About Military Jeeps

The jeep began in the early years of World War II, before the entry of the United States. The fascinating story of the jeep's origin is told in these Olive-Drab.com pages supplemented by pages for each of the important prototype army jeep vehicles that were part of the 1940-1941 design competition that produced the standardized, mass production jeep.

USMC M-825 TOW missile variant of M-151A2 jeep rolls down the ramp of a utility landing craft during Marines' landing operations in Lebanon, September 1982.

Today in WW II: 23 May 1943 Adm. Döntiz, commander of the German Navy, calls off the Battle of the Atlantic, recognizing that the U-boat is no longer an effective weapon. More ↓

23 May 1944 Allied breakout from Anzio beachhead.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Guide to U.S. Military Jeeps

This group of Olive-Drab.com pages has a section for each type of military jeep along with background and general army jeep information pages. A complete list of military jeep photo pages is at the linked Olive-Drab.com page.

World War II Military Jeeps: The Original Army Jeep

Origin of the Military Jeep
Round One of Jeep Prototypes
Round Two of Jeep Prototypes
Willys MB / Ford GPW Military Jeep: The World War II Army Jeep
Additional Background Information
- Origin of the Name Jeep
- Jeep Publications

Military Jeeps After World War II

The World War II Willys MB and Ford GPW were only produced until mid-1945, but remained in the U.S. military inventory for several decades after that. They were replaced by a series of "improved" 1/4-ton 4x4 trucks that continued the basic design of the WW II models, but with upgrades to modernize them. The last of the breed was the M-151 series jeep which served in Vietnam but was replaced by the much larger and heavier HMMWV starting in the mid-1980s.

Military Jeep Information at Olive-Drab.com

In addition to the pages listed in the list above, Olive-Drab.com has extensive coverage of the military jeeps:

M-38A1 jeep armed with 106mm Recoiless Rifle. Click on photo for larger image.

The Guide to Buying & Owning Military Vehicles has many topic sections with jeep information. Don't miss:
The Olive-Drab.com Store offers a collection of hundreds of photos of World War II jeeps.
For photos of all models of military jeeps, visit the Olive-Drab.com Military Vehicle Chart for Jeeps, part of the Military Vehicle Charts section.
More jeep photos and hi-res downloads are found in the Military Jeeps, HMMWVs, Trucks, Vehicles category of the Historical Military Photo and Poster Gallery.
Military Jeep Websites

Find additional photos and hi-res versions of military jeeps at the Olive-Drab Military Mashup:

African-American troops with jeeps and trailers advancing on Highway 12 along the Torrente Lima, northern Apennines, Italy, October 1944. In danger areas the windshields were folded forward and covered with canvas to prevent light reflection. Road demolition by the Germans was commonly used to slow progress.

PFC Cyril Webb of Fort Worth, TX, operates field radio sets SCR694 and SCR619 in a radio jeep of the 35th Regimental Combat Team, 25th Division, along the Naktong River front, Korea, 17 Aug 1950.

M151A1 jeep-based Sabotage Alert Team (SAT) at Tan Son Nhut Airbase, Vietnam, in the mid-1960s. These mobile teams moved quickly in response to enemy attacks. They were later renamed Security Alert Teams.

Jeep in deep mud, Huertgen Forest, Fall 1944.

Jeep leads a convoy through the mud, Italian Campaign, 1945.

Find More Information on the Internet

There are many fine websites that have additional information on this topic, too many to list here and too many to keep up with as they come and go. Use this Google web search form to get an up to date report of what's out there.

For good results, try entering this: jeep military or army. Then click the Search button.