2½-ton 6×6 truck
class of military medium duty trucks
The 2+1⁄2-ton, 6×6 truck was a standard class of medium-duty trucks, designed at the beginning of World War II for the U.S. Armed Forces, in service for over half a century, from 1940 into the 1990s. Also frequently known as the deuce and a half, or just deuce, this nickname was popularized post WWII, most likely in the Vietnam War era. The basic cargo versions were designed to transport a cargo load of nominally 2+1⁄2 short tons (5,000 lb; 2,300 kg) over all terrain, in all weather. The 2+1⁄2-ton trucks were used ubiquitously in World War II, and continued to be the U.S. standard medium-duty truck class after the war, including wide usage in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, as well as the first Gulf War.
Originally, five different designs were standardized by the U.S.; two were also standardized by Canada. During World War II, the most important model for the U.S. Army was the GMC CCKW, or "Jimmy", with over 560,000 units built. Another 200,000+ deuces were Studebaker and REO US6, built primarily for Lend-Lease export, mostly to the Soviet Union, and many others have been exported to smaller militaries. In addition to the 6×6 trucks, a significant minority of these trucks were also built minus the front-wheel drive, as 6×4 trucks. The nickname "Jimmy", a phonetical diminutive of GMC, could be applied to both their 6×6 and 6×4 units.
After World War II, the M series truck, originally developed by REO, became the standard 2+1⁄2-ton truck.
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