It is difficult to say who and when first started using cars in the army. It is important that the very fact of recognition of vehicles by the military departments of different countries turned out to be one of the turning points in the history of the automotive industry - in fact, it was a recognition that the car had become truly reliable and effective remedy movement and transportation.
However, the recognition of cars did not become widespread and unanimous. Some armies were so imbued with the idea of technical progress that they completely and completely built their doctrine on the use of vehicles. Others did not really trust the vehicles that were not sufficiently reliable and tied to fuel bases, besides off-road qualities which raised serious doubts. The equestrian units looked much more familiar and reliable. Both of these doctrines were severely tested during the Second World War.
And if the use of trucks practically did not cause controversy in their efficiency, and, as a result, necessity, then with light vehicles everything was much more complicated.
Cars of the Second World War
Before the start of World War II, the Red Army did not have specialized army cars - ordinary "civilian" GAZ M1 ("Emka") and GAZ-A (the Soviet version of the legendary Ford A, the license for the production of which was purchased together with Ford AA , which became the legendary "lorry").
Naturally, these vehicles were used to transport mid-level command personnel. The high command relied on "Soviet Buicks" - prestigious ZiMs.
However, it cannot be said that this situation satisfied the army. Both passenger cars produced by GAZ were purely "civilian" vehicles - cramped and insufficiently off-road. They could not fit in winter uniforms and personal weapons, and the power reserve for towing something, for example, a light weapon or a trailer with ammunition, was clearly not enough. Although a limited number of pickups were produced on the basis of "Emka", in the army they were not quite appropriate - the car was more suitable for supplying small shops and canteens. Elite ZiM is generally difficult to imagine anywhere other than the central streets of Moscow and Leningrad.
Legendary help
One of the first specialized army cars in the Soviet army is the legendary Jeep Willis, produced in the United States at once by several factories. For its simplicity on the verge of primitiveness, but at the same time reliability and functionality, this passenger car of the Second World War fell in love with everyone who had to serve with it. Until now, this machine is popular with lovers of authority.
The basis of the Jeep is a rigid steel frame, to which units, assemblies and an open body were attached. The four-cylinder 2.2-liter engine produced 60 liters. with., and accelerated the jeep to about 100 km / h. Four-wheel drive and a successful design, which provided solid exit angles, gave a sufficient supply of off-road qualities.
Despite the relatively small carrying capacity - 250 kg - Willis confidently transported four soldiers (including the driver), if necessary, he could tow a light cannon or mortar. But most importantly, Willis was equipped with a sufficient number of knots for attaching all sorts of useful things, such as a fuel canister, a shovel or a pickaxe. This was especially appreciated in the army. The primitive, but at the same time, the universal design of the car made it possible to retrofit it with your own hands to fit your needs. The drivers compensated for the lack of any comfort as best they could. Most often, the car was equipped with homemade awnings that protected riders from rain and wind.
Within the framework of Lend-Lease, more than 52 thousand of these machines were delivered to the USSR, which made Willis the most popular army off-road vehicle of the great Patriotic... It is not surprising that Wilis are still relatively common, and in almost every major city in Russia you can find a specimen on the go.
Our answer to the capitalists
It cannot be said that the current situation with the lack of domestically produced army cars suited everyone - the development of vehicles for the army was carried out by different design bureaus, however, the lack of experience, capacity for the production of a wide range of spare parts for different machines, and the periodically changing requirements of the main customer did not allow to effectively complete the development ...
Finally, by a strong-willed decision of the country's leadership, the production of GAZ-64 was launched - the first soviet car off-road... It is believed that the army was inspired to create an SUV by Willys' American rival Bantam. This is indirectly confirmed by their external similarity. They say that from the same place came the excessively narrow track of the car - only 1250 mm, which had an extremely negative effect on its stability.
The design of the car strongly resembled the already produced mass-produced cars, which in wartime conditions looked like an indisputable advantage. So, the engine from GAZ-MM ("one and a half" of increased power) not only unified production, but also gave the car a good power reserve. The carrying capacity of the GAZ-64 was about 400 kg. The car was equipped with shock absorbers, which for that time was something unheard of, found somewhere out there, in the world of ZiMs and Emoks.
GAZ-64 was produced for about two years, from 1941 to 1943. In total, about 600 cars were produced, which is why it is almost impossible to meet a real, not converted GAZ-64 these days.
The descendant of the GAZ-64 became much more popular - the GAZ-67 SUV, which was a deep modernization of the first. The track of the car was widened, which had a positive effect on its lateral stability... Also, due to the use of other load-bearing elements, the rigidity of the structure has increased. The front axle was moved slightly forward, which increased the angle of entry and the height of obstacles to be overcome. The engine is also more powerful. The car received a tarpaulin awning. There were also tarpaulin "doors" with celluloid windows.
As a result, the army received not only an excellent SUV, but also a good tractor for light artillery. The light armored car BA-64 was also produced on the basis of the GAZ-67. In part, this explains the small number of GAZ-67s produced during the war.
During the Great Patriotic War, only about 4500 off-road vehicles were produced, but the total production of 67s is not small - more than 92 thousand cars. But military and post-war copies have serious differences in appearance.
