Posted by Eric B. [99.100.188.129] on Monday, October 07, 2013 at 13:49:17 :
In Reply to: Showing my ignorance posted by Jerry in Idaho [24.223.94.244] on Monday, October 07, 2013 at 13:05:21 :
They don't say where the name came from exactly, but they do show when it was first used.
By that time production of Armstrong’s diminutive fire apparatus was well underway. Produced using 1- to 1-½ ton Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford, GMC and Willys-Overland light truck chassis for small-town airports and fire departments that were marked under the ‘Blitz Buggy’ ‘Little Demon’, ‘Jet’, ‘Saginaw’ and ‘Little Mo’ trade names by a succession of Armstrong-controlled firms, Army’s Fire Service (1940s), the Hi-Pressure Fog Equipment Co. (1949-1954), and the Blitz Buggy Company (1954-1956). Army’s son, Lewis G. Armstrong, was listed as a part owner of the latter firm.
The ‘Blitz Buggy’ and its successor the ‘Little Mo’ were originally conceived by Armstrong to assist local volunteer fire fighters who were given the task of supplying coverage to hundreds of acres of often inaccessible brush, forest and parklands with limited resources.
It appears that Armstrong appropriated the moniker ‘Blitz Buggy’ from the first prototype Bantam 4WD ¼ ton GPV produced by the Butler, PA firm in 1940, the undisputed first ‘Jeep’.
When mounted on a 4-wheel-drive Dodge or Willys chassis the Blitz Buggy made an ideal vehicle for single engine remotely located fire houses, many of which were located nearby the manufacturer which was located in the heart of the Adirondack Mountains.