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plant conversions during ww2

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how tall is you

11-26-2006 15:47:51




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I was wondering if farm equipment companies converted factories to building war material during ww2 and if they did, what did they build?




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Bill(Wis)

11-27-2006 16:57:14




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
My first assignment after US Army basic training in 1953 was to a 4.2 inch mortar company. I took note that the data plate on each mortar read "The Oliver Corp, Charles City, Ia". One day during live firing a brand new Pontiac pulled up beside our gun position. Some fellows got out and introduced themselves as tech reps from Oliver. After observing our firing and looking our gun over pretty thoroughly, they drove on to the next position. We had twelve guns firing that day and they stopped and looked over each one. Just doing their job. Also, and here it gets political, the government had a hunch that some US firms would not want to support the war effort against Germany. Allis Chalmers, located in one of the most heavily German immigrant populated towns in the country, stepped forward with its wholehearted support for the war effort. Franklin Roosevelt took great delight in visting Munich-Milwakee to present the Allis Chalmers company with an award for their efforts. Much fanfare accompanied his visit with the goal being to encourage other firms to do the same. Allis Chalmers took some heat for this but never swayed.

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Ebbsspeed

11-27-2006 09:04:09




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
The Maytag company in Newton, Iowa made tank tracks in one of their plants.



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HaySam

11-27-2006 05:55:36




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
I planted a victory garden.



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RAB

11-26-2006 23:02:18




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
"If"? All large manufacturing companies were instructed/encouraged to help the war effort in some way. No changes, no materials. No sales, no jobs. Just a matter of simple economics for any company - apart from that small problem of warfare.
RAB



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jeffcat

11-26-2006 22:59:09




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
In Flemington,NJ during the war the local NAPA was called Carvers. They had a machine shop and made tank parts. I think they made the pins for the tracks. Also you can look at the M1 carbine rifle. It was made by everyone but a gun company. Some were made by Winchester but darn few. Postal meter, Saginaua stearing division. National hardware, IBM and a couple of others. The stocks were made by Timbley baby furniture comany. Remington typewriter made gun barrels and Hoover made brownig machineguns. The GM plant in Trenton,NJ built Avengers.
If this country ever meeds to go into a full war footing of production we are screwed! China will bury us in nothing flat because so much has been given away. When you see that they make our army uniforms that realy breaks it! Jeffcat

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noncompos

11-26-2006 22:41:52




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
There"s a USDA report referring to "...tractors and tank armor parts rolling off the assembly line at Shelbyville..." (National Farm Machinery Cooperative, Inc., Shelbyville, IN, builder of CO-OP tractors).



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John S-B

11-26-2006 20:14:54




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
I was doing a fire inpection about 13-14 years ago at Clark Grave Vault in Columbus Oh. and they were removing some presses that were for 155mm shells. They were going to be shipped to a factory somewhere in the midwest like Iowa or something.



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Easy1

11-26-2006 18:37:05




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
It's not a tractor company, but the Cadillac Motor Car Company built M24 light tanks, supplied countless engines for other vehicles, and made artillery elivating mechanisms for all types of weapons. ( Geared and hydraulic mechanisms ) When I started at Cadillac in the 70's, a lot of toolroom maintenance equipment still had war production board tags, in addition to the usual GM asset tags. The plant also did a lot of tooling and stamping work for other war stuff. No cars were built from 1942 - 1945. 1946 was the 1st year of production after the war. No 45's. The cars were almost excactly like the 41/42 model years. Everything came to a halt to beat the enemy. My grandfather and others told of working 20 + hours, sleeping on the floor, getting up and running machines for another double shift, for weeks on end. But in the end, they all pulled together and won!!

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John (C-IL)

11-26-2006 18:22:58




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
You need to get the book "The Tractor Builders" by John Culbertson. It details some of the contracts that Oliver had with the war department. They made shell casings for the BIG guns in Charles City, IA. The book is a great read.



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jhill52

11-26-2006 17:59:05




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
Deere made landing gear parts, armored vehicle transmissions and components for other companies to assemble into their parts. AC made some tracked vehicles.



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Tim Shultz

11-26-2006 17:51:24




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
I am not sure about tractor companys, but my grampa worked in south-bend IN at studebakers sp?
making weasles... they also made some of the motors for B-24? bombers.. TIm Shultz



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RayP(MI)

11-26-2006 16:58:17




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
Not a agricultural company, but the Gibson refrigerator company in Greenville, Michigan built gliders for use in the invasion of France. A few years back someone nosing around in the back of a warehouse found a bunch of parts, and the plans for the gliders. A group of folks got together, scraped up some funds, and from those parts and others they fabricated, they built a full size replica of one of the gliders. Is on display at a museum in Greenville.

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Tim...Ok

11-27-2006 05:03:49




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to RayP(MI), 11-26-2006 16:58:17  
RayP,
thanks for the link,interesting read..my dad went into Normandy among other places in one of those Waco gliders.. last guy out of the plane dumped 5 gallons of gas thru it and burned it when eveyone was clear.is what my dad said..

Tim



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Gene Dotson

11-26-2006 16:11:20




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to how tall is your corn?, 11-26-2006 15:47:51  
Case, Ford, IH and Minneapolis built tug and tow vehicles for aircraft servicing and base maintenance.

Case built magnetos for aircraft engines.

Cat, Clark, Cletrac and ATC produced small crawlers that could be air dropped for building landing strips and bases at remote sites. Also tracked gun carrier mounts for artillary pieces.

Ford built engines for tanks and also built B-24 bombers.

IHC built rifles, Case made gun carriages and artillary gun barrels.

Tractor companies were well set up for iron casting, so did a lot for other areas of the war production.

The list goes on and I am sure many items will be added... Gene

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mjbrown

11-26-2006 16:46:43




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to Gene Dotson, 11-26-2006 16:11:20  
I think I read somewhere that JD made landing gear for Republic P47 Thunderbolts.
My FIL told me that to buy any farm machinery during the war a farmer had to apply to some official who would determine how badly you needed a drag lets say and if he determined you couldn't put in a crop without a new one he would give his approval so you could order one. All farm equipment was hard to get during the war and after it was over there was a big backlog of demand that the machinery manufacturers couldn't meet for number of years.

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Rex in Australia

11-27-2006 02:00:43




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 Re: plant conversions during ww2 in reply to mjbrown, 11-26-2006 16:46:43  
LeTouneau, maker of all things earthmoving, had factories turning out all kinds of things during the war.
Makes for interesting reading.

God Bless,
Rex in Australia



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