Description

The British army were the first to take the American 4 x 4 Jeep into battle in North Africa in 1941, They found it far superior to the light trucks previously used and it soon came to the attention of British airborne forces. Its power, light weight and small size made it ideal for a variety of roles, and it could be easily fitted into a medium sized glider. For the airborne role, all equipment not deemed essential was removed to lighten the vehicle as much as possible. For the Reconnaissance role the Jeep was armed with the .303 Vickers K machine gun, this was previously used on bi-plane fighters of the 1930's and could fire 1,200 rounds per minute. This was double the firepower of a normal machine gun in use at this time. They were also fitted with a No.22 wireless set, which was the standard radio set used on vehicles and tanks. The Jeeps were carried in the Airspeed AS.51 or AS.58 Horsa Glider, the load being 1 x Jeep with equipment, stores and crew. Jeeps were deployed during the D-Day landings 6 June 1944, Operation Market Garden in September 1944, and Operation Plunder in March 1945. They generally performed well, the Jeeps were versatile and could be used in other roles such as gun tractors were required. Many Jeeps were retained by the Parachute Regiment and were used post-war in the Far East to restore order after the Japanese surrender. In Palestine, they were used in policing operations 1945-48. After WWII the gliders were phased out and Jeeps were dropped by parachute, they remained in service until the late 1950's.