It is hard to decide which is more convoluted, the origin of the Jeep, or its name? Following our Civil War, the military quickly ascertained that the horse-mounted calvary was outdated. Needed was a more reliable means of transportation able to traverse all types of terrain quietly. Most important, it had to return the occupant safely to base camp. In WWI the automotive industry was still in its infancy, and technology had not achieved the level of sophistication needed for that type of light reconnaissance vehicle.

In the run-up to WWII, the U.S. government put out a call to the automotive industry for plans and a prototype for a piece of brand-new military equipment. No one in the automotive world could have imagined how this would impact the military, let alone the consumer market. The criteria were simple; design and build a light-weight vehicle able to go anywhere and do anything quietly. It needed to carry ammunition, communication and medical equipment, and, most important, return the personnel safely back to camp. Three manufacturers answered the call: American Bantam Car Company, Willys Motor Company, and Ford Motor Company.

American Bantam believed it could not only meet the government’s demands, but also, accomplish this in the designated time frame. Lacking the multiple layers of management of the two larger competitors, American Bantam’s staff was small and nimble, and the government’s time frame for plans and the prototype were short. The company saw their size as an advantage that would allow them to create, on time, a vehicle that met the government’s specifications. In addition, success in this venture was a possible answer for American Bantam’s financial woes.
When initially asked to come to Butler, PA, home of American Bantam, to help with the project, designer Karl Probst was reluctant. Leaving a position that paid the bills seemed foolhardy in 1940. His initial response to Art Brandt, a General Motors designer who was “drafted” for service in the National Defense Advisory Commission, was negative. The idea of closing his design studio and working on a project without a guaranteed salary was not appealing. The German air raids on England, however, laid heavy on Probst’s mind.

William Knudsen was president of General Motors and left the company to head up the National Defense Advisory Commission. Years before, Probst had shown Knudsen plans for a light-weight vehicle. Now, heavily involved in this project, when Knudsen learned of Probst’s reluctance, he advised Art Brandt to tell Karl Probst, that if he produced the specs, money would be available. Probst’s response was, “If you put it like that, I can’t refuse Mr. Knudsen.”

After conferring with American Bantam’s staff, Probst began to work, and eighteen hours later the design was complete. One downside, the proposed vehicle was five hundred pounds heavier than the government’s 1,300-pound weight limit. When the American Bantam’s Washington representative, retired Navy Commander Charles Payne, saw the weight discrepancy on the bid, he sprang into action. Payne had his military contact open the office in the middle of the night and retrieve a fresh set of bid documents. The hotel manager where they stayed arranged for his stenographer to re-type the bid proposal. She arrived at 3:30 am, and the new bid, that showed a vehicle weight of 1,273 pounds arrived on time. Later that morning American Bantam was awarded the contract.

Following about eight to ten days of contract processing, American Bantam had 49 days to deliver a prototype. The company’s engineering department was almost non-existent. Karl Probst was up for the challenge and miraculously, on the forty-ninth day at 4:30 am, the American Bantam prototype arrived at the gates of Camp Holabird, just in time.

A fairytale ending to this story was not to be. The Army was desperate and initially ordered 4,500 vehicles, 1,500 each to American Bantam, Willys, and Ford. Later the Army put out an all or nothing bid for 16,000 Jeeps, and Bantam’s production capabilities could not produce the daily quota of 125 vehicles. Later, when Willys could not meet production, Ford was awarded a contract and between the two companies they produced over 600,000 Jeeps. American Bantam eventually built around 3,000 Jeeps and was given a contract to build trailers for the Jeep. However, the promised revenue from producing the original plans never materialized and the company slowly slipped into bankruptcy.

Willys proudly took credit for the development of what became one of the most popular American WWII military vehicles. American Bantam, the Jeep’s real creator went unheralded until 1943. At that time the Federal Trade Commission held hearings to determine who created the Jeep. After listening to all of the evidence they concluded, “In truth and in fact, the idea of creating the Jeep was originated by the American Bantam Car Company of Butler, PA., in collaboration with certain officers of the United States Army, and the same was developed by the American Bantam Car Company in collaboration with said officers and not by the respondent, Willys-Overland Motors Inc.” Now, in Butler, PA, at the site of the American Bantam Car Co. and plaque proudly proclaims, that it was here that the Jeep was created. The Jeep’s creation was an important factor in winning WWII. However, it created a market for 4×4 vehicles for consumer consumption that no one at the time could have imagined, and all the thanks and the credit rightly go to the American Bantam Car Company of Butler, PA.

Interesting fun fact
A WWII-era Willy-Overland Jeep nicknamed “Old Faithful”, received a Purple Heart.

It was assigned to the Marines and it survived two beach landings during the Guadalcanal Campaign and Bougainville invasion. It sustained “combat wound” on October 13, 1942, when it was hit by Japanese artillery. Two holes were left in its windshield. Its passengers awarded the vehicle the medal in recognition of its battle damage.

https://www.saffordofwinchester.com/obscure-facts-you-probably-didnt-know-about-jeep/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_MgztfDECU