M809's in Viet Nam?

[historyfanatics]

Howdy All!

I am doing quite a bit of research on gun trucks in Viet Nam, and have this question: were any M809-series trucks ever used in Viet Nam? If so, which models? Also, were any used as gun trucks?

I am trying to get to the point of actual construction, and have been having a hard time finding a suitable M54-series truck. I had thought about using an M35-series, but I am going for a mid- to late war truck.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[jatonka]

I think the 800 series came out around 1976, approximately. Vietnam ended 1975, approximately. So, no 800 series Gun Trucks. probably. My Aces & Eights is an early 67 deuce GT. Check my avatar. JT out

 

[Crash_AF]

My 818 is a 1972, so they were being produced during the end of the war, but I'm not sure if they were deployed to the AO or not.

Later,
Joe

 

[TacticalTruck]

I think 1970 is the first year. My M819 is a 1970 Jeep Corp. I have never seen a picture of an M809 series truck in Vietnam, nor a turbo stack deuce for that matter.
Jeff

 

[papabear]

I think you are stuck finding an M54 Robert. We built "Proud American" on an M813 out of pure desperation as like you said...the 54s are getting hard to find.
Depends what you are trying to achieve. Our purpose was to build a replica to honor the crew of the Proud American...she passed muster from an actual crewmember.
Most of the Guntruck owners i have met served on the truck they built the replica of. Now those guys go into great detail to be sure every nut and bold is correct for that truck.

I think whatever you do or build will be appreciated by the brave men who fought the Guntrucks as they were few and far between.
I would only say that if you give her the name of an actual Guntruck...get as close as you can to correct. It means alot to the folks who were there.

 

[Desert Deuce]

My 3 800 series trucks are all XM's.

XM816 w/w - 1970
XM813 w/w - 1970
XM818 w/w - 1969 (year yet to be confirmed, GL auction stated 1969)

While I can't answer whether 800's were used in Viet Nam, the build year of my trucks indicates they were available.

I do believe my M54A1C was in Viet Nam and made the trip home. It has a rebuild tag on the dash from 1975. I've been told that a group of M54A1's that were returned at the end of the war were all rebuilt in 1975. Additional research is required. This truck would be a fine candidate as a replica.

Kevin

www.desertdeucesurplus.com

 

[historyfanatics]

Thanks to everybody for the help. As of right now, due to other reasons, it is looking like the gun truck will be built on an M35 truck. It just comes down to economics at the present time.

However, I am planning on obtaining an M809 series 5-ton wrecker, tractor, and expanso-van.

 

[halftrack]

i had an m816 year of manufacture was1969 by kaiser jeep corp. I believe 1969 was the first year.

 

[DDoyle]

I'd have to start digging through files - which at the moment I don't have time to do - but from memory 68- or 69 was the first year for the 809 series. I've never seen a photo of one in Vietnam (and I've got 10000 or so pix from Vietnam) - and suspect that they were sent to Europe.

Remember, at the time - Vietnam was considered a minor problem - the major concern was the threat of a war with the Soviet Union - same reason the M60s went to Europe, and the M48A2s to Vietnam.

HTH,
David Doyle

 

[docfarmall]

Why not build a gun truck out of a duece there were duece gun trucks in Veitnam too

 

[docfarmall]

Were is the gun truck ralley gonna be next year maybe you could get them to let you bring them to the event at Knob Creek next year gun trucks at a machine gun meet.