In June 1981, the Army awarded AM General a contract for the development of several more prototype vehicles to be delivered to the government for another series of tests. Chrysler Defense and Teledyne Continental also produced competing designs. Less than a year later, the prototype was in testing. In July 1979, AM General, a subsidiary of American Motors Corporation, began preliminary design work. Out of 61 companies that showed interest, only three submitted prototypes. The radiator was to be mounted high, sloping over the engine on a forward-hinged hood. The air intake was to be mounted flush on top of the right fender (or to be raised on a stovepipe to roof level to ford) 5 ft (1.5 m) of water and electronics waterproofed to drive through 2.5 ft (0.76 m) of water were specified. The new truck was to climb a 60 percent incline and traverse a 40 percent slope. Compared to the jeep, it was larger and had a much wider track, with a 16 in (410 mm) ground clearance, double that of most sport-utility vehicles. The specification called for excellent on and off-road performance, the ability to carry a large payload, and improved survivability against indirect fire. Army drafted final specifications for a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), which was to replace all the tactical vehicles in the 1/4 to 1 1/4-ton range, namely the M151 quarter-ton jeep and M561 Gama Goat, as one "jack-of-all-trades" light tactical vehicle to perform the role of several existing trucks. In 1977, Lamborghini developed the Cheetah model in an attempt to meet the Army contract specifications. At least a dozen of these were built for testing under the High Mobility Combat Vehicle, or HMCV program, initially much more as an enhanced capability successor to the M151 jeep, than as a general-purpose vehicle. Army's desire for a versatile new light weapons carrier/reconnaissance vehicle, as early as 1969 FMC Corporation started development on their XR311 prototype and offered it for testing in 1970. Army had tried to modernize, through replacing the larger, purpose-built Dodge M37s by militarized, "commercial off the shelf" (COTS) 4×4 trucks-initially the M715 Jeep trucks, succeeded in the later 1970s by the Dodge M880 series, but these did not satisfy newer requirements either-what was wanted was a truly versatile light military truck, that could replace multiple outdated vehicles. For starters, from the mid-1960s, the U.S. military felt a need to reevaluate their aging light vehicle fleet. During and after the war, the very light, 1⁄ 4-ton jeeps were complemented by the 3⁄ 4-ton Dodge WC and Korean War M37 models.īy the mid-1960s, the U.S. The jeeps were shorter than a Volkswagen Beetle and weighed just over one metric ton, seating three with an 800 lb (360 kg) payload.
Army had let Ford redesign the jeep from the ground up during the 1950s, and the resulting M151 jeep incorporated significant innovations, it firmly adhered to the original concept-a very compact, lightweight, low profile vehicle, with a folding windshield, that a layman could barely distinguish from the preceding Willys jeeps. Since the World War II Willys MB reconnaissance truck was used for mass-deployment and became known as the "jeep", the United States military had continued to rely heavily on jeeps as general utility vehicles and as a mass-transport for soldiers in small groups.
This section needs additional citations for verification. After going through a replacement process, the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) was selected to its successor in front-line service. The Humvee saw widespread use in the Gulf War of 1991, where it navigated the treacherous desert terrain this usage helped to inspire civilian Hummer versions. Primarily used by the United States military, it is also used by numerous other countries and organizations and even in civilian adaptations.
It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the original jeep, and others such as the Vietnam War-era M151 jeep, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle, and other light trucks.
The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle ( HMMWV colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. m) ģ-speed automatic or 4-speed automatic.