Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1942-12-13
Canada, Third Largest Producer
Of Arms, Predicts Peak in 1913
Dominion Turning Out Most Powerful Explosive
of War; New Techniques Being Used on
Guns; Ship Output Growing
by Taylor Richardson

OTTAWA-Canada has risen to posi-
ton of third largest producer of NUM-
tons among Allied Nations, declares C..
d. Howe, minister of munitions and
supply. who forecast that 1943 war pro-
duction would reach So 500 5000 value
IN Canadian dollars, equal to the entire
Canadian national income during the
depression.
Before the war" said Mr. Howe,
Canada was thought by other countries
to be agricultural, rather than industrial.
In It's economy. Today the balance is
sharply reversed"
Referring to one of Canadas war
secrets, Mr.. Howe said that the most
powerful explosive in the war is being
manufactured in Canada, by a process
developed by Canadian scientists. Lifting
the curtain of secrecy on many phases
of war production in this country, the
munitions minister said that Canada
need no longer have any inferiority COM
pick about its ability to produce indus
trial goods in competition with other
countries.
He quoted Gen. A. G. L. McNaughton,
Canadian overseas commander In chief
that the Canadian Ram tank has been
proven the best in the war. OF the
Canadian Valentine VII, sent in sub
stantial numbers to Russia he quoted
Maj. Gen. A. I. Belyaev, chairman Of the
Soviet Purchasing Commission as saying
that: The Canadian tanks Valentine
VII have shown good results in combat
action on our front and have proved
themselves the best of all our imported
tanks"
New Techniques in Steel
Other highlights of the Canadian war
production program, now reaching peak
levels In many industries that are new
to the country, include new techniuues
In steel for gun production and the pro-
duction of automatic arms at the rate
of better than one a minute. with am
munition at the rate of 10000 finished
rounds a minute.
In production OF sighting instruments.
range finders, projectors, bomb sights
and similar equipment, built on a new
optical glass industry, Canada is the sole
producer of certain types. Much of this
kind of war supplies, such as ground and
air detection equipment, is secret.
Prize exhibit in the Canadian aircraft
production program is the speedy, long
range Mosquito bomber, created by De
Havilland, of which production is plan
ned here at five planes day Canada
has produced a thousand Hurricane
fighters for combat and several thou
sand planes for its air training system. 4
In the Mosquito bomber, with the
Catalina flying boat. the Lancaster giant
bomber and the Curtiss Helldiver dive
bomber, Canada has been fortunate, ac-
cording to Mr.. Howe, in creating its COM
bat aircraft program around the four
most useful fighting planes in service at
present in this war.
Aluminium Capacity Expanded.
Canada has revolutionized the produc-
ton of armor- piercing shot. formerly
made of high grade tool steel by using
low-alloy type of steel that does more
deadly job and cuts the cost to one
fourth Building on an industry that
turned out 40 900 trucks before the war,
Canada has produced in 1912 so far
2l5.000 mechanical vehicles for Allied
armies around the world and of these,
10000 were carried by the Anglo-Ame
lean armada that invaded French North
Africa.
Aluminium capacity in Canada has
been expanded steadily. A single plant
here now turns out more than the entire
world production of aluminium in 1899.
The Canadian process of producing mag