A collection of cool facts, trivia and quotes related to the legendary Jeep and its heroic days of military service.
"The Jeep, the Dakota airplane, and the landing craft were the three tools that won the war."
General Dwight Eisenhower, Allied Supreme Commander, Europe.
General George C. Marshall called the Jeep "America's greatest contribution to modern warfare."
During WWII Jeeps were coming out of the Willys and Ford Plants at rate of one jeep per one and a half minutes and by the end of
the war over 700,000 had been built. The Americans had so many Jeeps that some German soldiers believed each America GI got
his own Jeep as standard issue. In France, three American soldiers walked up to a guard post and told the sentry that they were lost.
The Frenchman immediately told them to surrender and found that they were German soldiers in disguise. When he was asked how he knew,
he replied that Americans always travel in jeeps. Another example happened in Belgium when a guard ordered three German soldiers to
surrender after he saw that a colonel was riding in the back seat. He explained later that if they were American that the officer
would be driving and the infantryman would be in the backseat.
Army official correspondent Ernie Pyle stated, "Good Lord, I don't think we could continue the war without the jeep. It does
everything. It goes everywhere. It's as faithful as a dog, strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat. It constantly carries twice
what it was designed for, and keeps on going. It doesn't even ride so badly after you get used to it."
Photo: Ernie Pyle, War Correspondent, seated, with a jeep driver on Okinawa, April 10, 1945.
Jeep was often referred to as "the wartime limousine". The Jeep transported everyone from Presidents and British Royalty to Privates and Celebrities and even
newlyweds.
Ford engineers designed round recessed headlamps mounted on hinges. Why? So the lamps could pivot back and light up the
engine bay!
The handles on the back and sides of the Jeep were designed so that soldiers could lift it out of a mud hole if
necessary. When Bantam delivered the first prototype Jeep to the army it was nearly 600 lbs over the weight guideline of 1200 lbs.
This was a sore spot with the army until a large cavalry officer managed to lift the rear end of the Jeep off the ground unaided.
The first Land Rover was designed in 1947 in the United Kingdom (on the island of Anglesey in Wales) by Maurice Wilks,
chief designer at the British car company Rover on his farm in Newborough, Anglesey. It is said that he was inspired by an
American World War II Jeep that he used one summer at his holiday home in Wales. The first Land Rover prototype
'centre steer' was built on a Jeep chassis.
One Battered Jeep from WWII received a Purple Heart after successfully surviving two beach landings.
A Soldier Says
When the war was at its hottest
And the going got too steep.
One pal that I could count on
Was the mighty little Jeep
Through beachhead hell, through fire,
Our metal mounts would leap
With strictly GI courage;
I won't forget the Jeep.
And now the war is over.
The one thing I will keep
For farm and feild and hunting -
That's my buddy, Willy Jeep.
Pvt. Jesse Wolf
Somewhere in Belgium
(Originally published in PM, October 21, 1945)
The axis powers had their versions of the jeep, the German Volkswagen and the Japanese Datsun, but both were miserable failures.
In fact, the German's were so impressed by the Jeep's capabilities that in WWII they had a general order to capture and use the
Jeep for their purposes whenever possible.
The origin of the name "Jeep" has many interesting theories. Ford named it a general-purpose vehicle, or GP for short that when
slurred together sounds like "Jeep." Another theory suggest the Jeep was named after a cartoon creature that was quick, clever, and
could do anything, Eugene the Jeep from Popeye the sailor. The jeep was also called a puddle jumper, Bantam Bug, Midget, Quad, and
the peep. Willys made the word `Jeep' its trademark after World War II, much to the dismay of Bantam. Bantam felt that since they
invented the first jeep prototype that they should have the trademark.
The War was almost over
VJ (victory over Japan) was in September 1945. This magazine had an issue date of August 18, 1945. It was all over but final surrender by that time. Everyone knew
it was over, finally over. The well known Jeep would be converted for peacetime use. The cover illustrates a family still intact after four years of fear and
angst whenever the doorbell would ring. I can only imagine if they were a real family what thoughts would have gone through their minds. How anything, how any
dream is now possible to dream.
