Introduction

Tankograd Publishing has added another edition to their Training Manual (TM) series of military vehicle reference books. The new release, now available, covers the World War II era US White, Brockway & Corbitt 6-ton 6x6 Trucks. These trucks were designed as prime movers for the coastal artillery 3-inch & 90mm Anti-Aircraft guns as well as bridge layers/carriers for the US Army Corps of Engineers. Chassis were also provided for mounting the Model E Quick-Way crane, a gasoline tanker truck and a Fire-Crash truck conversion. I’m not aware of any scale models of this type of truck, but I vaguely remember an old all-resin Azimut kit about a decade ago. I don’t know if that kit is still available so this Tankograd reference may be of limited use for us modelers…unless maybe, there’s a kit in the works. Tankograd sometimes does print references for kit that have yet to be released. So we can hope can’t we?

Contents

At any rate, the book IS published, so here’s what you get. Measuring 11-3/4” x 8-1/2”, the book has 48 glossy pages staple bound between a heavy cardstock cover that is also glossy. The text and captions are entirely in English. Two pages of double-columned text give a short history of each of the three manufacturers, a short description of the basic 6-ton 6x6 truck, and then the differences between each of the main variants. The variants covered in the book are: Prime Mover (Corbitt 50SD6 and White 666), Bridge Erector Truck [Brockway B666, White 666, Ward LaFrance & Four Wheel Drive (FWD)], 2,000 gal. Gasoline Tank Truck (White 666), Crane Truck (Brockway C666, FWD) and the Fire-Crash Truck (Brockway F666). Then, a couple of paragraphs are provided to describe the major changes made in the course of production, such as changing from a closed cab type to an open cab type in 1943. Minor details and changes are described in the photo captions. Another useful tidbit provided is the US Army Registration Numbers for each type. These are the numbers stenciled on each truck and go a long way in determining truck type, manufacturer and approximate date of manufacture which is very useful when studying photographs. An entire page is dedicated to Technical Data and production figures for each type from 1941-1945. The rest of the book is filled with more than 125 b/w photographs with appropriate and sometimes lengthy captions describing the subject. Photos are divided into sections for each of the variant types mentioned above. The final 11 pages are filled with detail photos and drawings of the engine, interior and chassis, originally from the US Army technical manual.

Conclusion

Overall, this is another well packaged reference from Tankograd Publishing. There are lots of photos and it’s always nice to have them in a single edition. As for a modeling reference, it may be limited, as there are no mainstream kits of this truck type available that I’m aware of. Maybe Tankograd know something we don’t? I sure hope so. US cargo and prime mover trucks are lacking in scale models.

Reviewed by: C. Sosebee
Thanks to Tankograd Publishing for the review copy