Ford GPA

Product Dimensions: 4.23 x 1.48 x 1.54 in.

Model History and Information: Ford developed the GPA — nicknamed the “Seep” for “sea-going jeep” — as an amphibious version of the Jeep, fitting a boat-shaped hull designed by yacht designer Rod Stephens Jr. onto a Jeep chassis. Ford’s prototype beat a competing Marmon-Herrington design in spring 1942 trials by weighing about 400 pounds less, and roughly 12,800 were built through 1943. GPAs served in the Pacific, on the Eastern Front and from the Normandy landings onward, but the quarter-ton chassis proved overloaded, and low freeboard and weak bilge pumps left it nearly useless for sea-beach landings, though usable on calm rivers. The larger, more capable DUKW replaced it as the Army’s standard amphibious truck.

Model Features & Details:

• Diecast metal 1:43 scale model of the Ford GPA
• Factory-finished in olive drab with U.S. Army star markings and “USA 7012106” registration
• Boat-shaped hull with propeller and rudder, plus a pintle-mounted machine gun and stowed equipment packs
• Comes mounted on a display base with a printed nameplate

Packaging: Clear-window Militaria Diecast box with printed artwork; the model is secured on its display base inside.