The FReeper Foxhole Revisits The Military Jeep - Jan. 14th, 2005

see educational sources

[snippy_about_it]

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Grant them a safe and swift return...

Bless those who mourn the lost.
.

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for all those serving their country at this time.


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The FReeper Foxhole Revisits

The Military Jeep


How it all began



In the beginning...
Prior to the Second World War, the United States Army had been looking for a fast, lightweight, all-terrain command and reconnaissance vehicle. Several vehicles had been used but none were ideal for the Armys needs.

In early 1940, as Nazi Germany began to win victories in Europe and North Africa, the need to quickly develop this type of vehicle became very urgent. The U.S. Army sent out specifications to car manufacturers asking for working prototype vehicles to be delivered in only 49 days.

The American Bantam Car Company (formerly The American Austin Car Company) and Willys-Overland were the only two companies that responded to the Army's request, although 135 companies had been contacted.

The depression of the 1930's had sent The American Austin Car Company broke, and American Bantam, which had been formed in the subsequent reorganisation had fared little better. By the time the Army asked for expressions of interest in a new command and reconnaissance car, production at American Bantam had ceased and they had no engineering staff left on the payroll.

The 49-day deadline was a huge problem, and Willys-Overland asked for more time to finish their vehicle but were refused by the Army.


This is the first Bantam prototype just prior to delivery, Designer Karl Probst in the passenger seat and Bantam manager, Harold Crist in the drivers seat. Note the rounded front fenders and grill.

Bantam's only chance to meet this deadline was to bring in outside help. Bantam's savior was Karl Probst, a talented freelance engineer from Detroit. After turning down an initial request from Bantam, Probst accepted the job after being asked again by the Army, and initially working without salary, went to work July 17, 1940.

In only two days Probst had completely laid out plans for the Bantam prototype, and the next day he estimated the total cost of the vehicle. On July 22, Bantam's bid was submitted, complete with blueprints. The bid claimed that the vehicle met the weight limit of 1,300 pounds (590 kg) although it was actually much heavier.

Much of the vehicle had to be assembled from existing off-the-shelf automotive parts, and the custom four wheel drive train components were supplied by Spicer. As the principal sub-contractor, Spicer's ability to manufacture the drivetain components in time was critical to Bantam's chance of meeting the Army deadline.

Bantam's first hand-built prototype was complete and running by September 21, 1940, just meeting the 49-day deadline and was delivered to the Army for testing at Camp Holabird, MD. The Quartermaster Corps put this prototype through torturous off road trials, after which the testers concluded "this vehicle demonstrated ample power and all requirements of the service."

Willys-Overland and Ford soon submitted prototypes based on the Bantam plans (supplied to them by the Army). Spicer supplied almost identical four wheel drive trains to all three manufacturers. The Willys "Quad" and the Ford "Pygmy" prototypes added their own changes and modifications to the basic Bantam design.


The Willys 'Quad' Prototype.

This ultimately worked to Willys advantage when the weight limit was increased: it was the only vehicle that met the Army's power specifications. In fact, the Willys 60 horse power "Go Devil" engine, with 105 foot-pounds of torque not only exceeded the required power, but dwarfed Bantam's 83 and Ford's 85 pound-feet of torque.

All three prototypes passed army testing satisfactorily, with changes being made to correct faults in the prototypes. The Army ordered 1500 units from each of the three companies. Ford started deliveries in April 1941 with Bantam and Willys a few weeks later.


The Ford 'Pygmy' Prototype

Once delivered, they started a revolution in the use of small military motor vehicles in the U.S. Army. Motorcycles, solo and side car, were rendered obsolete almost immediately.

In light of Bantam's shaky manufacturing and financial position, and the advantages of the Willys-Overland vehicle and their proven production capacity, the final mass production Army contract was awarded to Willys-Overland. The price was $749 each.

Since the War Department required a large number of vehicles to be manufactured in a relatively short time, Willys-Overland granted the United States Government a non-exclusive license to allow another company to manufacture vehicles using Willys' specifications. The Army chose Ford as the second supplier, but building Jeeps to the Willys' design. Willys supplied Ford with a complete set of plans and specifications. Sadly, American Bantam, the creators of the first Jeep, spent the rest of the war building heavy duty trailers for the army and finally sold out in 1956. Willys registered Jeep as a trademark in 1950 but cannot claim that they designed the Jeep.


The final Jeep production model, a Willys MB (Model B). The Ford GPW was almost identical.

By the time the United States entered the War in December 1941, Jeep production was in full swing. About 640,000 Jeeps were built in the four years until the end of the war in 1945. Over 360,000 of these were manufactured by Willys and the balance by Ford. This was about 18% of all the wheeled military vehicles built in the US during the War.

