Evening star., 1940-12-24
Auto Experts Doubt
c.. 0. Plane Output
Plan Is Workable
See Little Hope to Do
More Than Industry
Is Accomplishing
By JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.


leaders are giving careful study to
the proposal of Philip Murray, pres
ident of the C. I. O., that the au-
tomobile industry take over the mass
production of WarplaneS, it is re-
ported that there is little hope that
more can be done along this line
than already is being done.
The automotive industry already
has undertaken thorough studies of
the possible contributions it may
make to the aircraft building pro-
gram. 1t has pledged its maximum
support and for many weeks tech
nical committees set up by the auto
mobile manufacturers have been
hard at work on a survey of the IA
cilitieS of the industry which might
be dedicated to aircraft manufac-
ture.
These committees have taken
over 10000 square feet of Office
space in Detroit and are going into
all details of machine tool facili-
ties, raw materials and plant space
and equipment.
Experts Work Not Completed.
1t is said that these experts, al
though their work is not yet COM
pleted, have expressed the opinion
informally that the automobile
manufacturing industry, as now
constituted, cannot hope to do more
than Subcontr ct for approximately
10 per cent of the aircraft construc-
ion program Steps already have
been taken t, bring this about
For months eaderS of the aircraft
and automobile industries have been
working together on possible meth
ods of deviSing short cuts in the
production of aircraft to meet the
existing emergency. Wherever pos
sible, the essential features of the
automobile mass production system
are being applied to aircraft produc-
ton, 1t was pointed out. There still
are many basic aircraft construction
operations for which no short cuts
have yet been devised, it was said.
1t was recalled by leaders of the
aviation industry today that, even
under the stress of all-out war,
neither England nor Germany has
been able to accomplish mass pro-
duction of airplaneS on the automo-
bile assembly line basis. although
German engineers are known to
have given years of study to this
matter.
Nor has the automobile industry
in the United States, so far, been
able to do so, although attempts
have been made.
North American Aviation, Inc,
wholly subsidiary of General
Motors Corp, holds large contracts
for military aircraft. Although
General Motors engineers, under the
direction of William S. Knudsen,
before he became co-ordinator-
general of the defense program. at
tempted to apply automobile pro-
duction methods to aircraft build
ing, they have been able to accom-
plish relatively little along these
lines
Little Change in Methods
Despite the anxiety of Mr.. Knud-
sen and others to speed up airplane
production, the General Motors sub
sidiary today is producing airplaneS
by methods which differ very little,
If any, from those in operation in
any other major airplane factory.
The experience of the Allison En-
gineering Corp, another wholly
owned General Motors subsidiary, in
producing aircraft engines is no
more encouraging. Allison has been
at work several years preparing for
the production of the urgently
needed Allison liquid-cooled engine,
around which three of the newest
and fastest American pursuit air
planes have been designed.
Despite the utmost possible pres
sure, the industry and the Govern
ment have been able to bring to
bear the Allison engine is not yet in
real production and completed pur-
suit airplanes have been standing
under canvas on open airports wait
ing for the power plants which have
not yet been built.
Although the Murray plan calls
for the automobile plants to achieve
mass production of airplaneS within
six months, it was pointed out by
aviation leaders today that the
Packard Motor Co. will require at
least a year before the first Rolls
Royce airplane engine rolls off it's
production line and even longer be-
for real mass production is attained.
Ford Forecast Similar.
The Ford Motor Co. also has large
scale orders for aircraft engines.
Although it plans to build the tried
and tested Pratt & Whitney engine
and faces no delays on account of
design difficulties, Ford engineers
have said they will require at least
q year before production can begin.
The most experienced aircraft en-
gine production chiefs have esti-
mated that it would take them two
years, from scratch, to set up facili-
ties and get into the production of
any new type of airplane engine
There is no reason to believe that
automobile manufacturers can do
any better if as well, they said.
Although automobile and air.
plane production methods are COM
parable up to a certain point. they
eventually become so widely di-
vergent that none of the processes
at present employed in the automo-
bile plants can be made to apply
to aircraft production.
Automobile producers never have
had to worry about the elimination
of weight, yet this is one of the
most critical features of airplane
production. This feature alone re-
quires the use of materials, design,
stress analysis and precision meth
ods beyond the experience of auto
mobile builders. But in the pro-
duction of such parts as engines,
instruments and control mecha-
nisms, the demands for precision
work go far beyond those which
ever have been made on the auto