War Production Board - "War Progress", September-December 1944

WPE: "War Progress" Sep.Dec 1944 The President 1 WAR PROGRESS 6.7 War Insduction Board Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act Tiring "Long Toms," Trucks, and Busses What Is "Suitable Employment"? x4735 x4740 DECLASSIFIED E.O. 11662, Sec. 3(15) and 6(D) or X x264 Commerce Dept. Latter, 11-14-78 1102-A By RHP, Date MAR 14 1973 Number 208 September 9, 1944 has GA-M-6D : (1-25-40 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 67171 R COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION The Provident... OR OFFICE DIVISION OR OFFICE NAME NAME The thise House BUILDING ROOM NUMBER BUILDING (ROOM NUMBER DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT .P. - 208 3 1 1 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER'S RECEIPT are WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board Donald M. Nelson, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. 1 War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of / Planning and Statistics (Stacy May, Director) by the Munitions Branch (Morris A. Copeland, Chiefi: EDITORIAL STAFF Editor, Joseph A., Livingston; Associates: Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard, A.R. Hilliard, Morris Katz, Chester L Kieffer, Herbert J. Muller, J.S. Werking (production). CONTRIBUTORS Joseph A. Zettler (munitions), William F. Butter (aircraft 1, J. Ronald Meiklejohn communications and electronics). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 208 WAR PROGRESS SEPTEMBER 9, 1944 Tiring Long Toms, Trucks, Busses Large-tire pinch shows up in fourth-quarter allotments tell the story: Whereas the cuts in allotments. Labor rules slow Army, Navy, Office of Defense Transpor- output. So also does increased use of tation, Foreign Economic Administration, synthetic rubber WMC scouts for workers. etc. originally asked for 5,423,000 truck and bus tires, the Requirements WHEN A 155mm. "Long Tom" gun is moved Committee had to cut this down 28% to to the battlefront, it rolls on ten 3,907,000. tires, carries two spares, and isusually hauled by a 72-ton prime mover equipped THE "LARGE" PINCH with an equal number of tires. That's Fut that doesn't measure the full two dozen inall, and they're not ordi- extent of the pinch; demand is concen- nary tires. In the trade, they're known trated in certain sizes. In the so- as "14.00 by 24s," which means that they called "large" tires-those measuring measure 14 inches in cross section and between 9inches and 14 inches in cross that the wheel on which they're mounted section-fourth-quarter demand ran to has a rim diameter of 24 inches. They 1,268,000 tires, but allotments were weigh some 480 pounds, as against 22 only 775,000, or 40% lower. All claim- pounds for the typical passenger-car ants were cut sharply. ODT got less than tire (size 6.00 X 16). To turn out the half of what it asked for (225,900 vs. 24 tires needed to equip one "Long Tom" 512,500); even the armed services had for battle assignment takes approx- to be satisfied with 15% fewer than orig- imately as much material-rubber, fabric, inally requested (455,600 vs. 541,200). carbon black, etc.-and time as to pro- In addition to the "Long Tom" and duce more than 500 passenger-car tires. its prime mover, the big intercity busses and highway freight carriers, these LITTLE JEEP, BIG MOVER sizes also go on off-the-highway vehi- The 14.00 X 24 tireis only one size cles used for logging and mining, and among more than 100 used by trucks and on the Army's heavy-heavy trucks. busses, military as well as civilian. These range from the 6.00 X 16 for the NO VOLUME BUSINESS nimble jeep to the 30.00 X 40 for the The tire industry was never geared ponderous earth-mover. And they include to big-volume output of these whoppers; the 11.00 X 20 that,goes on an intercity peacetime demand for them was negligible bus or a commercial trailer, as well as as compared with passenger-car and light- the 7.50 20 that's used on the 24-ton, and medium-truck tires. Though capacity 6-wheel-drive truck, the Army's key to produce large truck and bus tires is hauler of cargo, equipment, and heavy 70% greater than at the beginning of the artillery. year, production has consistently lagged Production of these tires has more behind capacity. In the current quarter, than doubled since the beginning of 1939 for instance, facilities are sufficient (chart, page 5), but that hasn't been to turn out approximately 875,000 of enough to satisfy demand. Fourth-quarter these big jobs; but estimated produc- CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS tion is only 665,000. In other words, time, tire companies customarily cut because capacity is not being completely rates once workers pushed their average used, more than 200,000 heavy-duty tires earnings above those for comparable will be "lost" to the Army, Navy, ODT, jobs in the surrounding labor market: FEA, and other claimants in the third the idea was to pull earnings back to quarter (chart, page 3). competitive levels (WP-Decl8'43,p3 Meanwhile, the shortage has become On top of that, work in a tire plant- 80 acute that the Office of Price Ad- the banbury room, for instance, where ministration recently canceled outstand- crude rubber is first broken down into ing ration certificates for heavy-duty workable form-is hot, heavy, and gen- types. Today 6,700 big highway trucks erally disagreeable. Hence, among in- are laid up because tires aren't avail- dividual workers, there is a tendency able: similarly with 500 off-the-high- to fix production quotas in line with way vehicles used for logging, plus an their physical capacity and their own indeterminate number used in mining. ideas of a maximum day's work. And only last week, cities such as New In some plants itisnot not unknown for York and Washington announced that local every worker in one department to earn bus service may have to be curtailed. exactly the same wage day after day, despite the fact that eachis on an "in- MANPOWER MIGRAINES centive" basis. At one Akron plant, a This "loss" of production is a re- few months ago, 75 workers comprising sultant of complex forces: Tire-build- three shifts all earned $13.68 each in ing equipment is idle because of lack one day turning out size 9.00 X 16 truck of manpower. Labor conditions within tires. Sometimes, as a result, tire- the tire plants often tend to reduce building machines stand idle for as output. New technical problems are con- much as an hour before the next shift stantly arising as increasing amounts takes over. of synthetic rubber are specified for truck and bus tires. And military re- IT'S AN IDEA quirements for individual sizes are A fewweeks ago, CIO's United Rubber frequently changed overnight. Workers of America suggested that local Practically all tire workers are labor unions prevail upon individual paid on an incentive basis: as output workers to discontinue production ceil- increases, so do wages. But in common ings and even set aside seniority pro- with other piecework industries in peace- visions 80 as to get experienced men to shift from lighter jobs to heavy-duty tires-this for a temporary period only, IN THIS ISSUE: until the emergency is over. Since then, representatives of the War Production TIRING LONG TOMS, TRUCKS, BUSSES 1 Board's Office of Labor Production and WHAT IS "SUITABLE EMPLOYMENT*? 6 Office of Manpower Requirements have KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 9 been visiting every tire plant putting WHEN ASP MEETS X DAY the proposal up to management as well 10 AS the workers. And that's a ticklish AUGUST AIRCRAFT AUDIT 11 job. SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 12 Union leaders-understandably-want indisputable proof that unusual output CONFIDENTIAL SEPTEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 3 LARGE TIRES-SUPPLY AND DEMAND L This is what the claimant agencies soid 2. And this is what the industry has co- they needed; pacity to produce; 1500 1500 1000 1000 500 500 o o Ist Qtr. 2nd Qthr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr. Ist Qtr. 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. THOUSANDS OF TIRES 1944 1944 3. But output has fallen consistently short 4. With these resulting deficits from total of copacity- requirements. THOUSANDS OF TIRES 1500 1500 1000 1000 500 500 o o Ist Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4thQtr Ist Qtc 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. Est. Est 1944 1944 Note: Sizes 9' through 14" (cross section). WAR PROGRESS now won't be followed by rate-cutting be lower. Management, in turn, hesi- later on. Moreover, the worker who has tates to make up the wage difference: earned the right to a day job through it's convinced that the entire depart- seniority almost invariably wants a ment would immediately pressure for a bonus if he transfers to the night shift, compensatory increase in pay. where experienced workers are needed, However, self-imposed ceilings and especially as lead men. (The bonus ques- seniority practices aren't the only tion is now pending before the War Labor reasons for machines not operating. Board.) And the man who has worked him- Plants have had to skimp on maintenance self up to a preferred job on airplane for about two years, so that breakdowns de-icers, say, doesn't relish a return are now more frequent at the same time to building heavy-duty tires, particu- that repair men are scarce. Also, ab- larly since his earnings are likely to normal absenteeism can easily raise hob CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS with output: since tire production is not in the infantry or rmembers of ships an assembly-line process, unmanned equip- crews. Maybe 300-400 of that 1,000 ment in the stock-preparati on department, qualify. And some of these may not be for example, slowsup subsequent depart- interested in returning. ments such as calendering and curing. Then again, there just aren't enough MORE MAN-MADE RUBBER men to run themachines. Of 685 unmanned A little-mentioned factor in today's machines in a big Akron tire plant on tire problem is the industry's conver- a day last month, 25% were out of action sion to synthetic rubber. Specifica- because of lack of manpower. tions are constantly being revised to At least 5,000 males are needed in put more man-made rubber into tires. tire factories throughout the country: Typical was last week's announcement 1,200 in Akron: 1,500 in Los Angeles: that all medium-sized highway truck 700 in Chicopee Falls, Mass.: 180 in tires must contain 90% synthetic instead Jackson, Mich.: and the remaining 1,400- of 70%. odd in varíous plants in Alabama, Ten- Change-overs of this kind involve nessee, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Con- new methods of compounding, mixing, necticut, and Ohio (other than the Akron vulcanization, etc. For example, since area). So great the need considered, synthetic rubber is less tacky (sticky) that U.S. Employment Service referrals than natural rubber, plies (the layers to tire jobs are currently exceeded in of fabric in the tire) frequently must urgency only by a few secret military be cemented, an extra operation. This projects. takes more man-hours. Sometimes, a particular job has to ANY MUSCLED MALE be redesigned. When the 7.50 X 20 mud- Few skilled tire builders are on the and-snow-tread military tire was swung loose. During 1942, when the Army was over to 90% synthetic, two extra cap expanding most sharply, tire workers plies of cotton cord had to be put in. had practically no case for occupational Now that high-tenacity rayon cord has deferment. Tire production was on the been made available for this tire, the toboggan. Early this year, moreover, two extra plies will come out. Pro- when the Army began to draft key workers duction time is lost again in the switch- under the age of 26, additional skilled over. tire men went into uniform. So the in- dustry will snap up almost any strong- PAST AVERAGE PAY and willing-male; at least he can be Tied in with this factor of conver- put on jobs calling for lower skills sion is a wage problem based on paying and thus pave the way for upgrading "past average.' Every change-over means other workers. a new time study for all jobs affected Early last month, the Army and Navy and results in a new piece rate. It agreed to furlough experienced tire used to take approximately 30 days to builders during the production emergency, retime a job; but now, largely because and 80 far about 1,000 names have been of the shortage of time-study men, tire submitted. But not all of these are companies may let this period drag on eligible. The agreement limits fur- for months. In the meantime, "incen- loughs to those who are over 30 years tives" are dropped; workers are guaran- old, still in the United States, and teed their average past earnings. (This CONFIDENTIAL SEPTEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 5 TIRES FOR TRUCKS AND BUSSES Output is due to reach on all-time high during the last quarter of this year, 100% above the prewar level. 