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Dodge WC52, ¾-ton, 4x4, Weapons Carrier, with DShK 12.7mm Heavy Machine Gun From 1943 on, the Soviet Union received almost 25,000 WC, mainly through the Persian Corridor, where the vehicles had been delivered in knocked-down state and assembled in the southern truck assembly plants of Korremshahr and Andimeshk (»Little Detroit«). The vehicles became as ubiquitous on the Eastern battlefields as the Studebaker US6 and the Jeep and, though officially called »Weapons Carrier«, were primarly used as gun tractors and troop carriers. However, the sample shown here rectifies its name as it carries one DShK 12.7mm HeavyMachineGun. Developed in 1938 by Russian engineers Degtyarev and Shpagin (hence the abbreviation, the »K« for »krupnokaliberniy« = large calibre), the weapon proved highly successful against low-flying aircraft, soft targets and pillboxes.
Beside the WC52 shown here, and the WC51 (without winch), Lend-Lease to Russia included small amounts of the WC53 (»Carryall«) as well. The WC series is widely considered to be the most successful wheeled vehicle of WW2. Note :
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