Friday 28th February 1941

Edsel B Ford drove the first Ford Model GP Command Reconnaissance Truck off the assembly line..it was developed as a competitor to the Bantam 40 BRC and the Willys MA, the Ford GP, also popularly called the ‘Blitz Buggy’, showed a significant similarity to the latter. In total, 3700 were produced before production switched to the Willys MB early in 1942. But other than Bantam, Ford continued the ¼-ton production as it co-produced the MB with minor changes as the Ford GPW. Some 1500 samples were reserved for Foreign Aid, mainly to Britain, but it is assumed that some of these also reached the Russian ports as part of Lend-Lease. The acronym ‘GP’ officially means ‘Government. Passenger’, but is commonly referred to as ‘General Purpose’.