US and Canadian industry stepped forward to support the aircraft propeller production war effort. Several were aircraft manufacturing veterans while other manufacturers were newcomers. These manufacturers provided their industrial capacity to meet the Allied aviation needs. The United States Army procured 708,268 automatically controllable pitch aircraft propellers from 1940 … [Read more...] about US Propeller Production by Manufacturer Jul 40-Aug 45
Economic
US Aircraft Propeller Production: 1940-45
The United States Army procured 713,717 aircraft propellers from 1940 through 1945 propellers. The graph below only includes complex pitch controllable blades which were difficult to manufacture. It excludes those seen on puddle jumpers or manufactured from expensive steel or fixed-pitch blades fitted to some trainers. These complex propellers were part of the equation driving … [Read more...] about US Aircraft Propeller Production: 1940-45
US Aircraft Pounds Produced 1940-45
US aircraft manufacturing shifted into overdrive. Production rates skyrocketed with 1944 seeing 39.3 times as much hardware by weight produced than in 1940. In 1940 the aircraft industry employed approximately 180,000 workers and this number would reach its 2,100,000 peak in late 1943. An eleven-fold gain in employees versus a 39-fold increase in production measured by … [Read more...] about US Aircraft Pounds Produced 1940-45
North American B-25 Engineering Hours 1940-44
Many in the automobile industry believed that aircraft engineering design could be frozen which would allow greater production rates. They learned that this was not possible. The aircraft industry design and manufacturing were undergoing great upheavals. From the end of World War I with canvas covered wings made from wood aircraft were now aluminum framed and covered. With … [Read more...] about North American B-25 Engineering Hours 1940-44
Comparison of US Aircraft and Automobile Industries
Prewar comparison shows that the US automobile industry dwarfed the US aircraft industry on almost every score except for number of manufacturing facilities. However, during the war United States industry would produce $18.9 billion worth of aircraft versus $5.3 billion worth of combat and motor vehicles. This 3.6 to 1 ratio reflected the changing emphasis of warfare … [Read more...] about Comparison of US Aircraft and Automobile Industries
Aircraft Manufacturers Percentage Sales to US Government 1931-37
The United States aircraft manufacturers were heavily dependent upon the US Government for their business during the 1930s. Government sales were often the key to success during the industry’s infancy of the 1910s and 1920s and later their survival during the 1930s Great Depression years. Post World War I The end of World War I saw United States aircraft … [Read more...] about Aircraft Manufacturers Percentage Sales to US Government 1931-37
US Military Civilian Aircraft Market 1926-36
The great depression had a massive impact on both the United States military and civilian aircraft markets. In 1928, the last full calendar without any great depression impacts, 3,582 civil aircraft were sold valued at $17,194,000. During the same year 1,219 military aircraft were sold valued at $19,066,000. With the onset of the great depression both the military and civil … [Read more...] about US Military Civilian Aircraft Market 1926-36
US Prewar Annual Aircraft Production
US prewar aircraft manufacturing was a bourgeoning industry prior to the Great Depression. Interwar production numbers peaked in 1929 just prior to the Great Depression start. Production bottomed out in 1933 and then began a long slow recovery. The aircraft industry did not reach pre–Great Depression production levels before the World War 2 onset. A total of 35,580 … [Read more...] about US Prewar Annual Aircraft Production
Percentage of World Motor Vehicle Production, 1936
For many, their perception of the Germany Army is one of a highly mechanized force employing tanks and other motor vehicles. That perception was played up by the Reich Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda and reinforced with their early blitzkrieg victories. Germany's Reliance on Horses German logistics was highly reliant on horses and carts rather than … [Read more...] about Percentage of World Motor Vehicle Production, 1936
Great Britain’s Labor Force 1939-1945
From 1939 to 1945, Great Britain experienced a substantial surge in employment, with the labor force expanding at its peak by an additional 2.5 million individuals, of which 2.2 million were women. The United Kingdom swiftly tapped into nontraditional labor sources to bolster its wartime economy. Managing the country's employment during this period resembled a delicate … [Read more...] about Great Britain’s Labor Force 1939-1945