Artifact of the Month
M923 5-ton Gun Truck “Ace of Spades” on exhibit in the TC Museum.
Front view of the M923 5-ton Gun Truck “Ace of Spades” on exhibit in the TC Museum.
Side view of the M923 5-ton Gun Truck “Ace of Spades” on exhibit in the TC Museum.
Rear view of the M923 5-ton Gun Truck “Ace of Spades” on exhibit in the TC Museum.
The M923 cargo truck is part of the M939 vehicle family brought into service in 1983. The M923 was primarily used to transport personnel and supplies over all kinds of terrain, in all kinds of weather. When necessary, the bed could be fitted for special missions, such as the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL) gun box seen here.
The Livermore Box was developed to help provide better convoy security on the roads of Iraq. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories sent technicians to the Army Transportation Museum to study the only gun truck to return from Vietnam, the Eve of Destruction. The technicians, with the help of the Transportation Corps Historian and the Museum Director, also brought in Vietnam veterans who had served aboard gun trucks. This information was critical in the development of the Livermore gun truck. After withstanding the rigors of Army testing, the first LLNL armored truck was delivered to the 7th Transportation Battalion in Iraq on July 14, 2004.