Edsel Ford and General Charles H. Bonesteel Testing the Ford GP Military Vehicle, February 1941
Add to SetSummary
American Bantam designed the initial jeep, but Willys-Overland and Ford won the Army's production contracts and subsequently designed their own versions. Ford's first 4,458 GP vehicles used a modified Ford tractor engine producing 42 horsepower. But the Army insisted that Ford build identical copies of the 60-horsepower Willys design, so that all jeeps had fully interchangeable parts regardless of manufacturer.
American Bantam designed the initial jeep, but Willys-Overland and Ford won the Army's production contracts and subsequently designed their own versions. Ford's first 4,458 GP vehicles used a modified Ford tractor engine producing 42 horsepower. But the Army insisted that Ford build identical copies of the 60-horsepower Willys design, so that all jeeps had fully interchangeable parts regardless of manufacturer.
Artifact
Photographic print
Subject Date
28 February 1941
Keywords
Collection Title
On Exhibit
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
84.1.1660.P.833.75088.V
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Linen (Material)
Technique
Gelatin silver process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 8.25 in
Width: 11 in
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