Jeep "Willis" - a machine-legend, passed the way fromVolga and to Berlin, crossed the deserts of Africa, making its way through the Asian jungle. Its concept is still the basis for the creation of modern SUVs. "Willys" became the founder of a class of cars, which today bear the name "jeep".
Since the 1930s, the US military departmentbegan to show increased interest in passenger cars of high cross-country ability, which could replace the existing aging fleet of light army vehicles. The outbreak of the war in Europe forced the Americans to accelerate this process. In connection with this, a number of necessary technical requirements for the future car were developed, which should be realized.
Automakers were well aware thatthe receipt of such an order in the conditions of the current political situation promised a good profit. Therefore, 135 companies entered the struggle for a tender for the production of SUVs, announced by the US military department. But until the final stage, only three could reach: American Bantam, Ford Motor Company and Willis Overland, who were able to create real prototypes that satisfy the demands of the military. As a result, each of these companies received an order for the production of 1500 pieces of their off-road vehicles.
When it became clear that the Americans would not succeedTo stay away from the war, in July 1941 it was decided to release another, already a large batch of off-road vehicles, consisting of 16,000 cars. But again the question arose between the three producers.
First, the scales bent towards the "Ford"as the largest automaker in the world. But then the question arose of the cost of the machine. It turned out that the SUV, proposed by Ford, is more expensive than all - its production cost $ 788. A bit cheaper was the "Bantam" - 782 dollars. The lowest price was offered by Willys Overland, who estimated the cost of one of his cars at 738.74 dollars, and this despite the fact that the military jeep Willys had better characteristics than the SUVs of competitors.
It seems that the conclusion was obvious, but the militarydoubted that the company will be able to meet the set timeframe, as it was not doing very well. Point in this issue put Bill Nutson - an American expert in the field of mass production of cars, supported the candidacy of "Willis Overland."
July 23, 1941 with the "Willis Overland" wassigned a contract for the production of 16,000 cars. And in August the jeep "Willis" (photo below) after a number of improvements was completely ready for serial production, and to its name - Willys the index MV was added.
The Willys Overland Concern, standing on the vergebankruptcy, could not master the serial order of the military, so the government decided to hedge and issue an additional check for the production of SUV-copies of a more reliable company - Ford Motor.
The owner of the company agreed to a largestate order, despite the fact that Ford had to use the original engines purchased from Willys Overland in the manufacture of their cars. A copy of the Willys MB documentation was handed over to the Ford engineers, and in early 1942 the concern released the first twin off-road vehicles, named Ford GPW.
Over the years of the war, "Willis Overland" produced about363000 SUVs. Ford Motor fulfilled a military order for 280,000 vehicles. Almost immediately after the start of the serial production of jeeps, the cars were sent to the Allies - first to the British, and then to the Soviet side.
On the road, despite the full drive, the jeep"Willis" behaved very well. Accelerated quickly, drove well, smoothly crossed the roads. This behavior was ensured successfully by the "tailored" transmission of the SUV.
The carrier of the "Willis" was a sparframe, connected through the springs and additional shock absorbers of one-way action with bridges equipped with locking differentials. The engine of the machine is interlocked with a mechanical 3-speed transmission.
The front axle and underdrive were controlled by a transfer case.
Jeep "Willys" had a big plus in the form of hydraulic brakes of all 4 wheels, which, with its parameters and dynamic characteristics was an important aspect.
Because of the compactness, comfortabilityAmerican SUV, of course, leaves much to be desired, but in those days it was not necessary to think about convenience, in the first place there were parameters of functionality.
In a simple looking "Willys" body, there aredesign features in the form of lack of doors and folding on the hood of the windshield. The lack of doors made it possible to leave the car unhindered in case of danger. To protect from rain, a tarpaulin was provided.
From the outside of the body at the rearlocated "reserve" and canister, and along the sides - a marching tool (shovel, ax and stuff). For the sake of the military purpose of the car, the fuel tank was installed under the driver's seat, which had to be thrown back to refuel the car. In the niche behind the rear wheel arches there were cavities intended for storage of tools.
Since the body had a box-like structure, to remove possible accumulation of moisture in the bottom of the machine was provided a hole that closes the stopper.
The lights of the "Willis" are somewhat deeper in relation toplane of the radiator grille. This is due to their design features. If necessary, the light optics could be turned by the diffusers downwards, so that they could be used as a light source for servicing the engine at night. In addition, this feature of the design of the headlights allowed to move in the dark without blackout.
4-wheel drive.
The weight of the off-road car is 1055 kg.
The height of the awning is 1830 mm.
The width of the car is 1585 mm.
The length of the jeep is 3335 mm.
Ground clearance (ground clearance) - 220 mm.
The engine is in-line, with 4 cylinders, lower-valve (Willys L-134) power - 60 l / s.
The volume of the power unit is 2.2 liters.
Power supply system of carburetor type (carburetor - WO-539-S from Carter).
Jeep "Willys" is able to develop a speed of 105 km / h, in the case of towing a 45-mm gun - 86 km / h.
The capacity of the gasoline tank is 56.8 liters.
The consumption of gasoline (averaged value) is 12 l / 100 km.
Capacity - 4 people.
SUV "Willys" was able to overcome a half-meter ford without preliminary preparation. With special equipment at 1.5 meters.
From the above technical data it can be seen that the Jeep Willys had a very compact and lightweight design, and also had very good dynamic characteristics for its time.
In the Soviet Army "Willis" appeared in the summer of 1942of the year. Many of the machines delivered to the Soviet Union came in the form of machine kits, which were already working on domestic automotive plants.
Unfortunately, the specifics of the service in the Soviet Armyimposed a negative impact on the performance of the "Wills". The cars were refueled with low-grade gasoline, which was fatal for "Americans." Often did not comply with the timing of oil change. Many breakages arose due to the lack of timely maintenance and lubrication of the SUV parts. All this combined led to the fact that the "Willys" was out of order already after 15000 km of run. Nevertheless, it is believed that in the Soviet Army, American SUVs were rated higher than the domestic counterparts GAZ-67 and GAZ-67B, which the Red Army soldiers called Ivan-Willisami.
His military career mini-jeep "Willys" continuedon its homeland (where various modifications were made on its basis), which finally ended only in the 80s, when it was replaced by the more time-appropriate "Hammer".
