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1940 – Willys unveiled the “Jeep.”
The invitation to submit bids was sent to 135 U.S. automobile manufacturers to produce 70 vehicles; the small Bantam company managed to meet the deadline delivering the pilot model in September 23, 1940. Although it was 730 lbs. overweight it was judged good. Willys-Overland submitted crude sketches of their vehicle and underbid Bantam, although they could not meet the 75 day delivery period; after adding penalties for this the Bantam proposal was lower and this company received an order to produce 70 Model 60 or MKII. Willys Overland submited two units of its pilot model, the Quad, on this day; this had many of the features from the Bantam as did another prototype from Ford, who delivered two of its Pigmy in November 23.
Both Willys-Overland and Ford were given free access to Bantam’s prototype and blueprints, which goes a long way to explain the similarities. With all three prototypes satisfactory, the Army decided to order 1500 of each for field evaluation, with deliveries to begin in early 1941; each of the prototypes should suffer alterations to remedy deficiencies brought out by the testing. The modified versions were the Bantam 40 BRC, the Willys MA and the Ford GP (G for Government, P for 80″ wheelbase).
In July 1941 the War Department decided to adopt one single model; Willys was selected because it bid lower than the others but the MA had to be redesigned in view of the experience gained with the tests. The redesigned model was named MB by Willys but the contracts to manufacture the vehicle went both to Willys and Ford, where it was named GPW (the W was added to refer to the Willys motor). Meanwhile, about 1000 Bantam 40 BRCs were built for the Russian Army.
http://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/11/11/november-11/
The invitation to submit bids was sent to 135 U.S. automobile manufacturers to produce 70 vehicles; the small Bantam company managed to meet the deadline delivering the pilot model in September 23, 1940. Although it was 730 lbs. overweight it was judged good. Willys-Overland submitted crude sketches of their vehicle and underbid Bantam, although they could not meet the 75 day delivery period; after adding penalties for this the Bantam proposal was lower and this company received an order to produce 70 Model 60 or MKII. Willys Overland submited two units of its pilot model, the Quad, on this day; this had many of the features from the Bantam as did another prototype from Ford, who delivered two of its Pigmy in November 23.
Both Willys-Overland and Ford were given free access to Bantam’s prototype and blueprints, which goes a long way to explain the similarities. With all three prototypes satisfactory, the Army decided to order 1500 of each for field evaluation, with deliveries to begin in early 1941; each of the prototypes should suffer alterations to remedy deficiencies brought out by the testing. The modified versions were the Bantam 40 BRC, the Willys MA and the Ford GP (G for Government, P for 80″ wheelbase).
In July 1941 the War Department decided to adopt one single model; Willys was selected because it bid lower than the others but the MA had to be redesigned in view of the experience gained with the tests. The redesigned model was named MB by Willys but the contracts to manufacture the vehicle went both to Willys and Ford, where it was named GPW (the W was added to refer to the Willys motor). Meanwhile, about 1000 Bantam 40 BRCs were built for the Russian Army.
http://thisdayinusmilhist.wordpress.com/2014/11/11/november-11/
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Jeep
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Jeep Military History
Edited 10 y ago
Posted 10 y ago
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MSG (Join to see), thanks again for another interesting article about our military history.
When I first joined (1975), jeeps were still in common use. In fact, I remember driving them as late as the early 80s. I thought they were a great vehicle. Maybe that's because I was in the infantry for my first four years of service, and anything beats walking!
When I first joined (1975), jeeps were still in common use. In fact, I remember driving them as late as the early 80s. I thought they were a great vehicle. Maybe that's because I was in the infantry for my first four years of service, and anything beats walking!
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MSG (Join to see)
The last Jeep, I'm told, left my first unit (HHC 45th INF BDE), the drill before I first reported in 1994.
And those test prototypes? One was given to my Grandfather, an enlisted artilleryman at the time, at Ft. Ord. He was told to torture it and he did. The original didn't have CV boots--a modification that Grampa suggested.
And those test prototypes? One was given to my Grandfather, an enlisted artilleryman at the time, at Ft. Ord. He was told to torture it and he did. The original didn't have CV boots--a modification that Grampa suggested.
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