In a message dated 1/23/02 9:36:55 AM Central Daylight Time, b52d@piace.com
writes:
<< The data plate reads XM211 Contract #DA-20-018-ORD-11943
serial number 7740
This truck had duals on it, the others were single.
Is there anything special about this XM211? >>
In the great post WWII tactical truck plan, the idea was that most of the
trucks would have large "high flotation" tires, which have superior off road
performance to dual wheels. The intended few dual wheel equipped trucks were
envisioned for more on road duty than off road. By design the tires were
sized to minimize the number of tire sizes stocked....the 1100 x 20's used be
the single wheel deuces were used by dual wheel five tons.
This line of thinking was affirmed in the Report of the Military Wheeled
Vehicle Panel in 1951.
Funny, this all seems to have been forgotten until the recent "super single"
rage.
The lead model of the Reo, the M34 had singles, the next in line, M35 duals.
GMC was a late entry into this PostWWII deuce market. They built the first
XM135 independently, and pitched it to the govt, who at the time was making
noises about Reo and Studebaker (who was by then also building G-742 trucks)
not having sufficient production capacity. A further 5 or 6 (depending on
source) XM135s were built for the govt trials, and incredibly the truck was
accepted and standardized before the trials were completed. There are
deficiences noted in the APG test reports that were not corrected until
THOUSANDS of these trucks were built.
Following the aforementioned line of thinking, GMC began work on a dual wheel
version (the M211), and production began on those BEFORE they were
standardized, hence, those produced before standardization were XM211. An
unusual serial number marking, but sadly in the case of these GMC's not
really rare.
Hope this helps,
David (still looking for a publisher for my GMC book) Doyle
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