The Braden Winch Company of Broken Arrow Oklahoma provided all the winches for the Dodge WC series of 3/4 Ton 4x4 and 1-1/2 ton 6x6 military trucks during WWII. Generally about a third of the total production of a series would be equipped with a winch. The MU2 was chosen to outfit the rugged Dodge design and provide a capability for self-recovery to these vehicles. Of the 180,000 3/4 Ton weapons carrier models produced during WWII, WC-51 and WC-52, about 60,000 of the WC-52s would have the winch installed. Whereas in the production of the "Big Shot" 1 1/2 Ton, 6x6 model, WC-62 and WC-63, about half of the 43,000 units produced would be equipped with winches. To a limited degree smaller production run vehicles, such as the WC-57 and WC-58 also had the MU2 installed. Interestingly, even though the weight of the 1-1/2 Ton trucks were considerably more, about 1,600 lb. more than the 3/4-ton models, Braden adapted the MU2 to be able to be utilized for both types with only minor changes. On the heavier WC-63, Braden adopted the use of a thicker shear pin. The diameter was changed from 1/4" to 5/16". 7/16" wire rope was used on the winch. Weight rating on the MU2 started at 5,000 lb. and ended at 7,500 lb. on later models.

After WWII ended, Braden and Dodge (Chrysler) continued to work together to supply the US-government with winch equipped trucks. They also continued their partnership in the postwar years with the use of the MU2 on the WDX and WM300 line of civilian dodge 4x4 trucks. These models shared some design aspects and interchangeability with the WWII military Dodge trucks. A visitor to our site suggested another source of information on the civilian Braden MU2 winch.  T137.COM  This site is dedicated to the post-war WDX and WM300 "Power Wagon" civilian Dodge trucks. Their site contains a section on correlation of Braden winch serial numbers to dates of manufacture.

In the post-war years, Dodge designed and developed the M-37 model truck which was also equipped with a Braden designed winch. This time, it was the LU4 model which was used on the Dodge trucks. While similar to the MU2, this new model did not interchange substantially with the prior model. The bronze worm gear is one exception and did interchange between models. This model used alloys such as aluminum in place of steel in many parts. Also, Dodge made the adaptation of the LU4 very simple on the M-37 by adding winch extension brackets to the front of a standard frame, whereas in the WWII models, an entirely different dedicated vehicle frame was required for mounting the winch. Beyond the use of Braden winches by Dodge, the Braden LU4 was also used on the Kaiser Jeep M-715 series of trucks in the late 1960s.

In 1983 Braden Winch company was acquired by PACCAR Manufacturing Company. It is now part of the PACCAR Winch division of that company and includes brands such as Braden, Carco and Gearmatic.

We have attached scanned pages from a 1956 Braden Winch catalog (only for historical reference as we do not stock these items) to provide some assistance when servicing these winch models. Also attached are pages from the 1943 SNL G-657 Dodge master parts book for WWII military part number referencing. Please let us know if you have some knowledge of the Braden winches to add to this posting. There is far more history to this manufacturer and the US military than we have listed here. Comments would be welcomed.