Jeeps were used by every division of the U.S. Military and 144 Jeeps were supplied to every infantry regiment in the U.S. Army. Large numbers of Jeeps were shipped to the Allied Forces of Britain and Russia - nearly 30% of total Jeep production.

An amphibious version was also produced called a Seep. They were not a military success as they were too small to be a good boat, and too cumbersome to be a good Jeep. Only about 18,000 were built by Ford.


A Ford GPA (Seep)

Jeeps could be fitted with .30" or .50" calibre machine guns for combat. They were also widely modified for long range desert patrol, snow ploughing, telephone cable laying, saw milling, as fire fighting pumpers, field ambulances, tractors and, with suitable wheels, would even run on railway tracks.


MB or GPW with rocket launcher unit. Note second jeep with heavy MG in background.

Jeeps could be loaded into transport aircraft for rapid deployment and were also small enough to fit into the large gliders used in the D-day invasion of Europe.

General George C. Marshall, US Army Chief of Staff during World War II, and later US Secretary of State, described the Jeep as "America's greatest contribution to modern warfare". The tough, simple, go anywhere Jeep became the GI's best friend - second only to his rifle.



There is no way to know for certain where the name 'Jeep' came from, but it was slang for some time before World War II. The US Army motor pool used the word to describe any new vehicle received for testing.

One of the most likely explanations for how the word was used for the Army's new four wheel drive car was from the character 'Eugene the Jeep', who was the creation of E.C. Segar, in the very widely read 'Popeye' comic strip. Eugene was small, able to move between dimensions and could solve seemingly impossible problems.


Eugene the jeep

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FReeper Foxhole Armed Services Links

[snippy_about_it]

The Military Jeep in WWII

The name "jeep" also has an interesting history. The name is generally accepted to have come from the Ford name for its general purpose vehicle, of GP for short. When slurred together it sounds like "jeep." Other theories include the "invisible, fourth dimensional creature of Africa," Eugene the Jeep, of E.G. Segars "Popeye" cartoon. The word "jeep" was also widely used in the army before the vehicle came into existence. It had many meanings, from a lazy soldier to a useless piece of machinery.

The jeep was also called a puddle jumper, Bantam Bug, Midget, Quad, and the peep. Willys made the word `Jeep' its trademark after World War II, much to the dismay of Bantam. Bantam felt that since they invented the first jeep prototype that they should have the trademark. The name continued to be passed down when Willys was sold to the Kaiser corporation and then to American Motors in 1970 and in 1987 to the current owner Chrysler.

The Willys Military model MB, or as the army called it, "Truck, quarter ton, four by four, and command reconnaissance," was a mechanically simple machine. In had a four cylinder L-head style engine (where the valves are in the block), which could operate at 4000 revolutions per minute for 100 hours straight. The air cleaner was improved from earlier models, and the oil filter was placed high up for easy accessibility. It also had a fold up cloth roof, which was easily set up. The six volt battery powered the headlamps, which were mounted on swinging levers in order for them to be pointed toward the engine for nighttime repairs. The engine also powered radar, radio, welding, and landing craft equipment. Special care was taken to prevent engine noise from interfering with army radios. It had a three speed manual transmission and four wheel drive transfer case with high and low gears. Over 350,000 MB's were made to fight in World War II.


The first jeeps were used in the United Kingdom before the United States entered in World War II. They were issued to infantry personnel to help fight the Nazi attack on England. They weren't shipped to the Pacific theater until 1943 when the Army used it for more civil purposes. The jeep helped build bridges and roads behind the fighting lines by hauling materials and carrying personnel. But its first real test of durability was demonstrated when a fleet of jeeps headed for China were stranded in Burma. The Army turned the jeeps over to the British Army to be driven north in order to get them to their destination. The jeeps pulled other vehicles out of the mud, dodge snipers, carried ammunition and trudged through rice paddies.

Its performance in World War II was superb. The jeep could operate without strain from three to 60 miles per hour. It could handle a forty degree slope, turn in a thirty foot circle, and tilt left or right on a fifty degree angle without tipping over. It would "go places where tankers quit and birds would go back exhausted." The jeep went up rocky mountains in Switzerland and moved snow off roads in Belgium. Although the tank had an influence on the war too, it could not go as many places as the jeep. Army official Ernie Pyle stated,

Good Lord, I don't think we could continue the war without the jeep. It does everything. It goes everywhere. It's as faithful as a dog, strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat. It constantly carries twice what it was designed for, and keeps on going. It doesn't even ride so badly after you get used to it.


Jeeps were coming out of the Willys plant at one jeep per one and a half minutes, so there were plenty to go around. The extra jeeps were used to haul trailers, artillery, operated timber saws, and also pulled railroad cars. The latter was achieved by replacing the wheels with cylinders that were made to run on railroad tracks. In fact, one jeep was known to have pulled 25 tons at 20 miles per hour. The jeep's flat hoods served as altars for chaplains and as playing tables for infantry men's card games. The fold down windshield helped to make the jeep into an ambulance. Pipes were mounted on the bumpers in order to hold the stretchers.


