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Truck, 1/4 Ton - The Jeep |
By far the most numerous vehicle any club owns, the Jeep is a workhorse of the division. These light trucks can drive supplies and infantry to and from the front and, when in the service of the 82nd Recon, behind enemy lines and well ahead or at the far flanks of an Allied advance. These vehicles are 4x4 (capable of changing to 2x4 for road driving) with a three speed transmission for a 4-cylinder engine.
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Willys-Overland had won the Army contract for the design of a 4x4, 1/4 ton truck for recon and light troop and cargo transport to keep up with what they saw would be a more mobile war than the one fought decades prior. The initial design of Willys was approved for duplication by Ford and Bantam in order to ramp up production numbers in the rapid mechanization of the military that was gearing up for possible war.
The most typical design is the Willys MB / Ford GPW, which was mass produced and distributed and featured the best of the Willys, Ford, and Bantam designs. However, every now and then a rarer jeep, such as a Ford GP model with its more rounded side opening and slat grills, will show up at an event.
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Jeeps are extremely versatile and were modified to suit the needs of the unit it was assigned to. Machineguns were often mounted on them to provide infantry with a quick and light support platform. Often you'll see photos of jeeps with an angle iron welded to the front bumper (as the with the jeep above in the left picture). The enemy would sometimes string piano wire across a known road or route which could decapitate drivers jeep drivers and passengers with the windshield down (as they usually did when in a combat zone). The angle iron would cut the wire before it reached the soldiers.
GIs would load up their jeeps with their gear. Camo netting, bags, ammunition, extra gas, boxes of rations, whatever. If they could, they'd tow a trailer (above, right) to haul it with them.
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Jeeps are extremely fun to ride in and even more fun to drive. It's no wonder that they're popular with both the vets who used them and for the reenactors who own. There's not much that will stop these things and. Over six decades later and with a little maintenance, they're still running and able to bring troops to the action.
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