A Record Of Military Macks In The Services And Beyond

There are military vehicles designed to attract attention, machines built to charge into battle and enormous armoured contraptions whose principal purpose is to make the enemy reconsider its immediate plans. Then there are Mack trucks, magnificent American mechanical workhorses whose job was considerably less glamorous but arguably just as important: making sure that everything required to fight a war actually arrived where it was needed. Preferably before the fighting finished.

In A Record of Military Macks in the Services and Beyond (1998), renowned military vehicle historian Bart Vanderveen explores the remarkable history of Mack trucks in military service and their subsequent civilian careers. Published by After the Battle, this specialist volume celebrates the rugged engineering, extraordinary versatility and enduring usefulness of vehicles that became essential components of military transport.

Mack had established a formidable reputation for building durable commercial vehicles long before military organisations discovered their considerable potential. The company’s famous bulldog emblem was particularly appropriate, suggesting machinery that was powerful, stubborn and unlikely to surrender merely because somebody had presented it with an enormous hill and several tons of equipment.

During the twentieth century, Mack trucks undertook demanding military assignments, carrying supplies, hauling heavy equipment and performing the numerous logistical duties without which even the most impressive army would quickly become an expensive collection of stationary machinery.

Among the celebrated military Macks were substantial heavy-duty trucks and specialist transporters designed to cope with remarkable loads under difficult conditions. These were not vehicles intended for leisurely Sunday outings or impressing the neighbours outside a country pub. Their natural environment involved mud, dust, enormous trailers and drivers whose mechanical vocabulary was probably considerably more colourful than the manufacturer’s operating instructions.

Vanderveen’s historical approach offers enthusiasts an opportunity to appreciate the various military applications of these formidable machines, along with their lives beyond military service. For many trucks, retirement from the armed forces was merely the beginning of another career, often involving civilian haulage, construction, recovery work or other occupations requiring machinery with considerable strength and very little concern for appearances.

There is something splendidly ironic about military trucks surviving years of demanding service only to be purchased by civilian enthusiasts who subsequently spend extraordinary sums restoring them to the exact appearance they possessed before anybody had the opportunity to scratch the paintwork.

For collectors and historians, however, these machines represent an important and frequently overlooked aspect of military heritage. Behind every celebrated campaign stood an enormous transport operation, much of it conducted by hardworking trucks whose achievements rarely inspired dramatic feature films.

Condition: As New. This copy is in exceptional condition, presenting as new despite its 1998 publication date. Unlike a surviving military Mack, it requires no diesel engine overhaul, replacement tyres, specialist recovery equipment or an industrial-sized building in which to accommodate it.

Published by After the Battle in 1998. ISBN: 9781870067096.

Offered by Crappy Old Books, where we admire magnificent military machinery, particularly when owning a piece of its history does not require several acres of parking space or an understanding relationship with the local highways authority.

An excellent addition to any collection of military transport history, American commercial vehicles or specialist truck literature. Particularly recommended for enthusiasts who appreciate that behind every victorious army stands an enormous logistical organisation, several thousand hardworking drivers and a fleet of Mack trucks quietly getting on with the important business of moving everything.

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