kit, and more. No, air-conditioning wasn’t available.
102 One little “fact” that you often hear is that World War II Jeeps came in only one color: US Army Olive Drab. But that’s not entirely true. The fact is, there were actually two more standard choices: US Marine Corps Green and US Navy Gray. In later years, the color palette for military Jeeps grew even larger.
103 Willys military Jeep production for World War II ended on August 25, 1945, with serial number 459841. Civilian production of CJ-2As began on June 16, 1945, which means that for two months Willys was producing both civilian and military vehicles. Neat.
104 One of the more interesting production years in military Jeep history is 1952. With the war in Korea, the military needed Jeeps fast. The new M-38A1 (MD) was coming into production alongside the outgoing M38 (MC). A production schedule found in Jeep’s corporate files says that in 1952, Willys produced 22,561 MC Jeeps and 25,555 MDs, for a total of 48,116 military Jeeps for the United States. The company also produced 2,090 MCs and 750 MDs for the Canadian military.
105 For 1957, Willys introduced a new military vehicle: the M-274 Mechanical Mule. Basically a stripped and simplified chassis and platform, the Mechanical Mule was sold to military customers only as a low-cost alternative to a Jeep or a truck. By this point, Willys’ military sales were very low and the company was trying to come up with new products to sell to the army.
106 The Willys XM-443 experimental platform vehicle is often confused by historians with the earlier M-274 Mechanical Mule, but they are completely different. The XM-443 was meant to be a direct replacement for the military Jeep M-38A1 and was created to compete with Ford Motor Company’s M-151 Mutt. Although Willys built many of the XM-443s for testing and merchandising efforts, apparently none were sold to the military. It’s not known if any have survived. When the army turned down the XM-443, Willys tried to interest several of its overseas customers, but to the best of my knowledge, none were ordered or built.
This experimental Jeep XM-443E was created as a supplement and/or eventual replacement for the Jeep MD. Willys Motors built a number of these vehicles, but the US Army declined to purchase them in volume.
107 Once the M-38A1 was replaced by Ford’s M-151 by the US Army, Kaiser Jeep Corporation continued to build small numbers of Jeep vehicles for military forces overseas. The company also began to offer production partnerships with various countries in which Kaiser Jeep and the client country arranged for local manufacturing of Jeep vehicles. Kaiser Jeep sold the clients all of the parts needed to build Jeeps and sent experts to help them set up local production.
Kaiser Jeep Corporation earned a royalty on each vehicle produced, as well as the profits on the parts kits. This business ended up being extremely profitable. In fact, it became more profitable than the civilian Jeep production for the United States.
108 Although many enthusiasts consider the M-422 Mighty Mite to be a Jeep, it’s not. The same rule applies to the M-151 Mutt, except to note that Willys actually did build them for a short time. The M-151 was designed and originally produced by Ford Motor Company. Willys managed to underbid them on one contract in the early 1960s. Later, AM General began producing M-151s instead of Ford.
109 It’s not known how many of the Forward Control–based M-series military trucks were produced, but one source claims about 3,000 in all, with 1,200 of them being powered by the Cerlist diesel engine and the rest using the Willys 226-ci 6-cylinder engine. According to legend, Kaiser Jeep had to go through its 226 engine to make it more reliable before the army would accept them in the M-series.
110 By 1964, Kaiser Jeep’s US military business was tiny, so it purchased the military business of Studebaker Corporation, which had recently ended US car production. In one of the greatest deals of the 20th century, Kaiser Jeep obtained a newer plant in South Bend, Indiana, along with a contract to produce 9,369 5-ton tactical trucks, which was soon followed by a large order for 2½-ton trucks. For the first time, Jeep was building military vehicles other than Jeeps and Mechanical Mules and found them surprisingly profitable. The new operation eventually evolved into AM General, the largest tactical truck producer in the world.
111 In 1966, Kaiser Jeep Corporation added to its military business by winning a big contract to produce the M-715 series, designed to replace the ancient but respected M37 Dodge Power Wagon. Based on the civilian Jeep Gladiator pickup, the Kaiser M-715 was offered in four basic variations: M-715 cargo/troop carrier, M-724 cab and chassis, M-725 ambulance, and M-726 utility body.
Once the market for Jeep M-38A1s had dried up, Willys Motors was able to continue as a major factor in military vehicles. In 1966, it showed off this M-715 military truck, which was based on the Jeep J-series Gladiator pickup. Produced in several versions, it was built from 1967 to 1969.
Rated at 1¼-ton capacity, it was nicknamed the “five quarter ton” truck by soldiers. It was powered by the Kaiser overhead cam (OHC) 6-cylinder engine, which gave decent performance, though the same engine did not do well in civilian vehicles, where it had a reputation for oil leaks and short life. According to popular stories, the military versions of the engines were built stronger and have improved sealing to eliminate oil leaks.
112 So how good was the wartime military business for Willys-Overland? Prior to the war, it struggled to survive. But from July 1941 to August 1945, Willys-Overland’s gross receipts for Jeeps and Jeep parts totaled $464,963,926. That’s an incredible amount for such a small company. It also sold the military some $60 million worth of 155-mm shells and $19 million worth of trailers. Willys also produced a great many other wartime products.
113 The Ford Mutt (aka the M-151) was a Jeep-like vehicle that the army began purchasing in the late 1950s. A unibody vehicle, it was lighter and more modern than the Willys, though it suffered from on-road handling problems. Ford thus stole the US Army business away from Willys Motors for a while, though for 1962, Willys successfully underbid Ford on its own product and won a contract to build 18,000 M-151s in Toledo.
114 Kaiser Jeep was a major player in the military vehicle business until 1970, when American Motors purchased the company and spun off the former military division into a separate company known as the General Products Division. In 1971, this entity was renamed and became incorporated as AM General. From that point on, any military vehicles produced by Jeep Corporation were incidental to the business. Jeep Corporation was to focus on civilian products and leave the military business to AM General. It did so, with a few exceptions.
From 1971 on, the military vehicle business was produced by a spin-off company called AM General. However, even then, Jeep produced small numbers of military vehicles from time to time, as this 1978 militarized CJ-5 illustrates. It is one of 65 produced for the US Army.
115 One of the most unusual military Jeeps of all time is the 1970s era DJ-5 Dispatcher in military trim. Essentially a postal Jeep in military garb, it was pitched as a low-cost staff car, rear-area dispatch carrier, and military police vehicle. Powered by the American Motors 232-ci 6-cylinder, it was fitted with a 3-speed automatic transmission. It could be ordered with left- or right-hand steering.
116 Another unusual military Jeep was the CJ-10A. A short, squat, little Jeep built for the air force to tow planes around airfields, the CJ-10A was essentially a short-wheelbase version of the exportmarket CJ-10 pickup and was built in limited numbers. You still see them around, and occasionally one comes up for sale.
117 So, whatever became of Jeep’s
