You know that:
- In 1941, 3 companies, American Bantam, Willys-Overlan and Ford Motors, competed for a government contract for the US Army.
- The contest was eventually won by Willys Overland Motors Ltd. as they offered a price of only $739 and thus began the glorious era of Jeeps.
- The car was designed by Karl Probst, who designed the basic concept and design in two days.
- Willys was able to start mass production on the 73rd day after the project was approved. Such flexibility is unthinkable in today's automotive industry.
- While Willys supplied cars to the US military, American Bantam and Ford received orders from the Soviet Union and Great Britain.
- The demand for off-road vehicles was so great that the capacity of Willys was not enough even after repeated increases, so part of the production was transferred to Ford factories under the Ford GPW brand.
- The front lights of the car could be turned towards the engine compartment in case of repairs.
- President Eisenhower once said, "It is one of the three weapons that decided the war in favor of the U.S."
- In total, over 647,925 units were produced in various versions.
- The United States delivered more than 75,000 vehicles to the Soviet Union.
- The trailer type M-100 was widely used for transporting cargo weighing up to 250 kg. The truck was produced in more than six different factories, with the most produced by American Bantam (75,000 units) and Willys-Overland (60,000 units).
- The total number of units produced probably exceeded 200,000. After World War II, many trucks were sold for civilian use.
Technical parameters Willys MB:
- length 3.36 m, width 1.57 m, height with roof 1.77 m
- weight 1,050 kg
- drive unit 4-cylinder Willys L134 GO DEVIL gasoline engine with a power of 45 kW
- number of gears 3 forward and 1 reverse + reduction
- fuel tank volume 68 l
- range 480 km
- fuel consumption 14.1 l/100 km
- speed 105 km/h
- wading capacity 0.53 m
- number of seats 1 + 1
- number of places for transporting patients 1-2
- the main weapon is a 12.7 mm Browning M2HB machine gun
Technical parameters of the M-100 trolley:
- dimensions: total length 2.75 m, width 1.43 m, height 1.06 m
- empty weight 265.27 kg
- maximum load weight for off-road driving 250 kg
- maximum load weight for road driving 261 kg
- dimensions of the loading area 1.82 x 1.16 m
From the memoirs of Lieutenant Tom Brown:
"After the Normandy landings we fought hard, but the German resistance weakened at times. Once we were ordered to bring the famous wine from the Breuil winery. We had to cross a marshy plain to reach our destination, and to confuse the enemy, we painted our Willys and cart pink. It worked perfectly. On the way back, we were shot at by the Germans, but also by our own. Well, we were young and foolhardy. "
Assembly instructions
