GMC CCKW

The GMC CCKW is a two-and-a-half-ton, six-by-six cargo truck built by General Motors' GMC division for the United States military during the Second World War, produced in the hundreds of thousands and supplied not only to American forces but to Allied nations including the Soviet Union under the Lend-Lease program. Nicknamed the Jimmy and closely associated in postwar memory with the Red Ball Express supply convoys that kept Allied armies moving across France after the Normandy invasion, it was built with all-wheel drive and a distinctive open cab intended for rapid wartime production rather than driver comfort. As a transport vehicle rather than a combat vehicle, the CCKW's role was hauling troops, fuel, ammunition and general cargo behind the front lines, and its sheer numbers made it one of the most significant logistics vehicles of the war.