4 4 3 3 MILLIONS OF TIRES 2 2 MILLIONS OF TIRES I I o o Ist Q 2ndQ 3rdQ 4mQ INFQ 2ndQ 3rdQ 4mQ 1st 2ndQ 3rdQ 4mQ TWQ 2ndQ 3rdQ 4mQ MO 2ndQ 3rdQ 4mQ IstQ 2ndQ 3rdQ 4mQ 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 Note: Third and fourth quarter, 1944, estimated, WAR PROGRESS average varies among plants, ranging cast when or how. As an illustration, from 90% to 100% of previous piecework one company had more than 300 such changes earnings.) during the third quarter, with one tire All in all, what with new technical ordered in and out of production several problems arising from the change-over times ina week. Also, some of the ma- and the psychological effect on workers chinery used for making cotton tire cords accustomed to the incentive rate, a competes with that needed for making particular conversion may reduce output yarns for tent duck, a top Army program. anywhere from 30% to 60%. In the tire- building department of one leading Akron WHERE TO CUT? firm recently, a shift on "past average" Furthermore, a tough choice is in- turned out only 25 truck tires,as against volved when it comes to weighing the 46 on the former "incentive" basis. In possibility of cutting down on other some plants, as many as one-third of the items made by rubber companies so as jobs are off-standard, or on "past av- to make more workers available to tire erage." production. One big producer in Akron Even that doesn't complete the count employs approximately 14,000 persons, of production difficulties. No sooner about 6,000 of them working on products is a quarterly production directive re- other than tires: oxygen cylinders, leased than it is followed by revisions, 105mm. shell containers, rocket launch- cancellations, and reinstatements. Mil- ers, flotation gear tlife rafts, vests, itary needs are apt to change at any etc.), and airplane seats, wheels, brakes time and the services can't always fore- and fuel cells. Of these 6,000 persons, CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS about 4,000 are males. Yet, this com- bus tire shortage does not rest entirely pany is estimated to need some 500 more on increased production, but on a drop men tomeet its quota in the tire emer- in demand. Not until military require- gency. ments drop off sharply-as a result, Top requirements of the Army and say, of the end of the war in Europe- Navy are on the way to being met by the will it be possible to meet essential present production drive. All told, civilian demand, or even Army-Navy needs however, the solution to the truck-and- for truck tires in lower-priority sizes. What Is "Suitable" Employment? high rate of 95 cents an hour, was also When X Day comes, state unemployment compensation commissions will face ben- disqualified, but won his appeal. The efit demands. Question: Should $I-an- job was held unsuitable because of his hour worker take 50-cents-an-hour job? age, lack of experience, and the possible impairment of his skill as a musician- TODAY THE PHRASE "suitable employment" he would have had to give up his usual has littlemeaning for most people. Put morning practice. after X Day-after cutbacks come thick Offnand, both decisions are under- and fast and hundreds of thousands of standable. No definite formula can be workers are laid off-that phrase may established which will simultaneously make headlines. If a jobless worker protect the state against deadbeats and turns down work because he thinks it safeguard responsible workers against isn't "suitable," he can be denied un- the downgrading of their skills and employment compensation. So the ques- the loss of their economic status. That tion is, just what is suitable? Would perhaps explains why practices vary so a job at 40 cents an hour in a laundry widely from state to state. Although be suitable for a worker who has earned the Social Security Board may offer rec- $1.00 an hour in an aircraft plant? ommendations, each state sets up its Such questions are tough and subject own laws and standards. Under Illinois to various interpretations, depending practice, for example, the Arkansas on the state, as two recent decisions carpenter would not be required to ac- suggest: cept a job paying 80 much less than An Arkansas carpenter, who for four his previous standard. months had had only odd jobs, refused work as a trailer-body builder because WHERE ALL STATES MEET it paid only 65 cents to 77 cents an All state laws agree to this extent: hour, compared with the union rate of a job cannot be considered suitable if $1.25 for carpenters. He was disquali- it (1) is vacant because of a strike, fied from receiving unemployment bene- lockout, or labor dispute, (2) offers fits on the ground that the job offered less than prevailing wage rates for sim- paid the prevailing rate for similar ilar work in the locality, or (3) re- work in the locality and that he had no quires a worker to join a company union definite prospect of work in his trade. or to resign from or refrain from join- A 61-year-old Illinois musician who ing any bona fide labor organization. refused to investigate an offer of work In practice, all states presumably would as a shipping clerk, at the relatively also agree not requiring a member of CONFIDENTIAL SEPTEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 the Woman's Christian Temperance Union main standard. Thus Wisconsin may re- to accept a job as barmaid, or an ac- quire a worker to accept a job for which countant to' become a common laborer. he is reasonably fitted if the rate of- Most state laws specify that considera- fered equals his weekly benefit. Min- tion should be given to the degree of nesota sets the "suitable" rate at 25% risk involved to the worker's health, above the weekly benefit. safety, and morals: hisphysical fitness In Illinois, on the other hand, the and prior training: his experience and policy is to expect no worker to accept prior earnings: the length of his unem- less than his prior wage rate for the ployment and his prospects for obtain- first three weeks of his unemployment. ing work in his customary occupation; In subsequent weeks, suitable rates are and the distance of the available work successively reduced in accordance with from his residence. a table. A worker who had been making from $1.01 to $1.10 an hour, for instance, WHAT'S A SUITABLE WAGE? would be expected to accept 70 cents Both in law and in practice, however, an hour in the ninth week of his unem- these criteria are variously qualified ployment-but never less than this if or supplemented by the various states. prospects for work in his trade haven't And there is wide diversity in the in- changed. terpretation of the most likely cause Most states are not that specific. of dispute-suitable wages. But all alikeare running into the spe- Six state laws do not consider prior cial problem created by the war: laid- earnings in defining suitable work. Of off war workers-women in particular, these, four use the benefit rate as the who have earned 80 cents and more per NOT MUCH UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION Monthly benefits to jobless are only 10% of 1939 level and are at lowest point of the year. 60 60 40 40 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 20 20 o 0 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS hour-are likely to be offered much benefits. Put during the war "avail- lower wages in civilian industry. The ability" has come to be defined narrowly. case of Evansville, Ind., is representa- The night shift is & case in point. tive. Most of the jobs available for A Connecticut court disqualified a work- women there pay only 38 cents or 40 ing mother on the ground that her refusal cents an hour. When the local agency to work on the night shift was a "fatal declared these suitable, appeals began impairment of her availability." She to stream in. Some of the women pro- argued that she had to care for her tested that with such wages they couldn't children. Delaware took the opposite afford to hire a maid to take care of position. their homes and children, as they had Another common reason for disquali- been doing while working in war plants. fication is quitting a job without "good This raises the question of to what ex- cause. In 19 states "good cause" must tent, if any, a worker's personal or arise from the nature of the work; it domestic responsibilities should be must be attributable to the employer. taken into account in defining "suitable Thus benefits have been denied to a employment." cigar salesman who, after quitting to take a job in An arsenal, was rejected TOUGHENING UP by the arsenal doctor and was then unable The wartime tendency has been to to get his old job back. It was ruled give less consideration to individual that his action in leaving the cigar needs or preferences. With manpower company even for war work was "purely generally short, courts and referees a voluntary one" and not attributable have frowned upon any unemployment, and to the employer. consequently compensation for it. An extreme example was the denial of bene- EMPLOYERS' INTERESTS fits to 8 67-year-old carpenter in Flor- This restriction is designed to pro- ida who owned his own home and refused tect employers in "experience rating" work in a shipyard 600 miles away. states, in which the employer's unem- The tendency also has been toward ployment tax rate is scaled in accord severer penalties. In all states a with the benefits charged against his worker who refuses suitable employment account. Hence employers naturally tend may suffer disqualification from bene- to appeal grants of benefits to workers fits for a period of from one to 15 who quit. In Iowa, employers have been weeks (or in Minnesota until he again filing "without-cause" notices on work- earns at least $200); the period varies ers at the rate of -135,000 a year-that with the state. In addition, his bene- out of a total of 350,000 covered work- fit rights may be reduced or even can- ers. And since the state Supreme Court celed. In January, 1938, six states has ruled that a worker is not entitled imposed this extra penalty: by the be- to benefits based on any wages credited ginning of this year 21 did 80. to his account at the time he voluntar- Likewise workers are disqualified ily left his job, many workers would for an increasing number of causes. In lose or have substantially reduced un- all states, they are entitled to bene- employment compensation allowances. In fits only if they are "able to work" effect, such rulings restrict the free and are "available for work." The un- enterprise of workers. employment compensation lawwas not de- Servicemen's wives who have followed signed to provide sickness or disability their husbands to military camps present CONFIDENTIAL SEPTEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 a problem too. In 19 states these women available work: and this doctrine has would automatically be ineligible for since been incorporated in Alabama law. benefits: they've not left their jobs Similarly Colorado and West Virginia for good cause. Seven other states dis- have added amendments providing that qualify workers who quit because of employment should not be considered un- marriage. Still other states have ruled suitable because the worker has chosen that following a husband is justifiable to leave the locality where it is of- cause for quitting. But the wives are fered. still liable to disqualification on other grounds. Some states have ruled BUT AFTER X DAY that workers who move to areas of limited Altogether, many restrictive rulings job opportunities (such as camps) and areattributable to wartime emergencies. cannot find jobs are ineligible for The problem has been not to find suit- benefits, on the theory that they are able jobs but to fill them: courts and no longer available for work. appeal boards have deliberately subor- Migrant workers in general are apt dinated individual needs or preferences to be penalized by the tendency in a to the national interest. After X Day, number of states to define availability when "overemployment" gives way to un- as at the place of a worker's prior employment again, they may revert to a employment. The Alabama Supreme Court, more liberal interpretation of social for example, disqualified a woman who security laws. But restrictions that left her job to join her husband in an- have been written into state laws may other town because she had voluntarily not be so easy to liberalize. Unless placed distance between herself and states modify their wartimerules prompt- KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Preceding Month 6 Months Year Week Week Ago Ago Ago Wor Program - Checks paid (millions of dollars) 1,712 1,571 1,927 1,899 1,731 War bond soles E,F,G, (millions of dollars) 178 164 215 396 208 Money in circulation (millions of dollars) 23,432 23,221 22,910 20,823 18,740 Wholesole prices (1926=100) All commodities 103.6' 103.5 103.6 103.4 102.8 Form products 122.0' 121.8 122.5 123.2 123.3 Foods 104.1 104.0 104.6 104.5 104.7 All other 98.7 98.7 98.7 98.3 97.3 Petroleum: Total U.S. stocks (thousands of barrels) 417,474 416,378* 411,357 414,667 421,068 Total East Coost stocks* (thousands of borrels) 71,189 71,010 66,895 54,961 58,048 East Coost receipts (thousands of borrels, daily overage) 1,990 1,673 1,754 1,628 1,635 Bituminous coal production (thousands of short tons, daily average) 2,002 1,992 2,065 2,095 2,022 Steel operations (% of copacity) 95.5% 97.15 97.0% 97.5% 99.4% Freight cors unloaded for export, excluding grain (daily average) Atlantic Coast ports 3,099 3,172 2,800 2,928 2,843 Gulf Coast ports 331 398 378 377 360 Pacific Coost ports 1,843 1,747 1,796 1,272 1,370 Department store soles (% change from o year ago) N.A. +18% 15% +2% +15 Preliminory *Excludes military-owned stocks "Revised Not Available CONFIDENTIAL 10 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS ly, many laid-off workers may have to But the rise-13-compares with the depend pretty much on their savings. 