“Will delight anyone who has ever labored joyously to trace a pesky electrical fault, put body putty on a dent, or install brake pads on an old car.” —Booklist The Jeep as we know it from World War II newsreels, big screen movies, and television shows such as M.A.S.H. or The Rat Patrol was the result of the US War Department’s requirement for a light command-reconnaissance car to meet the US Army’s needs under the threat of a looming European war. After only a few weeks of development, the Jeep would end up in all of the Allied armies of the world courtesy of Bantam, Willys, and Ford. Many of the Jeeps built during the war would go on to serve for over sixty years in various parts of the world in both military and civilian use. This book is a basic illustrated guide to building a WWII Jeep using restored, rebuilt, and modern reproduction parts for those who have never done it before—just like the author. You’ll find a clear step-by-step process used to build a truly historical vehicle. With supplemental books and websites noted in this volume and some basic auto mechanical knowledge on your part, you should be able to have your own piece of Jeep history rolling in no time.

The jeep was the most famous military vehicle of World War II, and its name has become synonymous with a whole class of military and civilian all-terrain vehicles. The jeep originated in a prewar US Army requirement for a simple, inexpensive, and robust vehicle for basic utility chores. Its simple design proved to be adaptable to a host of military tasks including use as a scout vehicle, battlefield ambulance, communications vehicle, and staff car. This book, covering “the savior of World War II”, focuses on the design and development of this versatile vehicle used on nearly every front of World War II.

This book covers Second World War versions of the legendary Jeep – prototypes, production models and special versions. There are 11 wartime Jeep variants covered – Bantam BRC-40, Budd Pygmy, Willys MA, Ford GP, Willys MB, Willys MB of the Long-Range Desert Group, Ford GPW, Ford GPA or 'Seep', 6x6 MT-TUG, T28 Half-Track and the heavily armed SAS Willys MB. Each model's section opens with a brief text introduction followed by specially commissioned color photographs with fascinating and detailed captions.

1993 revised edition, of the 1986 study of the WWII version of the famous jeep. Over 150 rare photos and original line drawings carefully document the provenance, history, manufacture, repair and restoration of Willys MB and Ford GPW military jeeps. You won't want to miss this!!

An American classic! This new book is a detailed, highly illustrated look at the legendary World War II era Jeep. Detailed text discusses Jeep planning, development and production, then moves into its World War II variants, specialized equipment, accessories and use by other Allied forces. Nearly 200 high-quality color and war-era photos show the Jeep in its many functions. Up-close, detailed images show the differences between variant types. This book is a concise reference for the Jeep enthusiast, historian and restorer.

DIVThe definitive, fully illustrated celebration of an auto manufacturer that paved its own way by going off-road./divDIV /divDIVFew American vehicles, or vehicles made anywhere else in the world for that matter, are as universally iconic as the Jeep. From olive drab WWII military relics to the beloved Wrangler with its rear-mounted spare tire, open-air design, and telltale roll cage, the Jeep is a true classic. In Jeep: The History of America’s Greatest Vehicle, automotive writer Patrick R. Foster chronicles over 70 years of Jeep vehicle design and production. Beginning with the Jeep as a crucial component of the American World War II fleet, Foster expertly recounts the corporate shifts, financial struggles and successes, close calls, and—above all—the enduring machines that have carried Jeep from the early 1940s to its triumphant role as a modern-day embodiment of American perseverance. Three hundred color and black-and-white historical photos complement his expertly written narrative of Jeep’s entire history, reminding us that sometimes, the road less traveled was just waiting for the right truck./div

The world's most respected special forces unit, the Special Air Service (SAS), was inspired by another irregular unit, the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) or simply Ghost Patrol. You may now accompany the authors in Ghost Patrol vehicles far, far behind Rommel's lines. While doing so you will acquire insights into some extreme raids and reconnaissance missions. You will become familiar with tactics and inventions of the Ghost Patrol that are still relevant today. This book is also the story of an LRDG research expedition to modern Egypt undertaken in original WWII Jeeps and described as a "2300-mile Sahara epic" by Classic & Sports Car magazine. Original LRDG training notes and other tips for extreme travellers are included.

The spring and summer of 1940 witnessed the resounding defeats of the French army and British Expeditionary Force at the hands of modernized German troops, designed to take advantage of the latest advances in technology. These included mobile vehicles and tanks used in formation to blast through enemy lines, as well as combined ground and air tactics. The evacuation of the British from Dunkirk and the final defeat of their French allies in June 1940 left only a thin line of English fighter planes between that island nation and total defeat.Meanwhile, leaders of the United States Army, decimated by demobilization after World War I and budget cuts during the Great Depression, knew they were completely unprepared for this new type of mobile warfare called "blitzkrieg," a German term meaning "lightning war." Though experts in the U.S. Army had worked from the end of World War I to develop a combination light weapons carrier and command and reconnaissance vehicle, no perfect model had yet been developed by 1940. In June of that same year, the Army compiled a list of requirements for a revolutionary new truck to replace the mule as the Army's primary method of moving troops and small payloads.The Original Jeeps tells the story of the American Bantam Car Company, Willys Overland-Motors, Inc. and the Ford Motor Company, the three firms who dared to meet the challenge to build pilot models of this extraordinary new vehicle. The efforts by these automotive pioneers represent an astounding story of grit, determination and never-say-die courage that inspires, and ended in the creation of a legend: the Jeep.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SELECTED BY THE ECONOMIST AS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR “A rambunctious book that is itself alive with the animal spirits of the marketplace.”—The Wall Street Journal Freedom’s Forge reveals how two extraordinary American businessmen—General Motors automobile magnate William “Big Bill” Knudsen and shipbuilder Henry J. Kaiser—helped corral, cajole, and inspire business leaders across the country to mobilize the “arsenal of democracy” that propelled the Allies to victory in World War II. Drafting top talent from companies like Chrysler, Republic Steel, Boeing, Lockheed, GE, and Frigidaire, Knudsen and Kaiser turned auto plants into aircraft factories and civilian assembly lines into fountains of munitions. In four short years they transformed America’s army from a hollow shell into a truly global force, laying the foundations for the country’s rise as an economic as well as military superpower. Freedom’s Forge vividly re-creates American industry’s finest hour, when the nation’s business elites put aside their pursuit of profits and set about saving the world. Praise for Freedom’s Forge “A rarely told industrial saga, rich with particulars of the growing pains and eventual triumphs of American industry . . . Arthur Herman has set out to right an injustice: the loss, down history’s memory hole, of the epic achievements of American business in helping the United States and its allies win World War II.”—The New York Times Book Review “Magnificent . . . It’s not often that a historian comes up with a fresh approach to an absolutely critical element of the Allied victory in World War II, but Pulitzer finalist Herman . . . has done just that.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A compulsively readable tribute to ‘the miracle of mass production.’ ”—Publishers Weekly “The production statistics cited by Mr. Herman . . . astound.”—The Economist “[A] fantastic book.”—Forbes “Freedom’s Forge is the story of how the ingenuity and energy of the American private sector was turned loose to equip the finest military force on the face of the earth. In an era of gathering threats and shrinking defense budgets, it is a timely lesson told by one of the great historians of our time.”—Donald Rumsfeld

Andrew Higgins built boats that could "crunch through driftwood, bounce over logs, climb a beach," and "wham up on a sloping concrete sea wall." In World War II, that was exactly what was needed to get soldiers and Jeeps from the ocean to land. This biography for young readers traces the invention of the legendary Higgins boat--and the adventurous childhood of the remarkable man behind it.