Intermediate
It is not difficult to notice a serious gap in the carrying capacity of vehicles of different classes of the Red Army. The lower segment was represented by ordinary cars GAZ-67 and Willys (carrying capacity 250-400 kg), while only the legendary "one and a half" GAZ-AA (carrying capacity 1.5 tons, hence the nickname) was larger than them.
The cars carried a maximum of four fighters, or they could tow weak artillery. At the same time, they could be used in reconnaissance, since they were small, but had good maneuverability. GAZ-AA was a typical truck. Able to carry 16 people in the back, was used as a tractor, mounted on its chassis Various types weapons. However, using it in intelligence was problematic.
The resulting gap was successfully filled by the "Dodge Three Quarters" - a large by the standards of that time, the Dodge WC-51 Jeep got its nickname for its unusual carrying capacity of 750 kg (¾tonnes). The creators of the car simply and effectively emphasized its purpose - WC is an acronym for Weapon Carrier, "military carrier".
I must say that the car coped with its role perfectly. A simple, technologically advanced and maintainable design, reliability and functionality were all that the army demanded at that time. Unlike its younger counterparts, the Dodge was provided for the installation of a large-caliber machine gun or 37-mm cannon. The car confidently took on board six to seven passengers, had standard places for attaching shovels, cans, ammunition boxes.
At first, Dodge in the Red Army was used as a tractor, but soon began to enter all branches of the army, where he showed himself, as they say, in all its glory, acting as both the personal transport of officers and the combat vehicle of reconnaissance groups. In total, over 24 thousand cars of this family were delivered to the USSR.
WWII German SUVs
The ideology of Nazism serves as an excellent basis for a policy of supporting domestic producers. That is why the army of the Third Reich was armed with the most motley fleet of cars of its own production. At the same time, the Germans, with their characteristic diligence, did not work on the principle of "they will buy anyway", and produced really high-quality cars with very, very good characteristics.
The conquest of virtually all of Europe not only added to the German army's vehicle fleet, but also made it more motley, making the life of the supply units a nightmare.
Formally, the unification of the park began around the middle of the war, but in the soldier's jargon it happened a little earlier: this is how all small open jeeps in the German army were called "kübelvagen", that is, "tin car".
An example of this class of cars in the German army was the Volkswagen Kfz 1 - a rear-wheel drive car with an engine half that of Willis (both in volume and power), the prototype of which was drawn by Ferdinand Porsche himself. But there were many of them, and a light amphibian was produced at its base.
However, there were also more serious cars in the Third Reich. Horch 901 (Kfz 16) was a kind of analogue of Dodge “three quarters”. Firms Stoewer, BMW and "Ganomag" produced an analogue of the American Jeep.
Now, seven decades later, there are frequent disputes about whose cars of the Second World War were better - high-tech and pedantically accurate German, primitive but unpretentious Soviet, universal American, somewhat eccentric French ... Motorists of all countries are actively looking for the remains of mechanical satellites soldiers, restore them, bring them into proper technical condition... Often, such cars pass in formation at the Victory Parades in different cities.
Probably, now these disputes are no longer relevant - too much water has flowed under the bridge since those times. The modern army vehicle has changed dramatically. This is no longer a tin cart with a motor, on which our grandfathers drove half of the Soviet Union and Europe.
As a rule, this is an off-road vehicle protected by high-quality armor, under the hood of which there are more than one hundred "horses", and the protection systems of which will be able to protect the crew even in the radiation damage zone. But that war proved that the car has long been able to replace the usual horse-drawn traction force, and the experience of operating off-road vehicles of the Second World War is used in the global automotive industry to this day.
Of course not. Yes, the GAZ-M1, aka "emka", was the only Soviet passenger car produced in significant series before the war. And the "Jeep" was the main army passenger car until the end of the war. However, before moving on to the less common cars in the Soviet army, let's briefly touch on the main ones.
GAZ-M1, "Emka"
As in the case with the "lorry" GAZ-MM, the prototype of the "emka" also served as a car lineup corporation "Ford". To be more precise - "Ford model A", aka "Ford-A", a direct successor on the assembly line of the legendary Ford-T. A significant number of parts of these two cars were standardized and interchangeable; the engine, front axle, fenders, hood, instrument panel, front seats, steering gear, and the engine of the entire series - both a passenger Ford-A and a cargo Ford-AA - was a modernized engine "Tins Lizzie", as Ford was called in the USA -T. With the same performance characteristics; drove on any fuel, but also consumed it in significant quantities ..
Initially, it was Ford-A that was going to the USSR; while GAZ was being completed in Nizhny Novgorod, the screwdriver assembly of American cars took place at the Gudok October factories (in Nizhny Novgorod, after renaming - Gorky), and at the Moscow plant KIM (later AZLK).
A feature of the GAZ-A car was a tarpaulin awning, and body sidewalls with celluloid windows, as well as wheels with wire spokes. Very quickly, the car was modernized by Soviet specialists, and the modernized version was named GAZ-A, and in 1936, in connection with a change in the GAZ product range, the GAZ-M1 car began to roll off the assembly line, further modernization of GAZ-A.
