Prototype / Pilot Dodge 3/4 ton Command Car 1942 - Historische Fotos Teil 6 von 6

Prototypes and experimental versions of the 3/4 ton Command Car.

All info collected with the help from the Dodge Forum Members, special thanks to F. C. Denver, Colorado U.S.A.

Original forum thread can be found here: http://forum.ww2dodge.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7866

A WC 3/4 ton pilot model Command Car on the 98" wheelbase.

The identifiers of this pilot model are the double curved front fenders, the WC 1/2 ton style headlight guards and,

noticeable by its absence, the lack of a 12 volt battery box on the passenger side running board.

This last feature tells us this pilot model had a 6 volt electrical system, just like the non-radio WC 1/2 ton Command Cars.

The reason the WC-58 model appears only in the first Quartermaster Corps (QMC) contract for the WC 3/4

ton 4X4 Dodge trucks is that it was the special model 12 volt radio command car. But once the QMC

quickly decided to make all WC 3/4 ton Command Cars 12 volts, there no longer was any need for the WC-58

because it functionally was replaced by the 12 volt WC-56 which, as shown in the bottom pilot model

photo, originally was designed as a 6 volt Command Car.

The name "DODGE" is stamped in relief into the edge of the engine hood above the center set of louvers.

Location: Chrysler's proving ground in Michigan. U.S.A.

Date taken: unknown, most probably before May 1942

Photographer: unknown

Another WC 3/4 ton pilot model Command Car, this one on the 116" wheel base of the WC 1/2 ton Command Car.

Note the extended lugs on the rear axle for dualing up the rear wheels, although the shallow dish wheels on this

pilot model cannot be dualed together. The 116" wheelbase makes it possible to mount the spare tire rearward on the

body panel, seemingly blocking (or making a very tight) entry into the rear sear from this driver side, but leaving

free the entryway to the front seat from the driver side. But this 116" wheelbase was never adopted for the WC 3/4 ton

Command Car.

The name "DODGE" is stamped in relief into the edge of the engine hood above the center set of louvers.

Location: QMC's motor vehicle test facility at Camp Holabird in Maryland.

Date taken: unknown, most probably before May 1942

Photographer: unknown

A passenger side photo of the 98" and 114" wheel base pilot model WC 3/4 ton Command Cars with the unusual

front fenders, from Vintage Power Wagon's January 1995 Newsletter.

VPW's Newsletter states the longer pilot model command car uses the 114" wheel base (and presumably chassis)

of the WC 3/4 ton Carryall, which makes practical sense. The side panel profile on the 114" wb Command Car is

like that a WC 1/2 ton Command Car, with a long center section. Note there is no rear seat entryway on the driver side.

Likely the barely visible spare tire left it too narrow to bother with, so a solid panel was installed there.

Photographer: unknown

Photo: VPW / Vintage Power Wagon

Another unusual Command Car:

It is a later experimental truck based on the WC 3/4 ton 4X4 truck that was part of a separate program to lower the

vehicle profile and make these trucks closer to the ground. The only vehicle from that experimental low silhouette

program that went into production was the Ford 1-1/2 ton GTB truck.

Shown in Vintage Power Wagon's fall 1996 Newsletter for sale ad.

And an overhead view of the truck from page 307 in Fred Crismon's book "U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles".

This great passenger capacity was obtained by eliminating the running boards and pushing the body sides

out to full width. This full width body with tightly curved (rather than square) rear corners seems to be an

inspiration for the slightly longer body on the E-317.

Photographer: unknown

Photo 1: VPW / Vintage Power Wagon

Photo 2: Fred Crismon's "U.S. Military Wheeled Vehicles"