As early as January 1940, the LVT-1 was developed with preliminary sketches of an LVT with a gun turret to provide fire support to the landing waves. The concept languished until June 1941, when USMC recommended development of an LVT armed with a 37mm gun and three machine guns and armored against 0.50 (12.7mm) machine gun fire. Development was slow and ultimately involved a complete redesign of the LVT, the LVT-2 Buffalo. Armored versions were introduced as well as fire support versions, dubbed Amtanks, which were fitted with turrets from Stuart series light tanks (LVT(A)-1) and Howitzer Motor Carriage M8s (LVT(A)-4). The Buffalo's were produced in great numbers and used in every theater of the war. The Willys jeep was a small 4 wheel drive utility vehicle. It also was produced in l;arge numbers and many variants. All Allied armed forces used the Jeep as a multipurpose vehicle. A version of the Jeep is still in use today.