M656 8X8 5-TON TRUCK
“Pershing Pulling” is how PS Magazine described the role of the M656 5-ton cargo truck. Other than during prototype testing, the 8x8 truck was never going to brave the surf driving off a landing craft, be airdropped into battle, or run at high speed across some distant desert. Instead, it was destined to haul the Pershing 1-A guided ballistic missile on the back roads in Germany. Unfortunately, this high-tech thoroughbred truck was put out to pasture way before its time.
Developed from scratch and built to military specifications by Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, the truck was prematurely designated the standard Army 5-ton cargo truck. There had been a lot of attention paid to performance, fording and swimming, high mobility off road, minimal maintenance, and maximize reliability. These were all features that made the M656 series of 5-ton trucks prohibitively expensive. Special welding and heat treatment methods and “digital computer” verified design solutions for the aluminum body vehicle reflected technology found in during the era of Saturn and Apollo moon projects.
In the end, only 500 vehicles were ordered and delivered to the Army, all in 1969. Of these, about 305 were of the cargo version, 175 road tractors, and 17 expansible van types. Prototypes had been delivered earlier for testing and evaluation.
The majority of the trucks were deployed in Germany, principally with the 56th Artillery Brigade. A handful served at Ft Sill, Okla., at the US Army Field Artillery School.
Martin Marietta was responsible for Pershing 1-A customization and building the M790 Erector Launcher for the solid propellant ballistic missile. Testing was conducted in Florida. This role did not require any of the special features for the vehicles. In fact, the waterproofing bed sides were permanently removed from vehicles that would become missile carriers.
By December 1985, all Pershing 1-A had been replaced by the more powerful Pershing 2 hauled by 10-ton German-made MAN 8x8 trucks. The 5-ton M656 series vehicles were gradually phased out.
The truck’s final chapter came as a result of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Soviet Union. This
