M-606 or Military CJ3B Jeep

The M606 was pretty much just the CJ-3B straight off the assembly line, with the same serial numbers as the civilian version. The military version took the heavy-duty options like larger tires and springs, a special rear bumper to hold the Pintle Hook and bumperettes, and a black-out lamp on the front left fender. The military CJ-3B also had a specific windshield not used on civilian models.

One of the most unique differences between the M606 and the M-38 (which look similar) is the M606 has a 6-volt electrical system rather than the standard military 24-volt. The M606 also has a longer wheelbase, and has an F-Head hurricane engine rather than the Flat Head – this explains the “High Hood” look of the M606.

Some CJ-3B’s purchased by the Military Police and Navy did not have the military blackout and marker lamps.

Thanks to Wolf Starchild for the above description.

The CJ-3B was introduced in January 1953 and the M606 followed, produced at least into the mid-1960s. Relatively few of the M606s went to the U.S. military, but were exported. In addition, Mahindra (India), Mitsubishi (Japan) and others produced the M606 outside the U.S. under license from Kaiser (who purchased Willys Overland in April 1953).

M606 jeep. Photo: Courtesy of Bill George
M606 jeep. Photo: Courtesy of Bill George.

Today in WW II: 20 May 1940 German General Rudolf Veiel's 2nd Panzer division reaches the English Channel at Noyelles, splitting the Allied defense. More ↓

20 May 1940 Largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, opens in Poland. Before liberation in 1945, about 1.1 million people died there, 90 percent Jews.
20 May 1941 Germans launch Operation Mercury, the Battle of Crete, the first airborne invasion in history.
20 May 1942 First African-American seamen taken into the United States Navy.
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M606 or Military CJ-3B

M606 / CJ3B production line at Willys Motor Co., Toledo, OH, 1953.

M606 / CJ3B Photo: Courtesy of Jon Rogers.

M606 / CJ3B Photo: Courtesy of Wolf Starchild
M606 / CJ3B Photo: Courtesy of Wolf Starchild.

M606 / CJ3B Photo: Courtesy of Alan Penketh
M606 / CJ3B Photo: Courtesy of Alan Penketh.

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Military High-Hood Questions: CJ-3B or M606?