First of all, the engine was modernized: it was boosted from 40 hp to 50 hp. A fuel pump has been added; the gas tank began to be located below the level of the carburetor, and, unlike the GAZ-A, it no longer went by gravity. Taking into account the experience of operating GAZ-A on the roads of the USSR, the frame of the car was significantly strengthened, the car acquired 4 springs (instead of two for the prototype), the frivolous wheels on the spokes were replaced by solid-stamped ones, and the car itself was externally made more slender, swift, and, perhaps, elegant ...
In the future, the car acquired a bunch of modifications. For example, the GAZ-M-415 pickup truck was mass-produced, a version of the GAZ-11-73 with a 6-cylinder engine with a capacity of 76 hp appeared (later these engines were installed on light tanks T-60 and T-70), was developed "Emka" with a body "phaeton" (GAZ-11-40, the car did not have time to enter the series), as well as an all-wheel drive version of the "emka" GAZ-61. Before the war, armored vehicles BA-10 were also mass-produced on the basis of the "emka" (with the beginning of the war, production was discontinued).
With the beginning of the war, most of the cars were sent to the front. The very same "emka" was produced until 1943, until it was replaced on the conveyor belt by the purely military utilitarian light SUV GAZ-67, but it will be discussed below.
"Willis"
The history of this car began a year before the start of World War II, when the US Army organized a competition for a light army SUV. The conditions of the competition were extremely strict, and the terms were extremely limited, 2 months - and not a day more. Only 2 companies ventured to take part in it: Willys-Overland Motors and American Bantam, and only the second one met the deadline.
Firstly, Willis-Overland Motors, using direct bribery of officials, achieved an extension of the prototype delivery time by 75 days. And - again, not entirely honestly and through the military departments - she stole all the technical documentation for the opponent's prototype. This fact surfaced only after the end of the Second World War, when the Bantam firm had already gone bankrupt. Thus, having a head start in time, and having the drawings of the rivals' car, "Willis" was able to create a quite worthy competitor to the American Bantam off-road vehicle. Nevertheless, not only Willis Overland Motors, but also the real shark of the American car industry: Ford, met the extended terms of the competition. Which also created quite a worthy alternative, the light all-terrain vehicle "Pygmy". Which, by the way, won the first stage of the competition. It has already been proven that the prototypes "Bantam" and "Willis" were outwardly similar by no means accidentally; Whether by chance Ford Pygmy turned out to be similar to both "Willis" and "Bantam" - the question is still open.
As a result, trial lots of one and a half thousand copies were ordered from all three firms. Only "Ford" met the deadlines, "Willis" and "Bantam" did not have time. However, "Willis", as production increased, upgraded its MA model to the MB model; in 1941, the drawings of the MA model were transferred by President Roosevelt to Ford engineers, and until the end of the war, Ford Motors Corporation produced them, under its own name Ford GP and Ford GPW. The American Bantam company got the very crumbs of the entire military order; she was entrusted with the production of army light trailers for a car of her own design. By the way, Jeep Willys and Ford, supplied under Lend-Lease, had very poor interchangeability of even small parts, and the Bantan jeep was generally a rarity.
By the way, most of the first, trial batches of all three manufacturers went to the USSR under Lend-Lease; probably, guided by the principle "God forbid, what is not suitable for us." Moreover, if the products of the Ford and Willis firms were called "Jeep", then the SUVs of the Bantam firm bore their own name among the Soviet soldiers: "bow". It is reliably known that it was on them that Marshal Zhukov's guards drove around.
To my credit American cars, the love of Soviet soldiers for them was fully justified: simple, unpretentious, four-wheel drive cars seemed to be simply created for military off-road. The open body made it possible to quickly leave the car, and even provided the crew with a chance to survive when the car hit a mine; the driver and passengers were simply thrown out of the car. If the Willis got stuck in the mud, it could be pulled out of it by hand; special handles were welded from the sides for this purpose, and an ax and a shovel were included and attached to the left side. "Willis" could accelerate to more than 100 km / h, overcome fords up to half a meter deep and significant climbs, and in general proved to be an irreplaceable vehicle on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Tractor for light weapons, command vehicle, ambulance, the reconnaissance vehicle is far from full list versions of the "jeep".
Besides, Ford company supplied the amphibian Ford GPA to the USSR. This little little car was very much appreciated in the reconnaissance companies of the Soviet army; contemporaries described cases when one such car changed at once for three "jeep". The top military Soviet leadership provided for a huge number of amphibious tanks in the Red Army nomenclature, but somehow they did not bother with floating cars, and after that it was too late.
In total, about 50,000 Jeep were sent to the USSR, some of them, according to the terms of the Lend-Lease, were returned to the American side. By the way, the insular Great Britain under the same Lend-Lease received twice as many "Jeep" as the giant USSR, and actively used them in all colonial wars after WWII.
By the way, among automotive historians there are still debates about the origin of the word "jeep" in relation to light army off-road vehicles. On the one hand, "jeep" - "gypsy" is the name of the prototype of the Bantan company. On the other hand, there is a version that as "emka" is a consonance from the M1, so "jeep" is a consonance from the Ford GP. Be that as it may, the name "Jeep" was adopted by Willys-Overland Motors after the war. And the American Bantam company itself, which gave the world, if not the name of the class of cars, then at least its very first representative, went bankrupt immediately after the war, is now in almost complete oblivion, and is known mainly among fans of retro mobiles. And overseas.