64% gainnow planned for 1945: require- Returning veterans too have a stake ments ought to be well within bounds of in "suitable employment." Under the materials, facilities, and manpower. G.I. Bill of Rights, soldiers are en- Requirements for other now-critical titled to readjustment allowances while programs-big guns, big-gun ammunition, looking for jobs, and the states are heavy-heavy trucks, tanks, and tractors responsible for administration. Pre- -would decline sharply and the programs sumably, veterans will try to capitalize would automatically drop from the crit- on the skills they've acquired in the ical list. The cut in tanks is espe- Army or Navy: a former day laborer who cially sharp-96%. Though the program has become a mechanic will not want to for mortars and rocket launchers would go back to day laboring if he can get drop 36%, it would still be higher than a job in a manufacturing plant or a planned for 1945. Here's how the re- garage. Nevertheless the kind of job quired production of selected ASP items a veteran will be expected to take will after X Day compares with 1944 require- depend on the state he happens to live ments: in, and on how that particular state interprets "suitable employment." Period % 1944 I Change (millions) When ASP Meets X Day Total $21,500 $10,700 -50% Guns, fire Army supply requirements to be cut 50% for control 1,312 356 -73 12 months following Germany's surrender. Heavy artil 202 26 -87 Pressure to be off urgent programs, with Small arms 587 182 -69 possible exception of airborne radar. Ammunition 4,871 2,424 -50 WHEN X DAY comes, Army supply require- Heavy artil 376 91 -76 ments will be cut in half. A special Mortar shells, rockets supply program for the 12-month period 326 249 -24 Small arms following the surrender of Germany (Per- iod I) sets required production at $10.- amm 619 330 -47 700,000,000, as compared to $21,500,- Aerial bombs 1,359 991 -27 000,000 for 1944. Requirements for 1945 GP bombs 290 327 +13 at present are scheduled at $19,600,- Combat vehicles 1,405 79 -94 Tanks 000,000. 1,086 47 -96 Of all the programs now listed as Motor carriages critical, only airborne radar-which for SP guns 276 11 -96 still would be scheduled to increase Automotive veh. 2,231 652 -71 26%-may remain critical. However, com- Heavy-heavies. 532 151 -72 Tractors pared with present schedules for 1945, 476 276 -42 airborne radar is cut 5%. Moreover, Comm. & elec. with ground radar and airborne radio equipment 3,160 1,678 -47 requirements reduced sharply, produc- Airborne radio 441 162 -63 tion pressure may be eased considerably. Airborne radar 541 682 +26 General-purpose bomb requirements International aid requirements are will also RO up over this year's level. estimated at nearly $1,500,000,000-a CONFIDENTIAL SEPTEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL II reduction of 60% from 1944. They con- ship to build and production control at stitute 14% of total required munitions Atlanta hasn't beenup to expectations. production. Heaviest demands will be A new plant manager is now being selected for ammunition and combat and motor and the plant may begin to roll in an- vehicles. International aid would take other three months. 37% of the total truck production, 26% As for the Commando, the 114 accepted of small arms. were 14% below schedule. Of this total, 101 came from Curtiss, Buffalo, which August Aircraft Audit was 16% short of the plan. It has been a long, tough grind for this plant (WP- Weight was off 7%, numbers 4%, but most July8'44,p7)-and it's still grinding: high-urgency models came through. Super- more design changes are in the works as fortress made record, though below sched- soon as the assembly line can absorb them. ule; Invader now in quantity production. Fighters made the best all-around 'showing among major plane groups. One A NEW SUPERBOMBER made its debut, the factor here was a record turnout of 402 A-26 Invader really got into quantity P-38 Lightnings at Lockheed, Burbank, production, and acceptances of the P-51 35 planes ahead of July and two above Mustang reached the highest level ever schedule. Another was the P-51 Mustang's attained by a fighter in any one month. 64-above-schedule showing: the August Those were the high lights of last month's total of 700 compared with 569 in July, airplane performance. when acceptance rules at North American, Schedule was missed by 7% on the air- Inglewood, were changed (WP-Aug 5'44,p11). frame weight basis, and numbers were 4% The complete list follows: shy-7,939 as against 8,228. But the August Acceptances only notable deficits were in the B-29 68 % of Superfortress and the C-46 Commando. July W-11 In all, 94 Superfortresses were ac- All military planes. 99% 93% cepted, the largest number in any one Army procured 98 93 month since their debut in July, 1943: Navy procured 103 91 but this was 27 planes short of sched- Combat planes 100 93 ule. As in July, the Bell plant at Superbombers 128 78 Atlanta was responsible for the drop: Forts & Liberators 92 91 though the 11 accepted contrasted with Patrol bombers 120 67 July's one, 40 were scheduled. There Medium bombers 93 100 is a reason for the lag. Light bombers 115 98 Early this year Bell, Atlanta, had Fighters (incl. a substantial number of planes in process naval reconn 105 101 which the Army wanted in a hurry. So Transports 92 94 workers were shifted from parts to as- Trainers 83 86 sembly operations during February, March, Communications 100 102 April, and May. Since May, planes have been heldup for lack of "bits and pieces," Two experimental models of the B-32 such AS pipe, tubing, and wire. Later, superbomber, just christened the Domi- workers had to be shifted from the 88- nator, came through at Consolidated sembly line to the modification line. Vultee, San Diego. But the two produc- Finally, the B-29 is a highly complex tion models scheduled for acceptance at CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Income Payments - Production - Inventories - Sales Latest Preceding 2 Months 6 Months Year Same Some Month Month Ago Ago Ago Month Month 1939 1937 INCOME PAYMENTS-TOTAL (million dollars) 12,892 13,499' 12,300 12,426 11,846 5,806 6,177 Solories and wages 9,166 9,201 9,075 8,889 8,399 3,667 3,841 Comm. distr., and serv. industries 7,031 6,979' 6,887 6,812 6,678 3,099 3,322 Government 2,135 2,222 2,188 2,077 1,721 424 395 Military 1,265 1,234 1,206 1,115 890 36 36 Nonmilitory 870 988 982 262 831 388 257 Work relief wages o o o o o 144 126 Other income payments 3,726 4,298* 3,225 3,537 3,447 2,139 2,336 Income payments annual rate (adjusted for seasonal, billion dollars) 156.1 156.3' 155.1 152.1 143.4 70.4 74.4 FOOD PRODUCTION Dairy products (million pounds) Butter, creamery 154.6' 177.9* 174.5 104.1 180.9 182.2 171.7 Cheese 107.3' 122.6' 94.8 62.2 107.1 77.3 70.5 Evaporated milk 358.0' 412.5 417.5 194.5 331.6 226.6 205.8 Meats total (incl. lard, million pounds) 1,554' 1,754 1,836 2,189 1,690 1,033 771 Beef and veol 496.9' 556.2 566.6 630.7 485.4 445.8 421.3 Lomb and mutton 71.6' 69.0 68.3 81.5 78.1 53.1 52.4 Pork, incl. lard 906.8' 1,128.6 1,200.9 1,476.5 1,126.0 534.3 297.0 Lord 188.9' 231.9 240.8 265.9 200.1 93.6 42.2 Poultry and eggs Eggs (millions) 4,631' 5,437 6,704 4,434 4,532 3,307 3,305 Poultry (receipts of 5 principal markets, million pounds) 42.1 39.2 29.0 30.7 24.2 27.8 20.8 INVENTORIES-TOTAL (million dollars) 27,145 27,368 27,510 27,538 27,293 18,160 Manufacturers 17,199 17,229 17,268 17,805 17,391 9,747 Wholesolers 4,043 4,088 4,146 4,052 3,828 3,457 Retailers 5,903 6,051 6,096 5,681 6,074 4,956 N.A. RETAIL STORE SALES-TOTAL (million dollars) 5,464 5,593 5,721 4,928 5,231 3,349 Durable goods stores 3,588 838 863 873 678 811 868 1,029 Nondurable goods stores 4,626 4,730 4,848 4,250 4,420 2,481 2,59 *Entire Series, July. *Revised. 'Social Security benefits, direct and other relief, dividends and interest, entrepreneurial income. Preliminary. N.A. Not available. the Ft. Worth plant were still being given an overriding preference, which worked on. The Dominator is a sister may cut into September Liberator output ship of the Superfortress, was designed at this plant. Meanwhile, supply is from the same Army performance specifi- running ahead of B-24 requirements. cations. With wing-spar difficulties finally The 1,217 Forts and Liberators ac- cleared up, the A-26 Invader hit a new cepted compared with a schedule of 1,- monthly high at 70 planes, one above 338. Consolidated Vultee, San Diego, schedule and 44 more than in July. The was responsible for almost all of the A-26 faces major design changes this deficit. For most of August, San Diego month: for one thing, the cockpit can- was still feeling the effects of a change opy must be raised to improve thepilot's in acceptance procedure (WP-Aug5'44, vision. But both Douglas plants as- p10). However, the PB4Y-a Navy version sembling this plane-at Long Beach and of the PB4Y patrol Liberator-has been Tulsa-think they can take them in stride. CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies In a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted as if the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address. (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern- ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Confidential Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act di $2 12 1973 X THE & Economic Data Special Articles The President a WAR PROGRESS 6.7 Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act Mar Production Board Fractional Motors After V-E Day x DECLASSIVIED x4735 E.O. 11652, See 3(E) and 5(D) OR R Commorce Dept. Lotter, 11-14-72 By RHP, Date MAR 14 1973 Number 212 October 7, 1944 Form GA-M-8D (3-20-40) No. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA R WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 68774 COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION (DIVISION OR OFFICE) be OFFICE (NAME) (NAME) ROOM NUMBER) BUILDING ROOM NUMBER (BUILDING) DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT 71? 1 3 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER % RECEIPT OFG WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Planning and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Director) by the Reports Division Joseph A. Livingston, Director), EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard. A. R. Hilliard, Morris Katz, Chester L Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston, (editor), Martha Menaker, J.S. Werking (pro- duction), CONTRIPUTORS Joseph A, Zettler (munitions), William F. Butler (aircraft), J. Ronald Melklejuhn (communications and electronics). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 212 WAR PROGRESS OCTOBER 7, 1944 Fractional Motors Come V-E Day Production of A.C. civilian types ought to rise tial civilian needs. In the third quar- to reconversion occasion after Germany ter after V-E Day, estimates are that falls. Plant capacity today is for greater 2,100,000 will be available-as a re- than it was in 1939. sult of reconversion of facilities to civilian production, addition of new JUST AS IT IS TODAY, 80 will it be after facilities, increased labor. Yet it V-E Day in fractional horsepowermotors. still is touch and go whether that 160% Military demands will continue to be increase in civilian supply will be met-universal (A.C.-D.C.) and D.C. sufficient to meet civilian demands. fractionals will be in good supply. But A.C. civilian types will probably be LOOKING AT REFRIGERATORS tight and could conceivably slow up re- It all depends on how fast the con- conversion. sumers' durable goods industry recon- Present civilian consumption of al- verts. The War Production Board's Con- ternating current fractional motors sumers Durable Goods Division estimates runs to somewhat over 800,000 units per that nine months after V-E Day refrig- quarter. They're needed for farm equip- erator manufacturers will be turning ment, pumps, milking machines, fans, out refrigerators at the comparatively blowers, replacements for refrigerators high level of 475,000 per quarter-equal and washing machines, and other essen- to the 1939 rate, but considerably be- WHAT'S AHEAD IN FRACTIONAL MOTORS In the third quarter after V-E Day, civilians will get 29% of total production as against 10% today. 1944-2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. after Civilian $9,400,000 O.C. and Universal V-E Day (980,000 units) AC D.C. and Universol AC 1939-Avg. Qtr. Civilion (All Civilion) $27,000,000 (2,860,000 unin), Other Military $96,600,000 Militory 12,520,000 units) $67,000,000 A.C. (1,540,000 unita) $26,000,000 $106,000,000 $94,000,000 (2,800,000 units) (3,500,000 units) (4,400,000 units) WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS low 1941. If the paper work, getting milking machines, pumps, etc.