Even though convoy security guntrucks have gotten most of the attention, I was wondering about ones used for base, bridge, or perimeter security. What were they like? Did they have fancy markings and names, or were they more plain? Did they require as much armor for their duties? Were they more standardized? How were they marked? How were they equipped, with radios, tools, etc? Did they see action very often?

Sorry, my curiousity was piqued.

Tom - I've been away from Site for a few days (family emergency) and need to catch up on things. Let me rut around in my references to give you some solid answers for the questions you asked...

Anyone else with good information is encouraged to pipe in too!

Gunnie

I have one photo of the Air Force gun truck. I will try to scan it and post. It was based on the M 35 A2 2 1/2 ton with a hard top cab. It was painted Green and had no markings on it other than the regulation ones. It was a single wall design and was stationed at Ton Son Nute Air Base. It was manned by the Air Force Security Police.

The Engineers trucks were green also. Some were plain and there were some that had graphics on them. One was the Wild Thing based on the M 54 five ton non drop side cargo bed. It was very colorful with a lot of graphics. I am building an example of this truck for one of the crew members who served on it. There is also a replica of the trucks that has been built that goes around to different events. The truck is located in Indiana now. It will be at Ft. Eustis next month. I will post photos of this truck also.

There were several five ton and 2 1/2 ton trucks assigned to Base camps that were assigned to perimeter security duty and mine clearing duties. Some of these trucks were painted all black and had graphics as well. One was the Proud American which was a five ton with the quad 50 on the back.

So only a few guntrucks then served for duties other than convoy escort, I take it? While there were hundreds of guntrucks which did do convoy escort duty.

Yes and no to your question. A lot of the quad trucks were set up primarily for perimeter duty. It all depends on the Units the truck is assigned to. You are right to assume that there were more trucks for convoy security because we had APC, M41 Dusters and howitzer etc that were and did a very good job for perimeter duty. The M 41 was also used for bridge security a lot also. The trucks would work with the track units in giving security. The trucks are more mobile and can travel a higher speeds for longer periods of time with less maintenance than a track vehicle. In the Transportation Corps we found it better to use our own trucks set up and crewed by individuals who knew transportation and had a better insight on how to deal with the problems we encountered on the road.