UPDATE: **SOLD** Was on eBay
(10/23/2012) This has an unusual story.
“O.K. military personnel, here’s your chance to own an iconic piece of history. This is an authentic 1942 Military Jeep (Ford GPW); matching frame and I.D. Plate. This jeep is probably one of the numerous leftovers from World War 2, Asian theater, as it was rebuilt at the 229TH Ordnance Base Depot, Oppama Ordnance Shop (OOS), located in Japan.
I’ve been told that this was a former Japanese navy aircraft rebuild facility located in Yokohama, Japan and was converted to the 229TH Ordnance Base Depot, after the war; much of what they rebuild went to the Korean conflict. I corresponded with a soldier who was stationed there during that time period and he told me that depot rebuilds were performed at the component level; every piece removed and replaced. That may account for jeeps that we find with a mixture of GPW and MB parts on them. I’m not sure if that is when my jeep was fitted with the body tub and windshield for a recoilless rifle, but it is a recoilless rifle version although it has round buttons on the rear tool boxes which suggest it is a MB tub.
According to Fred W. Crismon’s book U.S. MILITARY WHEELED VEHICLES, recoilless rifles were first tried in April 1945 on flat fendered jeeps. It became more commonplace during the 1950’s on M38 (flat fendered) and M38A1 (curved fender) jeeps although my body tub still has the gas tank filler under the seat suggesting an earlier version. The open back of the body tub suggests to me that this tub may have been designed for use with the latter M79 mount instead of the earlier version M75A1 mount, but I don’t know.
Therefore, I can’t be sure when it was installed unless this information is part of the Ordnance Depot Job Order Number detail, and I’m not sure if that data is still available. I don’t have the recoilless rifle and mount, but they do appear for sale from time to time which would significantly increase the value of the jeep. Included with the jeep is an authentic tow bar and 1951 Dunbar trailer. I’ve been told that the trailer is a typical companion of a recoilless rifle for carrying ammo and ancillary items for operating the rifle.
Somehow the jeep ended up in the Greek Army and was then imported to the USA. This I believe to be true because we found Greek coins inside the tub. The jeep is drivable and I used it mostly for running errands. I’ve taken it to a couple of car shows and it cruises at 60 mph with no shake or shimmy. Every time I drive it people beep their horns, wave, crowd around it, and want to talk about it – really a lot of fun.
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