Willys-Overland / Ford JEEP 4x4 Utility Jeep (1939)
The mutli-purpose Jeep utility vehicle.
The Ford-produced version of the design was called the "GP" which, in Ford parlance, stood for "Government 80-inch Wheelbase Reconnaissance Car" (Willys called their design the "MB", originally known as the "MA") and marked the type for "Government" use for transporting "Passengers". In slang usage, "GP" led to the name of "Jeep" which eventually stuck to this small, four-wheel-drive vehicle even though Willys had won the original Army competition. Other sources attribute the GP designation to the "General Purpose" nature of the vehicle.
The Willys Jeep was powered by a four-cylinder engine running 4,000rpm for hours on end. The engine was coupled to a three-speed manual transmission system with a four-wheel-drive transfer case and high / low gears. The vehicle was also issued with a fold-up cloth roof to protect occupants against the elements but offered little in the way of protection from battlefield dangers. The design could run on roads at speeds of 60 miles per hour, climb 40-degree slopes, achieve a turning radius of 30 feet and tilt up to 50-degrees to either vehicle side without tipping over. The Jeep was also converted in an amphibious car to ford water sources by way of a special boat-like hull fitted around the chassis and special attachments fixed into place for air intake and exhaust of the engine. These failed to achieve much in the way of large-scale use and, thusly, large-scale production with many being shipped to the Soviet Union.
During World War 2, American factories produced Jeeps in the tens of thousands. Lend-Lease saw the vehicles shipped to the inventories of the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union as well. Many surplus forms were accepted into the Philippine Army after major US forces withdrew from the Pacific island nation after the war. Its reach was vastly global and the go-anywhere vehicle saw action throughout all major theaters of war in the global conflict. Assembly lines turned out one vehicle every 90 seconds. As a result, the Jeep became something of a workhorse hero to the civilian-minded public. As such, demand for acquisition of the vehicle was high in the years following the war to the point that Willys continued production in large numbers. These civilian versions were designated as "CJ-2A" with the "CJ" standing for "Civilian Jeep". The Jeep would go on to see combat duty in the Korean War as well as the Vietnam War in all degrees of conduct. In the post-war decades, the Jeep continued large-scale use in the US Army and was continually improved until 1981, by which time it had been formally replaced in inventory by the High Mobility Multi-Purpose Wheeled Vehicle - otherwise known as the "HUMVEE".
Official Jeep designations during World War 2 were Willys MA, Ford GP, Willys MB and Ford GPW. The Willys company produces over 363,000 examples whilst the Ford Motor Company produced over 280,000 jeep-types during the war. In all, some 640,000 Jeeps were produced. Many versions are differentiated by varying radiator grille arrangements.
During the early 1950s, the Willys M38 directly replaced the Jeep war-time models. Text ©2003-2013 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • No Reproduction Permitted
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Specifications for the
Willys-Overland / Ford JEEP
4x4 Utility Jeep
Country of Origin: United States
Manufacturer: Willys-Overland / Ford Motor Company - USA
Initial Year of Service: 1939
Production: 640,000
Focus Model: Willys-Overland / Ford JEEP
Crew: 1 + 3
Overall Length: 10.83ft (3.30m)
Width: 0.00ft (0.00m)
Height: 4.33ft (1.32m)
Weight: 1.5 US Short Tons (1,400kg; 3,086lbs)
Powerplant: 1 x 4-cylinder 2,200cc engine generating 54hp @ 4,000rpm.
Maximum Speed: 65mph (104 km/h)
Maximum Range: 301 miles (485 km)
NBC Protection: None
Nightvision: None
Armament:
Mission Specific Armament but usually no armament. Can include one of the following:
1 x 7.62mm machine gun on pintle mount
1 x 12.7mm machine gun on pintle mount
Can also be supplemented by personal weapons of the crew such as pistols and submachine guns.
Ammunition:
Dependent upon armament configuration.
Variants:
Willys MA - Willys-Overland production designation
Willys MB - Reduced weight version
Ford GP - Ford production designation of Willys design.
Ford GPW - Ford designation for additional Willys-Overland production models.
Ford GPA "Seep" - Amphibious Variant for water fording.
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