In the late 1930s, the US Army was desperate to have a general all purpose all terrain vehicle in its armory before a war with either German or Japan broke out. It put the word out to the US auto industry that test vehicles were to be submitted in 49 days and then after another 70 days or so of trials a contract would be awarded. Only 3 companies were to partake in the contract and the American Bantam Car Co. was the winner. It was soon realized that American Bantam's facilities were to small to keep up with the Army's demand so Willis and Ford where allowed to take up the rest of the manufacturing which left the original designers almost completely out of the loop. The government claimed that the design was theirs and Bantam quietly cowed to the governments insistence due to their current financial woes. With Willis and Ford pumping out the Jeep it was provided to all the Allied armies and reached every front around the globe. The Jeep would see itself perform the duties of everything from a general conveyance to even a mobile rocket launcher along with numerous other duties. A further 13000 amphibious Jeeps were produced inspired by the DUKW amphibious truck. The vehicle was not well received by the Army in the field and most of this type of model was given to the Russians who were more then happy with it. By the war's end, over 600K various models of the Jeep were produced and it would find itself in the US Army's arsenal until the 80s.
In gaming terms, the Jeep is one versatile SOB. You can mount machine guns on it for your scouts and even use it to move your wounded to the rear. It can hold 4 and move up to 15" per Action or a whopping 45" per Action on a Road. Now that will get you into and outta trouble real quick. This mother is also a very small target so it makes it a bit harder for those enemy gunners to get a bed on it and if it is booking, those speed modifiers will really help. This thing is also really light so it could be transported via glider so your Airborne can take them along on those dangerous jumps into the heart of the enemy. It can also tow those lite guns or artillery and that's always a bonus on a fluid front line. The only downside to this thing is it usually has no armor but some US Airborne units armored their jeeps in the ETO so you can always get those ingenious motor pool sergeants to get busy with those field modifications! It's amphibious brother is just as versatile with the addition of being able to move through deep water at a slow but steady speed of 4" per Action. The Jeep is a WWII icon and can easily be found in all its forms by numerous manufacturers in whatever scale you might play.
