Car Articles

During the time of the World War-II, the main object of affection for a soldier belonging to Allied camp was a rugged, square, tough-looking utility vehicle called a Jeep.

The Jeep has been called the most important piece of military equipment to be used in the Second World War, but it had much more than a military appeal to the individual soldier. It became a personal vehicle, sometimes given a pet name; it had the intimacy of a sports car, the power of a tractor and the ability of a mountain goat.

Jeep is an automobile marque and registered trademark of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle, also SUV brand, with Land Rover coming in second. There are many explanations of the origin of the word “Jeep”, all of which have proven difficult to verify. The best explanation of them all is that the vehicle bore the designation “GP” for “Government Purposes” or “General Purpose”, which was phonetically slurred into the word Jeep.

It was during the First World War that automobiles made their first contribution to military operations and top brasses at the Army came to realize the value of an automobile for more than parade transportation. Immediately after that war many discussions were held concerning the development of various engine-powered military vehicles. It was high time for the horse to get replaced by was a car that could drive wherever a horse could go. This car should be able to follow the infantry through rough fields, streams, jungles, mountains and carry ammunition and supplies. The car should be immune to weather, completely reliable and be able to carry great loads.

In Army posts throughout America during the twenties and thirties various experiments were undertaken. All types of existing cars were stripped and re-built to cope with military problems. But the need for specialization was too great and soon Army engineers began to build their own car from the ground up. Many weird car designs were created but the most successful design which finally led to the Jeep was constructed in 1937 by Colonel Robert G. Howie and Master Sergeant Melvin C. Wiley. It was a rear-engine, low-slung machine with small wheels, which was soon nicknamed the “Belly Flopper”. It fulfilled most of the requirements but had trouble on rough terrain.

Delmar Roos, Chief Engineer of Willys-Overland, saw a demonstration of this crude vehicle and suggested that an all-purpose car with some of the features of the Belly Flopper could serve the Army best. He urged Army engineers to draw up plans and specifications for such a vehicle and by 1940 a set of specifications was approved by the Ordnance Technical Committee. But the credit for the physical appearance of the Jeep goes to William F. Beasley, Chief Engineer of the Ordnance Department.

When the bid invitations were released two firms responded, American Bantam and Willys-Overland. The Army ordered 1500 cars from each firm and began to test them in the most difficult sections of the country. The cars were fully loaded and were run through water, dusty sand and up rocky slopes.