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CJ3B-J4 Military Jeeps
in Vietnam


 
CJ-3B Active in Vietnam
The CJ3B Page has obtained photographs which show CJ-3B-type Jeeps in use in joint U.S. and ARVN military operations during the Vietnam war. Many of them are CJ3B-J4 and J4C models, manufactured under licence in Japan during the 1960's by Mitsubishi, as well as M606 Jeeps built in the U.S. by Kaiser.

Mitsubishi J4C Jeeps
This 1963 photo shows U.S. military advisors with six ARVN CJ3B-J4C Jeeps.

Most of the Mitsubishi Jeeps are in ARVN markings, although the J4 and J4C were also used by the U.S. Army. These Jeeps appear primarily in support rather than combat roles.

Willys station wagons make an appearance in one photo, playing a role in a 1965 roadblock operation involving the U.S. 101st Airborne Division.

Willys roadblock
The Jeep in the foreground of this photo, taken at the Deo Mang Pass on 26 August 1965, is a Mitsubishi CJ3B-J4C.

For more photos and specifications of the Mitsubishi J4 and J4C, see CJ3B-J4 Military Jeeps on The CJ3B Page.

There are several variations of the CJ3B-J4 and J4C models. The Japanese Army used a J4M which mounted a 106mm recoilless rifle, the U.S. Army had an ambulance version, and there have also been versions with body armor added.

The U.S. Army issued an "Armor Adaptation Kit" for the Mitsubishi Jeeps, consisting of steel plates for windshield, sides and back. There are photos in the installation manual for the kit (44K GIF), issued as Modification Work Order J9-601-10 from U.S. Army Depot Command, Japan, in January 1968, but no photographs have surfaced showing it in use. The manual estimates installation time as 12 man-hours, and surprisingly says the weight of new parts and materials is "not pertinent." The kit appears somewhat primitive in comparison to the armour in the photo below.

A Mitsubishi J4C with a locally-made armored windshield, was photographed in Saigon on 13 September 1964, being used in the suppression of the coup d'etat by Lt.General Ngnyen Khanh.

Armoured windshield
In the background of this 1964 photo of an armored J4C, are several other Mitsubishi Jeeps.

The Ford M151A was the principal U.S. combat jeep in Vietnam, but the Kaiser-Willys M38A1 is also in evidence in the photos. Although a newer design than the CJ-3B, most of the M38A1's had been in service longer than the CJ3B-J4C's made by Mitsubishi.

Jeeps crossing a bridge
This photo of a convoy crossing a bridge, taken on 18 March 1965, shows a U.S. M38A1 followed by an ARVN J4C and M38A1.

Thanks to Morihisa Ochi for finding the photos. -- Derek Redmond

See more CJ-3B Jeeps in Vietnam.

Also on The CJ3B Page, see more CJ-3B and M606 Military Jeeps.

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Last updated 10 February 1998 by Derek Redmond redmond@queensu.ca
http://www.film.queensu.ca/CJ3B/Military/Vietnam.html
All content not credited and previously copyright, is copyright Derek Redmond