Ford GP / GPW (Government Pygmy)

History

In 1939, the U.S. Army invited approximately 135 to 165 manufacturing companies to submit designs within a 75-day time frame for a new multipurpose military logistics vehicle to replace its aging motorcycles and Ford Model Ts truck fleet. Only three companies responded: Ford Motor Company, Willis Overland and American Bantam Motors. The original contract was given to Bantam, but due to production constraints, the U.S. military quickly handed over its plans to Ford and Willis.

New prototypes were then ordered from the remaining two companies, with which Willis eventually signed a procurement contract in July 1941. The Ford Motor Company then agreed to build it to Willis' design plans ("GP" as a "government dwarf," based on his original). vehicle delivered to the U.S.

Army), unfortunately the Bantam is only under contract with Willys-compatible trailers. Ford Willys cars are further referred to as "GPW" to refer to their Willys origins and are mostly copies of competing designs.

Between Willys and the Ford Motor Company, a total of 634,569 "Jeeps" were produced during World War II (1939-1945).

The Ford brand was given the long-form designation "Government 80-inch Wheelbase Scout Vehicle". The car turned out to be a compact four-wheel drive, powered by a 4-cylinder gasoline engine that ran for hours at 4,000 rpm.

The engine is mated to a three-speed manual transmission with an all-wheel transfer case and high/low range. The car also features a reversible fabric roof to protect the occupants from inclement weather, but offers little protection from the dangers of the battlefield. The design can travel at 60 mph on the street, climb 40-degree inclines, reach a 30-foot turning radius, and lean 50 degrees to either side of the vehicle without tipping over. The Jeep was also converted into an amphibious vehicle for traversing water by fitting a special boat-like hull around the chassis and adding special accessories for the engine's intake and exhaust.

This form has not achieved much in terms of mass use.

During World War II, American factories produced tens of thousands of Jeeps. Lend-Lease also shipped these vehicles to British and Soviet stocks, while many remaining forms were drafted into the Philippine military in the postwar years (after the postwar withdrawal of major U.S. forces from the Pacific islands). ) and elsewhere. Its range is so great that "go anywhere" vehicles are used in all major theaters of war.

During peak production, the assembly line produces a car every 90 seconds (!). As a result, Jeeps became workaholic heroes for the civilian population. In the post-war years, the demand to buy the car was so high that Willys continued to be mass-produced. These civilian versions were designated "CJ-2A", where "CJ" stood for "civilian jeep."

Jeeps will continue to fight in all acts of the Korean War and Vietnam War. The line continued to serve extensively with the U.S.

Army in the decades following the war and was continually improved until 1981, when it was officially replaced in inventory by other light vehicles and eventually by the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle replace("hummer")).

The official Jeep names during World War II were Willys MA, Ford GP, Willys MB and Ford GPW. The Willis Company produced more than 363,000 examples, while the Ford Motor Company produced more than 280,000 Jeeps during the war.

In total, hundreds of thousands of Jeeps of all types were produced, and many versions differed only visually by different radiator grille arrangements.

In the early 1950s, the Willys M38 directly replaced the wartime Jeep.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

Depends on weapon configuration.

Changes