Jeep originator

Loathe as I am to criticise Prof Stevens, describing a ‘Ford Willys Jeep’ designed in Detroit (Why I love, November 2018) is an example of how the victors write history.

The design was the product of the American Bantam company and was created by engineer Karl Probst and ten Bantam men. Probst drew the plans in five days and Bantam built its prototype in fewer than 49 days. The resulting ‘Blitz’ prototype was the only quarter-ton light truck submission delivered on time for evaluation to the US Army.

The Office of Production Management had reservations about Bantam’s ability to produce the Jeep in sufficient numbers, so after Bantam had built 2675 cars the job was handed to Willys. Ford then lobbied on Capitol Hill to get the lucrative manufacturing contract and Bantam was left with a contract for Jeep trailers.

Willys and Ford produced early examples of the Bantam Blitz design with the larger Willys ‘Go-devil’ engine, minor bodywork changes and Ford-variant parts.

In 1948 there was a legal argument about who created the Jeep. The US Federal Trade Commission sided with Bantam but the Commission added that this had occurred in collaboration with the US Army Corps. The Commission denied the Willys Company from claiming, directly or by implication, that it had thought up the Jeep. However, Willys’ development of the Jeep (and its re-engine of it) was cited. Lance Cole