>3. He does not know the real meaning of GPW - In 1941, G = "Government
>(regardless of year), P = 80" wheelbase Reconnaissance Car, and the W =
>apparently means Willys pattern". Reference Ford's book "SERVICE SCHOOL FOR
>US ARMY Instructors on Ford US Army Vehicles dated 8-5-41
Colin has come very close to the correct meaning of GPW. I have an
original copy of the data sheets (section "D" - service parts) that came
with the service school's books. This gave the data on the staff car and
the GP, which was the current Ford built US Army 1/4 ton vehicle at the
time. It did not include the GPW as it was not yet the standard 1/4 ton
at that time.
Now, let me state the actual, correct (from Ford Motor Co.data in
their Archives) meaning for the designation GPW;
G = Government vehicle
P = 80" wheel base reconnaissance car
W = Willys design motor
The W was added to the GP designation to differentiate between the Ford
design jeep with Ford motor and the Ford design jeep with Willys motor.
Ford considered the MB to be derived from the Ford design
and blueprints. Which it was !! Yes, Yes, I know that Bantam "invented"
the jeep, however the body design of the MB/GPW was pure Ford ! And
yes,yes, I know that ALL the books say that the GPW was produced "under
license", "with their patents", etc.,etc. from Willys but unfortunately for
you Willys fans it just ain't so. To see where the design originated from
you must compare the first four pilot models to the final product. When
you do, you will see where the features of the MB/GPW body first came from.
The flat hood, bar (slat) grille, headlights behind the grille, flip up
headlights, tubular fold forward windshield and push down/fold up rear
seats were all Ford designs. In fact, the head lamps. windshield and rear
seat were PATENTED by Ford body engineer Clarence F. Kramer. I have copies
of these patents in my collection of Ford data. It was Kramer who designed
the body on the Ford "pygmy" pilot model and the GP (and later the GPA).
Ford allowed Willys to use THEIR patents to produce the MB not the other
way round.
It is also a fact that Ford gave the Quartermaster Corp the drawings
(1/4 scale Van Dykes) for the Ford designed body and the QMC then put their
title blocks on them and gave them out with the contract bidding package.
Don't just take my word for it, let's hear from the source.
In 1944 Clarence Kramer was a witness in the Federal Trade
Commission trial (in Detroit, Michigan) of the Willys Company. This trial
was a result of the Willys Co. ads stating that they had designed the jeep.
Let me quote Mr. Kramer on this.
"The Willys Company of Toledo, Ohio was charged by the Federal Trade
Commission, in this trial, with misleading and false advertising wherein
they claimed to have designed the US Army one quarter ton 4x4
reconnaissance car, also known as and called the Jeep. It was proved, in
this trial, that the engineering blue prints issued by the Quarter Master
Corp of the Army for competitive bidding for this vehicle were copied from
a Ford Motor Company quarter ton vehicle design drawing which was presented
by the witness to the court. This design drawing also predated the origin
of the Quarter Master Corp. drawing of this vehicle.
The Ford Motor Company vehicle had passed all of the required test and
was therefore selected as the approved design. The Federal Court forthwith
issued a cease and desist order to the Willys Company from making claim to
have designed this vehicle."
I had the pleasure of interviewing Clair Kramer in 1993 for my upcoming
book on the GP. At 91 years old he was still alert, bright and remembered
every detail in the designing of the Ford GP. He was truly the "forgotten"
designer in the saga of the jeep (and GPA).
Now Ford, in contrast to Willys, never claimed to have "invented" the
jeep. They always gave credit where credit was due. A good example is this
quote from an interview of Dale Roeder, head engineer of the 1/4 ton recon
car project (1940/41).
" So the jeep in reality was a sort of a hybrid, a composite of all
these other designs. The jeep that was finally produced was the concept of
the Bantam Company. It had a Willys designed engine and it had a Ford body,
frame, generator, starter, shock absorbers -- but all these components were
interchangeable."
Willys claims for designing the jeep were particularly galling for the
Ford engineers. Ford 1/4 ton project engineer Larry Sheldrick said in a
interview; "I damn near came to blows with Barney Roos ( head
designer ) of Willys, one time when he tried, in front of a group of
people, to take credit for the whole damn jeep development for Willys
Overland, the name and everything else. They still say it. They call it the
famous Willys Overland Jeep. It isn't the Willys Overland Jeep. If
anybody deserves credit for the design of that jeep the way it is today,
the body, the hood, the straight line fenders, the practical design, that
person is Clair Kramer......."
Oh by the way, did I mention that the pressed steel slotted grille
that is the trademark of the Jeep division of D/C Corp. was designed by
Clarence Kramer? Yep, another Ford design claimed by the heirs of Willys!
A few other notes on Colin's posting,
>Ford and Jeeps
>-----------------------
>Pygmy - 1940 Ford prototype. Qty - 2
While we collectors refer to these pilot models as Pygmy most
Ford people at the time called them (and the GP) "Blitz Buggies". In fact
when you look in the Ford Archives, the GP photos are in files labeled
"Blitz Buggies" so I would say this was the "official" Ford nickname for
the GP.
>GP - 1941 Ford pre-production jeeps Qty - 3,700 ?
There were exactly 4,458 GP 1/4 ton trucks produced in 1941 and 1942.
>GPW - A standard W.W. II jeep, authorized copy of Willys MB Qty - 277,896 ?
277,896 is the correct production number for the GPW.
Authorized copy? This is a fallacy that has been published over
and over and over in nearly all books on the jeep and probably will be
until the end of time.
>GPA - Amphibious jeep Qty - 12,785 or 12,788 ?
There were exactly 12,782 GPA units produced.
>M151 - Ford invented this jeep-like vehicle (It is NOT a jeep. It is like
>the Land Rover, as it is a jeep's cousin - looks kind of like a jeep, acts
>kind of like a jeep, but is not a direct decendant) Prototype made in 1952.
I would say the M-151 would be more a younger brother to the GPW than
a cousin as they both had the same "father". The Executive Engineer of the
T-122 project was none other than Dale Roeder, the head engineer of the
1940 reconnaissance car project. Many of the engineers on this project were
also from the GPW team. The T-122 was the final improvement of the Ford
built 1/4 truck in the US military and was designed by some of the same
people that worked on the original Ford jeep. The T-122 designation was
later changed to XM-151. Actually the XM-151 (and later M-151) were the
first 1/4 ton trucks to be officially called "General Purpose" vehicles.
For a complete listing of all the Ford "G" (government) model
designations see the article in Military Vehicles magazine issue No. 45,
Sept. 1994, page 36/37.
Jim Gilmore MVPA # 5843
Member Ist Michigan AOD Chapter MVPA
Great Lakes Chapter MVPA
Ohio Motor Pool Chapter MVPA
Red Ball Chapter MVPA
Ontario Military Vehicle Association
Midwest Military Vehicle Assocation
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