GAZ-67, "Russian Willis", or "Ivan-Willis". He's a "goat"
To the credit of the Soviet car industry, an analogue of the "Jeep" in the USSR began to be developed even before the war, and the four-wheel drive army light all-terrain vehicle was developed in general for the first time in the world, in 1938, and was even produced in minimal quantities: it was already mentioned in the chapter about the GAZ series -61 and its modifications. However, this was not what was needed; the machine was heavy and difficult to manufacture.
Meanwhile, in January 1941, People's Commissar Malyshev, who also oversaw the Soviet auto industry, came across a photograph from an American automobile magazine, in which a prototype of the Bantam firm was confidently climbing the steps of the White House in Washington. As often happened in the USSR, the order was appropriate: do the same!
And they did it. In a record 51 days!
First there was a prototype R-1, a little later - a serial GAZ-64; its first samples were sent to the front in August 1941. This car really was copied in many ways from the American prototype; in particular, the track gauge was similar to the millimeter. As a result, the "childish sore" of both the "Jeep" and the early "Ivan-Willys" were overturning into a ditch during a sharp turn, and the inability to fit into a standard track.
GAZ-64 was produced in the minimum quantity; 686 copies. Most of the chassis on which this car was made went to the production of the Soviet BA-64 armored car, the only one produced in the USSR during the war years.
Nevertheless, the GAZ-64 managed to fight gloriously; in the battle for Moscow, it was actively used for a quick transfer from place to place of anti-tank guns, along with a crew and ammunition. At the same time, the first "Willys" began to arrive in the USSR, in particular, almost the entire series of Willys MA.
And at the end of 1942, the GAZ-67 "Russian jeep" went into series production, with a track gauge increased relative to the prototype; the main difference between the 67th and the 64th is the angular wings protruding sharply beyond the body. In 1944, the car underwent what is now called the buzzword "restyling"; this is how the version of the GAZ-67B appeared, which was produced until 1953, and in circulation comparable to that of the Willis; on the conveyor, it was replaced by the no less legendary GAZ-69. In the memory of the Soviet people, the GAZ-67 remained under another, much less pleasant nickname: "goat".
If we compare the "Jeep" and "Russian Jeep", then the second will turn out to be more unpretentious, more passable, and capable of towing a mass that is outrageous for a "Jeep". But the American has a much easier steering, a more comfortable fit, more distinct brakes and less "wooden" gears in the box. The Jeep's braking distance is one third shorter, the brakes are smoother (the American mechanics and the Soviet mechanics have hydraulics), the pedals are much softer, the acceleration dynamics are smoother, the maximum speed is ten kilometers more. But - GAZ-67 is easier to maintain, since some of its units are unified with units of both "lorry" and "emki".
And what about the Germans?
And the Germans have the same thing as with the trucks; at the beginning of the war - almost the entire passenger car fleet in Europe, plus all its own, very motley. This is because the German government supported the domestic manufacturer, and, as a result, in the 30s, more than 30 companies were engaged in the supply of cars of their own production to the Wehrmacht and SS units. From about the middle of the war, relative unification began. There was a clear division according to the size of the service passenger car for officers of various ranks; for example, a car the size of an "emka" in the Wehrmacht was supposed to be a major, or a lieutenant colonel, but for a colonel it would not fit, he was supposed to have a bigger and more comfortable car.
Meanwhile, as in the USSR all light army jeeps were given the nickname "jeep", so in the German army all light army open cars were nicknamed "Kübelwagen". The very name "tin car" appeared in the 30s, before the war, and came from the phrase "tin bucket"; the first open cars in the German army of the 1920s were supposed to provide a comfortable ride over bumps, which was achieved as simply as possible; very deep and too soft seats... Actually "kübelvagen" was called any open army utility vehicle, sometimes with a stretched canvas top, often with tarpaulin doors, often with a folding windshield. But most often a car produced by Volkswagen was called a "tin car".
This machine was called the KdF-Wagen (KdF, short for the German "Kraft durch Freude" - "strength through joy"); its prototype was created back in 1936 by Ferdinand Porsche himself, even before the prototype of the legendary Volkswagen Beatle, which became a legend of the German automotive industry after the Second World War, was created. The car went into production under the abbreviation Kfz.
By the way, it was a car of an even simpler design than the Jeep; according to modern classification, it is more likely not even a car, but a rear-wheel drive motorized carriage with a low-power engine with a volume of a little more than a liter (2 times less than that of a Jeep) with a capacity of 25 hp (more than half that of a Jeep), moreover, located at the back, as well as a body made of tin.
It all began with the fact that in 1940 the NSU company received an order from the Ministry of Armaments of the Ground Forces to develop a light tractor designed to increase the mobility of infantry units. It was planned to equip this type of machine primarily for parachute and light anti-tank units.
The project was developed in a few months, and the output was a combination of a motorcycle and a tracked tractor.
