Influence on other designs
The second company participating in the bid, Willys-Overland, did not yet have a vehicle design at the time and submitted its bid based on a cost and time analysis. Despite losing the bid, it began designing and building a prototype at its own risk. In pursuit of optimal vehicles, the American Quartermaster Corps (QMC) provided the plans of the Bantam prototype to Willys and Ford for use in their projects, allowing them to observe the prototype during testing (despite Bantam's objections, the Army argued that it had paid for the development and could show it to whomever it chose).[10] Willys’ first prototype of an off-road vehicle, the Willys Quad, similar to and structurally related to the Bantam, was delivered on 11 November 1940. It used the same axles and transfer case from Spicer, but with a stronger in-house engine, the Willys prototype had better performance and ultimately became the basis for the Willys MA model ordered by the Army (1,500 units) and later the mass-produced standard jeep, the Willys MB.[10] Notably, during World War II, in the mechanized cavalry of the United States, particularly in reconnaissance units, the informal term "bantam" was widely used to refer to Willys jeeps.[11]
In October 1940, the U.S. Army also persuaded Ford to participate in developing an off-road vehicle. On 23 November 1940, Ford introduced its prototype, the Ford Pygmy, which also drew from Bantam’s design (it introduced innovations such as a wide, flat hood, later adapted with modifications for the Bantam BRC-40 and the standard Willys MB jeep).[10] The Army ordered 1,500 Ford GP vehicles and later allocated large-scale production of the licensed Willys MB model, the GPW, to Ford.[10]
The term "jeep" for an off-road vehicle became associated with Willys during the war, and the company used this in its marketing materials.[12] Following a complaint by Bantam, however, the Federal Trade Commission in 1948 barred Willys from claiming it was the creator of the jeep, recognizing that the idea and development of the jeep originated at American Bantam in collaboration with certain U.S. Army officers.[12] Despite this, Bantam soon went bankrupt, and in 1950, Willys, which continued to produce its off-road vehicles, subsequently registered Jeep as its trademark.[12]
The Bantam's debut also inspired the development of Soviet off-road vehicles – in January 1941, authorities instructed designers at the GAZ factory to create their own vehicle modeled after the Bantam, as seen in the press.[13] Contrary to some opinions, the resulting GAZ-64 design from March 1941 was not based on American vehicles (to which the Soviets had no access at the time), borrowing only the general design concept, body shape, and similar dimensions.[13] Its improved successor was the better-known GAZ-67.[13]
In 1941, the U.S. Army tested experimental tank destroyers based on the BRC-40 with a 37 mm gun M3 mounted.[14] In the T2 model, the gun with a low protective shield fired forward within a 30° range on each side, while in the T2E1 model, the gun was mounted rotatably in the rear with a 360° field of fire, typically firing rearward.[14] Seven T2 and eleven T2E1 units were built, but the chassis was found to be too light for the gun, which was later removed.[14]