-today's together of components, and tooling up essential civilian needs. take less than the six months now fig- Obviously, then, the demand for A.C. ured, this rate would probably be low, fractionals is contingent. It depends and estimated fractional horsepower on how quickly refrigerator, stoker, motor requirements would go up accord- oil burner, and other manufacturers ingly. If, on the other hand, it takes tool up: on how readily they get com- longer for the industry to get into ponents: how easily they get rid of mass production, for one reason or an- bugs from the assembly line. But as- other, then demand for fractionals would suming fair success-fairly rapid re- be easier than figured. conversion-this is what quarterly ci- vilian requirements might shape up to WASHING MACHINES be nine months after V-E Day: In washing machines, similarly, es- timates are provisional. It is figured Washing machines 500,000 that 500,000 washers per quarter could Refrigerators 475,000 be produced within nine months after Current programs 800,000 Germany is defeated. Slow reconversion Other 400,000 would make this figure too high, fast Total 2,175,000 reconversion too low-with correspond- ing pressure on fractionals. And so it In 1939, fractional horsepower pro- goes right down the line. There will duction was at a level sufficient to also be demands from producers of stok- meet these requirements: today it is ers, 'oil burners, evaporative coolers, more than four times as great-as a re- and miscellaneous appliances who will sult of military demand. Current pro- be getting into production as soon as duction of all types of fractional motors they are released frommunitions assign- is running at a rate of $450,000,000 ments: and their requirements will be annually, against $100,000,000 in 1939 measured by the speed with which they -of which 90% is for the Army, Navy, reconvert. And in addition, of course, Maritime, etc. there will be the continued demand for HOW LONG TO RECONVERT? Much depends on how fast manufactur- IN THIS ISSUE: ers now working on combat-type motors can reconvert to A.C. types. If current FRACTIONAL MOTORS COME V-E DAY 1 estimates of release are too high, or if manufacturers can't get into produc- KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK # tion quickly enough, they won't be able to satisfy the demand. But this isn't SUGAR STOCKS SLIP 5 too likely. On the other hand, if the PLANES THREE TIMES HEAVIER THAN IN '40 6 cut in the munitions programs is larger than now figured, and reconversion gets THE RM CELL: LONGER SHELF LIFE 9 under way as nowestimated-three to six REPORTS ON REPORTS months-supply couldmore than meet de- 11 mands of appliance manufacturers. SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 12 Direct current and universal motors hardly present a problem. Most of these CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 7, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 3 PERSPECTIVE ON FRACTIONAL MOTORS Shipments of combat types continue to rise, but backlog holds at high levels. A.C.'s remain tight, 60 60 Total Fractional H.P. Motors Combat Motors (excluding A.C. combat types) 50 50 40 40 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Shipments Shipments 30 30 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 20 New Orders less 20 Concellations New Orders less Concellations IO 10 o o 20 20 Backlog Bocklog MONTHS 10 IO MONTHS o o JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJ J F M A M J J A 5 o N D J F M A M J J 1943 1944 1943 1944 20 20 Aircraft Motors A.C. Motors (excluding ouxiliories) New Orders less MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Concellations New Orders less IO Concellations 10 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Shipments Shipments o o 20 20 Backiog Backlog MONTHS IO IO MONTHS o o J F M A M J J A 5 o N D J F M A M J J J F M A M J J A S o N o J F M A M J J 1943 1944 1943 1944 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 4 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Latest Preceding Month 6 Months Year Week Week Ago Ago Ago Wor Program - Checks poid (millions of dollors) 1,678 1,629 1,712 1,594 1,640 Wor bond soles - E, F, G, (millions of dollars). 260 152 178 239 712 Money in circulation (millions of dollars). 23,881 23,658 23,432 21,037 18,883 Wholesole prices (1926:100) All Commodities 103.8' 103.7 103.6 103.6 103.0 Form products 122.8 122.8 122.0 123.9 123.6 Foods 103.9' 104.3 104.1 104.2 105.0 All other, 98.8 98.8 98.7 98.3 97.5 Petroleum: Total U.S. stocks (thousands of borrels) 421,295 420,235 416,378 413,122 420,129 Total Eost Coost stocks" (thousands of barrels), 74,677 73,712 71,189 55,844 60,751 East Coost receipts (thousands of borrels, daily overage) 1,696 1,662 1,990 1,750 1,537 Bituminous cool production (thousands of short tons, daily overoge). 1,975 1,933 2,012 1,979 2,017 Steel operations (% of copacity) 95.6% 95.15 95.15 99.15 100.8% Freight cors unloaded for export, excluding grain (daily overoge) Atlantic Coost ports 3,577 3,425 3,099 3,457 2,719 Gulf Coast ports 459 462 331 452 384 Pacific Coost ports 1,778 1,898 1,843 4,365 1,454 Department store soles (% change from o year ago) +12% +9% +15% +32% 12% Preliminary Excludes militory-owned stocks Revised types go into military products. After For the present, however, reconver- V-E Day cutbacks, manufacturers could sion of the fractional-motor industry easily fill the comparatively modest is still mainly in the let's-plan-for- civilian demand. Moreover, many appli- it stage. There is still a big job to ance manufacturers using the universal do in filling military needs. The value type-such as vacuum cleaners, mixers, of shipments to the armed forces is dry shavers-make their own motors. running at $32,000,000 per month-this Thus, when their end-product facilities alone is nearly four times 1939's monthly are released from war work, they will average. But new orders have been com- be all set in terms of motor capacity ing in at a somewhat higher rate. As to reconvert. In the third quarter a result the backlog has risen slightly after V-E Day, production of D.C. motors to 10 months at the end of July, as for civilians is expected to increase against nine and one-half months earlier 300%, universal types nearly 400%, as in the year. follows: 3rd Qtr. SMOOTHER FLOW 2nd Qtr. After % But despite this rise in unfilled 1944 V-E Day Change orders, shipments of combat-type motors (000 units) have been coming through as needed, A.C....... 815 2,100 +158% with July at a peak. Indeed, manufac- D.C. 25 100 +300 turers of combat-type motors are in Universal. 140 660 +371 better shape than they were earlier in Total 980 2,860 +192% the year. Where they used to be bothered CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 7, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 5 by sudden changes in specifications which upset the assembly lines (WP-Apr SUGAR STOCKS SLIP 29'44,p6), now these interruptions oc- Though this years new supply is ahead cur much less frequently. The rise in orders isdirectly trace- of the same period in 1943, 1000 "XX" able to the B-29 Superfortress, which requires some 300 fractional motors and auxilieries, as against approximately 100 for the Fort or the Liberator. To 500 500 a lesser degree, the increase represents Domestic overordering by users in order to make Off-shore Entries sure of delivery. Present shipping o o schedules call for increases of air- JJASONDJFMAMJ JASONOJFMAMJJAS 1942 1943 1944 craft-type fractionals, but after V-E Day shipments will drop-despite the Consumption has gone even higher, rise in requirements for the B-29. Here's 1000 1000 how the second quarter 1944 shipments of combat types compare with estimates in the third quarter after the end of 500 500 the European war: 3rd Qtr. 2nd Qtr. After % 1944 THOUSANDS OF SHORT TONS-RAW VALUE o o V-E Day Change JJASOND J 1942 1943 1944 1000 units) Aircraft types. 1,020 625 -39% And stocks are down to the lowest in Signal Corps 635 355 -44 2 years. Other 865 560 -35 2500 2500 Excluding Retoil THOUSANDS OF SHORT TONS-RAW VALUE Total military 2,520 1,540 -39% To an extent, manufacturers have been held up by shortages of castings and 2000 2000 labor. And despite large releases in labor in other munitions industries, motor manufacturers have not had much 1500 1500 relief because of the special skills needed for the fractional-motor indus- try-armature winding, for instance. If castings and labor had been avail- 1000 1000 able, production could have been in- creased by perhaps as much as 20%. Thus, the presumption is that frac- 500 500 tional motors will not be a reconversion bottleneck unless appliance manufac- turers get into large-scale production much more quickly, or the A.C. motor o o JJASONDJFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJAS manufacturers much more slowly, than 1942 1943 1944 expected. WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS Planes Three Times Heavier Than in '40 September output accents trend toward bigger, teristic of this country's aircraft better types. Superbombers miss goal but program. A few months after the fall set record;account for seven of each 100 of France, the average weight per plane pounds. Commandos beat schedule. produced was only 3,020 pounds; year by year since then it has risen, as follows: ALTHOUGH monthly aircraft acceptances- September Pounds both in number and in weight-have been 1940 falling off consistently, planes have 3,020 1941 4,220 continued to get heavier, and, in the 1942 6,460 process, more powerful. 1943 September's production underscores 8,100 1944 this trend: 7,598 planes were accepted 10,430 as against 7,937 in August and 9,117 in And by December of this year, weight March, the peak month numerically. Air- per plane is due to rise still further frame weight amounted to 79,300,000 -to 10,700 pounds. pounds as against 79,700,000 in August Production today is concentrated in and 90,000,000 in May, the record month tactical types-bombers, fighters, naval in weight. But weight per plane, at reconnaissance, and transports-in con- 10,430 pounds, was about 4% greater than trast to when the program was expanding in August and just about at an all-time rapidly. In 1942, for example, 85 out high (chart, page 7). of every 100 pounds of airframe weight Development of bigger and better accepted was in tactical planes and 15% planes has been the outstanding charac- in nontactical types: trainers, communi- cations, and special purpose (chart, PLANE SUMMARY page 8). Last month, however, fully 98 out of every 100 pounds was in bomb- Combat planes constitute 64% of all planes produced since July, 1940. ers, fighters, naval reconnaissance, and transports, only 2% in nontactical types. This reflects chiefly the re- Communications duction in pilot training programs and 33 the continued emphasis on fighting planes. Transports 8% SUPERBOMBERS SOAR Bombers 32% In this uptrend, the superbomber is Trainers 23% increasingly important. Thus, last month a record number-123-were ac- cepted, or 27 above August. These planes, Fighters and Novol Reconnoissonce at 49,000 rounds each, are twice the 32% airframe weight of a Fortress or Liber- ator. And the superbomber last month 230,000 Planes accounted for seven out of every 100 pounds accepted: in December it is sched- uled to account for 15 out of 100 pounds. - PROGRESS Nevertheless, September superbomber CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 7, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 output was :6 short of schedule. Bell, other superbomber plants were on the Atlanta, the weak spot in the program target. Here's the plant-by-plant record: was stronger last month, coming through with 29 as against 11 in August: but Boeing, Wichita 63 it wasn't strong enough to make the Bell, Atlanta 29 schedule of 40. The rest of the deficit Boeing, Renton 20 was accounted for by Consolidated Vultee, Martin, Omaha 10 Ft. Worth, which was shooting for six Consolidated Vultee, B-32 Dominators and delivered only one Ft. Worth 1 -the first production model of this Total 123 plane, incidentally: the two accepted at the San Diego plant in August were Like the Superfortress, the C-46 Com- experimental jobs (WP-Sep9'44, pll). All mando transport also made a new high FOUR YEARS OF WAR PLANES Production by weight and number has started to decline, IO 100 8 80 THOUSANDS OF PLANES 6 60 Number Airfrome Weight 4 40 AIRFRAME WEIGHT-MILLIONS OF POUNDS 2 20 o o o N D J F M A M J J A S o N D , F M A M J J A S o N 0 J F M A M J a A S o N D J F M A M J J A S 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 But average weight per plane is just about at peak. 12 12 8 THOUSANDS OF POUNDS B THOUSANDS OF POUNDS 4 4 o o o N D J F M A M J J A $ o N D . F M A M J J A 5 o N D J F M A M J J A $ o N o J F M A M J J A 5 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SHIFTING PROPORTIONS IN PLANE PRODUCTION Bombers now take nearly two-thirds of airframe weight as against 50% in 1941. Trainers drop from 22% then to 2% now. Airframe Weight % Distribution Communications 1000 1000 100 - 100 Trainers Transports 800 800 75 Fighters" 75 Communications Trainers MILLIONS OF POUNDS 600 Transports 600 Fighters 400 MILLIONS OF POUNDS of OF TOTAL PRODUCTION 50 50 400 % OF TOTAL PRODUCTION Bombers Bombers ////// 25 25 200 200 0 o o o 1941 1942 1943 1944 1941 1942 1943 1944 Annual "includes novol reconnoissonce Annual Rote Rate WAR PROGRESS last month: the 170 accepted were 49% accepted out of a slate of 65. By con- more than in August. But more than trast, the Army fell only 2% short of that, schedule was exceeded for the its September schedule, as the following first time this year-by 17%. All but table shows: 20 of the Commandos came from Curtiss, September Acceptances Buffalo-hitherto beset by production as % of troubles (WP-July8'44,p7). To be sure, August Schedule the planes produced in previous months All military planes. 99% 97% and carried over into September were a Army procured 98 98 factor; but improved production control Navy procured 102 90 was a more important influence. While Combat planes 99 97 the showing at Buffalo was much better Superbombers 128 89 than expected, it doesn't mean that all Forts & Liberators 99 103 difficulties have been conquered; the Patrol bombers 110 61 backlog of design changes on this plane Medium bombers 93 87 is still substantial. Light bombers 92 100 The Navy got only 90% of the planes Fighters (incl. it programmed last month, largely be- naval reconn. 