup. The first serial GAZ-61 sedans appeared in 1941, and throughout the conflict fewer than 200 units with such a refined body were assembled due to wartime demands.
In the early stages of the war a simplified pickup derived from the sedan, the GAZ-61-417 with a roofless cabin, was manufactured. By 1941 the total tally of these pickups was under forty.
The four wheel driven GAZ-61, equipped with a six cylinder engine delivering 76 horsepower, was produced in limited numbers.
1941 brought urgent work on the GAZ-64, a capable SUV with a very basic body but a 3.3 liter four cylinder engine producing 54 horsepower. It served as a command vehicle and as a light weapons tractor. Yet factory constraints meant only modest production; meanwhile the GAZ-MM trucks, the three axle GAZ-AAA and even light tanks carried greater priority. Through 1943 a total of 762 GAZ-64 vehicles were built.
During the war the output of GAZ-67 off road vehicles remained scarce. The popular day to day model only appeared after the Allied victory.
From 1943 Soviet plants began gradually updating to the modernized GAZ-67 with the 1944 version known as GAZ-67B. Before 1945 production numbers stayed under five thousand units.
The Willys MB from the United States was widely regarded as the best in class during World War II, and it became the main command vehicle of the Soviet armed forces. Under Lend-Lease roughly 40,000 Jeeps reached the USSR. Drivers valued the vehicle for its agility, courtesy of a 60 horsepower engine, reliable hydraulic brakes, and a straightforward reduction gearbox that eased handling compared with the GAZ-67. Like the GAZ-67, American cars remained in use in Soviet institutions and later found their way into private hands after the war.
The extended family of command vehicles included the nickname Dodge three-quarters, pointing to the Dodge WC55. American Dodge WC series trucks were used as both cargo and passenger carriers. They carried a 750 kilogram load and were powered by a six cylinder engine of 3.8 liters, yielding between 79 and 99 horsepower.
Between 20,000 and 25,000 complete vehicles and kits were sent to the USSR. The Red Army mostly used open cargo-passenger variants with rear bench seats in Dodge WC51 chassis, while some command vehicles carried a light superstructure and carried Soviet generals and marshals on their missions.
conscription
As in the Wehrmacht, the war period saw civilian trucks adapted for military duty forming the core of the Red Army’s vehicle park.
A streamlined military version of the GAZ-MM featured a wooden cabin and a single headlight, while the most popular Soviet truck of the early 1940s remained the GAZ-MM itself, a modernized version of the Ford from the late 1920s. The engine produced only 40 to 50 horsepower, yet the vehicle won praise for its simple design and field repair friendliness, allowing it to be brought back into service quickly. From 1938 to 1945 roughly 400,000 units were produced.
ZIS-5, sometimes called Zakhar Ivanovich or the three ton truck, carried a 5.55 liter engine producing about 73 horsepower.
Alongside Moscow produced ZIS trucks, UlZIS in Ulyanovsk and UralZIS in Miass produced significant numbers during the war. Materials from Moscow were evacuated to those rear regions in 1941. Some trucks were built with wooden cabins and simplified wings, reduced headlights, and occasionally only a single headlight during the war years.
allies
The Studebaker US6 stands out as the most iconic American Red Army truck. Under Lend-Lease, a wide range of trucks reached the USSR, including both pre war civilian designs and models built specifically for military use. Some vehicles arrived as car kits that were assembled in Soviet factories.
The Ford G8T, also known as Ford 6, began as a civilian vehicle and was drafted into military service. Yet the star of the American fleet remained the Studebaker US6, with approximately 200,000 to 220,000 units delivered in 6×6 and 6×4 configurations. The payload capacity reached 2500 kilograms, with roads allowances up to 4000 kilograms when needed, and its five speed gearbox paired with a reduction box on four wheel drive variants.
Chevrolet trucks of the G7100 family were also produced in the USSR, notably at GAZ. About 48,000 units were supplied, sharing a similar payload capacity of 1500 kilograms, but offering four wheel drive and an 83 horsepower six cylinder engine.
heavy trucks
Before the war Soviet industry did not mass produce heavy trucks, with just a small batch of eight ton Yaroslavl YAG-10s powered by American Hercules engines. A notable overseas tractor, the Diamond T980, hauled trailers up to 10,000 kilograms on the Kolyma highway after the hostilities ended. The Mack NR series, available in several versions rated to carry 10 tons, also found its way to the USSR. Between the NR9 and NR14 variants produced from 1943 to 1945, more than nine hundred Mack trucks were delivered. These American models laid the groundwork for the later development of Yaroslavl heavy trucks in the postwar era.
Thanks for the win!
A considerable number of wartime vehicles, or their postwar counterparts, including American SUVs and trucks, endured long after the conflict, continuing to operate on Soviet roads for many years. Some even remain in service today. Driving lore around these machines persists in contemporary stories and recollections. [citation needed attribution: historical vehicle archives]
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