This World War II car’s speedometer topped out at 60 mph

By Cory Graff

Damaging government property is a serious offense.

In order to keep military equipment (and soldiers) intact, Dodge trucks built during World War II came equipped with a governor set to about 56 mile-per-hour. You can floor it, but a Dodge won’t go any faster. It was an easy way for the Army or Navy to protect their investment.

This image shows the speedometer in the FHC’s newly-acquired Dodge WC24 Command Car. It only goes up to 60. Nothing more was “officially” needed. However, those in the field say that, when the machines were worked on, mechanics often did a “governorectomy,” in order to squeeze a little more speed out of their trucks and cars.

Cory Graff is the military aviation curator of the Flying Heritage Collection.