Jeep Train, Beaufort, Borneo, Malaysia.
Photographer: Unknown.

Manufactured by Willys Overland Motors and mass-produced between 1941 and 45 for the Allied forces, the iconic, tough and all-terrain Willys MB embodies the true Jeep spirit, “Go anywhere, Do anything”, in this photo taken on the 22nd of July, 1945 on the Island of Borneo – base of the 24th Australian Infantry Brigade, fighting a dug in Japanese army at the fag end of the war.

Though the concept of automobiles pulling railcars can be traced back to 1912, it was the Jeep that made it famous and also lent it the name of the Jeep Train. The Willys MB that pulls the railcars in the photo was known as the Mumbuktu Special. The soldiers of the 24th Australian Infantry used it for ferrying troops as well as for transporting rock and gravel from the quarry of Greig Siding, 12 miles North of their station at Beaufort – now a Malaysian city.

The Ford 503 GPW: Jeep, WW II.

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The Iconic Jeep.

Besides Willys Overland Motors, the Jeep was also mass-produced during the war by the Ford Motor Company. The models produced by the two respective companies were classed as off-road light military utility vehicles and extensively used by the Allied armies.

To adhere to the army’s request for a standardised light combat vehicle, both models were built to be identical so parts of one could be used for the other – yet 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 models had weighed approximately 1/4 of a ton and were the most relied upon and loved of all combat vehicles to be used in World War II. Furthermore, they were also instrumental in popularizing the word Jeep – which is now used, offhandedly, for all 4x4s.

The man who designed the Jeep.

The combat vehicle was originally designed by automotive engineer Karl Probst, in 1940. Hired as a Freelancer by a nearly bankrupt Bantam Automobile Company to help acquire an army contract, Probst, though reluctant at first to work without pay, had teamed up with the team at Bantam to produce a prototype at Bantam’s factory in Butler, Pennsylvania – later to be known as the Bantam Reconnaissance Car, or the Bantam BRC.

In 1941, however, with Bantam Automobiles lacking the resources and manpower to mass produce for the army, the contract had been extended to other bidders. The winner, Willys Overland Motors, 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 its own contract with the military, had adhered to Willys’ specifications for the Ford GPW. Thus, while in the Willys MB, the initials MB stood for “Military” and “Second Model”, the initials GPW in the Ford GPW were “General”, “Production” and “Willys”.

The name “Jeep” was patented by Willys Overland Motors on the 7th of April, 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 – which was largely the Jeeps, Bantam had produced before the entry of Willys and Ford.

The 24th Australian Infantry Brigade.

The 24th Infantry Brigade was a decorated brigade of the Australian Army. It was raised in Wangaratta, a city in the state of Victoria, in July 1940. During the war years, the men of this brigade were active participants on several fronts in North Africa and the Middle East.

On the 4th of September, 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.

Here, in this photo, the adaptable Willys MB has four rail wheels instead of tyres.