The second world war marked the inauguration of a brand new era of mechanized warfare. To remain competitive, the U.S. military threw all of its substantial industrial strength into the war effort, becoming a hub of manufacturing and innovation. At that time, the country developed military-grade vehicles that fundamentally changed the battlefield. (Here is a look at the 18 biggest battles of World War II.)
Even before the U.S. entered the war, the government issued a request for proposal for auto manufacturers to design a go-anywhere, do-anything vehicle to supplant the use of horses and mules in the Army. The end result was the now-iconic vehicle nicknamed “Jeep” – short for general purpose. By the end of the war, Ford Motor Company and Willys-Overland had produced more than 600,000 of these vehicles for hauling troops and material across Europe and the Pacific Islands.
In the years since 1945, the U.S. has maintained its status as a global military super power, and doing so has required continued innovation and development of military vehicles.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed a range of government websites and military publications, including militaryfactory.com, to identify each overland vehicle most widely used by the U.S. military. Vehicles are listed alphabetically.
The vehicles on this list include personnel carriers, assault vehicles, tanks, and more. Many are highly specialized for certain missions and environments. Others, like the Humvee, can serve a wide variety of purposes and are ubiquitous on American military bases across the country and around the world. (Here is a look at every combat drone used by the U.S. military.)
Click here to see the 34 combat vehicles used by the US military.
Click here to read our detailed methodology.
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