The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-05-21
AUTO INDUSTRY
 SPED SS PC. OF
 MOBILE ARMS

f Detroit, May 21-(UP)-The auto mobile ndustry-centered in Michi- gan-has supplied by the far the greater part of equipment that enabled American forces to crush Hitler's vaunted Panzer divisions in ehe mechanized war that Germany began.
 Latest available figures show that hutomotive plants delivered more than 88 per cent of all armored, scout, half-track vehicles and parts, in addition to building planes, ships and adapting commercial equipment 10 war use.
 Aircraft engines and parts &C., counted for an enormous part of the total, being produced not only by automotive plants but by hundred of other smaller manufacturers throughout the state.
 Greatest Secret Weapon
 Though much of Michigan's war production has been through wide ly separated Sub-contractors, it was inevitable that major prob lems in design were solved by automobile engineers at Detroit in Cooperation with military pro- Curement agencies established here.
 Thus industry in Michigan with she vast manufacturing structure built by private enterprise through put the nation-helped provide the wars greatest weapon: doing things tast in big way.
 The War Department wanted truck that would take to water like . duck-and just 38 days later GM's amphibious duck" was ready. Since then thousands of ducks have spear headed invasion thrusts on beach, heads from the South Pacific to France.
 The Army needed millions of steel helmets, tough enough to turn a 45-caliber bullet at six feet. Only an automotive automatic conveyer line engineers squeezed 27 opera tions into 9 minutes and the Army had its helmets.
 Conversion to war production - TVS Ill bClOlC Cdll l1dI UOL-IlGCtS- sarily disrupted plant layouts and assembly lines
 Millions of dollars worth of spe- cialized machinery which plants couldn't use in their own war pro- grams were turned over to other plants-even other countries-that needed them.
 Assembly lines were uprooted, and machines, tools and dies either dis posed of or stored for the duration. Peacetime blueprints and specified tions were filed away. Engineers had technicians turned to new, urgent problems.
 Probably most spectacular in application of mass production to war machines was building of B24 Liberator bombers in the Ford Motor Cos Willow Run plant.
 Weapons Won Acclaim
 Also mass produced on Michigan assembly lines are the speedy M-l8, 19-ton tank destroyer built by Buick; Fisher Body's heavy tank destroyer, the 3l-ton M-36 mount Ing W-uIH gun, anu d ldSI IlsilI tank built by Cadillac and claimed to be the fastest and most maneuv- erable combat weapon of it's type in use by any belligerant on any front"
 The Chevrolet built stag hound" fast armored car, also won acclaim for performance on the European front. The duck am phibious vehicle built by the GM truck division, aided greatly in the invasion landings.
 Nash-Kelvinator Corp. produced helicopters in mass production assembled in Detroit after major fabrication in the Nash Grand Rapids refrigerator plant.
 The Packard Motor Car Co., got into war production early, making Rolls Royce aircraft engines for England. It also produced marine engines for the Nays vicious PIT boats.
 Another amphibious vehicle, the Alligator, came from Graham Paiges Detroit plant. A similar but smaller amphibious jeep is manufactured by Ford.