The Willys MB US Army Jeep (formally the Truck, 1/4 ton, 4x4),
along with the nearly identical Ford GPW, was manufactured from 1941
to 1945. The small four-wheel drive utility vehicles are considered the
iconic World War II Jeep, and would inspire many similar Light Utility Vehicles.
Over the years, the World War II Jeep later evolved into "CJ" civilian
Jeep and has been recognized as a symbol of rugged individualism in
twentieth century American History. Its counterpart in the German army
was the Volkswagen Kübelwagen, also based on a small automobile, but which used an air-cooled engine and lacked 4 wheel drive.
During World War I there were limited attempts to mechanize military forces. The US Army had already used 4x4 trucks supplied by the Four Wheel Drive Auto Co. (FWD). By the time of World War II, the United States Department of War was still seeking a light, cross-country reconnaissance vehicle.
As tensions were heightening around the world in the late 1930s, the US Army asked American automobile manufacturers to tender suggestions to replace its existing, aging light motor vehicles, mostly motorcycles and sidecars but also some Ford Model T's. This resulted in several prototypes being presented to army officials, such as five Marmon-Herrington 4x4 Fords in 1937, and three Austin roadsters by American Bantam
in 1938 (Fowler, 1993). However, the US Army's requirements were not
formalized until July 11, 1940, when 135 U.S. automotive manufacturers
were approached to submit a design conforming to the army's
specifications for a vehicle the World War II training manual TM 9-803 described as "...
a general purpose, personnel, or cargo carrier especially adaptable
for reconnaissance or command, and designated as 1/4-ton 4x4 Truck."
By
now the war was underway in Europe, so the Army's need was urgent and
demanding. Bids were to be received by July 22 (after just eleven
days). Manufacturers were given 49 days to submit their first prototype
and 75 days for completion of 70 test vehicles. The Army's Ordnance
Technical Committee specifications were equally demanding: the vehicle
would be four-wheel drive,
have a crew of three on a wheelbase of no more than 75 (later 80)
inches and tracks no more than 47 inches, feature a fold-down
windshield, 660 lb payload and be powered by an engine capable of 85
ft·lbf (115 N·m) of torque. The most daunting demand, however, was an
empty weight of no more than 1,300 lb (590 kg).
Only three companies entered: American Bantam Car Company, Ford Motor Company and Willys-Overland Motors.
Though Willys-Overland was the low bidder, Bantam received the bid,
being the only company committing to deliver a pilot model in 49 days
and production examples in 75. Under the leadership of designer Karl Probst,
Bantam built their first prototype, dubbed the "Blitz Buggy" (and in
retrospect "Old Number One"), and delivered it to the Army vehicle test
center at Camp Holabird, Maryland on September 23, 1940. This presented
Army officials with the first of what would eventually evolve into the
World War II US Army Jeeps: the Willys MB and Ford GPW.
Since
Bantam did not have the production capacity or fiscal stability to
deliver on the scale needed by the War Department, the other two
bidders, Ford and Willys, were encouraged to complete their own pilot
models for testing. The contract for the new reconnaissance car was to
be determined by trials. As testing of the Bantam prototype took place
from September 27 to October 16, Ford and Willys technical
representatives present at Holabird were given ample opportunity to
study the vehicle's performance. Moreover, in order to expedite
production, the War Department forwarded the Bantam blueprints to Ford
and Willys, claiming the government owned the design. Bantam did not
dispute this move due to its precarious financial situation. By November
1940 Ford and Willys each submitted prototypes to compete with the
Bantam in the Army's trials. The pilot models, the Willys Quad and the Ford Pygmy, turned out very similar to each other and were joined in testing by Bantam's entry, now evolved into a Mark II called the BRC 60.
By then the US and its armed forces were already under such pressure
that all three cars were declared acceptable and orders for 1,500 units per
company were given for field testing. At this time it was acknowledged
the original weight limit (which Bantam had ignored) was unrealistic,
and it was raised to 2,160 lb (980 kg).
For these respective pre-production runs, each vehicle received revisions and a new name. Bantam's became the BRC 40,
and the company ceased motor vehicle production after the last one was
built in December 1941. After losing 240 pounds of weight, Willys'
changed the designation to "MA" for "Military" model "A". The Fords went into production as "GP", with "G" for a "Government" type contract and "P" commonly used by Ford to designate any passenger car with a wheelbase of 80 inches.
By
July 1941, the War Department desired to standardize and decided to
select a single manufacturer to supply them with the next order for
another 16,000 vehicles. Willys won the contract mostly due to its more
powerful engine (the "Go Devil") which soldiers raved about, and its lower cost and silhouette.
Whatever better design features the Bantam and Ford entries had were
then incorporated into the Willys car, moving it from an "A" designation
to "B", thus the "MB" nomenclature.
By
October 1941, it became apparent Willys-Overland could not keep up
with production demand and Ford was contracted to produce them as well.
The Ford car was then designated GPW, with the "W" referring to
the "Willys" licensed design. During World War II, Willys produced
363,000 Jeeps and Ford some 280,000. Approximately 51,000 were exported
to the USSR under the Lend-Lease program.
A further 13,000 (roughly) amphibian jeeps were built by Ford under the name GPA (nicknamed 'Seep' for Sea Jeep). Inspired by the larger DUKW, the vehicle was produced too quickly and proved to be too heavy, too unwieldy, and of insufficient freeboard. In spite of participating successfully in the Sicily landings
(July 1943) most GPAs were routed to the USSR under the Lend-Lease
program. The Soviets were sufficiently pleased with its ability to cross
rivers to develop their own version of it after the war.
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