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Jeep Willy MB Numbers


5th Ranger
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Hello I bought this Jeep from 1943.

The owner dont now about this Numbers. They are Fantasy or ist that maybe an Division ad so  ?

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My opinion ia that they are on the opposite sides of where they should be, but....(this is a guess).....

 

B Company, veh.# 2

 

71st Tank Battalion, 1st Armored Division

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Johan Willaert
On 1/10/2023 at 4:57 PM, 5th Ranger said:

20425138-S


This number found on both sides of the hood (bonnet) and on the rear panel on early productions is in fact the vehicle's US Army Registration Number, the jeep's military number plate so to speak.
The U.S.A. indicates it is a US Army vehicle and the first, or first two numbers if the second one is a 0, indicate the class of vehicle.
A Jeep is a Comand&Reconnaissance vehicle and as such all Jeep numbers start with 20; the rest of the number is related to the vehicle itself.

When the US Government placed an order for a certain number of vehicles, a range of numbers for the vehicles ordered were given to the manufacturer who was responsible for adding the number to the vehicle upon delivery and acceptance by the US Army Ordnance Inspector.

U.S.A. 20425138 was attributed to a Ford GPW GPW model Jeep, manufactured in November 1943. It is one of a short production run Ford Jeeps that were fitted with Willys MB style ACM1 body, fenders and hood ( bonnet).
 

The S factory applied on the body cowl and next to the hood number from 1944 onwards or when repainted in the field denotes that the Jeep is fitted with special equipment, bolts, washers, condensers, etc to avoid jamming radio interference when the Jeep engine is running in the vicinity of radio-equipment.
ALL but the very first Jeeps had this equipment, whether they were fitted with a radio or not...

I cannot see if you have a Willys or Ford from your photo, so cannot confirm whether or not your hood number is the original one to this Jeep. But if it is a Ford GPW and the hood number is original to the Jeep, a close estimate of the Jeep's frame number would be around GPW161xxx

Jeepers are always looking to find the correct hood number for their Jeep, but it isn't easy to find.
A Jeep with its original correct hood number is always a plus!

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Johan Willaert
On 1/10/2023 at 4:55 PM, 5th Ranger said:

B-2        71-1∆

 

These numbers denote the unit the jeep was used with, but not only are they on the opposite sides of the bumper, they are also completely wrong.
Unit bumper numbers were generally composed of four groups denoting larger unit, secondary unit, Company and Vehicle Number within the Company.

 

As such 1∆-71 B-2  could refer to the 2nd vehicle of Company B, from the 71st ? attached to the 1st Armored Division.
However there was NO 71st numbered unit in the 1st Armored Division during WW2, so any 71st in this combination is wrong.

 

A representative example of a Jeep within the 1st Armored Division would be 1∆-6-I B-2, which indicates 2nd vehicle of Company B, from the 6th Armored Infantry Battalion attached to the 1st Armored Division (units of the 1st Armored Division can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Armored_Division_(United_States)#1944

 

It is just about impossible to find the original bumper markings or the specific unit your Jeep was used by, so when choosing bumper markings it mainly comes down to personal preference. However make sure the unit you choose did actually have Jeeps...

 

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Johan Willaert
18 minutes ago, Johan Willaert said:

When the US Government placed an order for a certain number of vehicles, a range of numbers for the vehicles ordered were given to the manufacturer who was responsible for adding the number to the vehicle upon delivery and acceptance by the US Army Ordnance Inspector.

U.S.A. 20425138 was attributed to a Ford GPW GPW model Jeep, manufactured in November 1943. It is one of a short production run Ford Jeeps that were fitted with Willys MB style ACM1 body, fenders and hood ( bonnet).
 

The S factory applied on the body cowl and next to the hood number from 1944 onwards or when repainted in the field denotes that the Jeep is fitted with special equipment, bolts, washers, condensers, etc to avoid jamming radio interference when the Jeep engine is running in the vicinity of radio-equipment.
ALL but the very first Jeeps had this equipment, whether they were fitted with a radio or not...
 

 

This is how my Ford GPW left the Dallas, Texas Ford assembly plant in August 1942.
The Jeep's hood number U.S.A. 20144731 applied in blue drab, with the radio suppression S stencilled on both sides of the body cowl.
In Europe these markings were to be painted over in white in the unit motorpool from late 1943 onwards.

 

 

06-GPW56685-17Okt21 (15).JPG

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Johan Willaert
3 hours ago, 5th Ranger said:

Thanks for the interesting  answer. Later I send more pictures of the Jeep.

 

Cheers, please post a photo of your frame number tag and the glove box dataplate...
Will tell us much more...

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