I stumbled on this website searching something and wanted to share with you all. He doesn't have an About page but I'll copy his opening statement.
The Purpose of this Website: The purpose of this website is to bring together in one location that which the US Automobile industry produced during the Second World War. What the products were, which company made them, the numbers produced, and their manufacturing locations. At the beginning of World War Two, there were twelve auto makers left in the United States, down from the hundreds that had been producing auto early in the 20th century. All twelve are included in this website.
While there are many good historical sources on the US auto industry in World War Two, most focus on the Big Three and are Detroit-centric. Not only are the other nine auto makers of the era covered in a comprehensive manner on this website, but all of the GM Divisions of the time are also included. General Motors had five car divisions: Buick (Flint, MI), Cadillac (Detroit, MI), Chevrolet (Flint, MI and other locations), Oldsmobile (Lansing, MI), and Pontiac (Pontiac, MI). GMC was the truck division located in Pontiac, MI. The Fisher Body Division of GMC was headquartered in Detroit but had multiple plants where each of the car assembly plants were located. General Motors also had a host of component divisions located in such towns as Anderson, IN; Kokomo, IN; Dayton, OH; Flint, MI; and Lockport, NY. These plants produced such items as starters, batteries, radios, sparkplugs, radiators, and steering wheels. Chevrolet and Fisher Body each had over a dozen plants, and each was as large or larger than Ford at the time, and both were larger than Chrysler.
The format for each auto maker, GM division, truck manufacturer, and auto supplier includes a short history of the company, followed by a listing of items produced during the war, with production numbers, if available. Contemporary photos of the products are used for the most part instead of historical photos.
Overview:
The U.S. auto industry produced 20% of the total U.S. output of the material manufactured to fight World War Two, with the total value of goods produced by the U.S. automobile industry in the war effort surpassing $29 billion. GM produced $12 billion of that or 41% the industry output and 8% of the entire American war economy. Ford came in second with $3.9 billion, and Chrysler was right behind with $3.5 billion in war contracts. Willys-Overland had $7.34 million for the nineteen wartime projects it had. While the auto companies were the logical manufacturers of trucks, armored cars, jeeps and tanks, their wartime product lines were extensive, and many of the items built were new to the industry. Both Ford and General Motors built entire warplanes for the conflict, and many aircraft components were produced by the industry.
Below are a few of the items produced by the auto industry during World War Two. Some are readily associated with the industry, while others are totally unassociated with what the industry commonly produced at that time.
