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The 1 + 1 ⁄ 4-ton, 4×4, Kaiser Jeep M715, sometimes called the "Five quarter (ton)", for its 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 (or 5 ⁄ 4) ton payload rating, is an American light military truck, based on the civilian Jeep Gladiator (SJ). Design and development for the M715 began in 1965, intended to replace the Dodge M37.
Kaiser Jeep resulted from the 1953 merger of Kaiser Motors, an independent passenger car maker based in Willow Run, Michigan, with the Toledo, Ohio-based Willys-Overland Company. Willys-Overland had been at one point before World War II the U.S.'s second-largest car-maker after Ford , but their fortunes waned during the 1930s.
The design was inspired by the Kaiser Jeep M715 military vehicle from the late 1960s that was based on the regular civilian production Jeep Gladiator pickup. [26] The Jeep Crew Chief concept rides on 20-inch beadlock wheels, and 40-inch military tires, but is mostly based on a Wrangler Unlimited stretched to a 139 in (3,531 mm) wheelbase. [27]
In 1976 the M880/M890 series was put into production under a large contract, [5] [2] intended to replace previous Dodge M37 and Kaiser Jeep M715 trucks and their variants. The M880/890 trucks were adopted as part of a drive by the U.S. military to use COTS vehicles, with appropriate modifications, where such usage was feasible. [ 5 ]
Jeep M715, developed in 1965. In 1965, Jeep developed the M715 1.25-short-ton (1.13-tonne) army truck, a militarized version of the civilian J-series Jeep truck, which served extensively in the Vietnam War. It had heavier full-floating axles and a foldable, vertical, flat windshield.
1 ⁄ 4-ton utility jeep M715 series 1 + 1 ⁄ 4-ton 4x4: 1967–1969: 30,553: Ambulance, cargo, utility bodies (Modified Jeep J-series truck) M561 1 + 1 ⁄ 4-ton 6x6: 1968: 14,274: Cargo and ambulance bodies "Gamma Goat" M656 Series 5-ton 8x8: 1968–1969: 3 bodies for Pershing Missile System
1963 Jeep Tornado engine. The Jeep Tornado engine was the first post-World War II U.S.-designed mass-produced overhead cam (OHC) automobile engine. [1] The 230.5 cu in (3.78 L) hemi-headed straight-six was introduced in mid-year 1962, and replaced the flathead "6-226" Willys Super Hurricane that was in use since 1954.
From 1968 onwards, the U.S. military replaced the M37 with the heavier-rated 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 (or five-quarter) ton Kaiser Jeep manufactured M715 family of vehicles. Rather than purpose-built tactical vehicles, these "militarized" commercial off-the-shelf ('COTS') trucks were considered underpowered and fragile compared to the M37. [3]