Ford GPA (amphibious) Jeep (x3) (SU402) In 1941 the Jeep entered production with Willys, Ford and Bantam, next the US Motor Transport Board set up a project designated ‘QMC-4 1/4 Ton Truck Light Amphibian’. As the war progressed bridges over Europe's rivers were being taken out one after another by the retreating Germans. An ideal solution was to create a jeep that could swim as well as drive. Following on from the DUKW amphibious truck Roderick Stephens Jr. of Sparkman & Stephens Inc. yacht designers, designed the shape for a 1200kg (2700lbs) amphibious jeep. Not surprisingly Stephens' hull design looked like a miniature version of that of the DUKW. The design maintained many of the DUKW features such as a screw propeller and a rudder.