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 needs as well as the US automobile industry adaptation to help meet these needs. America’s industrial capability which would be converted to producing military trucks, tanks, airplanes, and other products was unrecognized by many as to the far-reaching effect it would have on the war’s outcome.
For aircraft, value of product includes value of aircraft and parts. For automobiles, value of product denotes value of automobiles only.
Manufacturing Differences
US automobile manufacturing was the 1930s epitome of mass production not only at home but worldwide. Tasks were broken down to simple repetitive steps which were easily learned and accomplished. Parts were highly interchangeable, and the end products had little variation from one to the next except for a few options such as color. Changes in design happened on an annual basis and those needing to occur midyear were implemented in blocks maintaining the streamlined manufacturing as much as possible.
Aircraft manufacturing was on the other end of the spectrum from automobile mass production. Highly skilled laborers often working as teams assembled the aircraft per detailed and often complicated work instructions covering a multitude of steps. Part interchangeability was the hope for situation but often grinding and shimming was required in order to achieve fit. Changes occurred on almost every aircraft resulting in very few identical planes.
Adaptation to Meet War Demands
Both the automobile and aircraft industries had to adapt to meet the military demands. To the degree possible aircraft manufacturers borrowed heavily from the automobile assembly line and block changes approach. The aircraft manufacturers would never approach the streamlined methods of the auto industry, but there was room for vast improvement. One method involved using modifications centers to retrofit changes after the plane was fabricated versus stopping the production line to incorporate new designs.
The automobile industry learned that designs couldn’t be locked down so readily since the deliverable products were often just out of the research and development phase. Therefore, changes arose as performance, manufacturability, and other issues were discovered. Their planning processes were adapted to implement more frequent block changes than they previously used while maintaining as streamlined a production flow as possible.
The automobile industry was used to producing a high number of products off their assembly lines and utilized huge expensive presses to stamp out a large volume of identical parts. However, lower volumes and frequent changes meant using large presses would be time and cost prohibitive. Both the automobile and aircraft manufacturers developed techniques to form lighter weight materials such as aluminum by roll forming. Roll forming evolved during the war to utilize less expensive forms that required less lead time and often depended upon a skilled technician to perform the operation.
The automobile industry, the Big Three as well as their supply chains and subsidiaries, ended up producing a wide variety of new to them products. These included tanks, aircraft, torpedoes, radar, PT boats, and anti-aircraft guns.
Comparison of US Aircraft Industry with US Automobile Industry Facilities and Workers Data
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Source: Holley , Irving Brinton, Jr. “United States Army In World War II Special Studies Buying Aircraft: Materiel Procurement For The Army Air Forces.” 1964, Page 27, Center of Military History United States Army, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-60000, https://history.army.mil/html/books/011/11-2/index.html, Data accessed on July 12, 2022
Comparison of US Aircraft Industry with US Automobile Industry Units and Dollar Value Data
For aircraft, value of product includes value of aircraft and parts. For automobiles, value of product denotes value of automobiles only.
Source: Holley , Irving Brinton, Jr. “United States Army In World War II Special Studies Buying Aircraft: Materiel Procurement For The Army Air Forces.” 1964, Page 27, Center of Military History United States Army, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 64-60000, https://history.army.mil/html/books/011/11-2/index.html, Data accessed on July 12, 2022
Other Economic and Manufacturing Data Links
Relative Productivity Ranking Of World War II Foes
Indices of American Manufacturing Output (1939 = 100)
Percentage of World Motor Vehicle Production, 1936
Total Military Aircraft Production of Four Major Powers: 1939-44
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