Dodge built 59,114 examples of the Dodge WC-52, a three-quarter-ton 4×4 that carried soldiers, ammunition and guns through World War II. Under the hood, each one ran a Dodge T214 six. It also carried a front winch that its near twin, the WC-51, did without.
In the end, the WC-52 outlived the war that created it. It served again in Korea, and it equipped armies from the Soviet Union to Denmark. Its chassis even carried over into Dodge’s first civilian Power Wagon.
Today, restored examples sit in museums on both sides of the Atlantic. Here is what the record says about the winch truck of Dodge’s wartime lineup.
What the WC-52 was
The WC-52 belonged to a big family. According to Military Trader’s buyer’s guide, Dodge built 255,195 WC-series three-quarter-ton trucks under the Army’s G-502 designation, starting in 1942. Of those, 123,541 were WC-51s and 59,114 were WC-52s.
The two looked alike, but one detail split them. The WC-51 had no winch. By contrast, the WC-52 had a front-mounted winch and a longer frame to make room for it. Military Trader rates that winch at 7,500 pounds.
Even the name carried a meaning. Military Trader explains that “WC” was a Dodge model code rather than an abbreviation. The “W” stood for 1941, and the “C” stood for a half-ton rating.
The Dodge WC-52 by the numbers
The American GI Museum keeps a restored WC-52 cargo truck. Its spec sheet lists the Dodge T214 six at 77 horsepower and a top speed of 54 mph. The museum puts the truck’s weight at three tons.
The museum also gives the dimensions. Overall, the WC-52 measures 14 feet 9 inches long, 6 feet 11 inches wide and 6 feet 10 inches high. It needed only one crew member, the driver. In addition, it could mount an optional M2 .50-caliber machine gun on an M24A1 ring.
Other references, however, add more detail. The Danish site Army Vehicles lists the T214’s displacement as 230 cubic inches. It names a four-speed New Process gearbox and a Braden winch. Yet it rates the engine at 92 hp at 3,200 rpm, a higher number than the American museum gives.
Where the WC-52 served
The truck traveled widely. The American GI Museum says the WC-52 served in every major theater of World War II and then in the Korean War. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union received thousands of them through Lend-Lease.
Europe’s armies used them too. The Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk lists the British, the Free French and the Polish Armed Forces in the West among its users. Variants served as command cars, ambulances, anti-tank gun carriers and reconnaissance vehicles. Most of the trucks, though, towed artillery and carried soldiers.
The trucks also stayed in uniform after 1945. Army Vehicles says Denmark received WC-52s and WC-51s through the American Mutual Defense Assistance Program shortly after the war. There, they handled command duties, cargo and towing a 120 mm mortar.
A Polish museum’s Exhibit of the Year
The Gdańsk museum bought its own WC-52 and named it Exhibit of the Year at its first anniversary. Dodge built that truck in 1945, and it shipped to Europe the same year. It probably served with the U.S. Army in the final battles in Western Europe, the museum says.
Today it wears the markings of the 1st Carpathian Rifle Brigade, part of the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division in the II Polish Corps. As a result, the truck honors Polish soldiers who fought in Italy. The museum displays it only on special occasions.
From WC-52 to Power Wagon
The WC series did not end with the war. According to Military.com, Dodge launched the civilian Power Wagon in 1946. The new truck was “largely unchanged from the U.S. military’s WC series.” In fact, the article describes it as a 1930s-era cab on the existing military chassis.
Military Trader goes further, calling the WC-51 and WC-52 “the Power Wagon of WWII.” So the winch-equipped military truck and the civilian workhorse shared the same three-quarter-ton roots.
Buying a Dodge WC-52 now
Anyone shopping for one should read Military Trader first. The magazine warns that age and metal fatigue make them prone to breaking axle shafts and drivetrain parts. Its first piece of advice is to buy the manual before the truck.
The guide also sets expectations on the road. A WC-52 carries eight people and tows light loads, but its safe cruising speed is about 45 mph. For that reason, it is a poor fit for freeway driving.
The core numbers are on the record. Dodge built 59,114 WC-52s, and the American GI Museum still lists each with a 77-hp T214 six and a top speed of 54 mph.
More from Fast Lane Only
