Jeep Willys (other names: Willys MB, Jeep) is an American off-road car from the Second World War and the post-war period. The first prototypes of the car were built in 1940, and serial production was carried out in 1940-1945. Nearly 650,000 copies of it were created in its course! The weight of the cart was about 1.1 tons, with a length of 3.36 meters and a width of 1.57 meters. The drive was provided by a single engine with a power of 60 HP. The maximum speed was up to 105 km / h.
The Jeep Willys was developed to order and demanded by the US Army, which in 1940, faced with the war, asked for a completely new 4x4 passenger car with a load capacity of up to 250 kilograms, which could be mass-produced. It is worth adding that initially the American Bantam Car with the Bantam BRC was the clear favorite in the tender. However, the US Department of Defense, striving to ensure the best possible car design and trying to ensure trouble-free series production, handed over the plans for the Bantam BRC to the Willys and Ford plants. Based on these plans, Willys developed a Jeep that had a much better power unit than the original Bantam BRC, as well as being mechanically more perfect. Ultimately, it was this car, the Willys Jeep, that won the tender for the US Army. The presented car was actually mass-produced and went to almost all Anglo-Saxon armies fighting in World War II, and thanks to the Lend-and-Lease program, also to the Soviet Union. He took part in hostilities in North Africa, Italy, Northwest Europe and the Pacific. It is often assumed that the Jeep Willys is one of the symbols of American triumph in World War II.
During World War II, the US Air Force, the USAAF (United States Army Air Force), was not an independent type of armed force and was formally under the command of the army. Thanks to their excellent industrial base and efficient organization, they became the most powerful military aviation in the world during World War II. It is also worth remembering that the USAAF grew tremendously in terms of the number of personnel - in 1939 they numbered about 25,000 people, but at its peak, i.e. in the summer of 1944 - as many as 2,400,000 people! So in five years they have grown almost 100 times! In this number, approx. 300 thousand. were officers, while about 2.1 million were privates and non-commissioned officers, mainly from ground service. Despite such enormous growth, the USAAF implemented effective training systems and methods, which made the overwhelming part of the above-mentioned personnel perform their tasks efficiently. It can also be mentioned that all types of technical and mechanical facilities were used on a large scale in the work of ground handling, which shortened the number of hours needed to bring a given machine to take-off and flight. It is worth remembering that the number of US overseas air bases also increased dramatically, in December 1941 there were 19, and in May 1945 - as many as 130!
The North American P-51 Mustang is an American, single-engine, long-range fighter and attack aircraft with a classic tail and all-metal construction. The flight of the prototype took place on October 26, 1940. The P-51 Mustang has earned a reputation as one of the best, if not the best, WWII fighter. Replacing the Allison V-1710-39 engine from the first project with a Rolls-Royce Merlin motor (P-51 Mustang Mk.Ia version) made the Mustang, like never before, reached perfection. The single-seat fighter impressed with its maximum speed, range, maneuverability, and powerful weapons. The combination of all the most important parameters for the assessment of the aircraft made the Mustang prove itself in virtually every role entrusted to it: it gained air superiority, escorted, carried out reconnaissance missions, attacked ground targets. The class of design is evidenced by the fact that the Mustang remained in active service until the 70's! One of the most important versions was the P-51D, based on the P-51B. It received a drip cab fairing, ensuring excellent visibility, and a new engine - Packard V-1650-7, which significantly improved performance. Technical data (P-51D version): length: 9.83m, wingspan: 11.28m, height: 4.08m, maximum speed: 703km / h, rate of climb: 16.3m / s, maximum range: 2755km, ceiling practical: 12800m, armament: fixed - 6 12.7mm M2 machine guns, suspended - up to 908 kg of bombs or 10 127mm HVAR rocket launchers.