Introduction

This recent release from Tankograd Publishing covers four variations of the U.S. WW II GMC CCKW truck. These are the wrecker, gasoline transport, Fuel or Oil Servicing Truck, and transport versions of the vehicle. The book is not particularly big only having 48 pages, but it does provide some excellent details for any modeller looking at the scratch building possibilities. I for myself would like to see the wrecker version of the vehicle, and while I question is there is enough information to work from scratch, this book will do away with a lot of the questions you may have.
Below is the introduction from the Tankograd Publishing website on this book.

48 pages with 150-200 illustrations, among them WW2 action photos, colour photos and technical drawings.
Illustrated throughout. Excerpts of technical manuals, wartime photos, photos of restored vehicles. Ideal companion for modellers and fans of technology. Complete background history and variants.

The book

This book from Tankograd Publishing is a part of their Technical Manual Series. The book unlike the usual titles from Tankograd Publishing is printed in English only, and in addition to that only consists of 48 pages. The cover of the book is is made from a glossy card which will supply a reasonable level of protection to the light weight pages within. The book is basically split into four sections covering the GMC CCKW-353 Wrecker Trucks, GMC CCKW Gasoline Tank Trucks, U.S.A.A.F. F-3 L-1 L-2 Fuel or Oil Servicing Truck, and GMC AFK WX-353 2.5ton 6x6 COE Truck.

GMC CCKW-353 Wrecker Trucks
This section of the book consists of 15 pages, 33 pictures, and 4 graphics. The text in this section only takes up a single page and while that limits the amount of information it does provide a short introduction, a fair amount of detail, and some technical data. The pictures and graphics are clear with the accompanying text provided giving sufficient information to accurately use for modelling purposes. While I know or should I say now; knew very little about this truck or its various types I really would like to tackle the wrecker and I believe it could make for a very appealing model.

GMC CCKW Gasoline Tank Trucks
This section of the book only consists of 7 pages, 26 pictures, and 6 graphics. The text again only occupies a single page and which is split into 4 sub headings which are;
Introduction
Description
Production figures from 1940 - 1945
U.S. Army registration numbers 1940 – 1944
At the end of this page there is a bar providing various technical data. If fuel tankers are something that interests you, then the various details covered should be of interest to you especially the pictures showing the contents of storage bins, control mechanisms, and items like the manhole cover in the top of the tank.

U.S.A.A.F. F-3 L-1 L-2 Fuel or Oil Servicing Truck
This section of the book is covered in ten pages and has 34 pictures. I suspect this section of the book will be of more interest to our members on Aeroscale as there are some very good pictures of various aircraft types being serviced by the vehicle. The text in this section only takes up half a page but the pictures are I suspect going to be the stars of this section. Something that will grab the attention of Armorama members are the last two pages of this section which covers the 600 gallon fuel trailer. The fuel trailer is listed as an Air Force piece of kit, but as one of the 8 pictures show the trailer being used to refuel an M4 Sherman during the Korean War I can see this making for an interesting addition in a diorama or just as a towed item.

GMC AFK WX-353 2.5ton 6x6 COE Truck
The last section of the book consists of 14 pages, 37 pages, and 24 graphics. This section of the book is where you find the details for the nuts and bolts of the truck with a very good series of images relaying an incredible level of detail for the books size. The text for this section of the book covers just over half a page with a data box taking up the remainder, part of the text relays the production figures from 1942 – 1945 and the U.S. Army registration numbers for 1942 – 1945. The photographs in this section provide perhaps the widest number of finishing options with a rail running version of the truck perhaps being the most imaginative finishing option. The graphics images and for that matter a small number of the photographs provide most of the detail required to build a model from scratch, with the rear bed covered particularly well.

Pictures
The pictures in this book are again of a very good quality considering their age. All of the pictures are black and white with the exception of 3 on the inside of the covers, however only one of these is a period picture.

Conclusion

This book from Tankograd Publishing is another great addition to their range; as when looking at anything you buy you can normally find something you would change or improve. this book from Tankograd Publishing has no faults that I can see, there is something I would have liked to see which is the section on the wrecker to have been longer; but I cannot call that a fault. The pictures are clear with some very good detail shots and graphics included for good measure. If you feel up to scratch building a version of the GMC truck this book will provide you with some great data that may be hard to find elsewhere.

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