Tamiya 35043 - 1/35 Ford GPA Jeep 福特 田宮軍事模型軍事製品 雙星孖星  [35043]

The Ford GPA &39;Seep&39; (from Seagoing Jeep), had been an amphibious version of the WWII Ford GPW Jeep. Unlike the jeep, the seep was not a successful design being too slow and hefty on land and lacking enough seagoing abilities in open water. Comparable design features had been used in the larger and much more successful DUKW amphibious truck.

History and development

After having commissioned Willys, Ford and Bantam to create the first 4,500 jeeps (1500 each) in March 1941, the usa engine Transport Board create a project underneath the direction associated with National Defense Research Committee (NDRC) to be designated "QMC-4 1/4 Ton Truck Light Amphibian".
The War had been on at full tilt, and with bridges over Europe&39;s rivers being taken out one after another, it seemed practical in the event that jeep could swim including drive. Therefore it stumbled on Roderick Stephens Jr. of Sparkman & Stephens Inc. yacht developers, to style a form for a 2700 lb (1,200 kg) amphibious jeep, in the same vein as their design the DUKW six-wheel-drive amphibious truck. Needless to say Stephens&39; hull design appeared as if a miniature form of that of DUKW, and simply like it, the &39;Seep&39; was going to have a screw propellor, driven by an electrical take-off, operating in a separate tunnel faired in to the tail bodywork, along with an effective rudder.
The construction of this car originated in competition by Marmon-Herrington and Ford Engine Company. Marmon-Herrington specialised in all-wheel drive cars. The Marmon-Herrington prototype&39;s hull formed an important unibody structure, created by cutting shapes out of steel plate and welding those together, a great deal just like the hull or chassis of an armoured vehicle. The Ford entry however utilized a sturdy chassis and interior framework, to which pretty much regular car type sheet-steel had been welded. This construction made the GPA some 400 lb (180 kg) lighter than its competitor. Additionally The GPA&39;s design had been in line with the Willys MB and Ford GPW standard Jeeps whenever you can. When making and building the GPA, Ford used many of the identical parts your Ford GPW did. The GPA had an interior like that of the MB/GPW jeeps, even though driver&39;s compartment had almost twice as many control levers: 2WD/4WD, hi-range/lo-range, capstan winch (regarding the bows), propeller deployment and rudder control. After a primary contrast of the two business&39;s prototypes, Ford received a contract for manufacturing beginning in 1942.