GMC CCKW 353

Comments

22 12 May 2023, 18:54

Guy Rump
Made a start on this lorry today. Initial building is putting together the underside of the chassis. 🙂

Thanks for your interest and like Villiers DV. 👍

26 May 2023, 15:32

Guy Rump
Now put together the second half of the chassis underside. 🙂

Thanks for your interest and likes Andrew B, Connor M, Pietro DA & Rui. 👍

28 May 2023, 15:08

Guy Rump
The truck's bits are coming together. Painted the chassis, body and cab AK Olive Drab No 9 and the tarpaulin and cover for the cab Ammo Mig Olive Drab Light Base. 🙂

Thanks for your like and interest Karel D. 👍

6 June 2023, 18:12

Guy Rump
Now completed.

The lorry denoted is from 1 Army, 3549 TC, Truck Coy 37, Red Ball Express.

The Red Ball Express was a famed truck convoy system that supplied Allied forces moving quickly through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in 1944. To expedite cargo shipment to the front, trucks emblazoned with red balls followed a similarly marked route that was closed to civilian traffic. The trucks also had priority on regular roads.
Conceived in an urgent 36-hour meeting, the convoy system began operating on August 25, 1944. Staffed primarily with African-American soldiers, the Express at its peak operated 5,958 vehicles that carried about 12,500 tons of supplies a day. It ran for 83 days until November 16, when the port facilities at Antwerp, Belgium, were opened, enough French railway lines had been repaired and portable gasoline pipelines were deployed.

17 June 2023, 15:25