On the island of Borneo in the Pacific ocean, a Jeep pulls rail carriages loaded with soldiers, in this photo that was produced on the 22nd of July in 1945. The iconic, tough and all-terrain vehicle living up to its patented slogan: Go anywhere, Do anything.
Borneo at the time was a battleground between the Allies and the imperial Japanese army. Here on the island a brigade of the 24th Australian Infantry had engaged a Japanese garrison of 1000 men at the town of Beaufort and after heavy fighting had forced them to withdraw on the 29th of June in 1945.
Beaufort was located in a strategic position and was an important base for transportation and communication. With its capture, the men of the Australian brigade had gained possession of railway lines headed for Jesselton, the administrative capital of British North Borneo, occupied by the Japanese in 1942.
Jeep Train.
Though the concept of automobiles pulling rail carriages can be traced back to 1912, it was the Jeep that made it famous and also lent it the name of the Jeep Train.
In Borneo this Jeep train service was nicknamed as the Membukut Special and was used by the men of Australian brigade to ferry troops as well as for transporting rock and gravel from the quarry of Greig Siding, 12 miles North of Beaufort – which after its capture from Japanese hands had served as headquarters of the brigade.
Lacking rail locomotives, the men of the brigade had made use of their Jeeps, on the narrow gauge railway line.
Jeep Train: Farbound.Net Digital Wallpapers.
The Iconic Jeep.
The Jeep was produced in 1941 as a light combat utility vehicle. It was a vehicle that had fulfilled the need of the U.S. army, of an all terrain 4×4 capable of withstanding the abuse of war.
During the prolonged conflict, the vehicle was mass produced by three American automobile companies. Namely, the American Bantam Car Company, Willys Overland Motors and Ford Motors.
All models manufactured were almost identical in appearance and make, and produced in strict adherence to specifications provided by the U.S. army – so parts from one model could be used in other models.
The man who designed the Jeep.
The combat vehicle was originally designed by automotive engineer Karl Probst in 1940. Probst was hired as a freelancer by the nearly bankrupt American Bantam Car Company to help acquire the army’s contract.
Probst, though reluctant to work without pay, had eventually lend his services to Bantam and produced the prototype at their factory in Butler, Pennsylvania. The first variant was the Bantam MK II, and from which had later emerged the Bantam Reconnaissance Car, more popularly known as the Bantam BRC-40.
In 1941, however, with the American Bantam Car Company lacking the resources and manpower to mass produce for the army, the contract was extended to other bidders. Willys Overland Motors, having won the contract, had enhanced Probst’s original design to make the vehicle more robust and powerful – with the upgrade brought to fruition by Willys’ chief engineer, Delmar Gerle Roos.
Ford Motors, having later gained entry, had adhered to Willys specifications for the model it had produced.
Name of the Jeep models.
The Jeeps manufactured by the American Bantam Car company were known as the Bantam MK II (early variant) and the Bantam BRC-40. The Jeeps produced by Willy’s Overland Motors were known as the Willys MB, with the initials M and B referring to Military and Second Model. While the Jeeps manufactured by Ford were known as the Ford GPW, with the initials G, P and W referring to General, Production and Willys.
The models produced by these respective companies were all off-road light combat utility vehicles and extensively used by the Allied armies.
Although all Jeep models produced by the three companies were near about identical in appearance and make, there were subtle differences.
The most notable among which was the cross member in front. While on the Willys MB, the cross member was rounded, that of the Ford GPW was square. Both the Willys MB and the Ford GPW, however, had weighed 1/4 of a ton.
Out of all combat vehicles produced during the war, these Jeep models were the most relied upon and loved. Furthermore, they were also instrumental in popularizing the word Jeep – which is now used, offhandedly, for all 4x4s.
The name Jeep, nonetheless, was patented by Willys Overland Motors on the 7th of April in 1942. More than 6,00,000 units were jointly produced by the three companies. Out of which a substantial number was exported to allied nations including Britain and the Soviet Union – with the latter in particular acquiring the Bantam jeeps.
Brigade of the 24th Australian Infantry.
The 24th Australian Infantry Brigade was a decorated unit of the Australian Army. It was raised in Wangaratta, a city in the state of Victoria, in the July of 1940. During the war, soldiers of this brigade were active participants on several fronts in North Africa and the Middle East.
On the 4th of September in 1943, the brigade was retrained for jungle warfare and was later involved in hard fighting with the imperial Japanese army in the east. After the war ended the brigade was disbanded not long afterwards in 1946 –see 2/24 Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian War Memorial.
The Photo.
This photo was produced by an uncredited photographer, possibly a soldier of the Australian 24th Infantry or a war time photographer attached to the division. The photo is dated 22nd of July, 1945 and the original caption attached to the photo reads as provided below:
Beaufort, Borneo, 1945-07-22. The jeep train, known as the Membukut Special, pulling out of the local railway station loaded with members of 24 infantry brigade. On the return trip the train will bring back rock and gravel from the quarry at Greig Siding.
In the photo, the adaptable Jeep, and which is a Willys MB, has four rail wheels instead of tyres.
I F I This is an Independent Story produced to unravel the history behind this Vintage Photo of a Jeep pulling Rail carriages on the island of Borneo in the pacific ocean. The story also sheds a bit of light on the history of the Jeep and the Australian 24 infantry brigade. It has been created from facts curated from literary and historical sources. I
