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The Bishop, McCormick and Bishop Dodge War Wagon
appeared in the December, 1942 issue of Motor Magazine. Although the
hideous-looking vehicle is commonly attributed to the longtime Brooklyn, New
York Dodge distributor, it was actually built for them by the Derham Company
of Rosemont, Pennsylvania.
Bishop, McCormick and Bishop sought to create a
multi-purpose wartime vehicle with the ‘3-in-1 War Wagon’. With the
assistance of Dodge engineers and Derham, the trunk of a standard 1942 Dodge
four-door sedan was removed and replaced by a long wooden body extension
giving the vehicle a capacity of 15 passengers. The normally open rear
quarters could be enclosed during inclement weather by the release of a
rolled canvas canopy that resided under the roof.
If used as a bus, the rear compartment’s passengers
were seated sideways on long bench seats. The versatile vehicle could also
be converted into a four stretcher ambulance, or even a 1-ton cargo truck if
necessary. The rear compartment formed an integral part of the car’s
bodywork, and passengers could travel freely between the sedan’s interior
and the raised rear compartment whose floor was built at the same level as
the rear seat cushion. To handle the heavy load, a dual-wheel rear axle and
heavy-duty rear springs from a 1-ton Dodge truck were installed in place of
the stock sedan’s drivetrain.
Bishop, McCormick and Bishop's prototype was driven in and around Brooklyn hoping that its mass production would be
approved by the War Production Board. Mass production never occurred,
however a few examples are known to have been built, with
both 2- and 4-door sedans serving as donor cars. A small number were ordered
by Civil Defense agencies in and around New York during the war, and many
were painted white, giving them an extra dose of ugly. After the war, the
were popular with local tradesmen, especially plumbing and heating
contractors.
© 2004 Mark Theobald - Coachbuilt.com
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