97 99 cause patrol bombers fell 39% short of Transports 98 95 the sharply rising schedule. At Con- Trainers 92 98 solidated Vultee, San Diego, where the Communications 101 101 4-engined PB4Y is produced, only 44 were Forts and Liberators had a good month; CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 7, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 1,205 were accepted as against the sched- 1940: the plane has fought in nearly ule of 1,169. All plants did what was every combat theater, has become & great expected-or more-with Consolidated favorite with Russian and British as Vultee, San Diego, making comeback; the well asU.S. pilots. Its successor, the 212 Liberators accepted theremore than A-26 Invader, did nicely last month, the doubled the August total and ran 16% 90 accepted meeting schedule and making ahead of schedule-this in sharp con- another newhigh. The increase came in trast to the lag in PB4Ys. However, spite of further design changes. during July and August a revision of the acceptance rules on the Liberator NAVY FIGHTERS DO WELL at San Diego (WP-Aug5'44, caused All told, 1,191 Wildcate, Corsairs, & backing up of planes at this plant. and Hellcats were accepted, and Navy But now modifications are running more 1-engined fighters ran 4% ahead of sched- smoothly and this helped to swell last ule. But only 1,563 Army 1-engined month's total. fighters came through versus 1,641 pro- grammed. This was more than explained A-20 BOSTON CASHES IN by lagsat two plants. At Bell, Buffalo, The A-20 Boston cashed in its pro- the 101 P-63 Airacobras accepted were 59 duction checks at Douglas, Santa Monica, short: at North American, Dallas, the 213 when 133 were accepted, virtually com- P-51 Mustangs that came through were 38 pleting the program. More than 7,000 shy. Here Dallas was shifting to a new Bostons have been turned out since July, version, from the P-51D to the P-51K. The RM Dry Cell: Longer Shelf Life Losts four times os long os ordinary types which many of the combat theaters right now. often give out before they reach South Po- The RM is among the smallest of the cific combat theaters. Production sched- so-called small battery cells, which uled to increase even after V-E Day. range in size from & jelly bean to a Tootsie Roll. (A Walkie-Talkie uses as A VOYAGE to the South Pacific theater- many as 72 small battery cells, & foun- perhaps 30 days through high tempera- tain-pen flashlight one). Small battery tures and humidity-is often enough to cells comprise 85% of all cell produc- sap the out of an ordinary dry cell. tion. And next year, the RMis expected And when that happens, it means that a to account for 10 out of every 100 small Walkie-Talkie, mine detector, bazooka, cells used in Army and Navy batteries. field radio, or any of the 400 military items that use batteries won't work. NOW IT DIFFERS Now, however, the United States has The RM cell is not new; it was de- & battery cell that doesn't suffer from veloped before the war. In contrast to shelf age: moreover, withstands heat the conventional-type cell, it works and humidity and has a service life on an entirely different chemical prin- three to five times longer than that ciple, using & solution of potassium of the conventional-type cell. It is hydroxide as an electrolyte (conductor known as the "RM." And it is reaching of electricity) instead of ammonium CONFIDENTIAL 10 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS chloride. It has differences in con- facturers turned out approximately 100,- struction, too, one of them being the 000,000 small battery cells. But in use of a steel instead of a zinc shell. the year following Pearl Harbor, output Why manufacturers didn't put it into more than doubled. It almost doubled production goes back to a dollars-and- again in 1943, and is now slated to cents reason: the conventional-type cell quadruple on top of that; meanwhile the still held the competitive price edge, armed services have been taking an in- despite a shorter shelfand servicelife. creasing share of total production: PROGRAM LAUNCHED % to When the U.S. went to war, the RM Production Military cell was made available to the Army Sig- (millions) nal Corps. Tests were conducted. But 1942 250 60% it was the South Pacific campaign that 1943 400 75 clinched the case; the RM withstood the 1944 1,600 90 long haul. In the middle of 1943, a facilities program for the RM cell was *Estimated; expected to include launched. Production got under way last about 20,000,000 RM cells. month and a peak of 16,000,000 to 17,- 000,000 units monthly is expected by As shown by the chart below, produc- next February. tion of small battery cells will con- In 1939, about & dozen U.S. manu- tinue to show a diminishing deficit SMALL BATTERY CELLS Production for the Army and Navy scheduled to rise 44% above the August level but still falls short of military requirements for the year. 200 200 Requirements 150 150 MILLIONS OF SMALL BATTERY CELLS Schedule 100 100 Actual MILLIONS OF SMALL BATTERY CELLS 50 50 o o Jon. Feb Mor. April May June July Aug. Sept. Oct Nov Dec 1944 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 7, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL II from statedmilitary requirements until diphenylamine) has been maintained at December. But next year, with new fa- or near peak levels, output has not been cilities still coming in, annual capa- sufficient to meet demands because of city for small battery cells will step increased military requirements, accord- up to approximately 2,000,000,000 units: ing to Organic Chemicals (confidential; 1,800,000,000 conventional-type cells pp. 16). And, until reconversion is and 200,000,000 RM cells. Unless mili- well on its way, finished products- tary demand rises above currently stated dyes, synthetic medicinals, synthetic figures, this should be enough to meet flavors, and perfume materials, etc.- requirements. will be available for civilian use only But numbers alone do not tell the in limited quantities. whole story of next year's small battery- (Department of Commerce, Bureau of For- cell capacity. Figuring the RM to last eign and Domestic Commerce) four times longer than the conventional- type cell, service lifewill equal 800,- Consumer Views 000,000 units. Thus, next year's power capacity is equivalent to 2,600,000,000 Housewives continue to complain about small battery cells, or more than 60% quality deterioration and high prices, higher than this year's. but aremore concerned with the scarcity of certain commodities-especially cloth- WHEN V-E DAY COMES ing. Housewives Report: C 37 (restrict- Here's a notable point, too. When ed: pp. 16) also points out that there the war in Europe ends, RM facilities has been a deluge of comments from cor- will continue to run at full blast for respondents, particularly nonhousewives, the war in the Pacific: but about a who have observed great increases in third of remaining small battery-cell pleasure driving. To some, this is evi- capacity (1,800,000,000 units) will be dence that the black market must be do-- released. That will be enough to turn ing a flourishing business. out more than five times the largest (Office of War Information, Bureau of number of small battery cells ever used Special Services) by the U.S. economy ina peacetime year. And provided manufacturers can hold on Manpower in Coal Mines to their labor (a lot of workers are women andit's a two-shift industry to- Mines which represented two-thirds day) small battery cells could be made of total employment in the bituminous available without restriction for ci- coal industry in July, indicated they vilian use in portable radios, hearing would need to increase their labor force aids, meters. etc. 18% by the end of 1944, according to Manpower Situation in Bituminous Coal REPORTS ON REPORTS Mining (confidential: pp. 31. But de- spite a continued labor decline, 1944 Organic Chemicals output through August 19 amounted to Although production of cyclic crudes 400,900,000 tons-1% above the produc- (benzol, naphthalene, naphthenic acid, tion rate needed to meet requirements aromatic solvents) and intermediates of 626,000,000 tons for the entire year. (analine, anthraquinone, benzyl chloride, Therefore, it appears unnecessary to CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Federal Finance - Income Payments-Food Production Some Same Lotest Preceding 2 Months 6 Months Year Month Month Month* Month Ago Ago Ago 1939 1937 FEDERAL FINANCE (GENERAL FUND) Expenditures- Total (million dollars) 7,930 8,119 8,110 8,525 7,535 741 N.A. Wor 6,998 7,571 7,201 7,726 6,952 116 Nonwor 932 548 909 799 583 625 Revenues - Total 5,926 2,568 2,163 6,573 5,447 676 Income Taxes 5,174 1,552 1,247 5,911 4,765 329 Other revenues 752 1,016 916 662 682 347 Wor bond soles 692 602 2,125 709 1,927 - "E" 591 499 1,687 576 1,400 - "F"ond"G" 101 103 438 133 527 - War bond redemptions 278 272 220 262 145 - "E" 255 246 196 241 134 - "F"and "G" 23 26 24 21 11 - N.A. Net debt (billion dollors) 194.4 192.1 186.6 168.1 140.2 38.7 34.0 INCOME PAYMENTS - TOTAL (million dollars) 12,661' 12,868' 13,499 12,114 11,681 5,483 5,897 Solories and woges 9,238' 9,152 9,201 9,026 8,460 3,710 3,862 Comm, distr., and serv. industries 7,087' 7,017 6,979 6,943 6,719 3,289 3,477 Government 2,151' 2,135 2,222 2,083 1,741 421 385 Militory 1,277 1,265 1,234 1,119 925 38 33 Nonmilitory 874 870 988 964 816 383 252 Other income paymentst 3,423' 3,736' 4,298 3,088 3,221 1,773 2,035 Income poyments annual rote (odjusted for seasonal, billion dollors) 157.6 156.0 $ 156.3 155.2 144.5 71.7 73.9 FOOD PRODUCTION Doiry products (million pounds) Butter, creamery 130.2 153.7 177.9 105.8 151.9 167.0 147.1 Cheese N.A. 107.3 122.6 63.1 94.4 69.6 61.3 Evoporated milk 312.0 358.0 412.5 211.2 275.5 190.9 162.5 Meats-Total (incl, lard, million pounds) 1,572 1,554 1,754 2,021 1,572 1,037 792 Beef and veol 601.9 496.9 556.2 585.0 552.6 469.5 459.7 Lomb and mutton 75.5 71.6 69.0 64.2 89.5 56.6 57.6 Pork, incl. lard 791.9 906.8 1,128.6 1,372.2 929.8 510.7 274.5 Lord 153.2 188.9 231.9 259.1 165.4 90.7 36.0 Poultry and eggs Eggs (millions) 4,010 4,631 5,437 5,346 3,863 2,857 2,868 Poultry (receipts of 5 principal morkets, million pounds) 38.7 42.1 39.2 23.0 29.7 25.8 20.9 "Federal Finance, September; all other, August. P Preliminary. . Revised. N.A. Not ovailable. Work relief, direct and other relief, Social Security benefits, Dividends and interest, entrepreneurial income, recruit somany additional workers: em- plastics. Plastics Materials (confi- ployment stabilization should be suf- dential: pp. 18) reveals further, that ficient. butyl alcohol, already tight because of (War Manpower Commission, Analysis Di- military demands fornoncosting use, is vision) now even tighter and none was allocated in August for protective coatings. (Department of Commerce, Bureau of For- Plastics eigh and Domestic Commerce) A critical shortage of materials, particularly naphthalene, phthalic an- [This record is an attempt to select from the many documents coming to the attention of WAR PROGRESS hydride, and phthalate plasticizers, those studies which would be of most interest to which are needed for other industrial readers. The list in by no means comprehensive, and no attempt has been made to evaluate reports for uses, continues to limit production of accuracy. Whether reports are available dependa on the policy of each individual agency.] CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. it contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS In connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted as If the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address. (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern- ment position which entities them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Discloure Punishable Under Espionage Aa $ R 11582 1549 - "MAR 19/4/1973 14 1. Economic Data Special Articles The President a WAR PROGRESS "Confidential 6.7 Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act War Production Board Critical Programs Still Critical Cutbacks Casts Their Shadows DECLASSIFIED E.O. 11652, Bec. 8(8) and 6(D) de 00 Commerce Dept. Letter, 11-16-72 x4735 Ry RHP, Date MAR 14 1973 Number 213 October 14, 1944 Pura GA-M-ED I (2-28-40) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA R WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 69276 COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION The President DIVISION OR OFFICE [DIVISIÓN OR OFFICE) R.C.S. NAME NAME The White House ROOM NUMBER) BUILDING ROOM NUMBER (BUILDING) DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT V.P. , 213 #1 3 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD THE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER'S RECEIPT are WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. Wer Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Planning and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Director) by the Reports Division (Joseph A, Livingston, Director). EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting). Winona Hibbard, A. R. Hilliard, Morris Katz. Chester L Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston (editor), Martha Menaker, J.S. Werking (pro- duction). CONTRIBUTORS Joseph A. Zettler (munitions), William F. Butler (aircraft), J. Ronald Melklejohn communications and electronics). