Bantam BRC-40 Army Jeep

The Bantam BRC-40 Army Jeep followed the Bantam GPV and the Bantam BRC-60 as the prototype Army jeeps. The full story of the development of the original Army Jeep of World War II is on the linked page. Additional photos are found in the Military Jeeps section of the Military Vehicle Charts.

Bantam Reconnaissance Car BRC-40 as delivered to the Army, 1941
Bantam Reconnaissance Car BRC-40 as delivered to the Army, 1941.

Today in WW II: 18 Apr 1941 As German troops approach Athens, the Greek Prime Minister Alexandros Koryzis commits suicide.  More ↓
18 Apr 1942 Doolittle Raid takes American bombers to Tokyo.
18 Apr 1943 Japanese Combined Fleet Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto killed when intercepted and shot down over Bougainville by 18 P-38 aircraft, the longest such mission of the war.
18 Apr 1945 Esteemed American war correspondent Ernie Pyle killed by Japanese machine gun fire, island of Ie Shima off Okinawa.
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Bantam BRC-40 Military Jeep

American Bantam Car Company BRC-40 Assembly Line, Butler PA 1941
American Bantam Car Company BRC-40 Assembly Line, Butler, PA, 1941.

The success of the Army trials with the American Bantam Car Company BRC-60 prototype jeep led to approval of a 1,500 unit order from Bantam, subject to some improvements in the design. The Bantam BRC-40 (where BRC means Bantam Reconnaissance Car) with squared fenders, headlights partly recessed in the fender and a flat grill, was the result of that redesign.

In 1941, Bantam entered into an agreement with Checker Car Company (maker of the famous Checker Cabs) to build BRC-40 jeeps. This may have been done in an effort to convince the Army that there was no issue regarding Bantam's production capacity, but little is known of the details of the arrangement. A few Checker-built prototype vehicles were delivered to the Army. Photographs have survived as well as one of the jeeps which resides in the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI.

The BRC-40 met all the Army requirements and was well liked. Additional BRC-40 vehicles were ordered for Lend Lease shipments to Allied nations for an eventual total of 2,642 BRC-40s produced by Bantam. But the Army didn't want to bet on tiny American Bantam to supply the potential huge production requirements that would soon be required for World War II. After a series of political maneuvers and trials involving the designs from Bantam, Ford, and Willys Overland, the contract was awarded to Willys to build a vehicle remarkably like Bantam's design. American Bantam never again built jeeps but was given a contract for trailers as a consolation prize.

One of the original BRC-40s manufactured in 1941 can be seen at the Butler County Historical Society Museum in Butler, PA, site of the American Bantam factory.

Find additional photos and hi-res versions of the Bantam BRC-40 Army Jeep at the Olive-Drab Military Mashup.

Bantam BRC-40 Specifications

Engine Continental Motor Co. BY4112 4 cal 112cid 45bhp @ 3,500 rpm
Torque 83 pound-feet
Transmission 3 speed synchromesh Warner Gear T84
Transfer case Spicer Dana 18 two speed
Gear Shift Floor mounted
Axles Spicer Dana 4.88:1 23-2 rear, Dana 25 front
Wheelbase 79 inches
Weight 2,070 lbs

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