WC-10 on Scenic Stretch of Alcan Highway, 1942

WC-10 on Scenic Stretch of Alcan Highway, 1942

Download Free from
MilitaryMashUp.com

This magnificent photo of the Alaskan mountains and wilderness was taken in 1942 on a scenic stretch of the then-new Alaska-Canadian Highway ("Alcan") during World War II. Against terrible difficulties of terrain and weather, the 1,522 mile long road from Dawson Creek, British Colombia, to Fairbanks, Alaska was constructed by Army Engineers, about one-third of them African-American troops, in just eight months and twelve days, a huge success in what had been deemed an impossible task. The road opened for traffic 25 October 1942.

The first vehicles to travel the rugged route were all-wheel-drive Army jeeps and trucks, including the WC-10 Truck, 1/2 ton, 4x4 Dodge Carryall seen in the lower left of the photo. The linked WC-10 page has a closer look at the truck, a detail from this large format photo.

See also WW II Jeep on the ALCAN Highway in 1942 and the WC-7 Dodge Truck on the ALCAN Highway.

Today in WW II: 6 Jul 1939 All remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed by the Nazis.  More ↓
6 Jul 1942 Anne Frank's Jewish family goes into hiding in an attic above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
6 Jul 1942 Flying Tigers in Burma and China integrated into the US Army Air Forces as the China Air Task Force with Gen. Claire Chennault commanding the new unit.
6 Jul 1943 US and Japanese naval forces fight the Battle of Kula Gulf off Kolombangara, in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.