| The US Army had already used 4x4 trucks by the time World War II was dawning and they were still seeking a standardized light cross-country and reconnaissance vehicle by the
time the war was underway in Europe. The Army's tender was quite demanding; Company bids were to be received by July 22 (just eleven days later). They were given 49 days
to submit their first prototype, and 75 days for completion of 70 required test vehicles. The Army's Ordnance Technical Committee specifications were equally demanding: the
vehicle would be four-wheel drive, have a crew of three, on a wheelbase of no more than 75 (later 80) inches and a track of no more than 47 inches, a fold-down windshield,
660 lbs payload and be powered by an engine capable of 85 pound feet of torque. The most daunting demand however was an empty weight of no more than 1300 lbs (590 kg).
Only three companies entered: American Bantam Car Company, Ford Motor Company and Willys-Overland Motors. Though Willys-Overland were the low bidder, Bantam
received the bid being the only company that committed to pilot car delivery in 49 days and total delivery in 75 days. Under the leadership of designer Karl Probst Bantam built
their first prototype, dubbed the Blitz Buggy/Old Number One, and delivered it to the Army's vehicle test center Camp Holabird, Maryland on September 23, 1940. This presented
Army officials with the first of what would eventually evolve into the US Army Jeep.
As the Bantam Company did not have the production capacity nor fiscal stability to deliver on the scale needed by the War Department, the two losing bidders, Ford and Willys,
were encouraged to go ahead with building their own pilot models for testing. The contract for building the new reconnaissance car was to be determined by a test trial. As
testing of the Bantam prototype took place from September 27 to October 16, Ford and Willys technical representatives present at Holabird, were given ample opportunity to
study the vehicles performance. By November 1940 Ford and Willys had each submitted prototypes to compete with the Bantam in the Army's trials. The pilot models, that had
turned out very similar to each other, the Willys Quad and the Ford Pygmy, were joined in testing by Bantam's entry that had evolved into a Mark II, called the BRC 60. By then
the US and its armed forces were already under such pressure, that all three cars were declared acceptable and orders for 1500 units per company were given, for field testing.
At this time it was acknowledged that the original weight limit was unrealistic, and the limit was raised to 2160lbs (980kg).
For these respective pre-production runs, each vehicle received a make-over and was renamed. The Bantam's was called the BRC 40. After losing 240 lbs, Willys' car's
designation was changed to MA (Lit; Military model A). The Fords went into production as GP (Lit; Government contract and Passenger car with a wheelbase of 80 inches).
Bantam ceased motor vehicle production after the last one was built in December of 1941.
By July 1941, the War Department desired to standardize and decided to select a single manufacturer to supply them with the next order for another 16.000 vehicles. Willys
won the contract mostly due to its more powerful engine and its lower cost and lower silhouette. Whatever better design features the Bantam and Ford entries had were then
incorporated into the Willys car, moving it to the MB nomenclature.
By October 1941, it became apparent that Willys-Overland could not keep up with production demand and Ford was contracted to produce them as well. The Ford car was then
designated as GPW with the W referencing the Willys licensed design. During World War II, Willys produced 363,000 Jeeps and Ford produced some 280,000. Some 51,000 of
which were exported to Russia under the Lend-Lease program during the war. Another 13,000 amphibian jeeps were built by Ford under the name GPA. Inspired by the larger
DUKW the vehicle was produced too quickly and proved too heavy, too unwieldy, and had very little freeboard. In spite of participating successfully in the Sicily landings in
September 1943 most GPA’s were routed to Russia under the Lend-Lease program.
After the war, Ford had no further interest in producing jeeps, but Willys sold it to the public with its CJ (for Civilian Jeep) versions, making these some of the first mass-produced
4x4 civilian vehicles ever. The first CJ-models were essentially the same as the MB, but featured such alterations as: powered windshield wipers, a tailgate, and later a
side-mounted spare tire, a rear view mirror and civilian lighting. Also the civilian jeeps had amenities like naugahyde seats, chrome trim and came in a variety of colors.
Mechanically, a heftier T-90 transmission replaced the Willys' MB's T84 in order to appeal to the originally considered rural buyers demographic.
Over the years, before the Willys-Overland company was absorbed into other companies, it continued to supply the War Department as well as befriended nations with military
jeeps and in 1950 the first post-war jeep, the M38 (or MC), was launched, based on the 1949 CJ-3A. In 1953 it was quickly followed by the M38A1 (or MD), featuring an all new
round-fendered body in order to fit the also new, taller, Willys Hurricane engine. This jeep would later be developed into the CJ-5 launched in 1955. Similarly its ambulance
version, the M170 (or MDA), featuring a 20-inch wheelbase stretch, was later turned into the civilian CJ-6.
Before the CJ-5, Willys offered the public a cheaper alternative with the taller F-head engine in the form of the CJ-3B, that simply used a CJ-3A body with a taller hood. This was
quickly turned into the M606 jeep simply by equipping it with the available heavy-duty options such as larger tires and springs, and by adding black-out lighting, olive drab paint
and a trailer hitch. After 1968, M606A2 & A3 versions of the CJ-5 were created in a similar way for friendly foreign governments. Licenses to produce CJ-3B's were issued to
manufacturers in many different countries, and some continue to produce them in one form or another to this day.
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