Americans drove the jeeps so much that they were associated with them to the utmost degree as illustrated by many stories. In France, three American soldiers walked up to a guard post and told the sentry that they were lost. The Frenchman immediately told them to surrender and found that they were German soldiers in disguise. When he was asked how he knew, he replied that Americans always travel in jeeps. Another example happened in Belgium when a guard ordered three German soldiers to surrender after he saw that a colonel was riding in the back seat. He explained later that if they were American that the officer would be driving and the infantryman would be in the backseat . The axis powers had their versions of the jeep, the German Volkswagen and the Japanese Datsun, but both were miserable failures .


Jeep vs Kubelwagen

After the war there was a considerable demand for the jeep. Servicemen were so impressed that they all wanted jeeps of their own after returning home. The United States Department of Agriculture also thought of hundreds of uses for a peacetime jeep and even made a pamphlet for agriculture purposes. The jeep could also be found to aid the worker in forestry, ranching, mining, or industry. The addition of power take off increased the number of operations the jeep could perform by adding machinery that could be run off the jeep's engine. Minor alterations on the transmission, transfer case, axle ratio and the steering made it more desirable for the domestic market . The Willys post-war jeep was called the CJ-2A (CJ stands for civilian jeep.) The produced over 73,000 in 1946 and 60,000 in 1947. Other jeeps were made as technology increased.

The engineering that went into the jeep helped make it an extremely reliable vehicle. The jeep was the servicemen's best friend, always trying to do its best for its driver. It would go, or at least try, where ordinary vehicles or animals would not or could not go. "The jeep became a sign, the emblem, the alter ego of the American fighting machine." For this reason, the men grew attached to their jeeps. It was said that more jeeps were ruined by drivers pushing their jeeps too far than were in combat. Jeeps would carry generals and privates alike and helped in combat, rushed the wounded to medic units, and surprised the enemy in ambushes. The jeep seemed to do everything, form climbing mountains in Italy to crossing the scorching hot desert of Northern Africa to roaming beaches in the South Pacific. One army officer said "It can do everything except bake a cake. "


"Run it up th' mountain agin, Joe. It ain't hot enough."

The end of an era came in 1981. The armed forces ended their orders for jeeps and a new vehicle was ushered in. The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (Hummer) replaced the quarter ton jeep in order to keep up with the new age of computers and technology. This machine took over for the half ton truck and the heavy duty one and one quarter ton truck. This vehicle was designed every bit as tough as the original jeep. It had to withstand tests of TNT explosions under the gas tank to driving under water. AM General won the contract for these new vehicles, and designed them with accessories from air conditioning to missile launchers. According to army officials, the Hummer performed excellently in Panama and the Persian Gulf.

The jeep, proven through the test of time, is an accomplished vehicle. The jeep's history certainly make it eligible for the most valuable player award, if the army had such an honor. Civilian jeeps also have their place in the glory, also, trekking through mud and climbing over rock. The jeep was a very important factor in the transportation of infantry, officers, and equipment by showing its extreme versatility. One author said, "the mechanical jeep, after all, could almost do anything!"

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Today's Educational Sources and suggestions for further reading:

www.fas.org
www.olive-drab.com/
www.hotkey.net.au/
www.off-road.com/jeep/jeephist.html
The FReeper Foxhole Studies The Military Jeep - October 17th, 2003

[snippy_about_it]

The Military Jeep in Pictures




"Radio th' ol' man we'll be late on account of a thousand-mile detour."










Walker and Macarthur in jeep




Patton in his jeep


"... I'll never splash mud on a dogface again (999) ... I'll never splash mud on a dogface again (1000) ... Now will ya help us push?"




beetlebailey


Lieutenant General George S. Patton stops in a jeep to talk with US soldiers and French civilians whose town had been under heavy siege in 1944


"Why ya lookin' so sad? I got out of it okay."

[snippy_about_it]

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[snippy_about_it]

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[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy

[alfa6]

Colder than a well diggers rear end in the Klondike night shift bump for JEEPS on the Freeper Foxhole.

Go SAM Go snippy have fun at the birding show.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Valin]

Willys MB (Model B)

But But it didn't have any armor!

[alfa6]

Armor Scmarmor who needs armor when ya got one of these?

GRIN

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Valin]

I'm sorry, the color just doesn't work. I will however say it has some very useful accessories. Just the thing for rush hour traffic.

Time for bed if I don't get my beauty sleep I go right into two year old mode.

