Ford GP Truck, 1/4 Ton, 4x4 Jeep

The full story of the development of the original Army Jeep of World War II is on the linked page. See the Ford GP page for more details and photos of this prototype jeep.

The GP was Ford's design for the 1941 U.S. Army order for 1,500 Reconnaissance Car prototype jeeps, following the Ford Pygmy pilot model of 1940. GP was Ford's production code for the vehicle: "G" for U.S. Government contract production and "P" for 80 in. wheelbase. "GP" does not stand for "General Purpose" as is sometimes claimed.

Many of the now-familiar body features of the military jeep were originated by Ford, such as the squared-off front end with a flat grill, and the headlights recessed in the grill. Ford did not win the Army mass-production contract award, which went to Willys-Overland, but Ford did produce the Ford GPW as a second source manufacturer of the Willys design.

Find additional photos and hi-res versions of the Ford GP prototype jeep at the Olive-Drab Military Mashup:

Ford GP prototype jeep, with four wheel steering, Camp Robinson, AR, 1 November 1941. Hood number W-234099.

Ford GP quarter-ton truck was tested informally at Fort Riley, KS to determine if this vehicle could be used as a liaison car for artillery with cavalry; as a prime mover for the 37-mm. antitank gun; and as a mount for the .50 caliber machine gun. Reported in Field Artillery Magazine, June 1941.

At the Ford River Rouge plant near Detroit, an assembled motor is being dropped into the chassis of a Ford GP prototype jeep, May 1941. About 4,500 Ford GPs were made before this model was combined with the Willys MA prototype to become the standard WW II jeep, the nearly identical Willys MB or Ford GPW. The original caption calls it a Blitz Buggy.

Original caption: These soldiers go up in the air to prove that the Armys new quarter ton truck can take it. Ford GP prototype jeep, Ft. Sam Houston, TX, 29 March 1941.

A Ford GP prototype jeep at Ft. Benning, GA, 1942. West Point cadets are passengers with a soldier driver.

American soldiers with Ford GP prototype jeep, Iceland, circa 1942.

Ford GP Truck, 1/4 Ton, 4x4 Jeep Photo Gallery

Ford GP. Photo: Courtesy of Steve Greenberg.

1941 photo of Ford GP.

Ford GP jeeps, at Ford test area, River Rouge plant near Detroit, MI, May 1941.

Ford GP jeep, Fort Riley, KS. From Field Artillery Magazine, June 1941 edition.

Ford GP with four West Point cadets, Ft. Benning, GA, summer of 1941. The M-1 helmet was new at the time.