A great book that details the transition to war production is "Freedom's Forge" by Arthur Herman. It tells the story of Franklin Roosevelt, Henry Kaiser, Bill Knudsen and others and how they won the production war. The US actually produced more than enough to beat the axis while devoting less than half it's industrial capacity to war production. The US produced 296,000 airplanes alone in the war, a staggering amount . It didn't just happen, it's a fascinating story of how government and industry came together to, well, save the world from fascism..
The Japanese general that planned the Pearl Harbor attack said that he was not in favor of the raid but obeyed his orders. He said "Ive" seen how they make their cars"
GM converted many factories to war production. In fact they established an entire division, Eastern Aircraft Division, that made planes, vehicles, ammunition. Trenton NJ was one of them. Many other factories were converted to ammunition plants, Janesville WI under the Oldsmobile flag made 105 MM ammunition. Ford and Chrysler did much of the same thing. Some facilities were converted over, but the war ended before production started, Flint Coldwater Road was an example under the Buick flag. Ford River Rouge has a lot of war time history, huge place. Google some of this and there is a vast amount of info on our war time efforts during World War II, in fact it was what made our country great. Some say it brought us out of the depression.
Deuced up & black 62. Can we keep this on- topic. Save the self- congratulatory sabre rattling for elsewhere. It's a good thread but ya gotta wipe yer feet at the door. We're not all from the USA, but we do have war history. * And no replies welcome, I'm not here for drama.
I had an old teacher in High School named Mrs. Van Ness. She had permanently printed on the black board “The roots of the present are buried deep in the past” Todays educators have disregarded this idea and therefore we are doomed to repeat the past over and over again untill we remember to not make the mistakes we have made already.
Most of the war era cars/trucks that were produced had no chrome, and plain Jane trim, due to the shortages of available steel. The few that I have seen were indeed very neat to look at.
I remember my Dad talking about his first car, a used '42 Cadillac that had some front end damage repaired w/ '46 parts because '42 sheet metal was very hard to get. I have the speedometer off of the car & it's painted, not chromed.
On page 251 of the book "The V8 Affair" it shows a Super DeLuxe Fordor coming off the line on February 10, 1942. It states that it was the last civilian vehicle produced.
My generation were kinda lucky. We had teachers who drummed history and other subjects into our heads. I went to a neighborhood Catholic school where the nuns were the authority figures; pointers and all. In high school, they prepared you for higher education, tech school or a job. We were taught discipline. During this time period we witnessed a president assassinated and an ugly unpopular war in Vietnam.
We have a 41 Packard 110, The Packard group in Warrenton OH told us that they stopped production after 1500 cars were made so they could get ready for the war time effort. They didn't stop the entire line just some models .
quote, "Ford River Rouge has a lot of war time history" I think it was built to produce B-24s. One think to remember: Preceding 1942, the US already was building a lot of war materials to help the Russians and the British (probably others also) fend off the Axis regime. I think it was called the "Lend Lease program." I've heard a quote from a Japanese general when asked about the the major win at Pearl Harbor, he cautioned "I think we have only awakened a sleeping bear!" And it was a short time later at the Battle of Midway that the Japanese navy lost more naval armament than the US lost at Pearl Harbor. Being born in 52, I missed the war years by about 10 years, but my dad was called up. (and failed his physical) In the train station after failing his physical he saw an ad for construction workers needed for the war effort. He called the number and ended up in Hanford, Washington working on the Manhattan project.
B-24 assembly took place at the Willow Run plant not the Rouge, but it is probably safe to assume that some parts or sub assemblies may have.
Sorry, my mistake, I had Willow Run and River Rouge mixed up! I do know that Ford built a lot of Jeeps somewhere also.
I've been wondering lately what's either hotrodable or usable as parts out of the war years? Obviously engines and whatnot, but what about the trucks? Where they mostly heavy or were there half tons made? What about wheels, axles, etc? And staff cars? I'm talking about traditional hot rods too, not r** r***.
"can anyone verify this" ... ever looked at any universal repair manual, car spotter's guide, any book about any make or all makes of cars, even the value guides you can buy? It's not hard to notice every single one of them shows no cars for 1943, 1944, or 1945 and the 1946s are very similar to the 1942s in most instances. Tons of early cars got turned into pickups during the war in part because they got a better gas ration card.