The HK-101 half-track motorcycle had an open body made of sheet iron. V undercarriage transport included a front steered wheel, and a caterpillar propeller mounted on a supporting welded body, consisting of an Opel Olympia engine with a capacity of 35 hp, five rollers on each side, arranged in a checkerboard pattern (+ drive wheel, front on each side), and caterpillars. The transporter turned out to be three-seater; two passenger seats with their backs to the driver were located at the stern of the apparatus.
In total, at least 10,000 Kettenkraftrad HK-101 units were produced during the war years. Its army acronym was SdKfz 2.
Many devices, as you can see, are still in use.
The second world war often called the "war of motors" - after all, this was the first collision in the history of mankind, where so much of the latest technology was used. By the beginning of hostilities, almost every participating country had its own vehicles in the development, distinguished by high reliability and increased cross-country ability. Many of those models were the progenitors of modern SUVs.
Willys MB
USA Before you - what will later be called a jeep. The development of the designers of Willys-Overland Motors turned out to be so successful that the car began to be supplied to all allied forces. The car was especially popular in the Red Army, which received as many as 52 thousand "Willis". On the basis of this model, already in the post-war period, many "great-grandfathers" of modern SUVs were built.GAZ-61
the USSR
GAZ-61 was created for specific needs: the top leadership of the Red Army needed a reliable command vehicle with good maneuverability. The model became the world's first comfortable SUV - oddly enough, but it was the experience of Soviet masters that was later adopted in other countries. GAZ-61 had excellent characteristics and was highly appreciated by army commanders - for example, it was one of Marshal Zhukov's favorite cars. Volkswagen Tour 82 Kuebelwagen
Germany
The off-road vehicle, by special order, was developed by the famous Ferdinand Porsche. The Volkswagen Tour 82 Kuebelwagen was intended for the transport of personnel, but several modified models could serve other purposes. Tour 82 turned out to be very successful: light, super-passable, it was highly appreciated even by the Allied troops: the soldiers exchanged captured cars from each other. Dodge WC-51
USA
And this is already a heavy SUV, distinguished by its simplicity of design and technological performance. The Dodge WC-51 was perfect for transporting guns, as it had an increased carrying capacity and could overcome almost any off-road. This vehicle was also supplied to the Red Army under Lend-Lease. GAZ-64
the USSR
The Soviet Union also had its own jeeps - however, the designers "peeped" on the basis from the same Willys MB. The GAZ-64 model entered service in 1941 and proved to be excellent on the battlefields. Before the advent of the "Willis", the GAZ-64 was an indispensable assistant to Soviet soldiers, and then the need to produce their own car simply disappeared. Horch 901 type 40
Germany
Another German SUV that has become a real hit on the battlefield. "Horch" was distinguished by a high maximum speed (the car could accelerate to 90 km / h) and an increased range: two fuel tanks provided as much as 400 kilometers. However, it also had its own, very significant disadvantage - the Horch 901 turned out to be quite delicate and often required serious maintenance. Today, the American SUV of the Second World War is easily recognizable in any photographs of the war and post-war years; it is a frequent guest on the movie screen, not only in documentary chronicles, but also in almost all films about this war. The car became a real classic during its lifetime and gave its name to a whole class of cars. Currently, the word "jeep" itself denotes any car with good off-road ability, but initially this nickname was assigned to a very specific piece of technology, whose fate was closely intertwined not only with the United States, but also with the history of our country.
This story began in the spring of 1940, when the US military formulated technical requirements for the design of a light command and reconnaissance vehicle with a carrying capacity of a quarter of a ton with a 4x4 wheel arrangement. The tight deadlines of the announced competition quickly knocked out almost all possible applicants, except for two companies, American Bantam and Willys-Overland Motors, which were only later joined by the recognized American auto giant - the Ford concern. You can learn more about the history of the appearance of American jeeps, unfair for some and triumphant for others, in the article "Bow": the first jeep under Lend-Lease. "
After ordering each of the three participants in the competition for a batch of cars of 1,500 copies, the Willys company was eventually recognized as the winner, which in 1941 began mass production of an army off-road vehicle under the designation Willys MB. Since 1942, the Ford concern joined the production of a licensed copy of the "Willis", the car was produced under the designation Ford GPW. In total, until the end of World War II, American factories have assembled more than 650 thousand cars, which forever went down in history as the first "jeeps". At the same time, the production of "Willis" continued after the war.
Under the Lend-Lease program during the war, the USSR received about 52 thousand "wilis" who fought on all fronts of the Great Patriotic War. The first deliveries of American SUVs to the Soviet Union began in the summer of 1942. In the Red Army, the car very quickly became popular and was widely used in a variety of roles, including the role of a light artillery tractor, which was used to tow 45-mm anti-tank and 76-mm divisional guns.
Where exactly the nickname Jeep came from is still not known for certain. According to one of the most popular versions, this is the usual abbreviation for the military designation of General Purpose vehicles, GP, which sounds like G-Pee, or Jeep. According to another version, it all boils down to American military slang, in which the word "jeep" denoted untested vehicles. In any case, all the "Willys" began to be called jeeps, and the Willys-Overland Motors company itself registered the Jeep trademark in February 1943 at the height of the war. At the same time, in the Russian language, this word is firmly entrenched for all imported off-road vehicles, regardless of the manufacturer's company.
