The purpose of this site is to act as a repository for early Jeep documentation. This includes items such as drawings, blueprints, photos, correspondence and period magazine articles.  Throughout the history of the Jeep, there has been a variety of wrong information reported on what transpired.  People publishing new books tend to use older books for their design ideas.  These books in turn are used by other people to create newer books.  Just like the game where you have a line of people and whisper to the person next to you something and they repeat it to the other person next to them, when it gets to the end, what is being reported may not be anything like what really happened.  The goal of this web site is to track down and make available as many of the original source (or what can be called "primordial") documents.  These documents can tell the true Jeep story.

  Original Source Provided By
US Army    US Army Sources  
US Congress    August 14, 1941 - 'Reconnaissance, or 'Jeep', Motor Cars' - H. Ralph Burton, Investigator, House Of Representative Committee On Military Affairs

 Robert Notman

American Bantam Car Company   Bantam BRC-60 Production Figures    by Chester Hemphling - December 17, 1940

Bill Spear

American Bantam Car Company   December 1982 - We Were Beaten by the Roosevelts - as told by Ralph Turner - by Bob Lindsey

Bill Spear

American Bantam Car Company   19880725 - Getting Acquainted with the Bantam - Bob Lindsey

Bill Spear

American Bantam Car Company   July 27, 1988 - A Personal Interview of Chet Hempling as told to Bob Lindsey

Bill Spear

American Bantam Car Company   July 28, 1988 - From Bob Lindsey notes from Interview of Chet Hempfling

Bill Spear

American Bantam Car Company   1988 - Walter Hempling - Personnel Manager - as told to Bob Lindsey

Bill Spear

Willys-Overland Motors, Incorporated    A-2812 - 19420503 Revision Blueprint

Todd Paisley

Ford Motor Company    
FTC Hearings   February 10, 1943 - FTC Hearings - Gen. Lynch Robert Notman
     FTC - Payne Testimony

Bill Spear

Personal Letters   February 20, 1941 - Letter, I.F. Stone, Editor 'The Nation' to Charles Payne, American Bantam

Robert Notman

Period Media Articles "The Howie Machine-Gun Carrier"  by Captain Wendell G. Johnson, Infantry - Infantry Journal - November-December 1937

Todd Paisley

   "Behind the Ford Contract"    by I. F. Stone - The Nation - December 14, 1940

Todd Paisley

  "The Shape of Things" - Editorial on the Ford Contract by I. F. Stone - The Nation - January 4, 1941

Todd Paisley

  "The Shape of Things" - Editorial on the Ford Contract by I. F. Stone - The Nation - January 11, 1941 Todd Paisley
  "Willys-Overland Gets Army Favor on Midget Cars" - I. F. Stone - February 16, 1941 Robert Notman
  Cavalry Tests Substitute for Motorcycles - Pennsylvania Guardsman Monthly - March 1941 Robert Notman
  March-April 1941 - Quartermaster Review - The Army 'Bug' - By Lt. E. P. Hogan, Q.M.C. Robert Notman
  "The Versatile Jeep" - The Field Artillery Journal - Captain George Ruhlen - June 1941 Robert Notman
  September-October 1941 - Quartermaster Review - The Story of the Quarter-Ton - By Lt. E. P. Hogan, Q.M.C. Robert Notman
  "The Story Behind the Army Jeep" - John W. Chapman  Illustrated Gazette - Vol 1 No 4 - pg.1,2,6,8 - August 1942 Robert Notman
  "The Airplane, Not the Jeep, Is Jeep Man's True Love" - John W. Chapman  Illustrated Gazette - Vol 1 No 4 - pg.2 - August 1942 Robert Notman
  "Willys and QMC Take the Bows" - John W. Chapman  Illustrated Gazette - Vol 1 No 4 - pg.6 - August 1942 Robert Notman
  "Original Jeep in Smithsonian" - John W. Chapman  Illustrated Gazette - Vol 1 No 4 - pg.8 - August 1942 Robert Notman
  "Amazing Blitz Buggy" by Joseph W. Frazer - Liberty - June 19, 1943 - pg.16,17,40,41 David Aro
  "Is the Jeep Here to Stay?" by Francis Fenn - Forbes Magazine - November 15, 1944 Todd Paisley
  "The Miller Dynasty" - Mark Dees - 1981 - exerpt from Chapter 73  
  March-April 1982 - Looking Back - Harold Crist - The Man and His Machines - George Domer.htm Bill Spear



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Copyright 2006 - Todd Paisley (paisley@erols.com)
Last updated 22 August 2006