U.S. Heavy Military Trucks

Heavy U.S. military trucks are generally in the eight ton capacity or more, above the weight class of the typical military 2 1/2 ton or 5 ton medium vehicles that make up much of the U.S. military fleet.

M916A1 tractors lined up in a staging area as 24th Battalion Soldiers prepare to load them, Exercise Native Atlas '02, Fort Eustis, VA, 24 February 2002
M916A1 tractors lined up in a staging area as 24th Battalion Soldiers prepare to load them, Exercise Native Atlas '02, Fort Eustis, VA, 24 February 2002.

Today in WW II: 9 Jul 1940 Battle of Calabria [Battle of Punta Stilo, the toe of Italy] fought between the Italian Royal Navy and the British/Australian Royal Navies, 30 miles [48km] east of Punta Stilo.  More ↓
9 Jul 1943 US-British invasion of Sicily begins [night of 9-10 Jul].
9 Jul 1944 British and Canadian forces capture Caen from the Germans, a critical post-D-Day objective in Normandy, France.
9 Jul 1944 US forces reach the northern end of Saipan, finding thousands of Japanese civilian men, women, and children who commit suicide by leaping off the cliffs rather than be captured.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

U.S. Military Heavy Trucks

Heavy vehicles are primarily used for the same range of purposes as the medium, such as carrying cargo, as dump trucks, or tractors. They haul heavy-duty loads including combat vehicles (e.g. tanks), engineer equipment (e.g. earthmovers) and weapon systems, ammunition, food, fuel, and other supplies. They are used for long-haul highway transports from ports to the theater of operations or more locally for tactical movement.

Originally heavy trucks were little more than a way to move cube and weight from one place to the other, within either a cargo body or as a tractor pulling a trailer or semi-trailer. Recent trends require much more as the U.S. Army and Marine Corps adopt technology-based logistic supply-chain management solutions to palletized presorted loads, electronically tracking and manageing them from origin to the destination unit in the field, minimizing handling, delay and risk. Vehicle systems such as PLS and LVS incorporate pallet racks or CONEX/ISO handling, cranes, remote operator controls, and other logistics productivity features.

Time Line of the U.S. Military Heavy Truck Fleet

The military heavy truck fleet includes trucks that were designed for military tactical requirements as well trucks such as the M915-series that were based on existing commercial designs which were then adapted for military use. The table gives the approximate time sequence of the heavy truck models that served the needs of the U.S. military. Click the links to reach pages with more information and photos of the individual vehicles.

WWII to Mid-1950s Mid-1950s to Mid-1960s Mid-1960s to Mid-1980s Mid-1980s to 2000s
M20 Diamond T      
M26 Pacific      
Mack NM      
Mack NO      
Corbitt/White 6 Ton 6x6      
White 1064      
  M123 / M125    
    M520 GOER  
    M746 HET  
    M911 C-HET  
    M915-series  
      HEMTT
      PLS
      LVS
      M1070 HETS

More information and photos of specific models of military heavy trucks are found in the Chart of Heavy Trucks at the linked page. See also: Military Vehicle Trailers.

Recommended Book about U.S. Military Heavy Trucks