Ohio inventions and firsts · Company innovation · 1941-1945
Willys MB Jeep production
Willys-Overland of Toledo won the 1941 Army contract with a more powerful engine and built about 359,000 Willys MBs (Ford built about 278,000 GPWs to Willys specifications); the FTC found the jeep idea originated with American Bantam of Butler, Pa.
At a glance
- Year
- 1941-1945
- Company
- Willys-Overland
- Place
- Toledo, Lucas County ZIP 43608 · Toledo · Lucas County
The story
In 1940 the U.S. Army needed a small, light four-wheel-drive vehicle and asked three makers for designs. American Bantam won the first contract with a prototype delivered in 49 days. The Army worried Bantam could not build enough, so Ford and Willys-Overland also got contracts, using Bantam's blueprints.
Willys of Toledo had the best engine: the Go-Devil, an inline four of 134 cubic inches making 60 horsepower. Willys took ideas from both rivals to make the standard model, the MB. The grille came from Ford's prototype.
More than 640,000 quarter-ton jeeps were built in the war: about 363,000 Willys MBs and about 280,000 Ford GPWs. General George Marshall called it America's greatest contribution to modern warfare. Timken, in Canton, supplied 24 bearings for every jeep.
No one knows for sure where the name came from. It may be a slurring of GP, for General Purpose; it may come from Eugene the Jeep, a cartoon character; or it may be older Army slang. In February 1941 Willys test driver Irving Hausmann drove a prototype up the Capitol steps, and a newspaper article about it helped fix the name. After the war Willys launched the civilian CJ in 1945 in Toledo, and Jeep has been headquartered there ever since.
Timeline
- 1940: The Army asks three makers for designs; American Bantam delivers a prototype in 49 days. (Butler, PA) source
- 1941-02-19: A newspaper article about a prototype climbing the Capitol steps helps establish the name 'jeep'. (Washington, D.C.) source
- 1941: Willys-Overland wins the production contract for the MB. (Toledo, OH) source
- 1945: Willys-Overland launches the first civilian CJ Jeeps in Toledo. (Toledo, OH) source
- 1945: Wartime production ends at over 640,000 quarter-ton jeeps. (Toledo, OH) source
What it changed
- Over 640,000 quarter-ton jeeps built, about 363,000 of them Willys MBs.
- The Jeep brand has been headquartered in Toledo since 1945.
Why it matters
Iconic vehicle.
Who gets the credit is disputed
The Ohio claim. Willys-Overland of Toledo won the 1941 Army contract with a more powerful engine and built about 359,000 Willys MBs.
The other claims. The Federal Trade Commission found that the jeep idea began with American Bantam of Butler, Pennsylvania, and the origin of the design and the Jeep name is disputed among Bantam, Willys and Ford.
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.