“The Jeep is America’s greatest contribution to modern warfare.” Army generals, high-ranking officers, and even Dwight D. Eisenhower, the US president, were full of praise for the innovative machine after the victory in World War II. The technically simple Jeep was one of the most important pieces of technology for the success of the Allies in the largest military conflict in history.
Jeep Willys was developed at the request of the US government in record time and subsequently served Allied soldiers in all corners of the world. At the same time, it was one of the first military vehicles that brought the Americans to Czechoslovakia 79 years ago to help them liberate it. That’s what inspired us to recall the biggest things you probably didn’t know about this military legend.
The government gave only 49 days for the development
The United States entered World War II only after the attack on the Pacific Fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, but already the fighting in Europe made it clear that the American military would need a new vehicle. As early as July 1940, the US War Department approached 135 car manufacturers to develop a new multi-purpose all-terrain vehicle. Binding offers had to be sent in just 11 days, and there wasn’t too much time for development either.
Participating manufacturers had just 49 days from contract award to submit a fully functional prototype and 75 days to complete a total of 70 test vehicles. The result of the development was to be a military jeep with all-wheel drive for a crew of three with a wheelbase of 2.03 meters, a height with the windshield down of 1.02 meters and a payload of 300 kilograms.
In the end, the winner did not succeed as expected
The American Bantam company eventually won the tender, but because it was unable to fulfill the contract, it ended up going to the Willys-Overland factory. Later, part of the contract was also awarded to Ford, which produced Willys under the name Ford GPW (General Purpose Willys). American Bantam eventually produced only trailers and other accessories due to insufficient production capacity.
Keyless start
War forces you to think differently because every second of delay under enemy fire can be fatal. Already in the forties, Jeep Willys was equipped with keyless starting. To use the Jeep, it was enough to get behind the wheel, turn on the electrical network, adjust the carburetor choke and gas position, and then step on the switch on the floor. In addition, the gas position was adjusted with a lever under the steering wheel, because you needed your right foot just to activate the starter and the ignition.
Four cylinder Go Devil
When awarding the contract, the US Army also requested a minimum torque on the rear axle of 115 newton meters. Willys-Overland developed a single-chamber carburetor-fed 2.2-liter inline-four for its Jeep, officially nicknamed the “Go Devil” with a maximum output of 45 kW (61 hp) at 4,000 rpm. and a torque of 142 newton meters at 2000 rpm.
The Go Devil four-cylinder came standard with a three-speed dog-leg manual, a two-speed reduction gearbox and rear-wheel drive with mechanically linked front wheels.
Will the bridge carry her?
A new plate officially named “Bridge plate” began to appear on Allied vehicles beginning in World War II. This indicated the weight of the vehicle in tons as well as its weight classification, thanks to which the soldiers immediately knew whether this particular vehicle could cross a normal or temporary bridge.
As standard, this was a yellow-colored label affixed to the right front fender or in the area of the right front headlight. The ton number was rounded up to the nearest ton, so the Willys Jeep received a “2” rating. The ready weight of the Willys was 1113 kilograms.
Almost 650 thousand jeeps produced
The Willys Jeep began production in 1941 and was produced in the Willys-Overland and Ford factories only until the end of the Second World War, i.e. in 1945. During such a short production period, the workers managed to produce a total of 647,925 units. Of these, 359,489 units were Willys MB and 277,896 units were Ford GPW.
