Jeep "Willis": specifications and photos

2024 Author: Erin Ralphs | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-19 11:41

Jeep "Willis" - a legendary car that 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 the class of cars that today are called "Jeep".

Jeep "Willis": history of creation

Since the 1930s, the US military began to show an increased interest in off-road cars that could replace the existing aging fleet of light military vehicles. The outbreak of war in Europe forced the Americans to accelerate this process. In this connection, a number of necessary technical requirements for the future car were developed, which should be translated into reality.

Automotive manufacturers were well aware that receiving such an order in the current political situation promised good profits. Therefore, 135 companies entered the fight for the tender for the production of SUVs, announced by the US military department. But only three managed to reach the final stage:"American Bantam", "Ford Motor Company" and "Willis Overland", who were able to create real prototypes that meet the needs of the military. As a result, each of these companies received an order for the production of 1500 units of their 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 off-road vehicles, consisting of 16,000 vehicles. But again the question arose of choosing between three manufacturers.

First, the scales tipped in favor of Ford as the world's largest automaker. But then the question arose of the cost of the machine. It turned out that the SUV offered by Ford is the most expensive of all - its production cost 788 dollars. The Bantam cost a little less - $ 782. The lowest price was offered by Willys Overland, which estimated the cost of one of their cars at $ 738.74, and this despite the fact that the Willis military jeep had better characteristics than competitors' SUVs.

The conclusion seemed to be obvious, but the military doubted that the company would be able to meet the given time frame, since it was not doing very well. Bill Nutson, an American expert in the field of mass production of cars, who supported the candidacy of Willis Overland, put an end to this issue.

On July 23, 1941, a contract was signed with Willys Overland for the production of 16,000 vehicles. And in August, the Willys jeep (photo below), after a series of improvements, was completely ready for serial production, and an index was added to its name - WillysMV.

Government safety net

The Willis Overland Concern, which is on the verge of bankruptcy, might not be able to handle the serial order of the military, so the country's 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 government order, despite the fact that Ford had to use original engines purchased from Willis Overland in the production of their cars. A copy of the documentation for the Willys MB was handed over to Ford engineers, and in early 1942 the concern produced the first off-road twins, called the Ford GPW.

During the war years, 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, the cars were sent to the allies - first to the British, and then to the Soviet side.

The operation of the transmission of a military SUV

On the road, despite the four-wheel drive, the Jeep "Willis" behaved very decently. It accelerated quickly, drove well, smoothly overcame impassability. This behavior was ensured by the successfully “tailored” transmission of the SUV.

The supporting element of the "Willis" was a spar frame connected through springs and additional single-acting shock absorbers with axles equipped with locking differentials. The engine of the machine is interlocked with the mechanical3-speed gearbox.

The front axle and downshift were controlled by a transfer case.

Jeep "Willis" had a big plus in the form of hydraulic brakes on all 4 wheels, which, given 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 you didn’t have to think about convenience, functionality was in the first place.

The seemingly simple body of the "Willis" has its own design features in the form of the absence of doors and a windshield that folds onto the hood. The absence of doors made it possible to freely leave the car in case of danger. A waterproof awning was provided to protect against precipitation.

From the outer side of the body in the rear there was a "reserve wheel" and a canister, and along the sides - a camping tool (shovel, ax, etc.). In order to please the military purpose of the car, the fuel tank was installed under the driver's seat, which had to be folded back to refuel the car. In a niche behind the rear wheel arches were cavities designed to store tools.

Since the body had a box-shaped structure, a hole was provided in the bottom of the car to remove possible accumulation of moisture in the bottom of the car.

Optical features

Headlights "Willis" a fewdeepened relative to the plane of the radiator grille. This is due to their design features. If necessary, the light optics could be turned downwards with 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": vehicle characteristics

4 wheel drive.

The mass of the SUV is 1055 kg.

Tent height – 1830 mm.

Car width - 1585 mm.

Jeep length - 3335 mm.

Ground clearance (clearance) - 220 mm.

In-line engine with 4 cylinders, lower valve (Willys L-134) with a capacity of 60 l/s.

The volume of the power unit - 2, 2l.

Carburetor type power system (carburetor - WO-539-S from Carter).

Jeep "Willis" is capable of speeds of 105 km/h, in the case of towing a 45-mm gun - 86 km/h.

Gas tank capacity - 56.8 liters.

Gasoline consumption (average value) - 12 l / 100 km.

Capacity - 4 people.

The Willys off-road vehicle was able to cross a half-meter ford without prior preparation. With special equipment of 1.5 meters.

From the given technical data, it can be seen that the Jeep "Willis" had a very compact and lightweight design, and also had very good dynamic characteristics for its time.

Serving in the Soviet army

Willis appeared in the Soviet army since the summer of 1942of the year. Many of the cars supplied to the Soviet Union came in the form of car kits, which were already brought into working condition at domestic car factories.

Unfortunately, the specifics of service in the Soviet army left its negative imprint on the performance of the "Willis". The cars were refueled with low-grade gasoline, which was fatal for the "Americans". Oil change intervals were often missed. Many breakdowns occurred due to the lack of timely maintenance and lubrication of SUV parts. All this together led to the fact that the "Willis" failed after 15,000 kilometers. Nevertheless, it is believed that in the Soviet army, American off-road vehicles were rated higher than the domestic counterparts of the GAZ-67 and GAZ-67B, which the Red Army called "Ivan-Willis".

The Willys mini-jeep continued its military career in its homeland (where various modifications were produced on its base), which finally ended only in the 80s, when it was replaced by a more time-compliant Hammer.