[Diver Dave]

Great Jeep presentation. As a kid in the early 50's, I remember seeing Jeeps as part of the military sections of the annual Armed Forces Day/Lilac Parade in Spokane. Would also seem em at the old Ft. George Wright Army Base.

Imagine my surprise at seeing my first Jeepney in Subic Bay circa '64. What have these people done those beloved jeeps?

For a little history on Jeeps and Jeepneys in the Philipines, jump over here...

History of Jeeps in the Philipines

[SAMWolf]

Morning alfa6.

It was warm (relatively) here last night but raining harder than back in Portland.

[SAMWolf]

But, but they didn't use them as "armored cars" either. < /sarcasm>

[SAMWolf]

The SAS jeep! I had a model of one of those plus the Chevy Truck they used.

[SAMWolf]

The idea of creating a desert raiding force to weaken Rommel's supply lines and disrupt aircraft operations was conceived by Captain David Stirling (right) while recovering in hospital from a parachute training accident. Stirling had already gained experience of working behind enemy lines in North Africa with Colonel Robert Laycock's 'Layforce' commando brigade. However, following three disastrous operations during which heavy losses were sustained, the group was disbanded in June 1941.

Remaining convinced of the basic concept, Stirling managed to bluff his way to see Major General Neil Ritchie (Deputy Commander-in-chief N.Africa & Middle East). His idea was to raise a new group from the remains of the Layforce organised into smaller units that would parachute down near enemy airfields, plant delayed-action explosives, then walk to rendezvous points to be picked up by L.R.D.G. (Long-Range Desert Group) patrols. The plan was bold and both Ritchie and his Commander in Chief thought it might just work.

In July 1941 Stirling gained permission to form the L Detachment of the non-existent Special Air Service Brigade, a name intended to confuse German intellegence. His ideas proved difficult to put into practice without sustaining large losses of men either killed or captured On one disatrous occasion only two men made it back! Remembering a successful raid on an airfield carried out by the Layforce when closely supported by the L.R.D.G. in Chevrolet trucks mounted with .303 machine guns, Stirling turned his thoughts towards the potential of the jeep for carrying out his deep penetration raids behind enemy lines.Vehicles obtained by the British Army through the Lend-Lease Scheme were obtained and suitably modified for SAS use.

Their first successful raid soon followed on 17th November 1941, when two groups destroyed 61 aircraft at two airfields. Another raid was launched soon after; this time twenty seven were destroyed. By July 1942 the regiment had 15 specially modified jeeps in action in North Africa.

The jeeps were stripped of all non-essential parts including the windscreen, most of the radiator grille bars and even sometimes the front bumper to increase the effective load carrying capacity of the vehicle. Thus the large amount of fuel and water needed for fast long-range raids could be carried avoiding the need for slower support vehicles. A water condensing unit was fitted to the front to reduce loss from the radiator which would otherwise have had to be topped up from the limited drinking water supplies. The jeeps also carried sand mats, metal wheel channels, radio equipment and large quantities of ammunition.

The jeeps were heavily armed with combinations of both Browning and Vickers K machine guns. The ex-aircraft Vickers weapons were generally mounted in pairs and a total of up to five machine guns were carried on some vehicles. The effectiveness of this armament firing a mix of ball, armour-piercing and tracer shells can be judged from one assault on an airfield where 12 aircraft were destroyed in a five minute raid. With all guns blazing a single SAS jeep could deliver an impressive 5000 rounds per minute! The net result was that over 400 aircraft had been destroyed on the ground by November 1942. Stirling was finally captured in 1943 but escaped four times before being sent to Colditz where he spent the rest of the war.

As the front moved from Africa to Italy and then on into Northwest Europe so did the SAS. The scale of each action varied tremendously. In one operation (codenamed Houndsmith), 144 men were parachuted with jeeps and supplies into an area close to Dijon, France. In another four men in two jeeps killed or wounded 60 SS men destroying two staff cars and a truck in the process at the village of Les Ormes, France.

By late 1944 the SAS were operating behind German lines in Europe. Further modifications to the jeeps included the use of armour plate with bullet-proof glass screen at the front and a wire cutter fitted to the front bumper of some vehicles.

The effectiveness of the SAS in Europe during W.W.II can be judged from the fact that they inflicted 7,733 German casualties, 4,784 prisoners were captured and 700 vehicles were either destroyed or captured. 164 railways were cut, seven trains were destroyed and a further thirty-three derailed. The SAS was briefly disbanded at the end of W.W.II but the methods of organisation and operations had set the pattern for future SAS action in the Falklands and Gulf Wars.

[SAMWolf]

Morning DD.

Unbelievable how elaborate some of those Jeepney's are

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[SAMWolf]

Morning Aeronaut.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[SAMWolf]

Morning E.G.C.

Supposed to be cool here in Atlanta today.

[Aeronaut]

Hi Sam. Now that's cool, what the hey is it?