The Jeep, By Sea, Air And Land

Its a well known fact that the jeep was one of the best known land vehicles of the Second World War, but what isn’t as well known are the many ways in which it got around by sea, air and then by land. In going through these Popular Mechanics articles from the 1940’s what comes to light are the many different methods of transporting the jeep by sea and air power to get them where they needed to be anywhere in the world. In the days before it started to seem like you can get any w

here in the world effortlessly and immediately, the military and later, the civilian world came up with many unique ways in which to transport or modify the jeep in order to get it to where it was best used. From highly waterproofing it in the article “Submarine Jeep” to purpose built vehicles such as Ford’s GPW based ‘Seep’ GPA model to the GMC produced DUKW (and yeah, I know not a jeep, but I included since it was also generically referred to as a ‘jeep...’), the jeep had a way of getting around. 

Of course, the jeep didn’t stop having to reach inaccessible places outside of or after the war. The GPA performed home front duty as a rescuer of flood victims. And the sometimes the methods employed for crossing water were simply practical, such the old floating the jeep across a river crossing by guide wire or employing a bulldozer to tow them across or just getting the army engineers to build you a bridge, the jeep managed to find its way there! 

In the photo to the left it just hitched a ride on a boat! I’ve enjoyed finding these articles and photos immensely. There are alot more to come and next week we’ll get caught up on the jeep flying its way to the war zone. For now, check out the newest additions to the Miscellaneous article and photo section right here.

I’m working on a number of new t-shirt designs as well that I hope to have up for Black Friday, so keep checking out the This-Old-Jeep.com Zazzle store and I’ll keep you posted right here and in our Facebook and Twitter accounts when new products and designs come out! I’ve re-designed the popular grill shirt design and you can find it right here. You can also save 15% today in honor of daylight savings. Come back next week for more and hope that you made the most of that extra hour of sleep! Don’t forget to change your smoke and carbon monoxide detector batteries!