Jeep "Willis" - a legendary car that has traveled from the Volga to Berlin, crossed the deserts of Africa, made its way through the Asian jungle. His concept still serves as the basis for the creation of modern SUVs. "Willis" became the founder of a class of cars that today are called "jeep."
Jeep "Willis": the story of creation
As early as the 1930s , the US military began to show increased interest in cross-country cars, which could replace the existing aging fleet of light army vehicles. The outbreak of war in Europe forced the Americans to accelerate this process. In this connection, a number of necessary technical requirements were developed for the future car, which should be turned into reality.
Automakers were well aware that receiving such an order in the current political situation promised a good profit. Therefore, 135 companies entered the fight for a tender for the production of SUVs announced by the US military. But only three were able to reach the final stage: American Bantam, Ford Motor Company, and Willis Overland, who were able to create real prototypes that satisfy the demands of the military. As a result, each of these companies received an order to produce 1,500 units of its SUVs.
Defining choice
When it became clear that the Americans would not be able to stay away from the war, in July 1941 it was decided to release another, already large batch of SUVs, consisting of 16,000 cars. But again the question arose between the three manufacturers.
First, the scales leaned toward Ford as the largest automaker in the world. But then the question arose of the cost of the car. It turned out that the SUV proposed by Ford is the most expensive - its production cost $ 788. Bantam cost a little cheaper - $ 782. The lowest price was offered by "Willis Overland", which estimated the cost of one of its cars at 738.74 dollars, and this despite the fact that the military jeep "Willis" had better characteristics than SUVs of competitors.
It seems that the conclusion was obvious, but the military doubted that the company would be able to meet the given time frame, as its affairs were not going very well. Bill Nutson, an American expert in the field of mass production of cars who supported the candidacy of Willis Overland, put a point on this issue.
On July 23, 1941, a contract for the production of 16,000 cars was signed with Willis Overland. And in August, the Willis jeep (photo below), after a number of improvements, was completely ready for serial production, and the MV index was added to its name - Willys.
Government safety net
The Willis Overland concern, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, might not have mastered the serial order of the military, so the government decided to play it safe and issue an additional check for the production of off-road copies of a more reliable company, Ford Motor.
The owner of the company agreed to a large state order, despite the fact that Ford had to use the original engines purchased from Willis Overland in the manufacture of its cars. A copy of the Willys MB documentation was handed over to Ford engineers, and in early 1942 the concern released the first SUV doubles, dubbed the Ford GPW.
During the years of the war, Willis Overland produced about 363,000 SUVs. Ford Motor completed a military order for 280,000 vehicles. Almost immediately after the start of serial production of jeeps, cars were sent to the Allies - first to the British, and then to the Soviet side.
Work transmission military SUV
On the road, despite the four-wheel drive, the jeep "Willis" behaved very well. Accelerated fast, rode well, smoothly overcame off-road. This behavior was ensured by a well-tailored SUV transmission.
The bearing element of the Willis was a spar frame connected through springs and additional single-acting shock absorbers with bridges equipped with locking differentials. The engine of the machine is interlocked with a manual 3-speed gearbox.
The front axle and low gear were controlled by a transfer case.
Jeep "Willis" had a big plus in the form of hydraulic brakes on all 4 wheels, which, with its parameters and dynamic characteristics, was an important aspect.
Car body
Due to its compactness, the comfort of an American SUV, of course, leaves much to be desired, but in those days it was not necessary to think about amenities, in the first place were the parameters of functionality.
The “Willys” simple-looking body has its own design features in the form of the absence of doors and a windshield folding on the hood. The lack of doors made it possible to freely leave the car in case of danger. To protect against rainfall, a waterproof tent was provided.
On the outside of the body in the rear there was a “reserve” and a canister, and on the sides there was a travel tool (shovel, ax, etc.). To suit the military mission of the car, a fuel tank was installed under the driver's seat, which had to be folded down to refuel the car. In the niche behind the rear wheel arches were cavities designed to store tools.
Since the body had a box-shaped structure, a hole closed with a stopper was provided to remove possible moisture accumulation in the bottom of the machine.
Optics Features
The Willis headlights are somewhat recessed relative to the plane of the radiator grille. This is due to their design features. If necessary, the light optics could be turned down the diffusers, so that they could be used as a light source when servicing the engine at night. In addition, this design feature of the headlights made it possible to move in the dark without blackout.
Jeep "Willis": characteristics of the car
4 wheel drive.
The mass of the SUV is 1055 kg.
Awning height - 1830 mm.
The width of the car is 1585 mm.
The length of the jeep is 3335 mm.
Ground clearance (clearance) - 220 mm.
The engine is in-line, with 4 cylinders, a lower valve (Willys L-134) with a capacity of 60 l / s.
The volume of the power unit is 2.2 liters.
Carburetor type power system (carburetor - WO-539-S from Carter).
Jeep "Willis" is able to reach a speed of 105 km / h, in the case of towing a 45-mm gun - 86 km / h.
The capacity of the gas tank is 56.8 liters.
Gasoline consumption (average value) - 12 l / 100 km.
Capacity - 4 people.
Off-road vehicle “Willis” was able to overcome a half-meter ford without preliminary preparation. With special equipment of 1.5 meters.
From the given technical data it is seen that the jeep "Willis" had a very compact and lightweight construction, and also had very good dynamic characteristics for its time.
In the service of the Soviet army
In the Soviet army, "Willis" appeared in the summer of 1942. Many of the cars supplied to the Soviet Union came in the form of machine kits, which were already brought to working condition at domestic automobile plants.
Unfortunately, the specifics of the service in the Soviet army left its negative imprint on the performance of the Willis. Cars were refueled with low-grade gasoline, which was fatal for the "Americans." Often the timing of the oil change was not respected. A lot of breakdowns occurred due to the lack of timely maintenance and lubrication of the details of the SUV. All this together led to the fact that the "Willis" failed after 15,000 km. Nevertheless, it is believed that in the Soviet Army, American SUVs were rated higher than domestic analogues of the GAZ-67 and GAZ-67B, which the Red Army nicknamed "Ivan Willis."
The mini-jeep Willys continued his military career in his homeland (where various modifications were produced on its base), which finally ended only in the 80s, when he was replaced by a more satisfying Hammer.