1944 Willys MB Jeep
Iconic fun
Iconic fun
There are classic designs, and then there’s the Jeep. Born out of necessity, it quickly proved its worth many times over and became one of the 20th century’s greatest military and motoring icons.
Its story begins in 1940; with war raging in Europe and relations between the USA and the Empire of Japan at a very low ebb, American Bantam (“Bantam”), a small, low-volume vehicle manufacturer, designed a vehicle which they hoped to sell to the US Army as a modern, durable, and versatile replacement for its elderly and inadequate fleet of light motor vehicles. That such a vehicle was desperately needed was a view shared by the US Army itself, and whilst Bantam worked on turning their design into a prototype, a specification was being created for what the Army called a ‘Truck, ¼ ton, 4×4.’
This specification – which, amongst other things, called for part-time four-wheel drive and a folding windscreen – was sent to 135 companies, including Bantam, along with an invitation to bid for the contract to manufacture the new vehicle. It drew only three bids from vehicle manufacturers – from Bantam, Willys-Overland (“Willys”), and Ford Motor Company.
Bantam, though small, had something of a head start and was thus the first company to deliver a working prototype, the Bantam Reconnaissance Car, to the Army. The company also emerged as the winner of the bidding process but a lack of production capacity and the urgent need for the vehicle meant that the War Department provided the blueprints of Bantam’s design to both Willys and Ford.
Ultimately, all three companies would produce their own version of the new vehicle, which was given the nickname ‘Jeep’, possibly after Eugene the Jeep, a character in the Popeye comic strip who had the ability to go anywhere.
The Jeep would go on to become one of the most important pieces of military hardware in history. Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Ernie Pyle said of it, “It did everything. It went everywhere. Was as faithful as a dog, as strong as a mule, and as agile as a goat. It constantly carried twice what it was designed for and still kept going.” It was also the world’s first mass-produced four-wheel drive car, with over 660,000 built between 1940 and 1945. Of that number, Willys built nearly 363,000, Ford around 295,000, and Bantam a mere 2700.
But whilst the Jeep was proving itself to be a huge success in every theatre of war, it was the subject of dispute and litigation back in the USA. When Willys tried to trademark the ‘Jeep’ name in 1943, Bantam and Ford led the objectors. Bantam also took issue with Willys’s advertisements, in which the company took credit along with the US Quartermaster Corps for designing and perfecting the Jeep. This resulted in the US Federal Trade Commission opening a case against Willys for misrepresentation, the outcome of which was that Bantam’s complaint was upheld and Willys was ordered not to claim that it had designed or created the Jeep. Willys’s application to trademark the ‘Jeep’ name was, however, finally granted in 1950, by which time Bantam was producing trailers instead of powered vehicles.
Willys-Overland merged in 1953 with Kaiser Motors to form a new company, Kaiser Jeep. Since then, a series of mergers and acquisitions have resulted in the Jeep brand passing through the hands of several corporations. As of 2025, it is owned by Stellantis, a multinational company whose portfolio also includes Peugeot, Citroën, Chrysler, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Vauxhall, Opel, and Maserati.
Over its history the Jeep has transitioned from a purely military vehicle to one much in demand by civilians. The first Jeep intended for the civilian market was launched in 1945 as the Willys CJ (‘Civilian Jeep’). The CJ remained in production until 1986 and its legacy lives on in the extensive range of 4×4 vehicles that still bear the Jeep name. The Jeep is also responsible for the creation of an entire automotive market sector which remains vibrant today, with a host of manufacturers offering 4×4 models in their product ranges.
There’s nothing quite like an original, though, so we were delighted to accept an invitation made to us by Dave Cantwell to take a trip in his genuine 1944 Willys MB Jeep. If cars could talk then Dave’s would no doubt have almost as many stories to tell as the man himself, having landed in France on or shortly after D-Day before being transferred to French ownership after the guns finally fell silent in 1945.
Dave acquired his Jeep in 2006 whilst taking an extended holiday in France. As he explains, it was very much a case of being in the right place at the right time: “We were travelling through France in our motorhome and had decided to stop over in Falaise in Normandy for a few days. I was perusing a militaria website when I spotted a nice-looking Willys MB that had just come up for sale. I’d always fancied a Jeep, and as this one was in France I decided that I should really go and have a look at it.
“I called the number stated in the advert and spoke to the seller, an Englishman living in France. I told him that I was very interested in buying the Jeep, that I was already in France, and that I was happy to drive right across France to come and see it. When I told him I was in Falaise, he asked me if my motorhome was one of those parked next to the walls of William the Conqueror’s castle. It turned out that his house – and the Jeep – was no more than about a quarter of a mile up the road! He already had someone interested in the Jeep, so I wasted no time in going to see it. It was as good as I had hoped for – in very original condition right down to its 6V electrics – so a deal was struck there and then. As his business was based in England, he even agreed to ship the Jeep there so that I could pick it up without having to trailer it home from France.”
As we soon discovered, travelling by Jeep, especially one with its windshield down, is quite an experience. The first thing to note is its ground clearance – it sits much higher off the ground than modern 4x4s – so much so that climbing into it is a challenge in itself. Once settled into the passenger seat, several things command your attention: the low sills, lack of doors, absence of seat belts, and the dearth of side support offered by your seat. Indeed, all that prevents you from taking a tumble out of the right-hand side of the Jeep is a length of rope clipped across the aperture where the door should be and, of course, your own sense of self-preservation!
Truth told, it’s a bit nerve wracking at first but any sense of impending doom is quickly overtaken by the thrill of proper al fresco motoring in such an iconic vehicle. The engine and exhaust notes – Dave’s Jeep is powered by its original Willys-Overland 2.2 litre engine – are straight out of every World War 2 film you’ve ever seen, ride comfort is a lot better than you’d expect from a vehicle whose body is suspended by leaf springs, and there’s a great feeling that you’re part of the environment rather than someone who’s merely passing through it in a metal and glass bubble.
It was a baking hot day when we went out in Dave’s Jeep so we were glad of the cooling breeze that resulted from driving with the windshield down. We’d have been rather less happy, though, if we’d forgotten to bring sunglasses to protect our eyes from the airborne dust and detritus that the windshield would normally protect you from.
As you’d expect from such a utilitarian vehicle, Dave’s Jeep doesn’t have much in the way of creature comforts – there’s no heater, no radio, no Sat Nav, and no carpets. There is a hood which can be erected to give some protection in bad weather but it looks like it’d be trickier to erect than a 1970s tent. Dave’s Jeep is also equipped with window wipers which are manually powered by a rotary mechanism on the passenger’s side of the vehicle – if it starts raining and you don’t have a passenger on board then, well, that’s just too bad!
The Jeep attracted a friendly response from other motorists, most of whom seemed to be getting as much enjoyment from seeing it in use as we did from travelling in it. The flip side of that is, of course, that a World War 2 Jeep isn’t exactly the most suitable vehicle for anyone who’s trying to travel incognito! For the rest of us, it’s simply great fun.
They say that you should never meet your heroes. Perhaps that’s true of people but we’re delighted to say that our trip in the Jeep more than lived up to our lofty expectations. Yes, there are faster, more comfortable, more luxurious, and more practical ways to travel, but for sheer enjoyment the Jeep has, as they say in the States, got ’em all licked!
