The M54 was the standard cargo version of the series. It had a 7 ft × 14 ft low-sided box with a bottom-hinged tailgate. Side racks, troop seats, and overhead bows with a canvas cover were standard. A front-mounted winch was optional. The gun truck design evolved with a four-sided gun box bolted on the outside of the truck bed, then an inner steel wall was added, with a space between each layer, to provide protection against anti-tank rockets.
With the end of the Vietnam War, the need for such vehicles disappeared and most were either scrapped or returned to cargo carrying. One truck, an M54 named by its crew "Eve of Destruction," was brought back intact and is on display at the Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, Virginia.
THE KIT:
New tooling up-hull armor and M60 machine gun rack.
US mermite insulated food container included.
Includes cal.30,.50 ammunition box.
The kit provides 2 types of machine guns.
Accurately reproduced chassis and suspension systems are based on thorough study of actual vehicle.
