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Dodge M37

An M56 used as a fire truck in the Lane Motor Museum

The Dodge M37 was a 3⁄4-ton 4x4 truck developed for service in the United States military as a successor to the widely used Dodge-built WC Series introduced during World War II. Put into service in 1951, it served in a variety of configurations in frontline duty in the Korean War and War in Vietnam before being replaced by two commercial off the shelf (COTS) based 1+1⁄4-ton trucks: the Kaiser M715 (introduced in 1967 and supplied through 1969) and the Dodge M880/M890 series (in the 1970s).

It bore the designation (G741), and after its military phase-out was both put into domestic Federal government agency use and auctioned to civilians in the U.S., and adopted by foreign militaries.

History

Many of the components on the M37 are similar or identical to the Dodge-built World War II WC series vehicles, and many deficiencies of the WC series were corrected in the M37. Notably, a conventional pickup truck style bed replaced the platform on the World War II vehicle, simplifying production. There was significant drivetrain and powerplant commonality with the immediate postwar WDX series civilian Power Wagons, but no sheet metal was shared. Six WC-based prototype W37s were produced in early-to-mid 1950, with the first pre-production pilot vehicle rolling off the assembly line on 14 December 1950.[2]

In total some 115,000 Dodge M37s were produced between 1951 and 1968. Manufacture of the M37 began in earnest in January 1951, with approximately 11,000 vehicles made by the end of that year. By mid-1954 63,000 of the vehicles had been produced. In 1958 a number of modifications to the design resulted in the new vehicles being designated as M37B1. From mid-1958 until the end of production 47,600 M37B1 vehicles were produced. Approximately 4,500 Canadian M37CDNs were also produced between 1951 and 1955. M37s continued in service worldwide in the Israeli and Greek militaries.

From 1968 onwards, the U.S. military replaced the M37 with the heavier-rated 1+1⁄4 (or five-quarter) ton Kaiser Jeep manufactured M715 family of vehicles. Rather than purpose-built tactical vehicles, these "militarized" commercial off-the-shelf ('COTS') trucks were considered underpowered and fragile compared to the M37.[3] After seeing service in the Vietnam War the M715 was replaced in 1976 by the similarly rated Dodge-built COTS M880 series.

In addition to those M37s that were sold or offered as military aid to allied foreign countries, many were transferred to civilian agencies or sold domestically at government auctions, becoming a not uncommon sight in government and private use in the 1970s and '80s; some are still seen today in rural areas.

1953 Dodge M37

Variants

Dodge M42 in the Overloon Museum
Dodge R2 at the Hellenic Air Force Museum
1952 Dodge M152

experimental:

Specifications

Engine

The M37's flathead Chrysler Straight-6 engine was carried over from the World War II-era WC vehicle line, as was most of the drivetrain. Using an engine and drivetrain derived from a widely-produced 1930s era passenger vehicle was in line with a long-standing military procurement strategy that attempted to use commercially produced vehicle variants in military service.[citation needed]

Many deficiencies with aging design became apparent in the 1960s, including a tendency of the engine's connecting rods to fail at high rpms due to the long cylinder stroke of the undersquare engine. As the average speed of the vehicles in the military increased (overwhelmingly during peacetime, on sound roads) these engine failures became commonplace due to the low gear ratio of the vehicle, which was suited for a multipurpose vehicle capable of transporting heavy loads in rough terrain.

M37 B1 Standard specifications sheet (1968).

Driveline

Clutch

Transmission

Transfer Case

Drive Shaft

Axles

Chassis

Fuel tank

Electrical

Brakes

Steering

Wheelbase

Weight

Tire Size

Winch

Aborted replacement competition

During the late 1960s a competition was initiated by the Army, which requested the leading U.S. automotive companies to submit proposals as a replacement for the M37. Several prototype vehicles passed through the preliminary examination, eventually leading the military to accept General Motors XM705 11⁄4-ton Truck and derivative XM737 Ambulance, which were supposed to replace the M37, instead of the militarized COTS M715 series of trucks. However, Congress cut funds for the program, and the XM705 never reached the assembly line.[4]

Below table lists the comparative specifications of the vehicles involved.[5]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ TM-9-2320-212-10 Operator's Manual for M37 series trucks (PDF). Headquarters, Department of the Army. 30 November 1973. Retrieved 30 August 2015. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  2. ^ creinemann. "1953 M37 Dodge Restoration". Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2012.
  3. ^ "M-715 Kaiser 5/4 Jeep – Olive-Drab". Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
  4. ^ Accessed 20 October, 2021 http://www.vintagemilitarytrucks.com/XM705_M705_Chevrolet_4x4_Military-Trucks_Page.htm
  5. ^ Statement of Maj. Gen. Henry A. Miley, Jr., Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army, Department of Defense Appropriations for 1970, pt.3, pp. 146-148.
  6. ^ Reinemann, Carl http://m37.crwdesigns.com/ Archived 15 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Reinemann, Carl http://dodgem37.com/ Archived 15 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dodge M37.