Jeeps 1941-45 by Steven J. Zaloga

Author:Steven J. Zaloga
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Jeeps 1941–45
ISBN: 9781780961477
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2011-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

The T2 37mm GMC was the first of several attempts to build a tank destroyer on a jeep chassis. This forward-firing configuration on a Bantam BRC proved awkward and was abandoned in favor of the T2E1. (NARA)

In July 1941, the QMC had considered developing a lengthened ¼ton truck with a 6x6 configuration for specialized roles; one of its original missions was seen as being a gun carrier for the 37mm gun. In July 1941, Willys was contracted to develop the T13 and T14 37mm GMC based on a stretched MA chassis. The T13 had the gun pointed forward but, as a result of earlier experiments with the T2, this configuration was dropped before the pilots were constructed. Instead, two pilots of the T14 were built and the first was delivered to Aberdeen Proving Ground in January 1942. Although the T14 was judged to be the most satisfactory of several 37mm tank destroyers tested by the Army, the Tank Destroyer Command had already decided to manufacture the M6 37mm GMC based on the ¼ton truck. This marked the end of considerations for a jeep-based tank destroyer, but the 6x6 jeep continued development in various configurations as the “Super Jeep”, which is described below.

There were a number of other attempts to develop armed jeeps late in the war. The 82d Airborne Division actually mounted a 57mm antitank gun on the rear of a jeep in March 1945, but the war ended before it could be used. In 1944, Ordnance developed a mount for the large 4.2in mortar with a large hinge in the rear compartment that permitted the heavy base-plate to be folded up for travel, and then deploy behind the jeep for firing. Although a pilot was tested, there was never enough demand for such a weapon to justify production. The jeep was regularly used to carry infantry mortars, though these were not usually fired from the jeep. Some units developed racks for 81mm mortar ammunition for these mortar jeeps.

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