During the Second World War, the Commonwealth nations used a wide variety of motor vehicles. Their trucks came in all shapes and sizes. Some were extremely good in their roles, others so poor that they were  discarded almost on entering service.

The standout truck, with character and reliability, remembered for long after the war for which they were built was over, was the CMP (Canadian Military Pattern) truck.

The CMP truck, in it's numerous and diverse models was built by both General Motors Canadian division and Ford of Canada. They were also partly manufactured or assembled in Australia, New Zealand, India, Egypt and Britain.

The CMP (nicknamed "Blitz") saw service in just about every theatre of WW2, from the deserts of North Africa to the Steppes of Russia, from the jungles of New Guinea to the road to Berlin.

Over 350000 CMP trucks left the factories and went to war.

They were made in 4x2, 4x4, 6x4 and 6x6 versions in at least six different wheel bases with four different load ratings. They had two major cab types with numerous sub-types and a huge array of different rear bodies were fitted to them.

Curiously for a North American designed and produced vehicle they were all built in right hand drive, a legacy of Canada's 1930's adherence to British defence policies.

Although the two major manufacturers used their own generic engines and running gear, a great many parts were interchangeable. At times even normally non-interchangeable parts were used by the other manufacturer. Ford used GM axles and transfer cases in several different variants of it's trucks when their own production could not keep up. Conversely, Ford made cab sheet metal sections for both it's own and General Motors' vehicles.

After the war, CMP trucks kept on serving many countries and many armies right through the decades, long after many of it's contemporaries had broken down and rusted away.