The Studebaker US6 (G630) was a series of -ton 6×6 and 5-ton 6×4 trucks manufactured by the

Studebaker Corporation Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers Ma ...

and

REO Motor Car Company The REO Motor Car Company was a company based in Lansing, Michigan, which produced automobiles and trucks from 1905 to 1975. At one point, the company also manufactured buses on its truck platforms. Ransom E. Olds was an entrepreneur who founde ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. The basic cargo version was designed to transport a cargo load over any type of terrain in any weather. Most of these were exported to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

under Lend-Lease by the USA during World War II, since the competing GMC 6×6 CCKW design proved to be more suitable for Western Front conditions.

History

Design and development

In 1939–1940 the US Army Ordnance Corps was developing tactical 6×6 trucks that could operate off-road in all weather. Studebaker,

Yellow Coach The Yellow Coach Manufacturing Company (informally Yellow Coach) was an early manufacturer of passenger buses in the United States. Between 1923 and 1943, Yellow Coach built transit buses, electric-powered trolley buses, and parlor coaches. Fou ...

(a GM company) and

International Harvester The International Harvester Company (often abbreviated by IHC, IH, or simply International ( colloq.)) was an American manufacturer of agricultural and construction equipment, automobiles, commercial trucks, lawn and garden products, household e ...

all submitted designs that were accepted and went into production in 1941. A total of 219,882 -ton 6×6 trucks and similar 6×4 versions in thirteen variations were built. Studebaker was the primary manufacturer, which built 197,678 of them at its South Bend IN plant, while Reo produced 22,204 more at its Lansing, Michigan plant from 1944 under a sub-contract. Reo trucks are identical to Studebakers, but Reo built only cargo-model trucks with the long wheelbase and without the front-mounted winch, more specifically referred to as the US6 U9. All production by both manufacturers ended in 1945.

Service

The US6 was manufactured primarily for export under Lend-Lease. The Soviet Union would become the largest foreign operator. The first Studebaker US6 trucks arrived in the USSR in the autumn of 1941. The

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

organized a test of eleven 6×6 "Studebekkers" (as they become referred to in the USSR) which took place between July 1942 and May 1943. The results were used to direct the enlargement of the payload from . In 1945, it was lowered to tons (3,200 kg), although on improved roads they could carry up to a maximum of 5 tons (4,500 kg). Large numbers of Studebaker US6 trucks were supplied to the Soviet Union via the

Persian Corridor The Persian Corridor was a supply route through Iran into Soviet Azerbaijan by which British aid and American Lend-Lease supplies were transferred to the Soviet Union during World War II. Of the 17.5 million long tons of U.S. Lend-Lease aid pro ...

in Iran under the USA's Lend-Lease program. The truck fulfilled many important roles in service with Soviet military forces during the war, such as towing artillery pieces and anti-tank guns and transporting troops over long distances. It was renowned for its overall ruggedness and reliability, including its ability to run on poor-quality fuel. The Soviet

also found them to be a suitable platform for conversion into

Katyusha rocket launcher The Katyusha ( rus, Катю́ша, p=kɐˈtʲuʂə, a=Ru-Катюша.ogg) is a type of rocket artillery first built and fielded by the Soviet Union in World War II. Multiple rocket launchers such as these deliver explosives to a target area ...

s, although this was not their main purpose. The truck became affectionately known as the ''Studer'' by Soviet troops and was even recognised of its importance (to the Soviet war effort) by

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

, who sent a personal letter of appreciation to Studebaker, in which he thanked it for the superb quality of the US6 for Soviet service. Studebaker US6 trucks were also used by the US military in the construction of the

Ledo Road The Ledo Road (from Ledo, Assam, India to Kunming, Yunnan, China) was an overland connection between India and China, built during World War II to enable the Western Allies to deliver supplies to China and aid the war effort against Japan ...

in Burma, and the

Alcan Highway