From: Jim Gilmore (jgilmore@ptd.net)
Date: Mon Mar 21 2005 - 18:51:56 PST
Everette posted.....
>"......In 1939, the American Bantam Car Company submitted its original design for
>an all-terrain troop transport vehicle--featuring four-wheel drive, masked
>fender-mount headlights, and a rifle rack under the dash--to the U.S. Armed
>Forces.......'
That would come as a surprise...........Bantam did not build a pilot Reconnaissance car until September 1940. Headlights were just mounted on top of the fenders with no guards. No rifle rack was included on the original design.
>".....The Army loved Bantam's design, but the development contract for the
>vehicle was ultimately awarded to the Willys-Overland Company for its
>superior production capabilities......."
This would be a surprise too..........
Willys had to borrow money from the Reconstruction Finance Commission just to build the first 1,500 MA model 1/4 ton trucks. They never did get a development contract as their pilot model was not accepted due to it's extreme overweight. They did win the first MB contract because they bid the lowest and only because of that low bid.
> ".....Bantam wound up fulfilling a government
>contract for 3,000 vehicles during the war; but the Jeep, as designed by
>Willys-Overland, would become the primary troop transport of the U.S. Army.
>Mass production of the Willys Jeep began after the U.S. declaration of war
>in 1941......."
Actually, the "design" was the Bantam body tub layout and the rest of the body was from the Ford design. Only the motor was a Willys "design".
> ".....The name "Jeep" is reportedly derived from the Army's request that
>car manufacturers develop a "General Purpose" vehicle. "Gee Pee" turned to
>"Jeep" somewhere along the battle lines....'
Actually..........the Army did not refer to the vehicle as a "General Purpose"......it was called a Command and Reconnaissance vehicle. Only the Ford was called a GP.
> "......Another story maintains that the
>name came from a character in the Popeye cartoon who, like the vehicle, was
>capable of incredible feats. The Willys Jeep became a cultural icon in the
>U.S. during World War II, as images of G.I.'s in "Gee Pees," liberating
>Europe, saturated newsreels in movie theaters across the country. Unlike the
>Hummer of recent years, the Jeep was not a symbol of technological
>superiority but rather of the courage of the American spirit--a symbol
>cartoonist Bill Mauldin captured when he drew a weeping soldier firing a
>bullet into his broken down Willys Jeep...."
Well...........the original drawing was of a Calvary Sergeant "putting down" his Ford GP. It was much later redrawn and a MB/GPW substituted for the GP.
> ".....By 1945, 660,000 Jeeps had rolled
>off the assembly lines and onto battlefields in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
>Many remained abroad after the war, where their parts were integrated into
>other vehicles or their broken bodies were mended with colorful impromptu
>repairs. Wherever the Jeep roamed, it lived up to its design as a vehicle
>for general use. During the war, Jeep hoods were used as altars for field
>burials. Jeeps were also used as ambulances, tractors, and scout cars. After
>the war, surplus Jeeps found their way into civilian life as snowplows,
>field plows, and mail carriers. Willys-Overland released its first civilian
>Jeep model, called the CJ (Civilian Jeep) in 1945. On this day in 1952, the
>1,000,000th Jeep was produced....."
Jim Gilmore
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