Estrella WarBirds Museum

M-2-4-233
1 ton Cargo Truck

Serial: M-2-4-9592

The M-2-4 is a one-ton, two-axle, four-wheel-drive cargo truck built by I.H.C. and supplied to the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps during WWII. Production of the 1-ton M-2-4 began in 1941 with an order for 584 cargo trucks.  The vast majority of these were open-cab cargo trucks, but a few were built with closed civilian "K" cabs with military fenders and hoods.  Winches were furnished on 70 of the 584 trucks.  The balance of the 10,450 vehicles were open-cab cargo trucks.

The open-cab M-2-4 trucks had very plain open cabs similar to those used on Dodge VC series 1/2-ton trucks, with two bucket seats and no provision for a top or doors. The majority of the trucks were cargo trucks with a narrow cargo box that further made them resemble the WWII Dodge 1/2-ton models. However, the rear body was longer than the Dodge and the truck's simple fenders were mounted outside the bed. The M-2-4 trucks were supplied with top bows, tarpaulins, and troop seats. The spare tire was mounted on outer right hand side of the cargo bed. The fuel tank was under the seats, a toolbox on the left running board, and a one-piece folding windshield protected the crew. Separate brush guard protected the actual grill and lights during off-road operation. The radiator cap protruded through a hole in the right front of the side-opening hood. Power take-off driven winches were mounted at the front of some vehicles, and the frames of those trucks were longer than the non-winch trucks, rather than having extensions riveted on the ends. The earliest production trucks used civilian instruments, but those were supplanted in later production by the standard round military gauges.

The IHC M-2-4 is of the same venue and predecessor of the M-37 Weapons Carrier. The M-2-4 was quite versatile utility vehicle, modified to suit various field needs including a tow package, a troop transporter, weapons carrier, a rocket launcher or as a bomb carrier.

The M-1-4 and M-2-4 trucks were versatile vehicles that began life prior to WWII. The Marines had been purchasing and using previous models of IH trucks for several years. In the late 1930's as the country was gearing up for war, the Corps wanted a new combat vehicle. Rather than modify an existing model, they developed their own set of specifications to meet their unique needs. IH agreed to develop a series of vehicles including a 1/2 ton vehicle, which closely resembled the IH -D-15. The initial version was the M-1-4. By early 1941, it had completed testing and by summer was in full production. 1,126 were ultimately produced. By mid-war, however, the introduction of the Ford and Willys Jeep forced out the 1/2-ton M-1-4 and production ceased by 1943. The 1-ton, M-2-4, would continue to be produced through 1944, with 9,101 being built. Both trucks were similar though most M-1-4's used the 213 cubic inch Green Diamond Engine and the M-2-4's had the bigger 233 cubic inch Red Diamond. Other difference included 7.50-16 tires on the lighter rig and 9.00-16's on the larger series M-2-4.