WILLYS JEEP

The term Jeep had been around for many years but was used in the end to distinguish the Willys from its competitor's versions made by Bantam and by Ford. The name "Jeep" spread from the test driver Irving Red Haussmann to the staff at the Willys Toledo Plant and finally into the public eye after a Washington Daily News story was published in February of 1941 about 'the new' US Army 1/4 ton truck - "The Jeep"! Willys began to promote its role in the American war effort in magazine advertisements in 1942, it regularly referred to their 1/4ton truck as "The Jeep". The power of advertising cemented the term Jeep in the Civilian psyche. The issue came to a head in 1947 when Bantam tried to sue Willys to stop it from using the name "Jeep" on its civilian Jeeps, arguing that their firm Bantam had developed the concept. The court ruled in favour of The Willys Company now part of the Daimler Chrysler Corporation.

This makes interesting reading, our recommendation is that you read the passages listed at the beginning and end of this account for a fuller understanding of the Willys Jeep history but our interpretation and a brief summary of the situation is as follows - The focus of the development of the new reconnaissance vehicle was that of the QMC's Holabird Quartermaster Depot in Baltimore Maryland along with the American Bantam Car Company. The QMC (The Quarter Master Corps) at Holabird drew up the basic configuration of the vehicle and The American Bantam Car Company sourced suitable components so in the initial stages it was, it would seem, a collaborative effort between Bantam & Holabird. The QMC had been funding the development of a standardised four-wheel drive system and so Bantam turned to Spicer Manufacturing for their axle system which had been developed for this type of requirement. Bantam also decided to opt for a larger engine than in their passenger cars, a Continental Motors design. In the future, alot later on and over multiple development stages, pilots / prototypes and tests, Willys redesigned their "Quad" by reducing its weight in every possible fashion, the resulting Willys MA was distinguishable, among other factors by a new front end. Tests at Fort Benning in June 1941 were undertaken of the Ford GB and the Willys MA. In general, the tests favoured the Willys design because of its more powerful engine, (the Go Devil), it's transmission advantages, a stronger frame and a better radiator. The Bantam 40 BRC (Bantam Reconnaissance Car) and Ford GP each had details in their favour such as the better steering on the Bantam and better springs on the Ford. The report concluded that the Willys design be selected for mass production but with the Ford Shift Lever and Handbrake arrangement. For mass production purposes, the OPM (The office of Production Management) made it very clear to the QMC that they did not care if two or three companies manufactured the new reconnaissance vehicle, so long as it was based on one common design with interchangeable parts. So Willys won in terms of the most satisfactory design.

The QMC (The Quarter Master Corps) and the OPM (The Office of Production Management, previously The Defense Commission) and other Army officials were very much at loggerheads and the controversy around the commissioning of contracts was fraught. The QMC wanted to award the now standardized mass production contract to Ford, which it felt was the only one of the three companies able to manufacture the Vehicle in the quantities required. The OPM now in charge of war production disagreed arguing that Willys should receive the award since it was the lowest bidder and had the most satisfactory design. At least four companies showed an interest in the mass production program, these were the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company, Willys-Overland of Toledo Ohio, The American Bantam Car Company and the Ford Motor Company. The Army quickly eliminated the Checker Cab Manufacturing Company bid even though it was the lowest out of the four bids, as it would take much longer for them to gear up for production. Of the three remaining bids, Willys was the lowest at $648.74 per Truck, Ford at $782.59 per Truck and Bantam at $788.32 per Truck. Owing to the greater bureaucratic muscle of the OPM (The Office of Production Management) the undersecretary of War approved the contract to Willys on July 31,1941.

Willys and Ford were at one point the new entrants (Bantam had been developing and producing pilots / prototypes with the QMC previously) and therefore Willys and Ford had to deliver a pair of pilot models to QMC Holabird for trials, and after approval, the Ford Design was nicknamed 'The Pygmy' while Willys offered a design originally called 'The Quad'.

