Tour #12 – Normandy Jeep Experience – Specialized Tours

The WC-57 "Command" reconnaissance vehicle was used for liaison and transport of staff officers in almost all American and Allied combat units to which this vehicle was delivered. The vehicle had a seating capacity of five people and was equipped with rounded door cut-outs. A canvas roof pavilion and removable side doors completed the metal body and made it a fully convertible vehicle. Theoretically unarmed, some models were equipped with a 12.7 machine gun mounted on a stand located on the front passenger side. This model could be equipped with a winch and became a WC-57. Entering service in 1942, it served a long time after the Second World War in almost all the armies of the world. While its pleasing shape made it a popular vehicle for parades and marches, it was however shunned by officers on the battlefield who preferred the Jeep, which was lighter and more manoeuvrable. General George S. Patton had an affinity for Dodge Command Cars, and by the time he took command of the Third Army in France in 1944, he had a few ideas about how to make a good vehicle even better. Prior to departing England, Patton requested that a Dodge WC57 Command Car be modified to add protective armor, storage space, and in an effort to counter attacks from the air, a .50-caliber machine gun. On Friday, May 12, a Dodge WC57 equipped with these touches was designed at the request of the general.

What is a "Staff car"? … At the beginning of 1940, while the war raged in Europe, it was clear that in the long run the United States would be involved, if not with men, with equipment. Like all the armies of the world - to ensure its communication links with command - the US Army had a fairly large fleet of cars. Even so after Pearl Harbor, entry into the war obviously required the rapid acquisition of tens of thousands more. To meet this need, three resources were used to make the required contributions: requisition (which although limited was still used), direct purchase at car dealers of 29,000 sedans stored after the cessation of manufacture in February 1942, and purchase at the manufacturers. In such a context, especially since they bought most of what was available, no standardization was possible, which is why the U.S. Army opted to classify its cars into the following categories: Light Field Sedan: those with four door bodywork and five passengers, Medium Field Sedan: those with four door bodywork and seven passengers (or the first Packard) and Heavy Field Sedan : those with four door bodywork and five or seven passengers (series in which we find the majority of the Packard 160, 180, 190 and 2000, as well as the Clipper Custom Light and Medium Station wagon). At the base a Field Sedan seven-seater with elongated body called "Limousine", or " Converted Sedan Bus ", acquired in the industry and as before meets two specifications, the MCM17 for the Light Sedan, and the MCM18 for Medium Sedan, including their contractual charges: - standard color olive drab, including chrome, (exceptions made for cars of senior general officers in the United States or those assigned to diplomatic missions), painted black, - as a replacement for a civilian fire vehicle, with the installation of black-out lights at the front and rear, an ignition shield, reinforced bumpers, a fire extinguisher, sometimes a weapons rack, or even air conditioning. If the model years are 1940, 1941, 1942 and sometimes even 1943 for Packard (the Heavy Field Sedan) they correspond to the class of sedans or luxury limousines reserved for general officers. During this period, the manufacturer Packard was very interested in this supply. Without waiting, from 1941, cars from its civil range, with four doors and the model "One sixty eight", received their military plates without being painted in the color olive drab.

The Dodge WC series was a range of light military trucks produced by Dodge during World War II. The series included weapon carriers, telephone installation trucks, ambulances, reconnaissance vehicles, mobile workshops and command cars. They were replaced after the war by the Dodge M-series vehicles. WC was a Dodge model code: W for 1941 and C for half-ton rating. The C code was retained for the ¾ ton and 1½ ton 6×6 Dodges. The Dodge Weapon Carrier was the US Army's beast of burden during the entire Second World War. Its reliability and robustness were unmatched. It was the American troops' pick-up truck and utility vehicle and was used in all theatres of operation all over the world. Its six-cylinder Chrysler engine is virtually indestructible. You will relive the experience of the GI’s aboard this legendary vehicle.