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 213 WAR PROGRESS OCTOBER 14, 1944 Critical Programs Are Still Critical Though gains as high as 91% (combat loaders) 76mm. gun. Deliveries of 632 were about were made in September, in most cases'44 20% below August and 18% short of the requirement levels were missed. Big am- forecast; here the trouble was & short- munition, superbombers, etc., made highs. age of new tracks. Also, an August strike was felt in September deliveries CRITICAL WAR production programs picked of light-heavy trucks. up last month where August left off. Nevertheless, in most items Septem- Plus signs again prevailed despite the ber was again a month of improvement. Labor Day week end; however, gains in To make the 1944 goal in superbombers, most instances fell short of the level for example, monthly output over the required to meet 1944 goals and-unless rest of the year must average some 60% cutbacks intervene-carryovers into over September: in August, an average 1945 are inevitable. monthly stepup of 100% was required. In some industries-dry-cell bat- teries, for example--the holiday brought THE 80% QUESTION a few shutdowns; in others, such as Similarly in the fast-rising combat truck and bus tires, absenteeism rose loader program (cargo and transport abnormally. A highlight of the month attack vessels), where monthly deliv- was the beginning of the seasonal up- eries virtually doubled-from 14 to 27 swing in the foundry and forge indus- vessels. A lot of work on ships yet tries. Here, early reports suggest fur- undelivered has been done (chart, page ther moderate gains in output. In con- 4), but a question whether a speed- trast to August, when these plants ac- up of 80% in deliveries over the Sep- tually lost workers, preliminary indi- tember rate can be attained. Indeed, cations are that some labor was picked in seven out of eight selected critical up from farms and cut-back programs. programs, the rate of stepup required— with only three months to go-will take PROGRESS REPORT a lot of doing: As in the previous month, output of several critical items-superbombers, % Stepup Required A-26 Invaders, combat loaders, big-gun Based on Output for ammunition-pushed into newhigh ground Aug. Sept. in September. Airborne radar, ASF 55% 50% In the case of ASF heavy artillery A-26 Invader 95 65 ammunition, however, some of the most Combat loaders urgent individual types failed to come (deliveries) 220 80 up to expectations-despite an overall G.P. & frag. bombs 30 40 monthly gain of 13%. As an example, Heavy fieldart., ASF 10 15 though production of the 155mm. howitzer Heavy field art. am- HE shell was up 40%, it missed the Sep- munition, ASF 45 35 tember forecast by 10%. Another weak Heavy-heavy trucks, ASF 90 100 spot was the medium tank mounting the Superbombers 100 60 CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS Definite steps have been taken to again and again to bring them more in spur superbomber output. Bell, Atlanta, line with feasibility. Yet the reduced which has missed schedule on the B-29 schedules are frequently missed. So Superfortress since June, was placed while monthly gains may look good, in under 8. new plant manager last month: relation to schedules they're frequently but itwill be a few months before Bell not good enough. really begins to roll. The new B-32 Dominator at Consolidated Vultee, Ft. TRUCK TROUBLES Worth, shapes up as another limiting As of September 1, for instance, the influence in this program. Right now, month's goal on heavy-heavy trucks for the B-32's tail surface design is un- the Army Service Forces was reduced acceptable to the Army Air Forces: until from $49,000,000 to $44,000,000. Sep- it is, Consolidated won't be permitted tember output ran to $40,000,000 (pre- to tool up for quantity production. liminary), a monthly gain of 8%. But to meet even the lowered schedule the CANOPY COMPLICATIONS gain should have been 194, and to meet Although the 2-engined A-25 Invader the higher one, 32%. Largely because of light bomber came through nicely last the shortage of castings-a matter of month, only 11 of the 90 planes accepted insufficient manpower in the forge shops were in the new "C" model. This is the and foundries-heavy-heavy truck sched- version that the Army Air Forces really ules have been reduced repeatedly and want: but it incorporates several de- the current requirement for 1944 is un- sign changes as compared with the "B" likely to be met (WP-Sep30'44, pll). model. One of the most important in- It's the same story in the three volves raising the cockpit canopy to critical types of communication wire. allow better pilot vision. Thus, At 116,000 miles, W-110B field- In some critical items, the need is wire output in September was 94 ahead so great that stated requirements are of August: but the revised first-of-the- no real index of what the services ac- month forecast was missed by 84. In tually want: programs have been reduced W-143 long-range field wire, September production of 8,350 miles was 39% higher than in August: however, this was 174 IN THIS ISSUE: short of the month's forecast. Output CRITICAL PROGRAMS ARE STILL CRITICAL of assault wire rose 20# over August 1 to 32,000 miles, butmissed the Septem- SCORECARD ON MERCHANT SHIPPING 3 ber goal by 11%. KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 6 91% NOT ENOUGH CUTBACKS CAST THEIR SHADOWS 7 Combat loaders are another illustra- FIRSTS IN PEACE 7 tion. A few months ago, the September WHAT'S WHAT IN A COMMANDO CUTBACK 0 goal in cargo and transport attack ves- sels was lowered from $151,000.00 to COST OF LIVING INCHES UP 10 $133,000,000. Deliveries last month BITUMINOUS COAL TIGHTENS UP 11 totaled $126,000,000, a gain of 91% over SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS August. But even that sharp increase 12 fell 5% short of the lowered goal. CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 14, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 3 SCORECARD ON MERCHANT SHIPPING Sinkings of United Nations vessels rose during the Normondy push, then fell off. But despite o decline in ship deliveries, the total fleet grows. 3000 3000 HSDOO +15,000 Sinkings vs. Construction* The Cumulative Deficit or Surplus «1000 «10,000 2000 2000 <5000 <5000 THOUSANDS OF DEADWEIGHT TONS Construction Surplus o o Schedule Sinkings Deficit THOUSANDS OF DEADWEIGHT TONS 1000 1000 -5000 5000 -10,00 10,000 o o -5,000 -15,000 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 *indudes all types of - nour those in need service - PROGRESS A feature last month was the show- Employment Service offices, another 250 ing in large truck and bue tires, used were furloughed fromthe Army and Navy, on highway freight carriers, biginter- and perhaps 450 were "borrowed" from city busses, off-the-highway vehicles, other industriesunder a special arrange- and the Army's heavy-heavy trucks (WP- ment to help beat the tire emergency. Sep9'44,1 pl). Early in August, when In this case, unionshave agreed to sus- weekly output of these tires ran to pend certain seniority rules for a 90- 50,400 units, the industry was called day period. For instance, if a man can on to boost production by 30% "as fast be spared from an ordnance plant, say, no possible." That gain in rate of out- and he transfers to tire building, he put was schieved last month: in the is not required to join the local union: closing week, 65,800 "large" tires were nor does he lose his seniority in the produced, 31% better than the early- one he leaves. At U.S. Rubber's Fisk August rate. All told, September out- plant in Chicopee Falls, Mass., workers put of large truck and bue tires was were "borrowed" last month from machin- up 11% to 276,000 units, a new high. ery, textile, ordnance, and paper-prod- ucts plants in the vicinity. EMERGENCY MEASURES Tire factories added an estimated *MUST* ON MANPOWER 1,600 workers to their rolls in Septem- During August, the "must" total on ber. About 900 were channeled into mandower for tire factories stood at tire work by referrals from local U.S. 5,000. Since then the figure has been CONFIDENTIAL 4 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS THE CRITICAL SPOTS IN THE MUNITIONS PROGRAM- Here is what has been done and what remains to be done in order to meet this year's Heavy Field Artillery-ASF Heavy Field Ammunition-ASF 25 25 80 BO (Over 105 mm) (Over 105 mm) 20 Schedule 20 Requirements N 60 (Monthly Avg) 60 +5500,0000 000000000 Requirements Schedule 15 (Monthly Avg) 15 Actual Production 40 40 IO 10 Actual Production 20 20 5 5 o o o o J F M A M J J A 5 o N o J F M A M J J A $ o N D 1944 1944 Gen'l Purpose and Frogmentation Bombs Heavy-Heavy Trucks-ASF 125 125 100 IOO 1 Requirements (Monthly Avg) Requirements (Monthly Avg) 100 Schedule 100 0000000000 75 75 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 75 75 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS / Schedule 50 50 Actual Production 50 50 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Actual Production 25 25 25 25 o o o o J F M A M J J A $ o N o J F M A M J J A S o N D 1944 1944 Combat Looders-Value of Work Done Combat Looders-Value of Deliveries 250 250 250 250 200 200 200 Schedule or 200 Requirements 150 150 150 150 100 100 100 100 Actual Production 50 50 50 50 Actual Production o o o o J F M A M J J A S o N D J F M A M J J A 5 o N D 1944 1944 Note: Schedules and requirements are os of September L All September production figures are preliminary. WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 14, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 5 -PAST PERFORMANCE, FUTURE REQUIREMENTS needs in these current high-priority tight munitions items. A-26 Invoder Superbombers (8-29, B-32) 3000 3000 12,000 12,000 Schedule or Schedule or Requirements Requirements AIRFRAME WEIGHT-THOUSANDS OF POUNDS 2000 AIRFRAME WEIGHT-THOUSANDS OF POUNDS 9000 9000 2000 6000 6000 1000 1000 3000 3000 AIRPRAME WEIGHT- THOUSANDS WEGHT-THOUSANDS OF POUNDS Advel Production Actual Production o o o o 4 F MI a M - J A $ o N D / # M . M a - a $ o N D 1944 1944 Airborne Rodor-ASF Lorge Truck and Bus Tires 100 100 500 500 Requirements (Monthly - - 400 Stated 400 75 75 Requirements Schedule (Monthly Avgil WILLONS 8 DOLLARS 50 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS THOUSANDS OF TIRES 300 300 50 ========== Allotments (Monthly Avgil 200 200 THOUSANDS OF TIRES Actual Production Actual Production 25 DI 100 IDO o o o 0 al F M A . J 4 A $ o N D J F M A M J di A 5 o N D 1944 1944 Dry Cell Botteries-Militory Wire-Assoutt, Field and Long-Ronge Communication 300 300 400 400 (Twished Point) Requirements (Monthy Avgi Requirements 300 - 300 200 200 MILLIONS OF CELLS MILLIONS OF CELLS THOUSANDS OF MLES 200 200 Schedule THOUSANDS OF MILES 100 IDO Actual Production IOO IX Actual Production o 0 o o J F M & - / , a 5 0 . D J # M A M # / 4 5 o N o 1944 1944 Note: Schedules and requirements one DE of September L M September production figures - preferminary - PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Preceding Month 6 Months Year Week Week Ago Ago Ago Wor Program - Checks paid (millions of dollars) 1,729 1,678 1,613 1,838 1,762 Wor bond soles-E,F,G, (millions of dollars) 87 260 117 153 66e Money in circulation (millions of dollars) N.A. 23,881 23,495 21,191 18,978 Wholesale prices (1926=100) All Commodities 103.9' 103.8 103.6 103.7 102.8 Form products 123.3 122.8 122.2 124.1 Foods 122.7 104.1 103.9 103.9 103.0 104.9 All other 98.9 98.8 98.8 98.5 97.5 Petroleum: Total U.S. stocks"( thousands of borrels) 424,556 421,295 417,474 412,388 Total East Coast stocks"(thousonds of borrels) 424,058 75,363 74,677 72,666 East Coast receipts (thousonds of borrels, doily overage) 56,770 61,483 1,740 1,696 1,679 1,733 1,508 Bituminous cool production (thousands of short tons, daily average) 2,008 1,975 1,940 2,086 2,016 Steel operations (% of copacity) 96.9% 95.6% 93.8% 99.5% 100.8% Freight cors unlooded for export, excluding groin (dait- average) Atlontic Coast ports 3,310 3,577 2,902 3,201 2,462 Gulf Coast ports 483 459 372 336 330 Pocific Coost ports 1,650 1,778 1,884 1,450 1,290 Department store soles (% change from o year ago) N.A. +12% +145 +23% -% , Preliminary *Excludes militory-owned stocks *.A.Not Available reduced to 2,000, with about half of lating. To meet the full 1944 require- these needed in the Los Angeles area. ment, average weekly output must more More than twice that number of work- than double from now on. ers-some 4,300-are wanted in basic Output of dry-cell batteries for the duck mills to make the program on cot- Army and Navy, another labor-hungry ton duck, urgently needed by the Army critical program, ran to about 150,000,- for tentage. As compared with tire 000 units in September, 5% better than building, however, which must rely large- in August. But, as in the case of cot- ly on men, duck mills can use women ton duck, this program also fell short readily: one out of every two workers of the monthly goal-by 21%. New fa- in the industry is a woman. cilities are steadily coming in and out- put for the military should build up to DUCK MUST DOUBLE around 170,000,000 units monthly by De- During September, average weekly cember: but required production moves output of cotton duck was estimated at up to more than 200,000,000 dry-cell 10,000,000 linear yards, including 1,- batteries by then: thus there is a con- 000,000 yards of tent twill (a substi- stant gap of about 40,000,000 units a tute) converted fromherringbone twill. month (chart, page 5). As a result, This was about 10% ahead of average dry-cell batteries recently went on the weekly output in August but 334 short national urgency list and Production of required production. However, a large Urgency Committees have already raised unfilled military needhas been accumu- employment ceilings in some plants. CONFIDENTIAL. OCTOBER 14, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 Cutbacks Cast Their Shadows Chance for reconversion of most industries other manufacturers will try to free will come with V-E Day cancellation of their own plants and keep their subs. contracts. But planning is in order to ease All manufacturers will try to free ca- transition, avoid bottlenecks. pacity of subcontractors whose products are necessary to them in reconverting WHEN V-E DAY comes, the cutbacks in war their own facilities. They, themselves, production will be wide and deep; well will not be able to get started if their over 100,000 government contracts, in- suppliers are all tied up. And a cer- volving more than $20,000,000,000 of tain amount of jockeying among prime production, will be canceled. These cuts contractors is inevitable. They' bound in prime contracts will free productive capacity in virtually every American industry and will extend down the line FIRSTS IN PEACE into components and basic rawmaterials. These 23 products have been desig- The very breadth and depth of the nated by Committee B of the War Pro- coming cuts assure elbow room for re- duction Board's Production Executive conversion of most industries and areas. Yet such freedom cannot be taken for Committee as of primary importance granted. Some planning, some analysis for civilian production during the of cutback consequences is in order to early stages of reconversion: ease the transition and accelerate re- Air-conditioning equipment Automobiles employment, both industrially and geo- Commercial cooking equipment graphically. Commercial refrigerators Electric fans GOING INTO REVERSE To be sure, reconversion