Dodge G505 1/2-ton

History

Beginning in World War I, the U.S. Army developed a relationship with Dodge and ordered them half-ton light military trucks during World War II. The "WC" line of Dodge military trucks is very diverse, in the form of the Waffentrager troop carrier, all based on the Dodge 1/2 ton truck chassis. The 38 different models developed are all 4x4, all belonging to the 1/2 ton Dodge military vehicle "G505" series.

When World War II began, the 1941 Dodge military truck was one of the first four-wheel drive light military vehicles, prompting the Dodge division to produce 79,771 half-ton trucks of all sizes in 1941 and 1942, one of which became a standard military ambulance.

A typical 1941 Dodge Army 4x4 truck has a wheelbase of 116 inches, but due to passenger capacity, the ambulance model has a wheelbase of 123 inches and uses 7.50 tires and 16-inch wheels. The engine is a 230.2-cubic-inch 6-cylinder gasoline engine with 78 horsepower and 222 foot-pounds of torque.

These engines are mated to a four-speed manual transmission with all-wheel drive and hydraulic brakes. This helps ambulances go off-road in various war zones where roads are sparse and scarred.

The essential staff consisted of a driver and a medic - the latter also serving as a second driver - to assist the wounded. The car has a two-door enclosed cab with a double door at the rear of the ambulance with a flip-up step.

The rear cargo area of ??the vehicle is constructed of steel sheet and contains a Carlisle Ambulance deployment section that also ventilates the casualty inside the vehicle. The inner walls are paneled with rigid boards, with folding benches on the sides, running through the entire inner body. The ambulance area can accommodate seven seat boxes, four stretchers or two stretchers and four seated casualties.

In use, two stretchers are suspended from the roof and two are placed on the ground. As you can imagine, the ride is often bumpy for the casualty, especially when traversing open terrain, trying to shorten the time from the front line to the last rescue station.

This undoubtedly took a toll on both the tires and springs, while the large front bumper was used to push through bushes and saplings, allowing ambulances to cross the road on a lifesaving mission.

The headlights are protected by brush guards and the spare wheel is mounted in a cutout in the bodywork behind the driver. This allows quick access to spares if desired (as opposed to traditional bottom mounts, which are subject to terrain obstructions. Rear mounting of spares is simply not possible due to space constraints.

The roof is deliberately high and curved to allow for Medics and casualties are somewhat mobile, and there's also some storage space for medical supplies. Canvas "air tanks" and hydration bags are mounted on the passenger side fenders to keep the vehicle stuck - on- or off-road environment issues, Dodge A tool rack was added to the rear passenger side containing the typical "engineering tools" needed in warfare - shovels, picks and axes to loosen the vehicle. p]

The U.S. Army ambulance is painted in the standard Army colour scheme of olive and bears the usual registration number and the world-recognised Geneva Red Cross emblem, painted on the sides of the body and on the rear doors such as the roof.

If unarmed, countries that signed the Geneva Accords should not harass Red Cross vehicles - although this is not always an honorable expectation in wartime.

Based on feedback from the front line, Dodge believes a new line of military vehicles is needed. It was decided to redesign the 1/2 ton truck for the new production 1942 G502 WC T214 Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 truck.

Dodge won the contract by designing most parts of the 3/4-ton truck to be interchangeable with the deployed 1/4-ton truck. The new design features a wide, flat hood, larger tires and a reinforced chassis. Another bonus is that the new 3/4 ton uses the same 6-cylinder engine as the 1/2 ton, so parts are interchangeable. Internal Carlisle inserts are eliminated, and the seat and brackets are bolted directly to the steel side panels.

The rear ventilation system has been doubled in size, and a new interior heating system has been added to trucks heading to the European theater of operations, where winter becomes another foe for Allied soldiers. The 3/4 ton tires are wider, have a smaller profile, and use larger tires on combat rims, which greatly improves off-road traction.

Overall improvements to the 3/4 ton model result in a 50% increase in payload capacity over the 1/2 ton model.

Approximately 22,857 3/4 ton ambulances have been constructed and used.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

None.

Changes