The need for strategic bombing capability was recognized prewar. The ability to go from concept to design to test to high production rates took years not months. However, the production coincided with the needs in Europe as well as the Pacific. The United States produced four heavy Bombers during WWII, consisting of; The above graph can be downloaded as an … [Read more...] about Heavy Bombers Accepted by the USAAF
Aircraft
Gliders Accepted by USAAF and US Navy
Gliders were not a part of the US production capability at the beginning of World War 2. However, needs drove the production of 15,697 units supporting such activities as D-Day and Operation Market Garden. The Waco CG-4 was the most produced at 13,903 units. Like many other US WWII production end items, the Waco CG-4 was manufactured at fifteen locations by multiple … [Read more...] about Gliders Accepted by USAAF and US Navy
Number Airplanes Procured by USAAF Jan 1940 – Dec 1945
The United States Army procured 231,099 aircraft from 1940 through 1945. The graph below only includes those airplanes procured by the United State Army Air Force (USAAF) and these numbers do not include gliders. The three largest aircraft types procured were bombers of all types making up 69,082 or 29.9%, fighters 68,712 or 29.7%, and trainers 55,712 or 24.1%. Like almost all … [Read more...] about Number Airplanes Procured by USAAF Jan 1940 – Dec 1945
US Propeller Production by Manufacturer Jul 40-Aug 45
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
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 Engine Production by Horsepower: 1940-45
US aircraft engine manufacturers responded to Allied military demands for greater performance, driving the rise in aircraft engine horsepower year over year. Increased horsepower led to most aircraft performance improvements during the war. Not only were the engines bigger but technology improvements such as superchargers and higher-octane fuel facilitated higher horsepower … [Read more...] about US Aircraft Engine Production by Horsepower: 1940-45
US Aircraft Engine Production by Type 1940-45
The United States Army procured 660,950 aircraft engines from 1940 through 1945. During the same period the United States Navy (USN) procured 151,665 aircraft engines. The resulting 4.4 to 1 United States Army over USN ratio reflected the Army’s responsibility for the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) as well as acting as the procuring agency for most of the … [Read more...] about US Aircraft Engine Production by Type 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
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