U.S. Reconnaissance G.P. “Jeep”

The U.S. Reconnaissance G.P. “Jeep” by Italianminifig is a scale - assembleable reproduction, made up of original Lego pieces and equipped with a Browning M1919 cal. 30 – of the light reconnaissance vehicle adopted by the U.S. Army. in 1941.

The term "jeep" derives from the pronunciation of the acronym "GP" which stands for "General Purpose". After World War II, the name “jeep” began to be used to refer to light unarmored military vehicles with a similar appearance to that of 1941. When jeeps began to be produced for civilian use, the name remained unchanged.

The sales package includes:

- A bag containing the U.S. Reconnaissance G.P. “Jeep” assembling pieces (170 pcs. of which 15 printed).

- A certificate attesting the authenticity of the U.S. Reconnaissance G.P. “Jeep”, as an Italianminifig product, and that it belongs to a limited edition.

- Assembly instructions.

Only three responded to the request to create a reconnaissance vehicle weighing ¼ of a ton that the US Army forwarded to car manufacturers in 1940: Bantam, Willys and Ford.

Having excluded the Bantam because it presented a prototype that didn’t respect the required weight limits, the army mainly selected the model created by Willys (called "MA" and, in the second release, "MB"), but also stipulated contracts with Ford for the “GPW” which, as the name “General Purpose Willys” reveals, was, except for small details, the same model as the Willys.

The U.S. Reconnaissance G.P. were jeeps 3.3 meters long, just over one and a half meters wide and weighing approximately 1,100 kg. The engine was a 2.2-liter L-head, side-valve 4-cylinder rated at 54 hp. The gearbox was manual with 3 speeds with reduction gear and the traction could be inserted on the front axle. Each jeep could be equipped with 30 or 50 caliber machine guns and were small and light enough to be loaded onto vehicles such as the gliders that were used for the D-Day invasion of Europe.

Between Ford GPW, Willys MB, Ford GP, Willys 350349 and Ford 277896, a total of over 600,000 vehicles were produced.

(This product is not a toy: it is not suitable for children under the age of 14, due to the small parts that constitute it. It is a collector's item of historical interest. Each Italianminifig item does not intend to celebrate any authoritarian regime, not intends to foment hatred or a repressive spirit towards freedom and human rights).