Humvee: America's Military Workhorse

The Humvee, or more properly the High Mobility Military Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), is arguably the most recognizable image of American military power. Like the jeep in World War II, the vehicle started life as a general-purpose light transport vehicle. Service and combat in Panama, Kuwait, Iraq, and Afghanistan, saw its role change and the versatile vehicle up-armored and updated. It continues to be a mainstay for the U.S. Army and Marine Corps, and thousands more are used by countries across the globe making it a popular modeling subject.

Christian M. DeJohn’s Humvee – America’s Military Workhorse from Schiffer’s Legends of Warfare Ground series is a great reference if you have a Humvee headed to the workbench. Within the hardcover’s 128-pages, DeJohn describes the design and development of the HMMVW as a replacement for several light vehicles in U.S. service in the 1970s, including a useful list of variants with their military designations and a description. The next chapter features dozens of photos of the vehicles in operation in warzones, on maneuvers, and responding the natural disasters; they provide lots of fodder for dioramas. The final 50 pages are filled with the kind of detail photos modelers seek out and show lots of the engine, interior, and equipment.