both Ford and Willys. American Central had been making the jeep's bodies from the first 1500 units order for the Willys MA and had also built Ford's jeep bodies for two years already, but until January 1944, Ford and Willys contracts retained detail differences. However, from then on features of both designs were integrated. Through the chaotic circumstances of war, sometimes peculiar deviations from regular mass-production came off the assembly line, that are now prized by collectors. For instance: the earliest Ford GPWs had a Willys design frame, and in late-1943, some GPWs came with an unmodified Willys body; and in 1945 Willys produced some MBs with a deep mud exhaust system, vacuum windshield wipers, and a Jeep CJstyle parking brake. Ford GPA "Sea Jeep"" Approximately 13,000 additional amphibious jeeps were built by Ford as the Ford GPA (nicknamed "Seep" for "Sea Jeep"). Inspired by the larger DUKW, the vehicle was produced too quickly and proved to be too heavy, too unwieldy, and with insufficient freeboard. In spite of participating with some success in the Sicily landings in July 1943, many were passed on under the Lend-Lease program; some 3,500 to the USSR alone. The Soviets were sufficiently pleased with its ability to cross the many rivers and swamps in their territories, to develop their own version of it after the war, the GAZ-46. Accessories and equipment fittings Unlike the various Dodge WC series models of larger, light 4x4 trucks, the Willys and Ford jeeps were all the same from the factory, and specialization happened only through standardized accessories, field kits, and local / in-field modifications. Frequently made additions to the standard jeeps were to fit weaponry, communications equipment, Litter carriers, wire cutters, or rudimentary armor. Jeep trailer Some 150,000 -ton trailers were made by over ten different companies, specifically built to be towed by the jeep – most of them by Bantam and Willys. These doubled the jeeps' nominal payload. Their designs were hardly changed after the war, and versions of them remained in use for ton jeeps, into the 1990s. Radio gear The jeep's primary command and reconnaissance roles of course necessitated fitting many kinds of tactical communication equipment. The first standard production fitting was for the SCR-193 radio, placed on either side in the rear of a jeep, on top of the rear wheel well. For proper reception, this included radio interference suppression shielding, so indicated by