I went to Sweden and found the history of WWII military trucks in Canada

Last week I wrote about how I visited Swedish supercar company Koenigsegg after swimming in the smelly Kattegat Strait. You might think that seeing such crisp, state-of-the-art machines would make it hard for me to appreciate rusty junkers, but you’d be wrong. Because the next day, I fell in love with the Canadian Military Pattern truck.

I had never even heard of Canadian military model trucks; in fact when i first laid eyes on the above machine i thought maybe it was some sort of home made Swedish workaholic. But after a lot of googling and scrolling Volvo C303, Lapland Volvo L3314, and Volvo TP21 (which are all amazing in themselves), I finally identified the stocky nosed truck whose body is almost entirely made of flat sheet metal.

Canadian Military Model Trucks (CMP) began to develop in the 1930s, as conflict in Europe – especially for the British – began to loom. A Canadian nonprofit called Maple Leaf, which “is dedicated to perpetuating the memory of the Canadian army abroad, composed only of volunteers, during the Second World War”, deals with the history of the beginnings of the CPM on its website, writing:

As early as 1935, the British government had begun to learn about Canada’s potential as a base for the manufacture of a wide variety of war-related products. In 1937, Ford of Canada was working on the development of a 15-hundredweight truck for military service, based on a very loose set of design parameters provided through government channels by the British. A year later, the program had gained momentum and General Motors of Canada was now also heavily involved. War was on the horizon, and all parties desperately sought to standardize a new series of military vehicles that would be acceptable for British service, but designed for Canadian manufacturing processes.

The result of these desperate (and unusual!) Collaborative efforts was the Canadian Military Model Truck. Prototypes were subjected to rigorous testing in 1939 and full production in 1940. By September 1, 1945, Canada alone had produced nearly 410,000 CMP vehicles, as well as 306,000 modified conventional types, over 50,000 vehicles. armored vehicles and more than 91,000 civilian vehicles modified for military service.

Canada’s auto industry had a huge manufacturing capacity in the 1930s, so its potential to support the war effort was enormous. While Ford got the ball rolling (you can see a Ford CMP truck in the image above, likely fitted with a 3.9-liter flathead V8), Chevrolet’s Canadian division has also entered the action, primarily using 3.5-liter in-line six engines. Here is a preview of a Chevrolet C-15. (The name means 15 CWT, or 15 quintals, which is roughly three quarters of a ton equivalent.):

These trucks and their derivatives are nicknamed Ford and Chevrolet “Blitz” in Australia, one of the many countries around the world that used Canadian military vehicles during and / or after World War II.

Chrysler of Canada also built CMPs under the Dodge brand. Here is a 1943 photo showing the 500,000th CMP coming off the line. Notice the three “Big Three” depicted on the grille:

It’s a bit embarrassing that I didn’t know about CMPs until now, because it was a huge agreement for Canada. The Globe and Mail, a media outlet from North America’s neighbors, discusses the importance of the country’s truck production, placing it in the context of the current COVID-19 crisis, writing:

Today’s battlefield is in hospitals rather than the field, but the same production of industrial-grade gear is required. The factories made the difference, which is why it’s worth looking back at how Canadian automakers helped win World War II.

Canada built trucks. Lots of trucks. Almost a million in total. From 1940, Canadian factories began their largest contribution to the war effort, single-handedly surpassing the heavy-duty truck production of Germany, Italy and Japan combined.. We are putting the Allies on wheels.

The story continues, describing how important Canada’s wartime truck-making efforts were:

Throughout the tomes of The history of World War II, Britain’s official record of the struggle, Canada’s truck production is considered our most important contribution to the war effort. To be sure, there have been many, from the D-Day landings at Juno Beach and the liberation of the Netherlands to the mass training of aircrews at Canadian airfields.

Beginning in 1940, General Motors of Canada and Ford Motor Co. of Canada began producing a heavy vehicle called the Canadian Military Model Truck (CMP). When asked to think of a vehicle they associate with WWII, most people would probably call the American Jeep. But if the Jeep was a staunch little pack mule, the CMP was a bull moose with saddlebags.

“It was a very capable vehicle and available in many permutations, from transport to the tanker to the mobile welding shop – any type you can imagine,” says retired Col. Ian Newby, who has six CMPs, including a prototype. “We still used them until the 1960s, when I was a young soldier.”

They’re straightforward, they look quirky, and they’re incredibly capable. It’s no surprise that I, a Jeep fanboy, are now in love.

Anyway, watch the rest of the video above to see the rest of my European road trip in my 1994 Chrysler Voyager 250,000 mile diesel manual, dubbed “Krassler project. “You’ll see in the clip that I’m doing a fuel economy calculation after driving on Sweden’s slow, smooth road. The seven-passenger van scores 33 MPG! It’s an incredible people transporter, but not so amazing that the CMP.