Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) trucks were mutually coherent ranges of military trucks, compliant with British Army specifications, made in large numbers, and in several classes and numerous versions, by Canada's branches of the U.S. 'Big Three' auto-makers during World War II.At first, only Ford and GM of Canada engaged in mass-producing the CMP trucks. Chrysler (Dodge) was contracted much later, when significant additional truck production became necessary. To allow Dodge to begin quickly, Dodge was not required to retool their factory to produce trucks that complied with all the British CMP specifications – most crucially, Dodge's 3-ton trucks were all 6x4, lacking front-wheel drive. They were primarily intended for use by the armies of the British Commonwealth allies, but also served in other British Empire units.
Canadian factories produced some 850,000 vehicles in World War II, including about 50,000 armoured vehicles, self-propelled guns and tanks. However, of greatest significance was the huge number of medium-heavy and medium trucks – over 800,000 – produced by Ford, GM and Chrysler of Canada.
Until the currency restrictions of the late 1940s, the Canadian automotive industry provided a significant number of vehicles for British Empire countries. Under the "Imperial Preference" scheme, those territories reduced import duties on Canadian products, usually made by Canadian subsidiaries of the big U.S. auto manufacturers. In the late 1930s, to prepare for war, Canada started drawing up standard designs, which involved a unique and historic design-and-production collaboration between rival giant car-makers, especially Ford Canada and GM of Canada.
Canadian Military Pattern trucks not only motorized the forces of Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, but were also sent to the Soviet Union after the German invasion, as part of Canada's Gift and Mutual Aid program to the Allies, comparable to the U.S. Lend-Lease Act.
During the war, CMP trucks saw service around the world: in the North African campaign, the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Italian Campaign, the Eastern Front, the Burma campaign, the Philippines, the liberation of Northwest Europe, and the Western Allied invasion of Germany. CMP trucks also served in post-war conflicts in Indonesia, French Indochina, and the Portuguese colonies in Africa.
The United Kingdom's official History of the Second World War called Canada's war-time production of soft-skinned trucks, including the CMP class, the country's most important contribution to Allied victory. Canada's trucks are considered to have "put the British Army on wheels". In the North African Campaign, the British Eighth Army fought Panzer Army Africa using almost exclusively CMP trucks, and the Allied progress from Sicily through Italy and France depended heavily on the Canadian trucks. By the end of the war, Canada's vast supply of trucks provided a vehicle for every three soldiers in the field — compared to one vehicle per seven American soldiers — making it the most mobile army in the world.
History
The rise to power in Germany of Hitler and the Nazi party in 1933 led to discussions in the mid-1930s between the British War Office and the Canadian Army concerning the possible production of military vehicles in Canada. During the First World War, Canadian land forces had participated as a corps in the British Army. In any future conflict it was assumed that Canadian forces would again be tightly integrated with those of the Mother Country, and so it would be essential that Canadian-manufactured equipment be compatible with British standards and specifications.
Early in 1937, the Ford Motor Company of Canada and General Motors of Canada Ltd were each invited by the Canadian Department of National Defence to produce a Canadian prototype of a 15-hundredweight (cwt) (¾-ton U.S.) payload rating, light infantry truck similar to the Morris CS8 that had then been recently adopted by the British War Office. By 1938, Canadian military authorities had shifted their interest to heavier 4x4 and 6x4 designs. In that year, Ford and General Motors of Canada Limited were invited to produce prototypes of a 6x4 medium artillery tractor derived from the British 6x4 Scammell Pioneer. By 1939, plans had been prepared for the mass production in Canada of a range of military vehicles based on fairly strict CMP British specifications. These trucks were originally designated "Department of National Defence (DND) Pattern"; however, when production volumes increased and it became clear that the Canadian-built vehicles were to serve widely in the forces of other countries, the class of trucks was redesignated "Canadian Military Pattern" (CMP). At the outbreak of World War II, Canada's large and modern automobile industry was shifted over to the production of military vehicles, outproducing Germany.
Initially intended for Canadian military use, the vehicles were soon taken on by all British and Commonwealth forces. While the Dunkirk evacuation in the spring of 1940 succeeded in rescuing close to 340,000 Allied soldiers who had been encircled by the invading German army, the British Expeditionary Force had been forced to abandon most of its military vehicles in France. There then arose an urgent need to replace those losses and to provide new vehicles to equip the rapidly expanding armed forces of the Commonwealth. The logical answer was CMP vehicles, based on the British specification and with large manufacturing capacity.
Production
Canadian factories produced around 850,000 vehicles in World War II, including some 50,000 armoured vehicles, self-propelled guns, and tanks. The number of trucks and light wheeled vehicles forms the most significant share as more than 800,000 units were produced by Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler of Canada. Thanks to a large pre-war automotive sector, Canada's was able to build more military trucks than the main Axis nations – Germany, Italy, and Japan – combined, reflecting the demands of mobile warfare in the age of blitzkrieg.