The legend of the "Driver-less Jeep" originated from Merauke in the Dutch New Guinea. The road to the radar station was so deeply
rutted that the grooves acted like streetcar tracks and with the hand throttle set in the Jeep, it could be sent along the road
without a driver. The sender would then call ahead to let them know it was coming.
This is one of the oldest Urban Legends out there, it's been around since WWII.
For more information on the history of this legend read Brian's Military Jeeps.
Not only is the iconic Jeep famous worldwide... It has also been built worldwide... Originally conceived, designed and created in USA, over the years the Jeep has
been produced and assembled in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Egypt, France, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands,
Philippines, Portugal, Spain, and Turkey.
Anti-Decapitation Device
The Jerries were known to string tough piano wires neck-high across the roads that Allied Jeeps traveled on. The steel tension wire provided a nasty way to
lop off the heads of Jeep drivers and passengers. Often the wire couldn't be seen or if seen, it was usually to late to stop in time. The GI's answer for
this booby-trap was the Anti-Decapitation Device, field made angle iron bolted upright to the front bumper. The device extended above the the heads of those
riding in the Jeep, and at the top it is angled forward and usually notched to catch and cut the wire.
Experienced soldiers appreciated the fact that the jeep would go places that a mule would not. "Lots of times a mule will balk if he doesn't think his leader is
using good judgment," one GI observed. "But a jeep will always try!"
Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Conley summed up the record of the wartime jeep: "Versatile, reliable, and virtually indestructible, this magic motor vehicle bounced to
glory as one of World War II's most enduring legends." Little did anyone know that the successes the jeep had in war were the first of many to come.
Why was the gas tank located under the driver's seat?
When Karl Probst and the people from the different branches of the armed forces were brainstorming
over what would become the jeep, the following observation was brought up. The jeep was
to operate with a normal crew of 3 people, oftentimes more. That to have the driver be shot/killed
would usually result in death or injury to all occupants by loss of control of the vehicle. So any bullet
with a trajectory intersecting the driver meant the crew was most likely a write off. A bullet with any other trajectory
would only take out a non-essential occupant (non-essential to the operation of the vehicle anyway). The jeep
must have a gas tank, which is by nature prone to fire & explosion when fired upon, especially with incendiary, or
tracer rounds. An explosion of the fuel tank would injure/kill all occupants of a jeep. To minimize the number of
"death shot" trajectories available to the enemy, the tank was placed under the driver. To put it anywhere else was to
double the number of places that the enemy could deliver a death shot to the entire crew. By putting the high risk
areas together, they minimized the space and therefore increased the chances of crew & vehicle survivability. The
first jeeps, the MA, BRC, and GP had only 10-gallon tanks sitting on top of the floorboard, with no spare gas can on
the rear body panel. The first MB's & GPW's came with a 15-gallon tank, which now included a 5-gallon sump below
the floorboards, but still no jerry can or rack . After 6 months of MB GPW production the standard 5 gallon
jerry can and rack were added to the rear panel of the jeep presenting a nice target to shoot at. If you watch the history
channel enough, you'll see some fine movies of people driving jeeps with the rear end of the jeep on fire i.e.:
the jerry can took a round. Civilians face different circumstances when talking about survivability. They are much
more likely to get in a collision, than shot at. Ruptured and flaming gas tanks inside passenger compartments was
frowned upon by Hi-way Traffic safety people, which led to rules being put in place to move gas tanks outside the
interior cabin space of vehicles to better protect the occupants.
Army official correspondent Ernie Pyle stated, "Good Lord, I don't think we could continue the war without the jeep. It does
everything. It goes everywhere. It's as faithful as a dog, strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat. It constantly carries twice
what it was designed for, and keeps on going. It doesn't even ride so badly after you get used to it."
