December 14, 1940

The US Army provided the funding for the development of the Jeep. That is not disputed. But what role it had in the actual development has been debated over the years. Some say the Army came up with the design concepts for the Jeep and Bantam put those ideas into steel. Others say that Bantam came up with the idea and sold the Army on the concept. For others, it is somewhere in between. The goal for this section of the documentation is to track down as many original source documents from the Army to lay out what really happened.

Background on US Army Vehicle Design/Procurement Process at the time of the Jeep Development

First, ideas for new developments could originate in many sources: from the using arms and services in the field, each of which maintained its own test board (such as the Infantry Board) for the purpose of originating designs and equipment peculiar to its own requirements; in the engineering branch of the Quartermaster Corps’ own Motor Transport Division; by civilian inventors, whose ideas were channeled through the National Inventors’ Council; or by manufacturers submitting their proposals directly.

The first step in any new motor vehicle development was the preparation of a general statement of desirable military characteristics; this was the responsibility of the using arm. After approval of the project by the General Staff, representing the Secretary of War, the Office of The Quartermaster General was directed to proceed with the development.

Under Army regulations, the responsibility of the Quartermaster Corps in regard to the development and procurement of motor vehicles was limited to the general purpose type - motor vehicles used for the general hauling of cargo, ammunition, personnel, or equipment. Combat or fighting vehicles such as tanks or armored cars, on the other hand, came under the jurisdiction of the Ordnance Department. Quartermaster vehicles ware further divided into two general classes: administrative and tactical. Administrative vehicles, which closely paralleled the normal commercial product, were used for housekeeping purposes in the zone of the interior. Tactical vehicles, distinguished from the administrative type by always having the all-wheel drive - the one outstanding difference between the military and commercial truck - filled the requirements of the field forces for the transporting of supplies, personnel, and equipment under combat or maneuver conditions. It was primarily as a tactical vehicle that the jeep was developed, although its remarkable versatility has caused it to be used for a host of administrative purposes as well.

After receipt of the directive from the General Staff approving the development of a new general purpose vehicle, the project had to be reviewed and approved by the QMC Technical Committee, which included in its membership representatives from all of the arms and services. In the case of motor items, the development was first considered by a Motor Transport subcommittee which reported to the Technical Committee as a whole. It was the function of the Technical Committee to coordinate, and, if necessary, revise the military characteristics when a vehicle was to be used by several of the arms and services. In many instances differences of opinion arose between the different using arms or between the using arms and the Quartermaster representative. Frequently, difficult compromises had to be made in instances where certain features of a vehicle were advantageous to one service branch and disadvantageous to another. In the case of the jeep, as has already been noted, the disagreement was between the using arms and the Quartermaster Corps, principally over the characteristic of weight, but also over other issues revolving about War Department and Quartermaster policies.

When the military characteristics were finally approved by majority vote of the QMC Technical Committee, they were again sent to the General Staff for the Secretary of War’s approval. With the receipt of the Secretary’s confirming indorsement, the OQMG directed its Motor Transport Division to write specifications that would include in every detail the military characteristics of the proposed vehicle. This was accomplished by the Motor Transport Engineering Branch located at the Holabird Quartermaster Depot, Baltimore, Maryland, where the motor development and procurement activities were concentrated at the time. The prepared specifications were then reviewed and approved by the Assistant Secretary of War (later the Under Secretary of War) who, ever since the passage of the National Defense Act in 1920, had been charged with the responsibility for all War Department procurements. After receipt of the Assistant Secretary of War’s a approval of the specifications, the Office of The Quartermaster General directed the Motor Transport Procurement Branch also located at Holabird, to initiate the purchase of the vehicle. Before a manufacturer was permitted to go into production, however, a pilot model had to be made up and submitted to Holabird for an acceptance test.

There were at least 5 Army groups involved in the jeep development. They are:

	Description	Research Areas
Quartermaster Corps	In charge of the development and procurement process of the general purpose type - motor vehicles used for the general hauling of cargo, ammunition, personnel, or equipment. It was responsible for coming up with all the characteristics of the final vehicle as well as testing the first pilot model. The Engineering and Procurement was performed at the Holabird Quartermaster Depot in Baltimore, MD at this time.	QMC Research Area
Infantry	As one of the using arms, they were responsible for coming up with the initial characteristics for the jeep to be submitted to the Quartermaster Corps for development.	Infantry Research Area
Field Artillery	As one of the using arms, they were responsible for coming up with the initial characteristics for the jeep to be submitted to the Quartermaster Corps for development.
Calvary	As one of the using arms, they were responsible for coming up with the initial characteristics for the jeep to be submitted to the Quartermaster Corps for development.	Cavalry Research Area
Ordnance	Combat or fighting vehicles such as tanks or armored cars, on the other hand, came under the jurisdiction of the Ordnance Department. The Ordnance Department was initially involved because the using arms thought they would be the ones responsible for jeep development. The initial meetings with Bantam in Butler fell under a special committee put together by the Ordnance Department (of which the QMC was a member). This eventually fell into the jurisdiction of the QMC. In July 1942, the QMC Motor Transport activities were transferred to the Ordnance Department moving the jeep development to Ordnance.	Ordnance Research Area
Other War Department Entities	September 5, 1940 - G4 - P. & E. Conference	Robert Notman
	September 26, 1940 - G4 - P. & E. Conference	Robert Notman
	September 27, 1940 - G4 - P. & E. Conference	Robert Notman
	October 23, 1940 - G4 - P. & E. Conference	Robert Notman
	October 24, 1940 - G4 - P. & E. Conference	Robert Notman
	October 25, 1940 - G4 - P. & E. Conference	Robert Notman
	October 29, 1940 - G4 - P. & E. Conference	Robert Notman
	November 19, 1940 - G4 - P. & E. Conference	Robert Notman
	"Army Motor Transport" - Army Motors - May 1942	Robert Notman
	August 16, 1943 - Gen. H.S. Aurand Memo - C. H. Payne	Robert Notman
	August 23, 1943 - Gen. Orlando Ward to Gen. Lynch - C. H. Payne	Robert Notman
	August 2, 1943 - 'Interviews with Army Officers by Mr. A. Wade Wells on the Subject of the Genesis of the Army Jeep' - R. Ernest Dupuy, Bureau of Public Relations	Robert Notman
	1963 - General Anthony C. McAuliffe - personal oral history	Bill Spear
	April 21, 1974 - Interview with with Lieutenant General Henry S. Aurand	Robert Notman
	January 1, 1981 - Interview with with General Robert W. Porter, Jr.	Robert Notman

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