My Dad told me that after he returned from WWII, new cars were hard to come by. In 1948 news cars were scarce. Everybody had a used car and most wanted to get new. Dad said you had to put your name on a waiting list at the dealerships and wait. He put his name on the list of all the local garages,Ford,Chevrolet,Olsmobile,Packard. He ended up with a new 1948 Packard,which I still own. The reason he got it was the Packard dealer told him Dad wasn't trading anything in. The dealer said he had too many used cars on his lot and wasn't takeing any more because they weren't selling because everyone wanted a new car they were tried of driving prewar.
This is a factory '41 Pontiac for the A.I.F. This one obviously an example of the North Africa campaign, where it was used by allied forces, most likely Australians, against Rommel. Built in Adelaide South Australia by GM Holden's, this is a very original surviving example, sympathetically restored by the Adelaide Historic Military Vehicle Society at Edinburgh. Note prevalence of wood & masonite body panelling, and roadster configuration, all of which saved on steel, which was precious, particularly with the rapid advance of Japan at this stage. .
A point of interest... Talking to some B24 pilots, apparently the Ford-built Lib's were a bit of a dog. Heavy, poorly balanced and heavy on the controls. Henry supposedly used automotive metal presses that required thicker sheet metal to operate correctly. I have no "official" confirmation of this, though.
The wing design ( the 'Davis' wing) of the B24 meant it could fly faster than the B17, with a bigger payload. However, being slimmer in profile & relative surface ratio, it was inferior in the handling department. B24's could not fly the tight formations of the B17's. This left them more open to fighter attack. They were heavier at the controls too. Also, the 'above' wing made them more prone to serious damage in crash landings.
In 98 an old friend of mine called me and asked if I wanted his old grain truck. of course I said yes. Went to pick it up and it turned out to be a 1945 International, no chrome on it at all. He said that hid dad got it at the end of WWII, the first truck sold in Sidney Nebraska after the war. Lee
dies determine metal thickness not presses---local rationing boards were not fooled by fake pickup trucks( rationing had more to do with your job than your vehicle)--- most americans were eager to sacrifice for the war in europe , not so much the one in the pacific---that was a big factor in the way we ended that war, it was becoming very unpopular at home...
I don't think you could turn a car into a pick-up just to cheat the ration system, but if you could show need for a pick-up (farm to market etc.) the government was happy to allow the conversion, because they didn't have to build a new one for you. As far as not showing 43, 44, or 45 models in the books, there were so few built for civilian use + the fact that they were identical to 42s except for painted trim, there really was no need to list them. Imagine what it would be like today, if there were no cars produced for 4 months, say nothing of 4 years. I think it might do this country good to face a little hardship again, might help us appreciate how good we have it.
This may be of interest to some of you- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKlt6rNciTo As a side note, an old car collector that I knew once asked me if I had a car the year I was born. I said no, and he said many of his friends wanted cars the year of their birth. I said I didn't care for Jeeps all that much. I was born in 1943. ☺ Tom...
I have a '42 Ford 2 door sedan that has been redone as a staff car. Got it fron a fellow in CA. It's a mix of parts, actually. '41 rear fenders, pickup steering wheel, no arm rests, one sun visor on the driver side. All but the fenders were per military specs. Of course it is painted a lovely OD with proper nomenclature. As stated, production was ordered to halt by Feb. 10, 1942. Ford produced something like 44,000 cars by shutdown time. The Willow Run plant was built by Ford exclusively for building the B-24 and was the largest plant under one roof in the world at the time. B-24 planes rolled out of there at the rate of one every 63 minutes at peak production. When Ford started making the '46 models available, there was not yet enough chrome available to make bumpers and the first cars, if you were lucky enough to get one, would have had 2X6 boards for bumpers. You went on a list and when bumpers came in, you went in to get them installed. I am a war baby. I think everyone should delve into the history, the REAL history of just what the troops endured to keep us free. It was a horrible, horrible war. I was going to post a pcture of my car but photobucket isn't working right now. Maybe later.
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