In the USA, during the Second World War, jeeps were produced at two factories - Willys-Overland and Ford. It is worth noting that the cars of these two enterprises were almost completely identical, although they had a number of small differences. So, at the very beginning of production, there was a stamp on the rear walls of the body of Willys MB and Ford GPW cars indicating the name of the manufacturer, but over time they decided to abandon it.
At the same time, an experienced eye could always distinguish a Ford car from a Willis car. In the Ford SUV, the transverse frame under the radiator was made in profile, while in the Willys it was tubular. The brake and clutch pedals on the Ford GPW were cast, not stamped like on the Willys MB. Some of the bolt heads were marked with the letter "F", in addition to this, the rear glove compartment covers had different configurations. During the war years, Willys-Overland produced about 363,000 off-road vehicles, and Ford produced about 280,000 vehicles of this type.
The very simple-looking body of a military SUV had its own characteristics. The main ones are the complete absence of doors, the presence of a folding tarpaulin top and reclining on the hood of the car windshield... Outside, from the rear side of the jeep, spare wheel and a canister, and on the sides it was possible to place a shovel, an ax and other entrenching tools.
For the sake of the military purpose of the car, the designers placed the fuel tank under the driver's seat, each time when refueling the seat had to be folded back. The headlights of the "Jeep" were recessed somewhat in relation to the radiator grille line. This detail was directly related to the peculiarity of their fastening: it was possible to unscrew one nut at a time, after which the optics immediately turned over with diffusers downward, becoming a light source during a night car repair or allowing the jeep to move in dark time days without using a special device for blackout.
The supporting element of the Willys MB body was a spar frame, to which continuous axles equipped with locking differentials were connected by means of springs supplemented with single-acting shock absorbers. As power plant the car used an in-line 4-cylinder engine with a working volume of 2199 cm3 and a power of 60 hp. The engine was designed to use gasoline with an octane rating of at least 66. It was combined with a three-speed manual gearbox. By using transfer case the front axle of the SUV could be turned off, as well as downshifted.
An important feature of the light, mobile, but narrow army off-road vehicle were drum brakes on all wheels with hydraulic drive... At the same time, a compact and lightweight jeep could easily overcome a ford up to 50 cm deep, and after installing special equipment - up to 1.5 meters. The designers even provided for the possibility of getting rid of water that could accumulate in the box-shaped body; for this purpose, a special drain hole with a plug was made in the bottom of the car.
In the transmission of the car, a two-stage transfer case Dana 18 by the "Spacer" company was used, which, when the driver switched on a downshift, reduced the number of revolutions going from the box to the axles by 1.97 times. In addition, it also served to turn off front axle while driving on highways and paved roads. The fuel tank of the jeep contained almost 57 liters of fuel, the carrying capacity of a small car reached 250 kg. The steering used a Ross mechanism with worm gear... At the same time, there was no power steering in the steering system, so the steering wheel of the jeep was quite tight.
The open doorless body, designed for four people and the installation of a lightweight removable canvas top, was all-metal. His equipment was truly Spartan, according to the principle - nothing superfluous. Even the wipers on this car were manual. Windshield the car had a lifting frame, to lower the height of the jeep, it could be folded forward onto the hood. Both arches of the tubular awning in the folded position coincided along the contour and were located in the horizontal plane, repeating the outlines of the rear of the Willys MV SUV. At the back of the protective-colored awning, instead of glass, there was a large rectangular hole.
Speaking about the Willys MB car, it is difficult not to note the extremely successful, thoughtful and rational design of the body shape, as well as its unique charm that has survived to this day. The SUV's aesthetics were impeccable. This is the very case when, as they say, neither subtract nor add. Overall, the jeep was perfectly configured. The designers managed to provide a convenient approach to the units and assemblies of the car during their dismantling and maintenance. Also "Willis" had excellent dynamics, high speed on the highway, good maneuverability and sufficient cross-country ability.
The small dimensions of the vehicle, especially its width, made it possible to drive without any problems through the front-line forests, which were accessible only to infantrymen. The car also had pronounced shortcomings, which included low lateral stability (the reverse side of a small width), which required competent control from the driver, especially when cornering. Also, the narrow track often did not allow the car to fit into the track that was punched by other cars.
The entire Willys car was painted, without exception, in American khaki (which was closer to olive), while it was always matte. The tires of the car were black and had a straight tread pattern. Wheel Jeep with a diameter of 438 mm was also painted olive. There were 4 indicators on the instrument panel, including the speedometer, all of their dials were also painted in a khaki color. When the car was moving, doorways could be blocked by special unfastened wide seat belts.
Beginning in the summer of 1942, Wilis began to enter the USSR en masse under the Lend-Lease program. The American SUV has proven itself well in the conduct of hostilities. Depending on the military situation and the type of troops, the car served both as a reconnaissance command vehicle and as a tractor for guns. Machine guns and other small arms were installed on many Wilis. Some of the ball machines have been specially redesigned for medical care- a stretcher was placed in them. Interestingly, in the Soviet Union, all SUVs became known as "Willys", although many Lend-Lease SUVs were not products of Willys-Overland, but of Ford.
