Sunday, October 28, 2012

War Era Jeep Innovations And Uses From The Pages Of Popular Mechanics




Over the course of the war, the jeep was used in many conventional ways as a troop transport and light scout vehicle. But it was soon discovered that it could be used as more than the simple scout it was designed as. Necessity being the mother of invention especially during wartime, the jeep was converted, armored, engineered to include all manner of supporting equipment and weapons, from light machine guns like the .30 cal to radio equipment as a method of transporting the wounded. The jeep could be a fast ‘shoot and scoot’ vehicle to disable tanks and other larger armored vehicles than it. The jeep floated and swam, was flown in and parachuted from gliders, used as a training vehicle and everyone from a lowly private to generals rode and drove one.
The pages of Popular Mechanics are filled with many of these innovations and ideas. From being armored to powering a buzz saw (way before a PTO was introduced for it for civilian use...) to pumping water to put out fires and fooling the enemy by masquerading as a tank the jeep has done it. It was even used to power a primitive washing machine in an article appropriately titled “Clever, These Yankees!” Keep coming back for more, I’ve found alot more articles and mentions of the jeep. I’ll be showing off alot of glider and other airborne jeeps, the amphibious abilities as well as other misc. appearances as well as alot of interesting early ads for surplus equipment and add-ons. You can view all of them here in the miscellaneous article section or click on the thumbnails above to view all of them full sized.
It’s that time of the year to be thinking of the holidays and I’m thinking ahead too. I’ll be introducing new t-shirt designs and other products in the This-Old-Jeep.com Zazzle marketplace soon and announcing them right here.
And if you’re on the east coast like myself, I wish you the best of luck with Hurricane Sandy coming for Halloween. Hold onto your hats and see you next week!

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