The Waterbury Democrat., 1943-12-08
ARMS OUTPUT
 OF U. s. EXCEEDSI THAT OF AXIS.
By ARTHUR F. DeGROvE


 United Press Stan Correspondent
 Washington, Dec. 8-UP)-The United States is producing airplanes at the rate of 100000 a year-the goal set by President Roosevelt after Pearl Harbor-and the nations capacity to turn out planes and other war weapons has not yet been reached, informed officials said to- day
 The 1914 arms program Is taking shape as the country prepares to enter the third year of war. Its de- tails naturally are military secret, but experts say that the emphasis will be on planes and ships.
 Several programs were cut back in 1943, including tanks, small arms ammunition, some guns and certain motor vehicles-and others will be revised next year, officials indi- cated.
 ManpoWer - its availability and methods of encouraging most effi- cient utilization of present supplies remains one of the chief produc- ton obstacles. Authorities said the IIldGeIldlo HtODlCAl Aldo DCCAl fh to ally solved, but added that there is a tight" situation still in some components used in farm machin- cry and trucks, as well as in parts used in war weapons.
 The arsenal of democracy hast made long strides in war produc- tion since the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor, but it has not completely met the original astronomical ob- jectives set by the President. His original program for 1943 called for 125, 900 airplanes, 75,000 tanks, 35,- ] GOO anti-aircraft guns and 18,O00- 1 900 deadweight tons of merchant shipping.
 Officials of the War Production Board regarded the schedule as to optimistic but accepted it as goal to shoot at. Subsequently, the whole program was placed on what WIPE authorities described as 8 more realistic" basis, and on Sept. IT MT. Roosevelt reported to Congress that during the first eight months of the year, industry had pro- duced:
 52,0O0 air-planes; 23,000 tanks; 40,600 artillery weapons; 4,638,0O0 small arms.
 Since that report, WIPE an- nounced that a new high of 8,362 planes, including the largest num- Der of heavy bombers ever pro- Guced in a single month, were turned out in October. Also, the | N6or;t;,,,o Cow, ccior, rauicaS 1Ir1- ward to 18,890,000 deadweight tons it's goal for 1943 and officials said they expected to reach it.
 Statistics show that since the start of the defense program in July, 194O, this country has pro- duced more than 100000 military planes, 53,Oo0 tanks, 93,0o0 artillery weapons, 26O0O,0OO,00 rounds of small arms ammunition 9,500,000 small arms and 1,233,00O trucks.
 During the intervening time, American shipyards turned out more than 30,0O0 vessels of various sizes, including 2,400 ocean-going dry cargo ships and tankers rep resenting a total of about 25,O0O,OO0 ceadweight tons. Included also in the overall total are nearly 500 combat ships, which Vice Chair man Charles E. Wilson said "can slug it out with the best that Hiro- hito can put to sea"
 WIPE Chairman Donald M. Nell son, describing the nations produc- tion achievement, said that the out put of American munitions this year will amount to more than l 1-2 times as much the combined war production of Germany and Japan. He said there is every reason to be- lieve that in 1944, American pro- duction will be more than twice that of the combined production of the two Axis powers.
 He said that soon i've will be turning out completed planes every 5 minutes around the clock, every day of the month"
 War Production Board officials withheld forecasts on how rapidly or when-reconversio of war plants t peacetime output would get underway. Nelson repeatedly has said that the civilian economy is sound but lean.
 The outlook is for the production of more civilian goods in 1944, but hW much more will be determined by the changing needs war weap- ons and by the manpoWer situation, officials said