US Aircraft production in WWII

3,713 Views | 15 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by HollywoodBQ
Rabid Cougar
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AG
Am in the middle of "required training" at work on acquisition and some tidbit of actual useful information was found.

US aircraft production in WWII cost $45 Billion of the $183 Billion spent on the war.

The B-29 cost $3 Billion just by itself.

The US produced more training aircraft than several belligerents' total output combined.

Total Production:
US - 324,750
USSR -157,261
UK -131,549
Germany -119,307
Japan -76,320
Italy -11,122
74OA
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AG
That so many US aircraft designs and production facilities didn't even exist at the start of the war makes those numbers even more impressive. The US industrial mobilization was as impressive as its military mobilization.
cbr
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Yep. Production of ships and trucks even greater disparity.
ja86
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Japan should have been less aggressive and gone for a negotiated peace and not attacked pearl harbor. consolidating their holdings and focused on china. we were all in on europe and would have let things go. They went all in with attacking the Philippines and Hawaii and it was over. We would out produce them to oblivion.
HollywoodBQ
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Just had to stop in and represent Burbank, California and the P-38
My kids used to play softball on the former site of the Lockheed factory.

BigJim49 AustinNowDallas
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Brother flew 'em !
BigJim49AustinnowDallas
74OA
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cbr said:

Yep. Production of ships and trucks even greater disparity.
For those interested in logistics, there's a terrific book series by the US Army's Office of the Chief of Military History called "United States Army in WWII." Within that series are several volumes grouped under, "The Technical Services", and the one titled "The Ordnance Department: Procurement and Supply" describes the scramble to produce the vast output needed to equip and supply US and allied ground forces. It and other related volumes are eye-opening to understand the titanic industrial effort the US put forth to win the war.

SERIES

N.B. The Army Air Corps logistics volume is found under "Special Studies."
jkag89
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Quote:

The B-29 cost $3 Billion just by itself
The cost to develop the B-29 was more expensive than the Manhattan Project.
BrazosBendHorn
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Ford's B-24 plant at Willow Run was a prime example of America's industrial might. At its peak production, a new B-24 came out of the plant every 63 minutes. (Faster than the Germans could shoot them down.)

Rabid Cougar
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Took 16 months to build the Pentagon.

Hearing in Congress were held to determine if a new War Department Building was needed on July 17, 1941.
Funding approved by Congress July 28,1941.
Construction started September 11, 1941 (ironic date) to December 15, 1943.

Still the largest office building by square footage in the world.

Try that now a days.

I was there for two weeks during my Lewis and Clark Bicentennial days in June of 2004 with unfettered access to most of the areas. (Unaccompanied Pass). They were still renovating one of the sections due to 9/11. Lots of stuff going on due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They allowed us to bring our muskets in for our living history demonstrations. We kept them in their armory. They were oohing and aweing over our weapons as much as we were over theirs.

An absolutely incredible experience.
Stive
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I was listening to a podcast the other day (can't remember if it was Dan Carlin or the guy that does Revolutions) and he mentioned a story about some reports that were given to Hitler regarding the production output capabilities of the U.S. should we enter the war and it's said that he laughed at them thinking they were outlandish and simply couldn't be accurate.

The numbers he was shown were MUCH lower than what we actually hit at peak production during the war.

cbr
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AG
Cool link. I read a book years ago on ww2 logistics. It really makes it a wonder that the axis lasted as long as they did.

Doesnt take away from american heroism - hell the us navy was down to just the enterprise in the pacific several times even into 43.

But by mid 44- it was not a contest. We made more ships than they planes. More planes than they trucks. Just insane.
CT'97
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BrazosBendHorn said:

Ford's B-24 plant at Willow Run was a prime example of America's industrial might. At its peak production, a new B-24 came out of the plant every 63 minutes. (Faster than the Germans could shoot them down.)


That's a bit of a white wash of the troubled history of the B-24. Ford actually discovered that his methods of mass production didn't work very well with highly complex aircraft and had to bring in Eddie Richenbacher, the WW1 ace, as a technical expert and to provide some credibility to his production line. Even though the B-24 had a longer range and could carry a heavier load than the B 17 it didn't go into use in large numbers with the 8th Air Force largely because they had so many production problems, including unexplained engine failures in flight. The B-24 didn't end up getting fixed and into the fight in large numbers till later in 1944.
IDAGG
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AG
cbr said:

Cool link. I read a book years ago on ww2 logistics. It really makes it a wonder that the axis lasted as long as they did.

Doesnt take away from american heroism - hell the us navy was down to just the enterprise in the pacific several times even into 43.

But by mid 44- it was not a contest. We made more ships than they planes. More planes than they trucks. Just insane.
I read a similar account about his intelligence officers briefing him on Liberty/Victory ship production figures during the war. Hitler refused to believe those production numbers were possible. IIRC we were producing several Liberty ships per day at its peak production.

ETA, wrong reply, I meant to reply to Stive's post. But it also applies to your post as well.
(removed:110205)
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Some fascinating reading in the Green Books. Thanks for posting the link to those.

Found this quote in the Ordnance volume hilarious.

"Prospects for new and more powerful bomb fillings were being explored. In mid-January 1940 Dr. Lyman J. Briggs of the Bureau of Standards had called on General Wesson about obtaining three thousand dollars 'for the purpose of splitting the uranium atom.' It seemed to Ordnance that the development had "possibilities from an explosive viewpoint."
Rabid Cougar
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IDAGG said:

cbr said:

Cool link. I read a book years ago on ww2 logistics. It really makes it a wonder that the axis lasted as long as they did.

Doesnt take away from american heroism - hell the us navy was down to just the enterprise in the pacific several times even into 43.

But by mid 44- it was not a contest. We made more ships than they planes. More planes than they trucks. Just insane.
I read a similar account about his intelligence officers briefing him on Liberty/Victory ship production figures during the war. Hitler refused to believe those production numbers were possible. IIRC we were producing several Liberty ships per day at its peak production.

ETA, wrong reply, I meant to reply to Stive's post. But it also applies to your post as well.
Marinship in Sausalito, California built 15 Liberty ships, 16 Fleet Oilers and 63 T2 Tankers from June 1942- May 1945. They turned out a 532ft long, 68ft beam T2 tanker in 33 days.

To give an idea of overall production:

533 T2 tankers were built from 1940-1945.

2,710 Liberty ships from 1941-1945 ( average three ships every two days) in 18 ship yards.

Again more support vessels than most combatants combined war fleets.
HollywoodBQ
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Relevant to this thread, I just stumbled across some Australian 60 Minutes episodes about crashed WWII aircraft being stolen from Papau New Guinea.





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