will gen- Electric ranges erally follow the line of least resist- Integral busses Laundry machinery ance through established business modes Light trucks and trade channels. Just as the coun- Mining machinery try worked itselfup to the present high Office machinery shelf of war production, so will it work Oil burners itself down from it. When war contracts Radios were originally let, it was the prime contractor who decided, on the basis Railroad cars (passenger) Refrigerators of his knowledge of the industry, what companies should be brought in at the Sewing machines Stokers sub level. And his subs made the same Street cars decisions about their sources of supply. Telephones The reversal of this process will also Typewriters be controlled by private business con- Vacuum cleaners siderations. Some manufacturers will cut out subs Washing machines Water heaters and keep production in their own plants; CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS to try to free early their own plants eight are specialized aircraft plants. and those of their chief peacetime sup- But over half of the subassembly work pliers. is done by 27 converted plants with pre- war capacity embracing 17 different SOME OF EVERYTHING civilian lines (table, page 91. What is certain about this process is that virtually every kind of peace- AID TO RECONVERSION time productive capacity will be freed The prospective Commando cutback in some degree. And many of the facil- suggests some of the things that the War ities most important froma reconversion Production Board, the Army Air Forces, standpoint will be freed at the sub- and other procurement agencies ght do contracting level. Half the washing- to assist reconversion. Presumably it machine industry, for instance, is under would be desirable to keep the eight subcontract to the aircraft industry specialized plants in aircraft work- alone, and facilities are bound to be that's their regular business. As a released on V-E Day. Here is a list of corollary, that would free more of the other important civilian products, with facilities of the 27 plants that can estimates (necessarily very rough) of produce peacetime goods. And among the the proportion of war work of each in- 27 plants, planning might serve to free dustry under subcontract: completely of Commando work those whose production ismost important from a re- Approximate % conversion standpoint: the two auto of War Work stamping plants, for instance, and the Product 88 Subcontractor manufacturer of textile machinery. Air-conditioning equip. 30% Laundry machinery 80 PLANNING FOR PRODUCTS Mining machinery 90 The breaking of possible bottlenecks Oil burners 65 of civilian production-such as auto Refrigerators 30 stampings and textile machinery-will Sewing machines 85 be one of the most important functions Stokers 75 of reconversion planning. Listed on Textile machinery 80 page 7 are the 23 civilian end prod- Washing machines 65 ucts selected for special treatment, not Water heaters 50 only because they are needed for the civilian economy and areheavy employers The cutback of A single prime can of labor, butalso because they are the free a great variety of civilian plants. types of products with many components The projected cutback of the C-46 Com- that must be planned for in advance. mando transport plane at Curtiss, Buf- Over adozen of the items call for elec- falo, illustrates the point. Present trical motors. Currently being consid- plans are for a sharp cut in deliveries ered is a proposal of WPB's General In- after V-E Day. Some 70,000 workers are dustrial Equipment Division that all involved in this program-in assembly, companies normally engaged in manufac- subassembly, parts, materials, supply turing commercial-type alternating cur- -and some 2,000 different plants. Of rent motors be the first to be released the major subassembly plants likely to from production of specialized military- be affected by the Commando cutback, type motors 80 that they can turn to CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 14, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 WHAT'S WHAT IN A COMMANDO CUTBACK CUTBACK of the C-46 Commando transport plane at Curtiss, Buffalo, will re- duce the war work in 27 subassembly plants converted from peacetime produc- tion. Their peacetime products and the war work they are now doing are shown in the following listing: Plant Prewar Industry Other Wartime Production Carlson, Oscar F., Co. N.A. - Char-Gale Mfg. Co. Sheet-metal work - Oneida Vault & Casket Co., Inc. Funeral equip. Searchlights Tappan Stove Co. Stoves, heaters Signal equip., bomb noses DeLuxe Metal Furniture Co. Partitions, shelving Tool boxes, ship fittings Remington Rand, Inc. Office furniture P-47 subassembly, visual record equip. Odin Stove Mfg. Co. Stoves, heaters Distribution boxes, bomb noses Columbian Rope Co. Cordage, twine SB2C Wurlitzer, Rudolph, Co. Radios, tubes, phono- Mine-sweeper parts graphs Florence Stove Co. Stoves, heaters P-47 subassembly, ammunition boxes, stoves, heaters Woodall Industries, Inc. Converted paper prod. FG, F4U, SB2C Globe-Wernicke Co. Office furniture Wood office equip., ship furniture Benson Mfg. Co. Aluminumware Propeller spinners Morrison Steel Products, Inc. Auto stampings Sheet-metal stampings Motors Metal Mfg. Co. Auto stampings Ordnance Twin Coach Co. Motor vehicles Service busses Jensen Machinery Co. Food prod. mach. FG, F4U, dairy mach. General Bronze Corp. Fabricated structural SB2C, torpedoes, guns, steel hoists Hardwicke Stove Co. Stoves, heaters Bombs, stoves International Harvester Co. Agricultural mach. Agricultural mach. Niagara Sprayer & Chemical Co. Chemical Mfr. Fungicides, insecti- cides Proctor & Schwartz, Inc. Textile mach. Rubber and tire cord mach. Meteor Motor Car Co. Motor vehicles Wood cargo bodies Estate Stove Co. Stoves, heaters Powder cans, mines Ritter Co., Inc. Dental equip. Compasses, dental & medical equip. Trayer Products, Inc. Machine shop prod. Army ordnance Enterprise Aluminum Co. Aluminumware Mess trays, meat cans CONFIDENTIAL 10 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS COST OF LIVING INCHES UP After nearly o year of stability, prices have advanced to o new peok, Clothing index now tops food. 150 150 All Items Food vs. Clothing Food Clothing 125 125 INDEX 1935-38-100 INDEX 1935-33-100 100 100 75 75 - A / 0 . à - o / A J o # A 4 - A / e of A 4 o # A 4 o # A # 1941 1942 B43 I944 1941 1942 1943 1944 I 1 the manufacture of A.C. motors needed in an area where the geographic impact by refrigerator, washing machine, and of V-E Day might produce serious unem- other manufacturers (WP-Oct7'44,pl). ployment-in Detroit, for instance, where Thus the product-by-product study sharp cute in aircraft, tanks, guns, of the reconversion picture leads nec- and ammunitions will run iltaneously essarily into a plant-by-plant study. -it might be considered advisable to It may not be possible to free any chosen keep some war plants in production so plant making a particular component or as to minimize the immediate unemploy- product. But WPB Industry Divisions, ment impact. Yet in doing so it might knowing the plant-by-plant composition be difficult to avoid hampering the re- of each industry, can point out those conversion of the auto industry, on which plants which are of most urgent impor- the area will largely depend for peace- tance in reconversion, both from the time employment (WP-Aug5'44,pl). And standpoint of primary and component that, too, has to be taken into account. producers. By analyzing the proposed military cutbacks, the Industry Divi- PATTERN FOR PRODUCTION sion might be able to point out now a The efficacy of cutback planning will small military cut would make possible depend in large measure upon the avail- & relatively large increase in civilian ability of clear-cut, plant-by-plant production. V-E Day programs from the Army, Navy, The factors governing plant choice Maritime Commission, and other procure- are numerous, varied, and mixed. Thus ment agencies. By combining the plant- CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 14, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL by-plant cutbacks of the Army, Navy, An integrating group on V-E cutbacks, Maritime Commission, and Air Forces, comprising representatives of the Army, the War Production Board can bring the Navy, Maritime Commission, and WPB, has pieces together into an overall pattern been set up to minimize such consequences for the United States. By examining as this: a particular area being cut too that pattern, certain regional and in- sharply or a particular industry being dustrial anomalies are bound to show bottlenecked because a key manufac- up; and certain obvious corrections of turer of components is tied up. Such these anomalies will suggest themselves adjustments, it goes without saying, when all parties concerned are brought will have to be made well before V-E Day. face to face with them. This procedure Once V-E Day comes, the die is cast; is followed, for example, in dividing final notices of cutbacks go out all up materials and components when claim- along the line and the pattern for re- ant agencies come together in the Pro- conversion is established. gram Adjustment Committee. There all In this attempt to clear the way for the facts are laid down and the neces- reconversion, military considerations, 'ty for making justments becomes clear. of course, will govern. Recently, there BITUMINOUS COAL TIGHTENS After holding up earlier in the year, production in the third quarter fell 2% below average requirements. Big factor: July 4th and Labor Day. 200 200 Avg. Quarterly Requirements 150 150 MILLIONS OF SHORT TONS 100 100 MILLIONS OF SHORT TONS 50 50 o o IstQtr 2ndOtr 3rdQtr 4thQtc Ist Qtr: 2nd Qtr. 3rdQtc 4th Oft IstQtc 2nd Qtr 3rdQtr 1944-45 1942 1943 1944 Cool Year *Year begins Aprill WAR PROGRESS On an overall basis, bituminous coal require- output will come to 300,000,000 tons for the ments for the 1944-45 coal year (April toApril) next six months, or 16,000,000 tons short of will just about be met. Production from April requirements. The deficit will have to come through September ran to 310,000,000 tons. out of the stockpile. Problems will be distri- If production picks up from its recent slump, bution, substitution of lower grades of coal. CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Labor Force-Turnover-Inventories-Sales-Consumer Expenditures Lotest Preceding 2 Months 6 Months Year Some Some Month # Month Month Month Ago Ago Ago 1939 1937 LABOR FORCE-TOTAL (millions) 53.03 54.01 55.00 51.36 53.9 N.A. N.A. Employment 52.25 53.17 54.00 50.49 52.9 Male 34.19 35.14 35.41 34.01 35.2 Female 18.06 18.03 18.59 16.48 17.7 Unemployment .78 .84 1.00 .87 1.0 Mole .40 .43 .48 .47 -5 Female .38 .41 -52 .40 -5 N.A. N.A. LABOR TURNOVER IN MFG. INDUSTRIES (rate per hundred employees) All manufacturing Accessions 6.2 6.3 . 7.6 5.5 7.6 5.1 3.4 Separations-Total 7.8 P 6.6 . 7.1 6.5 8.2 3.0 4.0 Quits 6.2 5.0 5.4 4.6 6.3 .8 1.2 Military 3 P is ,4 .5 .7 N.A. N.A. Aircraft Quits 6.1 4.8 5.3 3.9 5.7 1.5 1.2 Military .5 P .6 6 .6 .8 N.A. N.A. Shipbuilding Quits 6.9 P 5.9 R 6.7 5.5 7.8 .8 1.7 Military is .6 -7 .7 1.0 N.A. N.A. INVENTORIES-TOTAL (million dollars) 27,473 27,155 27,368 27,733 27,898 18,243 N.A. Manufacturers 17,278 17,215 17,229 17,666 17,577 9,824 Wholesalers 3,987 4,043 4,088 4,089 3,877 3,447 Retailers 6,208 5,897 6,051 5,978 6,444 4,972 I.A. RETAIL STORE SALES-TOTAL (million dollars) 5,643 5,452 5,593 4,832 5,230 3,423 3,493 Durable goods stores 835 835 863 672 818 853 971 Nondurable goods stores 4,808 4,617 4,730 4,160 4,412 2,570 2,522 CONSUMER EXPENDITURES (million dollars) 7,807 7,886 7,990 7,402 7,454 Goods 4,905 5,151 5,245 5,348 5,458 4,863 4,996 Services 3,004 3,279 2,562 2,538 2,532 2,539 2,458 1,901 1,872 * Labor Force, September, Consumer Expenditures, July, all other, August. *.A.Not available. P Preliminary. Revised. has been discussed in the PEC Staff a ibility afforded by military V-E Day cut naircraft fuel tanks. The choice plans. Obviously, some proposed cuts was between a funeral-vault company or will offer no options. But in other an auto-body company. The Army Air cases, there will be alternatives. Re- Forces wished to cut out the funeral- conversion planning cannot control in vault plant and keep the auto-body plant any fundamental way the nation's indus- tied up in war production, partly in trial change-over from war to peace; stand-by condition in case of future that is predetermined by the broad nature need. Whether this auto plant could be of the cutbacks themselves. Neverthe- freed for reconversion-supposing that less, by bringing civilian considera- this werea V-E Day cut under consider- tions to bear on military cutback pro- ation-would depend on whether the Air posals, it can help to minimize some Forces felt the vault company could do area dislocations and to expedite the the job. transition of critical industries and In effect, reconversion planning plants during the massi transformation has to operate within the range of flex- that V-E Day will usher in. CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use, It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted as If the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address. (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern- ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Confidential Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act OF 8 The DE and / MAR 1 14 1973 w Economic Data Special Articles The President 1 WAR PROGRESS 6F Has Production Board Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Aa Wanted: V-E Day Storage Space / Field Wire on the Offensive W-12: Pruning for the Pacific x4735 R.O. 11662, DECLASSIFIED Sec. 8(%) and (D) at (E) x4675 Commerce Dept. Lower, 11-16-78 les X By HHP, Date MAR 14 1973 Number 214 October 21, 1944 Fersa CA-M-8D I (3-28-40 UNITED STATES or AMERICA R WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 79565 COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION The President IDENTION - OFFICE DIVISION OR - R.C. NAME The White House (ROOM NUMBER BUILDING NUMBER GUILDING DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT V.P. # 214 # 1 3 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER 5 RECEIPT are WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Planning and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr., Director) by the Reports Division (Joseph A. Livingston, Director). EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard, A. R. Hilliard, Morris Katz, Chester L Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston (editor), Martha Menaker, J.S. Werking (pro- duction), CONTRIBUTORS Joseph A, Zettler (munitions), William F. Butler (aircraft), J. Ronald Meiklejohn (communications and electronics). