Quote:
Originally Posted by rcaf_777
I don't think so your forgeting the M939 5 Ton
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Except that the M939 is a five-speed automatic with a 240hp CUMMINS diesel. I have driven all three of the US Army's post WW2 5-tons and all of them in a single year.
Fresh out of Boot, I was given the oldest truck in the motor pool for RSOP duty. The M39A2 was made in 1967 (a year before I was born). It was a "rust bucket" with a leaky canvas roof and the older ring mount for an AA machine gun. The MACK V8 Diesel was a copy of the older two-stroke Detroit with a turbo and a 5 speed Spicer Hi and Low range manual transmission. It had ALL of the characteristics of a Detroit. It ran best when held against the governor (2K rpms), and leaked oil like a Detroit does. It only had 200 hp and a top speed of 50 mph. It had a load of torq at 600 lbs, so you could push through most terrain when loaded. The Vietnam vets swore by that truck because you could shoot off an entire cylinder bank and it would still run as long as it could get compression to detonate the fuel. It also had air over hydraulic for the brakes. Losing air pressure didn't entirely rob you of your breaks. My truck was actually a 7 cylinder because one of the pistons had blown its rings and the mechanics couldn't get a replacement kit.
Two months later I graduated to an AM General M809 5-Ton and the old M39 went off to the Surplus Market. The M809 was also a 5-speed manual (CUMMINS) with a CUMMINS NHC250 V6. It had a Hi-Lo tranny, Air over Hydraulics for brakes, and WORKING air driven windshield wipers (Yaa!). With 250 hp and 400 ft/lbs of torq it was a bit faster to speed, but maxed out at 55mph.
At the beginning of the next year, I got my AM General M939 5-Ton. CUMMINS V6 Diesel with 240hp and 500 ft/lbs of torq mated to a CUMMINS 5-speed AUTOMATIC with both Hi and Low range. Central Tire Inflation System, mated to Super Duty fully articulated Super Single tires (no more duals). 6X6 wheel drive IN ADDITION to a Split Differential to ensure no more "winching" or "towing" out of mud pits at Ft. Drum. The only thing they screwed up was the air system. It was redundant Air over Air but it was supplied by ONLY ONE compressor located on the driver's side of the engine block. Lose your compressor...Lose your breaks and ranging. The shifter would still work if you muscled it. We would drive these like a "clutchless stick shift." I still remember the shift points in my old M931 Tractor at the 475th Qm Co. 6mph, 17mph, 31mph, 45mph. Top Speed was governed to 65 mph but it would do 80 mph with the governor backed off. Tires were "squirmy" at those speeds though.