The Army wanted the weight of the new reconnaissance vehicle to be no more than a weight limit of 1,275lb, this was deemed unrealistic by Bantam, based on previous tests and production lines. The Army finally accepted that the vehicle would be heavier than originally planned with the goal now set at 2,160lb. The Willys prototype was seriously overweight compared to the Bantam and Ford entries, but this was in part due to the decision to use the more powerful 55hp "Go Devil" engine which also mandated use of a heavier transmission. The decision to use a more powerful engine proved beneficial in the long run, since it resulted in a vehicle more suitable for cross-country travel and helped distinguish the Willys design from its competitors. However, to avoid loosing the contract, Willys redesigned the Quad by reducing the weight in every possible fashion, the resulting Willys was distinguishable by a new front end. The definitive Willys design was called The Willys MA, The definitive Ford design was called The Ford GP and the revised Bantam design was designated The Bantam 40 BRC (Bantam Reconnaissance Car).

In terms of production it was apparent that Bantam, in spite of its early roll in developing the basic design along with Holabird, Bantam was not as well prepared as Willys or Ford to undertake such mass production. The Army's resistance to adopting two different designs remained the most significant barrier to Ford's participation. After the Army's experiences in World War 1 it was insistent on standardization to the greatest extent possible, a point of view that was especially strong in the combat arms. To get around this bottleneck, Ford made a critical concession in the late summer of 1941, offering to manufacture the 1/4 ton truck on the basis of the "Willys" design and sweetening the deal by offering to provide separate tooling for many of the key assemblies such as axles, constant velocity joints, and transfer cases that the QMC knew would be bottlenecks to production. Willys realised that it would have a hard time meeting production schedules because of its dependence on subcontractors for many key components. Rather than risk loosing further contracts in the future, in another 'winner-takes-all' style contract, Willys decided to offer their truck design as an irrevocable non-exclusive license to the US Government in consideration for which the Government would continue to contract with Willys in accordance with its own productive capabilities.

In terms of production it was apparent that Bantam, in spite of its early roll in developing the basic design along with Holabird, Bantam was not as well prepared as Willys or Ford to undertake such mass production. The Army's resistance to adopting two different designs remained the most significant barrier to Ford's participation. After the Army's experiences in World War 1 it was insistent on standardization to the greatest extent possible, a point of view that was especially strong in the combat arms. To get around this bottleneck, Ford made a critical concession in the late summer of 1941, offering to manufacture the 1/4 ton truck on the basis of the "Willys" design and sweetening the deal by offering to provide separate tooling for many of the key assemblies such as axles, constant velocity joints, and transfer cases that the QMC knew would be bottlenecks to production. Willys realised that it would have a hard time meeting production schedules because of its dependence on subcontractors for many key components. Rather than risk loosing further contracts in the future, in another 'winner-takes-all' style contract, Willys decided to offer their truck design as an irrevocable non-exclusive license to the US Government in consideration for which the Government would continue to contract with Willys in accordance with its own productive capabilities.

A popular but mistaken idea is that the word Jeep was a contraction for the Army term GP or General Purpose. Infact there was no such Army designation and the Ford GP designation was based on their industrial parts designation system, with G indicating a Government Vehicle Contract, and P assigned to all 80inch Wheelbase Reconnaissance Vehicles. The later GPW added the W to recognise it was a Willys design, and GPA to recognise the Amphibian version. Even though the name Jeep had been associated with the Army 1/4ton Truck since 1940, it was not the only name, nor was it the most commonly accepted name in the Army. In 1941 -1942 many soldiers still used "Jeep" to refer to 1/2ton truck, which led to the smaller 1/4ton being called "Son of Jeep" or "Baby Jeep". Within the Cavalry all 1/4ton Trucks were called "Bantams" after their original manufacturer and "Bantam" was very common among troops well into 1945 especially in cavalry reconnaissance units. The Armed Force used the term "Peep" for the 1/4 ton Truck since one of its main missions was reconnaissance and "Peep" seemed a nice fit! There was a tendency to call the Dodge 3/4ton command car the "Beep"! So for a time in 1942, there was a certain logic to the Army slang, in summary they are - "PEEP" (1/4 ton) - "SEEP" (amphibious 1/4ton) - "JEEP" (1/2ton) and "BEEP" (3/4ton) but this was never official! Other names continued to be used including "Jeep", "Peep" and "Bantam" and other names were used overseas. In Britain, the 1/4ton truck was typically designated the Willys 5cwt 4X4 car, though the "BLITZ BUGGY" was its most popular name!