In total, about 52 thousand cars of this type got to the USSR. Some of these cars were delivered to the Soviet Union unassembled, in boxes. These American vehicle kits were assembled at special assembly sites, which were deployed in Kolomna and Omsk during the war. To the main advantages this car attributed good throttle response and high speed, as well as good maneuverability and small dimensions, which made it easier to camouflage the jeep on the ground. The vehicle's maneuverability was ensured by a good level of its cross-country ability and a small turning radius.
After the victory, thousands of cars that remained on the move were transferred to the national economy of the country, where they no longer drove the military, but the chairmen of collective farms, directors of state farms and various leaders of the middle and lower levels. Sometimes even regional committee workers drove in these jeeps in the outback (perhaps following the example of Presidents Roosevelt and de Gaulle). Over time, vehicles from the army and various civilian organizations fell into private hands. Thanks to this fact, many copies of "Willis" have survived in our country to this day, becoming real collector's items.
The performance characteristics of Willys MB:
Overall dimensions: length - 3335 mm, width - 1570 mm, height - 1770 mm (with awning).
Clearance - 220 mm.
The wheelbase is 2032 mm.
Empty weight - 1113 kg.
Carrying capacity - 250 kg.
The power plant is a 2.2-liter 4-cylinder 60 hp engine.
Maximum speed(on the highway) - 105 km / h.
The maximum speed with a 45 mm gun trailer is 86 km / h.
Capacity fuel tank- 56.8 liters.
In store down the highway - 480 km.
Number of seats - 4.
At the beginning of World War II, vehicles of a completely new class began to appear in service with the armies of different countries - SUVs. Conceived as light vehicles with high cross-country ability, these vehicles have evolved over time into well-protected vehicles. vehicles with their own weapons, which are essentially light armored cars. We propose to follow the evolution of army off-road vehicles from 1938 to the present day.
Volkswagen Typ 82. Germany. It has been produced since 1938, in large-scale production since November 1940. Weight 0.7 tons. Gas engine volume of 1.2 liters with a capacity of 25 hp. The maximum speed is 60 km / h. In total, 50 436 vehicles were produced by the summer of 1945.
Dodge WC, USA. It has been produced since 1940. Weight 2.3 tons. Gasoline engine with a volume of 3.8 liters, 92 hp. The maximum speed is 92 km / h. In various (including three-axle) modifications, about 255,000 vehicles were produced. Delivered under a lend-lease agreement in the USSR, where they received the nickname "Dodge three quarters" because of the carrying capacity of 0.75 tons.
Willys MB, USA. Serial production began in 1941. Weight 1.1 tons. Gasoline engine with a volume of 2.2 liters, 60 hp. The maximum speed is 104 km / h. Including copies of Ford GPW, 659,031 cars were produced, of which about 52,000 were delivered to the USSR under the Lend-Lease program.
GAZ-64, USSR. Produced in 1941-1943. Weight 1.2 tons. Petrol engine with a volume of 3.3 liters and 50 hp. The maximum speed is 100 km / h. 672 cars were produced - about 1% of the "Willis" delivered under Lend-Lease, on the basis of which the first Soviet SUV was created.
GAZ-67, USSR. Produced in 1943-1953. Weight 1.32 tons. Petrol engine with a volume of 3.3 liters and 54 hp. The maximum speed is 90 km / h. A total of about 95 thousand cars were produced, including 4 851 during the war years. Further development of the GAZ-64.
Land rover Series I, UK. It has been produced since 1948. Weight 1.2 tons. Gasoline engine with a volume of 1.6 liters. with a capacity of about 50 hp. In various modifications, Land Rover I, II and III series was in service with the armies of more than 50 countries of the world, and in some it is still.
GAZ-69, USSR. Produced from 1952 to 1972. Weight - 1.5 tons. Engine with a volume of 2.1 liters, 55 hp. The maximum speed is 90 km / h. More than 600,000 cars have been produced. Exported to 56 countries, except for the USSR, produced in Romania (until 1975) and North Korea.
M151 MUTT, USA. Produced in 1959-1982. Weight 1.07 tons. Gasoline engine with a volume of 2.32 liters and 71 hp. The maximum speed is 112 km / h. More than 100,000 cars have been produced. It was in service in the United States until 1999, and is currently used in the armies of several dozen states.
LuAZ-967, USSR. Produced in 1961-1989. Weight 0.95 tons. 1.2-liter engine with 30 hp.
Horch P3, East Germany. Produced in 1962-1966. Weight 1.86 tons. 2.4 liter 75 hp engine The maximum speed is 95 km / h. Was in service with the National People's Army and the border troops of the GDR. About 3000 cars were produced.
UAZ-469, USSR. Produced in 1972–2010. Weight 1.65 tons. Gasoline engine with a volume of 2.5 liters and 75 hp. The maximum speed is 120 km / h. In addition to the USSR, he met in Cuba and Vietnam. Delivered to several dozen countries.
Volkswagen Iltis, West Germany. Produced in 1978-1988. Weight 1.3 tons. 1.7-liter gasoline engine with 75 hp. Manufactured 16,000 cars. Removed from service in Germany, is currently in service with the armies of Belgium, Canada and Estonia.