Canada's military truck production focused predominantly on a broad range of medium-rated vehicles. Thus, light jeeps and trucks above 3 tonnes (3.3 short tons) off-road capacity, required by the Canadian Army, were purchased from outside suppliers. Canadian industry production included both modified civilian commercial designs (306,000 of which were classified as "Modified Conventional Pattern" or MCP), as well as dedicated military-purpose designs, built conforming to the Canadian Military Pattern specifications, in roughly equal numbers.
Most CMP trucks were manufactured by the Canadian Chevrolet division of General Motors, and Ford Motor Company of Canada. The two manufacturers quickly ramped up their Canadian production utilizing the reserve production capacity that had remained idle ever since the Great Depression, and through an unusual act of collaboration between the two rival companies — the use of interchangeable components. A smaller number of CMP trucks were assembled from Canadian-made chassis and parts, typically first built on Canadian production lines, then broken (knocked) down, crated, shipped overseas, and re-assembled in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa (2,600), India (9,500), Italy, and Egypt. Following British convention, CMP trucks had right hand drive even though most of them were built in Canada, which primarily used left-hand drive vehicles. The CMP specification proved versatile, and it formed the basis of a wide variety of different truck types and even some armoured vehicles. There were no less than ninety types of CMP army vehicles on twelve different chassis, including three different types of wireless trucks, four ambulance types, and thirteen field-workshop vehicle types. In Australian service (almost always with the No. 13 cab), the vehicles were known as the "Chev Blitz" or the "Ford Blitz".
Around 410,000 CMP trucks were manufactured in Canada, with GM contributing 201,000 and Ford making the remainder. The most prevalent models were 4x4, 3-ton trucks (common types were the Chevrolet C60S and C60L, and the equivalent Ford F60S and F60L), with just over 209,000 vehicles made. Additionally, Chrysler was enlisted to produce another 180,000 Dodge trucks, just over three quarters of which were 3-ton trucks. These were to also be used in the CMP role, although they differed somewhat from the CMP pattern, being fitted with standard Dodge control cabins, on longer wheelbases, and mostly being two-wheel drive. Furthermore, roughly 9,500 additional bare 4x4 CMP chassis were made, mainly for conversion to armoured cars and other vehicles in Allied countries.
Canada's production of CMP trucks alone exceeded the total military truck production of Nazi Germany. The British History of the Second World War (the United Kingdom's official history of the war) argues that the production of soft-skinned trucks, including the CMP truck class, was Canada's most important contribution to the eventual Allied victory.
After 1945, newly manufactured and modified war surplus CMP trucks were used in several European armies (e.g. the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Spain), and around the world (e.g., South Africa, Argentina, Jordan, South Vietnam, and Malaya). CMP trucks were adapted after the war for a variety of civilian roles including forestry, grain transport, fire-fighting, and snowplowing. In Malaysia, after the Malayan Emergency, many CMP trucks were converted to log transporters or off-road trucks at construction sites with upgraded brake systems and more powerful engines.
Canadian Military Pattern types
The Ford-built CMP trucks used a , Ford V8 Flathead engine while most of the Chevrolet-built CMP trucks had an , , straight-6 overhead-valve Chevrolet engine. An American-made GMC straight-6 engine powered the C60X 3-ton truck.
The Ford and Chevrolet trucks shared a standard cab design, which evolved over the years of production. The first (designed at Ford by Sid Swallow), second and third cab designs were called No. 11, 12 and 13, respectively. The first two types were similar, the main difference being a two-part radiator grille in the No. 12 cab (its upper part was opened with a bonnet, which was known as the "Alligator cab"). The final No. 13 cab, an entirely Canadian design made from late 1941 until the end of the war, had the two flat panes of the windscreen angled slightly downward to minimize the glare from the sun and to avoid causing strong reflections that would be observable from aircraft.
All the CMP cab designs had a short, "cab forward" configuration that gave CMP trucks their distinctive pug-nosed profile. This design was required to meet the British specifications for a compact truck design that would be efficient to transport by ship. The specifications also demanded right-hand drive.
Internally the cab had to accommodate the comparatively large North American engines and it was generally cramped.Fletcher, David British Military Transport 1829–1956 London 1998 HMSO The standard cabs were then matched up with a variety of standard chassis, drive trains and body designs. Chevrolet-built vehicles could be recognised by the radiator grille mesh being of a diamond pattern, whereas Ford-built ones had grilles formed of a square mesh.
Dodge production started later. Early prototypes used the No. 13 cab, but production vehicles retained a commercial cab and longer conventional control similar to CMP vehicles. This enabled more rapid production, while retaining similar specifications for chassis, drive, and mounting of vehicle rear bodies.