A popular but mistaken idea is that the word Jeep was a contraction for the Army term GP or General Purpose. Infact there was no such Army designation and the Ford GP designation was based on their industrial parts designation system, with G indicating a Government Vehicle Contract, and P assigned to all 80inch Wheelbase Reconnaissance Vehicles. The later GPW added the W to recognise it was a Willys design, and GPA to recognise the Amphibian version. Even though the name Jeep had been associated with the Army 1/4ton Truck since 1940, it was not the only name, nor was it the most commonly accepted name in the Army. In 1941 -1942 many soldiers still used "Jeep" to refer to 1/2ton truck, which led to the smaller 1/4ton being called "Son of Jeep" or "Baby Jeep". Within the Cavalry all 1/4ton Trucks were called "Bantams" after their original manufacturer and "Bantam" was very common among troops well into 1945 especially in cavalry reconnaissance units. The Armed Force used the term "Peep" for the 1/4 ton Truck since one of its main missions was reconnaissance and "Peep" seemed a nice fit! There was a tendency to call the Dodge 3/4ton command car the "Beep"! So for a time in 1942, there was a certain logic to the Army slang, in summary they are - "PEEP" (1/4 ton) - "SEEP" (amphibious 1/4ton) - "JEEP" (1/2ton) and "BEEP" (3/4ton) but this was never official! Other names continued to be used including "Jeep", "Peep" and "Bantam" and other names were used overseas. In Britain, the 1/4ton truck was typically designated the Willys 5cwt 4X4 car, though the "BLITZ BUGGY" was its most popular name!

Two of the initial missions of the Jeep were to serve as a reconnaissance vehicle and to carry infantry machine-gun teams. These roles led to the development of methods to mount machine guns in firing positions on the Jeep. The first effort in March 1941 was the T47 pedestal mount which was a simple tubular pedestal that could be fitted with either the 30-calibre or 50-calibre machine gun. Trials revealed that the pedestal was not rigid enough during fire with only a single brace, so triple bracing was adopted prior to series production of the M31 pedestal mount. This was the most common official Jeep machine-gun mounting used during the war, with 31,653 produced.

Starting in 1955, Hotchkiss in France manufactured the Wartime Willys MB under license. The first 465 were a direct copy, while a further 27,628 built up until 1967 were the Hotchkiss M 201 VLTT (Voiture de Liaison 1/4ton), which was essentially a Willys MB with a number of local modifications, such as the use of a 24-volt electrical system!

This is something Racey finds fascinating and as Captain Willys bears some original markings himself this is an area Racey & Bear hope to explore further, we would love to know, where he has been and the experiences he has had. Just recently we have researched briefly some colour records and marking records that suggest he was perhaps born in 1944 not 1948 as we had first predicted! We are therefore intrigued to learn more about him and we hope that you will appreciate and enjoy that journey with us too! We will keep you posted!

(Just a few listing). Bantam Mk II.
Bantam BRC.
Ford GP.
Ford GPW.
Ford GPA.
Willys MA.
Willys MB.

(Just a few listing). SECOND WORLD WAR - 1939 to 1945
JEEPS STANDARDISED MASS PRODUCTION - 1941 to 1945
HOTCHKISS JEEP FRENCH - 1955 to 1967

The popularity of the Jeep has led to a wealth of published material, the above account was based on published material as well as on unpublished archival material on the history of the Jeep from the U.S. Military History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania and the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration at College Park, Maryland. USA. Easy Reading - and for reference of all the above look at - Jeeps 1941-1945 by Steven J Zaloga & Illustrated by Hugh Johnson. Military Jeep 1940 onwards (Ford, Willys and Hotchkiss) Enthusiasts' Manual By Haynes.