Willys MB/Ford GPW

General Dwight D. Eisenhower himself listed the general purpose Jeep as one of the most imporant war winning tools in the Allied arsinal. Manufactured from 1941 to 1945 the Jeep was and still is an icon of the Second World War - it transported troops, supplies, weapons, artillery peices, and even Generals such as “Blood and Guts” Patton. If there is one vehicle that it can be said to have truly served in every theater of the Second World War, it is the Jeep - having seen action in North Africa, Europe, Russia, and the island hopping campaigns through the Pacific.

In the late thirties the US Army started to hunt around for a replacement to its ageing motor transport, but it was not until 1940 that the military formalised a list of requirements for the new vehicle. Out of 139 contenders three companies were able to meet the militarys strict requirements and even shorter development schedual: American Bantam Car Company, Ford Motor Company, and Willys-Overland Motors. The Banam design won through as the coompany was able to produce enough expermental vehicles within the militaries development schedual (even though Willys had the lower bid). But unfortunatly Bantam was not in a position to fullfill the large military contract, so Ford and Willys were brought in to fill production of the new vehicle which ended up being a hybid vehicle of Bantam/Ford design powered by a Willys Go Devil engine Willys was awarded a contract for mass prodction of the Jeep, but Ford was also brought in to fill production demand.

Employed by: United States of America, United Kingdom, Soviet Union.