Mercedes-Benz G-class W 461, Austria / Germany. Produced since 1979. Weight 2.3 - 2.6 tons. Wide range of installed engines, from 73 to 156 hp Currently, it "serves" in more than 20 states, including Germany, USA, Switzerland, Canada, Norway, Argentina, Australia, the Netherlands, Egypt.
HMMWV, or Humvee, USA. Produced since 1985. Weight 2.7 tons. At the beginning, a 5.7-liter gasoline engine was installed, but soon it was replaced by a 6.2-liter diesel engine with a capacity of 160 hp. The 5.5-liter turbocharged version has 195 hp. and accelerates the car to 140 km / h. More than 280,000 copies of the HMMWV have been produced, which are in service with the armies of about 40 states.
Lamborghini LM002, Italy. Produced in 1986-1993. Weight 2.7 tons. Petrol engine with a volume of 5.1 liters, 444 hp. The maximum speed is 188 km / h. A total of 301 cars were produced, including 100 for the armed forces of Libya, 40 for Saudi Arabia. The only serial off-road vehicle from Lamborghini.
Panhard GD VBL, France. Adopted by the French army in 1990. Weight 3.8 tons. Engine with a capacity of 95 (in later modifications - up to 129) hp. The maximum speed is 95 km / h. There are about 1470 cars in France, 1231 in Mexico, 243 in Greece, 56 Oman, 72 Nigeria, Botswana 64. In addition to these countries, about a dozen more countries are used (Portugal, Georgia, Rwanda, Kuwait, Indonesia, etc.)
MOWAG Eagle series I, II (pictured), III. Switzerland. Manufactured since 1994. Weight 5 tons. 6.5L engine with 159 hp. It is in service in Switzerland (449 units) and Denmark (36 vehicles).
Toyota Mega Cruiser, Japan. Produced from 1995 to 2002. Weight 2.9 tons. Diesel engine volume of 4.1 liters with a capacity of 153 hp. It is in service with the Japan Self-Defense Forces.
URO VAMTAC, Spain. Manufactured since 1998. Weight from 3 tons. Engine with a volume of 3 liters, 166 hp. About 4000 pieces were produced. It is in service in Spain (about 2,900 vehicles), Morocco (1,200 vehicles), Malaysia (85), Romania (60), Belgium, Portugal, Ghana and the Dominican Republic.
Iveco LMV, Italy. Manufactured since 2001. Weight 6.5 tons. 185 hp engine It is in service in Italy (more than 1150 pieces), Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Spain, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Croatia, Czech Republic.
RG-32 (RG-32M modification in the photo), South Africa. Manufactured since 2002. Weight 6.1 tons. Diesel engine with a volume of 3.8 liters and a power of 150 hp. (as modified by Scout). The maximum speed is 120 km / h. In total, about 800 vehicles were produced, and is in service in South Africa (400 vehicles), Sweden (260), Egypt (112), Georgia, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Ireland, Tanzania and the UN forces.
MOWAG Eagle Series IV (pictured), V. Switzerland. Manufactured since 2003. Weight 7-10 tons (biaxial version). 5.9 liter engine with 250 hp. It is in service in Switzerland (1 car in the police of the canton of Zurich), Denmark (90), Germany (848 cars in the Bundeswehr and 10 in the police).
Agrale Marrua, Brazil. Manufactured since 2004. Weight 1.96 tons. Diesel engine with a volume of 2.8 liters, 132 hp. The maximum speed is 128 km / h. It is in service in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Ecuador.
GAZ-2330 "Tiger". Russia. Manufactured since 2005. Weight 6.4 tons. 4.4-liter engine with up to 215 hp. The maximum speed is 160 km / h. It is in service in Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Guinea, Jordan, Kazakhstan, China, Republic of Congo, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Uruguay.
VLEGA Gaucho, Argentina / Brazil. Manufactured since 2006. Weight 2.1 tons. Diesel engine with a volume of 3.6 liters, 130 hp. The maximum speed is 120 km / h. Joint development of the two countries, produced in Argentina. It is in service in Argentina and Brazil; in total, it is planned to supply 1,200 vehicles to the armed forces of these two countries.
PVP, France. It has been supplied to the troops since 2008. Weight 4.4 tons. Diesel engine with a volume of 2.8 liters with a capacity of 160 hp. Maximum speed 120 km / h (limited to 100 km / h). It is in service in France (in 2015, the total number should reach 1,500), Romania (15), Chile (9) and Togo (6 vehicles).
SRM-1 "Kozak", Ukraine. Developed in 2008-2009. Weight 5.5 tons. Diesel engine with a volume of 3.0 liters with a capacity of 176 hp. 1 vehicle has been in service with the State Border Service of Ukraine since the beginning of 2015.
Oshkosh L-ATV, USA. Produced since 2011. Weight 6.4 tons. Diesel engine with a volume of 6.6 liters, 300 hp. The maximum speed is 110 km / h. The US Department of Defense plans to replace these machines with Humvees, the need for the US military alone is estimated at 54,600 vehicles.
