35004 US SERVICE MEMBER

Long before the start of World War II, the United States had a well-developed automotive industry, which in the 1920s and 1930s clearly dominated its European competitors. Considering the complete security of this industrial base in 1939-1945, it is not surprising that it was quickly converted to armaments production and, thanks to its enormous capabilities, made the US Army fighting in Europe or the Far East properly fully motorized and to a very high degree. mechanized. Such far-reaching saturation with motorized equipment meant that repair and overhaul units played a huge role at almost every level of command. According to the position of the American infantry division in 1943, the responsibility for the technical efficiency of the vehicles was primarily the responsibility of a repair company of 147 men and - to a lesser extent - of a quartermaster company of 193 men. Both were transported mainly by 2.5-ton trucks, such as the GMC CCKW. In the case of armored divisions, repair units played an even greater role. First of all, they had tracked maintenance vehicles (eg M32) in their condition, which according to there were 30 jobs in 1943. For example, in the 3rd Panzer Division in the years 1944-1945, the repair company was primarily responsible for the repair company (called the Service Company).