The versatility of the M35 is shown notably in the scores of "gun truck" created for patrol duties and convoy escort in Vietnam. First examples only had a light gun mount over the cargo bed, secured in place. Such cobnversion was already made in Africa, at Congo-Leopoldville in 1965 and the weapon was an Oerlikon GAI 20 mm anti-aircraft gun. Also in Congo mods mounted 2.75" aircraft rockets onpedestal, also on the cargo bed as improvized artillery but this was not a success.

The U.S. military in Vietnam were provided with a larger array of weapons and light iron and steel plating and Army Artillery Battalions assigned to Batteries received in priority .50-caliber equipped M35 trucks. A few also received the M55 Quadmount as anti-personal heavy firepower defence. Single M60 machine guns, then twin, as well as M79 grenade launchers were also mounted in various pintles in the flatbed. The M35 later became standardized as prime mover for the M55 Quadmount and now included the dismounted, former towed trailer (M45 mount) relocated on the bed. The M55 system also was mounted on the M54 truck.


Eve of Destruction, Exterior. This was a 5-ton M54-based gun truck at Fort Eustis

Simplified armored versions were made for convoy escort, the most known "gun trucks" with mad max like flavour. In specialized workshops were mounted armored walls of various thicknesses depending on what was available, to standard cargo variants. Some had a smaller bed-mounted multi-angle "box" over a standard bed or dump bed; A very large variety of weapons was used, from LMGs to HMGs, grenade launchers, miniguns, flamethrowers and rarely including the recoiless rifle M12.

In 1971-72 as these trucks were removed from service, those not passed on to the SVNA were returned to their initial configuration. Upon insistance to save it by truckers vets, a single original one was shipped to the U.S. Army Transportation Museum, where it resides still at Fort Eustis in Virginia since 1971. This the famous "Eve of Destruction" from a popular tube of the time by Barry McGuire.

Post-Vietnam saw many veterans building full size replicas of their original Gun Trucks from worn out, sold M35, but also M54 trucks, Dump Trucks for show. There is also a functional display replica of "Psychotic Reaction" based on an M35A2 which is a frequent host of many vehicle displays, Vietnam vets reunions to this day.

A forgotten page of the Vietnam War

Details of the converion

Read More/Src

Links

Gun Trucks, by David Doyle (Ampersand Group)
US Army Truck Tractors in Detail, by F Korán, J Moštek, J Spurný, M Hraban and RC Foulks (Wings and Wheels)
Vietnam Gun Trucks, by Gordon L Rottman (Osprey)

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Videos

Gun trucks in Vietnam.

Famous Trucks and their story