hello larry and barry
from the info i have , in july 1944 the ministry of supply raised concerns because of a shortage of 15cwt, 4x4 trucks.....forecast at 10,000 units. a short fact finding mission ensued where the production capabilities of Canadas' four truck producers was examined. chrysler of canada was in the best position to produce this new truck as the other three were at full production already. it was decided that rather than tool chrysler up for cmp production( of which at lease one cab13 prototype existed), it would be easier to build a canadianized version of the u.s. dodge wc-51 - 52 3/4 ton truck.
the canadian built truck, as barry said, was given the nomenclature of d-3/4 apt, which stood for dodge 3/4 ton air portable truck, as it had to fit into the c47. this meant that the body had to be narrowed by 5" from the original design, of which 3200 had already been built, as the change came into effect at unit 3201. to the best of my knowledge these vehicles were modified to conform to the -5" rule. then another requirement came out, which was that the vehicle was to be wade proofed. this changed the nomenclature of the vehicle to d-3/4 apt/wp, which commenced at unit 5001. i can only assume that earlier produced trucks were retrofitted.
the logic behind using the canadian 236 cid engine rather than the american 230 cid was that all other canadian produced dodge trucks overseas had the canadian engine, which for logistics, and spare parts made sence. i have always felt that the intent of the apt was for deployment in the pacific theatre, which at the time would have been the next logical stop. since vehicles in the eto would be urgently need there, it would have been cheaper and easier to produce new trucks, and ship them to the pacific. production would have been late 1944- 1945, and i think production was halted before the 10,000 were produced, at what number i'm not sure.
i found one of these trucks down here about four years ago, and surprisingly, it was in pretty decent shape. since then i have been bantering back and forth with the owner, trying to aquire it. by the sounds of it, he has no plans for the truck and would be glad to trade the truck.......for a 1948 tucker torpedo!! barry, do you have any pics of your apt's you could post?? somebody back east would like to see them
hope this helps. mike