Evening star., 1940-11-14
Auto Makers Cite
Machine Adaptations
Required for Planes
Association Points to
Central Agency Formed to
Speed Bomber Production
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.

The proposed production by the
automobile manufacturing industry
of parts for bombardment airplanes
will require an unexpectedly large
adaptation of machinery and meth
DDS, according to a preliminary sur
vey of the industry now being COM
pleted for defense purposes
It had been planned originally
to farm out to the automobile indus
try the stamping and forming of
airplane parts which could be
handled with existing automobile
plants and machinery. 1t is antici-
pated that the automobile industry
will be asked to turn out some
$500, 900 900 worth of airplane parts,
to be assembled by the airplane
manufacturers.
1t is pointed out by the Automo-
bile Manufacturers Association,
which has been conducting survey
of the situation, that many changes
are in prospect before the airplane
parts required can be turned out by
the automobile factories.
Production Time Problematical.
Entirely unlike the regular prod
ucts of this industry, both in ma
terials employed and construction
methods required, this assignment
places before the automotive plants
a great task Of adaptation at the
very time that the country's facili-
ties for turning out new machines
and tools is swamped under other
defense ORDERS" the association has
reported.
1t was pointed out by the associa-
ton that period of yet uncertain
duration will be required for the
automobile, truck and parts plants
to organize themselves to supply
parts for bombers. During this
period, however, time will be given
for the aviation industry to provide
new plants for assembly of the
ships and for the producers of raw
materials to complete facilities for
greatly increased output
The most vital of the prepara-
tory processes-one found to con-
sumo considerable period of time
will be the engineering exploration
of present aviation construction
methods, their adaptation to the
automotive facilities that will be
available, and the development OF
manufacturing plans for drawing
from many plants a synchronized
flow Of readily assembled matching
y9orte tho occociotio, rororfod
Central Agency Formed.
1.-THE task is one in which air
plane builders, military experts and
automotive production men will have
to work together. To facilitate 1t,
the several industries engaged in
automobile and truck production
makers Of bodies and many varieties
of parts. producers to tools, jigs and
dies-have Joined with the vehicle
manufacturers in creation of a CEN
trail agency to place automotive re-
sources and talents at the disposal
Of the program"
The automobile manufacturing in
dustry recently volunteered to sacri-
flee new automobile developments to
make tools and plant facilities avail
able for aircraft production. Any
in favor of such produc-
ton will be reflected in automobile
models from 1912 on.
"Airplane construction is probably
as much unlike the building of an
automobile as the latter differs from
house construction, the Automobile
Association reported. |
THE fuselage and wings of the
plane must stand stresses in their |
daily operation to which the auto
mobile body never is subjected. Most |
IS the absolute require
ment that weight must be reduced
to a minimum, calling for use of |
metals that have extraordinary
strength, but only a fraction of the
weight Of automobile panels and
frames.
"The big planes of modern bomb
ing types are 50 complicated in de-
sign and construction that some en-
gineers tend to compare them more
closely with a small battleship or
submarine than to an automobile"
Size Complicates Production.
1t was pointed out that q pas
senger car weighs a ton and a half
to tons, while bombing airplane
may weigh 20 tons. This matter of
size alone prevents automobile and
truck plants from taking over the
airplane construction job, 1t was ex-
planned, "even if the specialized en-
gineering involved did not compel
expert aeronautical supervision and
management"
This means, it was pointed out by
the association, that the automotive
end of the job must the devoted to
subassemblies such as portions of
wings, tails, ailerons and similar
parts, "to tighten the strain on the
hugely expanded aviation
industry, and to utilize as much as
possible existing machinery and ma
chine tools which could not be
wholly replaced with specially made
equipment in the time available"
Apart from utilization Of edapt-
able existing equipment, biggest
automotive contribution to the job is
likely to be the use of supervisory