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Today in WW II: 30 Aug 1941 German Lorenz SZ40 teleprinter operator sent a 4,000 character message twice, allowing British mathematician Bill Tutte and others at to decipher the machine's coding mechanism. More ↓30 Aug 1942 to the German Reich, triggering a general strike the next day protesting German Army conscription.30 Aug 1942 Battle of Alam el Halfa, between Rommel's German force and British Commenwealth troops under Montgomery, south of, the end of last major Axis offensive of their Western Desert campaign 30 Aug-5 Sep.30 Aug 1944 Last remnants of German forces retreat across the Seine River, bringing to a successful conclusion.Visit the for day-by-day events 1939-1945! The Willys MB or Ford GPW army jeep is the one most people think of when talking about military jeeps. It is known by many names, such as the Willys Jeep, the GI Jeep, the World War II jeep, or just plain Army jeep.
This jeep resulted from a that involved American Bantam, Willys-Overland, and Ford. Willys was chosen for the first mass production contract based on the design, but the Willys MB which followed incorporated superior features from the and the in addition the the.
When the War Department realized that hundreds of thousands of jeeps would be needed for World War II requirements, Ford was given a contract to produce the Willys MB design. Ford produced jeeps were designated GPW. Early Willys MB with slat grill, Australia, 1942.The Willys MB or Ford GPW jeep of World War II were externally visually the same but with many small differences in production details. It was also common to install parts from Willys into a Ford jeep and vice versa. As WW II went on, field maintenance facilities used whatever parts were at hand without regard to the original manufacturer of the part or the jeep.To discover the origin of a particular jeep, the original dataplate is the best source. Unfortunately, the data plate is often missing or has been replaced by an unreliable replica. The engine has a stamped serial number, starting with MB or GPW which will tell you the origin of the engine.
But, like all other parts, the engine may not be original. There are many other details of the Willys MB or Ford GPW that are different. If you are with the jeep, you can see if it has the Ford script F embossed on the rear panel of the body tub or has the F stamped on most bolt heads.The early production Willys MB jeeps, about 25,800 of them, had a grill made of vertical welded slats (called the 'slat grill' type, photo right) and had 'Willys' embossed in the back panel among other small differences. When Ford began producing the nearly identical GPW (with Ford embossed on the back panel) in January of 1942, they used the now-standard, less expensive stamped steel slotted jeep grill (photo above, left). The Army wanted full parts interchangability and worked with Ford and Willys to get one standard design for both jeeps - the Ford idea for the grill was better, so Willys changed over to the stamped grill by April 1942. The Army also insisted that both Willys and Ford drop the embossed company name from the jeep exterior.The main chassis or body component that distinguished a Willys-Overland MB from the Ford-built GPW is the tubular front frame cross-member on the MB as opposed to the inverted U-shaped cross-member on the GPW with a flat top.
That cross-member is located behind the grill, at the base of the radiator so it usually cannot be seen in photos. Below are two close-up photos showing the difference.1943 Willys MB, with rounded, tubular front cross-member.1942 Ford GPW, with flat top, rectangular front cross-member.A visible sign is that GPWs with Ford frames, unlike MBs or GPWs with Willys frames, had holes in the front bumper in line with the frame rails and also had holes in the rear cross-member just out from the bumperettes (photo, above left). Another small MB/GPW difference is in the lid of the rear fender tool boxes. The often replaced, factory original MB tool box lid is flat while the GPW has an embossed ridge and circle design. Thanks to Tom Wolboldt for help with GPW ID.Find additional photos and hi-res versions of the Willys MB and Ford GPW World War II jeeps at the. World War II Production of Military JeepsAt the outset, all engines were produced by Willys but in 1942 Ford began to produce GPW engines to the Willys design.
Midland Steel Corp. Produced frames to the Willys specification and wre used by both Willys and Ford. Ford contracted with Murray Corp. For frames for the GPW after which Ford no longer used the Midland frames. During 1941 to 1943 Willys and Ford manufactured their own bodies, slightly different from each other. In January 1944, both Willys and Ford subcontracted their jeep bodies to American Central Body of Connersville, IN, who built the so-called 'composite body' used by both manufacturers.Willys MB with slat grill, reference photo from TM 10-1207 published in 1941.After about 25,000 units were produced, in early 1942 the MB/GPW was standardized with changes agreed upon by Ford, Willys and the Army. The 1941 and early 1942 production jeeps have many small differences from the later, full production models.
The most visible change was the Ford nine-slot stamped grill which replaced the Willys slat grill (similar to the Ford GP) in March-April 1942. 1945 jeep assembly line at Ford.Photo: Courtesy Ford.Ford's River Rouge plant produced the first 77 GPWs with Willys engines and Midland frames in January 1942. Willys jeeps were produced in their Toledo, OH plant, while Ford had assembly operations at six plants around the country. Although small differences remained, the MB and GPW essentially met the Army's goal of being completely interchangeable in all parts. At the factories, there were Ford GPWs produced on Willys Midland frames or with Willys engines, plus other production expedients and subcontractor sharing, creating a mix of jeeps and parts to be sorted out by later generations.During the course of the war, Ford built 277,896 GPW jeeps, and Willys built 335,531 units. Production contracts were terminated in the summer of 1945 as World War II ended.
Ford M151 – the longest used U.S. Jeep. 1952–1957. 1952–1957 fitted with 105/106mm anti-tank recoilless rifle. M170 Ambulance.
1953 Willys aka 'Aero Jeep' — Prototype for a very small, lightweight (1475 lbs) jeep, for easier lifting by contemporaneous helicopters, eventually rejected in favor of AMC's M422 design. 1955 – a small number of M38A1s carried the, the US' smallest, fired from a 120mm or 155mm. 1959–1962 AMC. 1960–1982. 1960–1964 M151.
Ambulance. 1964–1970. Weapons Platform. 1970–1982. Ambulance. Weapons Platform.
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1960–1968Jeep-related vehicles unlike the jeep vehicle-concept. Ford GPA next to a regular World War II jeepThe U.S. Has also used military vehicles that are directly related to jeeps, or were Willys / Jeep branded, but that digress significantly from the jeep vehicle-concept:The amphibious jeep (WW II). 1942–1943 – an amphibious hulled vehicle, similar to the, but mechanically a Ford GPW jeepWillys / Jeep branded, but not jeep- like vehicles. 1956–1965 Jeep Forward Control military variants.
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Truck, Cargo Pickup w/4 Dr. Cab. Truck, Carry All.
Truck, Ambulance. 1958-1960 'Super Mule' – prototypes for 3⁄4-ton, underfloor mid-engined platform-trucks, comparable to but larger than the. 1967–1969 — based on the commercial KaiserReferences.