Andres, Didier Les tracteurs & semi-remorques de l'U.S. Army

By the end of the 1930s, two major currents of ideas were confronting each other in the U.S. Army, which had begun profound restructuring of its units and its vehicle fleet. In the area of logistical support to the armies, advocates of trailers or semitrailers advocated a physical separation between the mechanical part of the traditional truck and the rear technical part that holds supplies or special material. The second current advocates compact, inseparable units for reasons of time saving and responsiveness in the field. Ultimately, both types of trucks were ordered during World War 2, with the complete trucks destined for the front and its immediate rear, while the lines of communication and the area of the stages were the domain of the tractors and semi-trailers.

This second category, which includes numerous special vehicles for the platoon, the intendance, the cavalry, the pioneers or the air force, is examined by the author for the first time in French.