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 214 WAR PROGRESS OCTOBER 21, 1944 Wanted: V-E Day Storage Space Present facilities will not meet warehousing advance one of V-8 Day's most difficult needs when plants ore cleared for re- problems-the problem of storage space. conversion. But central morts, prefab- A 30%-40% cut in the war work of around ricoted shelters are planned. 70,000 manufacturing plants in the United States will bring the opportunity for PICTURE a shell manufacturing plant large-scale reconversion. And with the where war work has suddenly stopped. opportunity will come the obligation to Out of the plant, dragged on skide by get into peacetime production as quickly tractors, are coming huge machines weigh- as possible: to employ the 3,000,000- ing many tons-the specialized forging 4,000,000 workers who will have lost hammers, drawing tables, furnaces, con- their jobs, to avoid an industrial slump veyors no longer needed for artillery by setting civilian trade channels flow- shells. They are government property. ing with a minimum of delay. But ter- They have been rustproofed ("sludged") mination of war contracts will leave a and otherwise protected in accordance great many of these plants temporarily with government specifications. Each paralyzed by the presence of war goods one bears the identifying tag of the and equipment. Reconstruction Finance Corporation's Defense Plant Corporation. RAPID REMOVAL They go only as far as the parking This clogging of facilities is rec- lot or an adjacent field. Here they ognized by industry and government alike are arranged in narrow, parallel lines as being a serious reconversion ob- and covered with tarpaulins. From an stacle (WP-Sep30'44,pl). In the lan- adjacent railway siding the workers guage of the Contract Settlement Act of (regular employees of the plant) now 1944, "It is the policy of the Govern- bring prefabricated parts of buildings: ment, upon the termination of any war columns, plates, trusses, corrugated contract, to assure the expeditious re- panels and roofing. Within a short time moval from the plant of the war con- the machinery is covered by rows of steel tractor of the termination inventory buildings, 100 feet long by 20 feet wide. not to be retained or sold by the war The workers are back in the plant, pre- contractor." paring to make automobile crankshafts. To implement this policy, the D1- When prospective buyers come to look rector of War Mobilization has instructed over the government machinery, the side the Surplus War Property Administration or end panels of the steel shelters can to allocate specific storage space to be slipped off. When the machinery is the various procurement agencies-Army, gone, the shelters can be taken apart Navy, Maritime, etc.-so that they, in for use elsewhere. turn, may assign space in advance to the This V-8 Day picture. It illus- companies with whom they will be ter- trates thekind of thinking that is be- minating contracts. To tackle this job, ing done now in government to solve in SWPAhas set up a Space Control Commit- CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS tee, with thmembers representing the Army, the cotter pin). The specialized ma- Navy, Maritime Commission, War Produc- chine tools and manufacturing equipment tion Board, Treasury Procurement, Fed- that will be moved out of war plants eral Works Agency, and the Reconstruc- is mostly government owned (under title tion Finance Corporation. Under this of RFC's Defense Plant Corporation), committee are nine regional committees and thus will not change title until it working throughout thenation to locate is sold. As for the quantity of this the storage space that will be needed material, the Space Control Committees on V-E Day and thereafter. now estimate their V-E Day warehouse requirements at 32,708,000 square feet. VARIOUS AND SUNDRY This is 750 acres, or the area of 700 Their task is complicated by the college football fields. It is more great variety of property they will have space than can now be found. to deal with-by the diversity of size, value, marketability, and ownership. NO PLACE TO GO War contract inventory changes owner- Very little commercial warehouse ship three times: that which not sold, space will be available. Already over- retained, or scrapped by the contractor burdened, these private facilities will is purchased by the Army or other govern- be hard put to it, after V-E Day, to do ment procurement agency terminating the the job they are set up to do: handling contract; that which is not sold, re- the vital flow of moving goods through- tained, or scrapped by this "owner" out the country. As for government-owned agency is declared surplus and turned space, it is possible that the nation- over to the disposal agency (RFC in the wide total of unused buildings after case of most industrial property) for V-E Day-camps, depots, warplants, etc. sale in the open market. It ranges in -would be large enough. But much of size from 16-inch gun barrels to cotter this space is unsuitable. Floors are pins; and the range nmarketability is not strong enough, ceilings not high as great-from specialized items that enough, doorways not wide enough; or the can only be scrapped or retained in case necessary handling equipment is not of another war (like the gun) to stand- available. And most of it is located ard items that can be easily sold (like at a distance from industrial centers. The rail and truck lines of the country would be swamped by the job, and most IN THIS ISSUE: of the surplus property itself would be moving in the wrong direction-away WANTED: V-E DAY STORAGE SPACE from possible markets. 1 THE CASE OF THE VANISHING STOCKPILE 3 EXPENSIVE SHIFTS KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 4 This kind of motion must be cut WIRE ADVANCES WITH THE TROOPS 5 to a minimum, especially in the case of W-12: PRUNING FOR THE PACIFIC 8 the huge machine tools and equipment STRIKES ON TWO SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC 10 that are to be sold. A drill press or WAR PROGRESS NOTE 11 & stamping machine, weighing many tons, REPORTS ON REPORTS 11 costs hundreds of dollars to move even SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 12 for short distances and requires the services of experienced handlers and CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 21, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 3 THE CASE OF THE VANISHING STOCKPILE When rationing of new automobiles began in March, 1942, somewhat over 510,000 cars were on hand. Since then, 96% of the inventory hos been sold. 600 600 Soles Inventory land of month) THOUSANDS OF NEW PASSENGER CARS 400 400 Cumulotive Soles 200 200 THOUSANDS OF NEW PASSENGER CARS Monthly Sales o o 1942 1943 1944 1942 1943 1944 WAR PROGRESS specialized equipment. And yet many war only about half of what it would have plants-far from suitable government cost tomove the machinery to the nearest storage facilities-must be cleared of suitable storage depot. Upon sale or such equipment before they can convert other final disposition of the machinery, to peacetime production. the steel shelters, if not needed else- Faced with this situation, DPC de- where, will have a high salvage value cided to bring the warehouses to the (they can be divided, for instance, to machines rather than take the machines make small garages). The best designs to the warehouses. A production shift have now been chosen and contracts al- in a General Electric radar plant in ready let for 500 of these buildings. East Syracuse, N.Y., gave them their It is expected that at least 5,000 will opportunity totry the experiment. With be used. the excess machinery out of the plant, they invited sixdifferent construction TOO MUCH TRAVEL companies to build over it temporary Most war contract property-the con- structures ofa type that could be pre- tractors' inventories of parts, compo- fabricated, quickly set up, and easily nents, and supplies-will be easier to moved from place to place. The results move than this machinery: but it still were then inspected by the interested will not be desirable to move it indis- government agencies: Army, Navy, WPB, criminately to any available government etc. It was found that the cost of the storage space. Most of these locations structures-around 75¢ per square foot are of limited size, 100,000 square feet of area covered-was in this instance or less. The disposing agency would in- CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS herit an awkward situation. It would finance the job and prorate expense among find itself trying to sell goods that, the Army, Navy, and otherwar contract- in any given area, were distributed ing agencies. It is now expected that among dozens of locations. A prospec- there will be 10 of these depots: one tive customer would often have to travel in New England, two in New York State, many miles and make several stops to one each in Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, view the goods in which he was inter- Toledo, Omaha, and two on the West Coast. ested. Administration would be diffi- They will average over 100 acres of cult: expense would be high. Each ware- area-nearly half a mile square-and house would have to have its own guards, over 1,000,000 square feet of closed clerks, labor, and handling equipment. space, mainly in single-story, prefab- Many sales locations would be far dis- ricated buildings. They will be oper- tant from possible markets. ated for the government by private ware- housing organizations on a cost-plus- SUPERMARKETS fixed-fee basis. With proper equipment, For these reasons, and because of the cost of handling materials in such the unsuitability of many of the avail- depots will be relatively low, much lower able locations, the Space Control Com- than in multiple-story warehouses. And mittee has recommended the construction the concentration of materials will save of large disposal depots, to be centrally money. For example, the administrative located in industrial and metropolitan cost of three storage locations now be- areas. These will aggregate 13,000,000 ing operated in the New England area is square feet of closed space. RFC will $72,000 a year, but it is estimated that KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Preceding Month 6 Months Year Week Week Ago Ago Ago War Program - Checks paid (millions of dollars) 1,563 1,729 1,568 1,912 1,600 Wor bond soles E, F, G, (millions of dollars) 143 87 156 - 170 470 Money in circulation (millions of dollors) 24,157 24,099 23,558 21,295 19,019 Wholesole prices (1926=100) All Commodities 103.8' 103.9 103.6 103.8 Form products 102.9 122.7 123.3 122.1 Foods 124.5 122.8 103.8' 104.1 103.8 All other 105.0 104.7 96.9' 98.9 98.8 98.5 97.5 Petroleum: Total U.S. stocks* (thousands of borrels) 426,088 Total Eost Coost stocks* (thousands of borrels) 424,556 418,518 410,489 422,569 77,220 75,363 East Coost receipts (thousands of borrels, daily overage) 73,570 56,732 62,791 1,827 1,740 1,663 1,735 1,558 Bituminous cool production (thousands of short tons, daily overage) 1,937 2,013 2,009 2,003 2,008 Steel operations (% of capacity) 97.0% 96.9% 95.3% 98.7% 102.2% Freight cors unlooded for export excluding grain (daily average) Atlantic Coost ports 3,082 Gulf Coost ports 3,310 3,070 2,866 2,505 421 Pocific Coost ports 483 457 334 347 1,795 1,650 1,967 1,600 1,264 Department store soles (% change from o year ogo) +16% +16% +9% -11$ +9% Preliminary "Excludes militory-owned stocks CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 21, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 5 a consolidation would reduce the cost dent, then, that the problem of V-E Day to around $35,000. space is tightly tied up with the other In these depots the big selling job problems of surplus property disposal, will be done. Surplus property will be with transportation utilization and moved into them with a minimum of lost merchandising policy. And it follows motion and there sorted and displayed that a solution of the space problem with a maximum of convenience for the must imply at least & partial solution businessmen of the region. It is evi- of the others. Wire Advances With the Troops Requirements for assault, field, long-range 2. Field wire (W-110B), a heavier types increase faster than facilities to product. This is the most widely used meet them. Objectives for '44, lowered of all tactical wires, one of its func- for feasibility, will be missed. tions being to maintain communication from the rear to company headquarters. IN THE FRONT LINES, where security com- It is designed to last many times longer pels radio silence, thousands of miles than assault wire. It too is considered of telephone and telegraph wire are expendable, but when possible it is needed at one time to keep widespread salvaged and re-used. It consists of Army unitsin contact with headquarters, two conductors twisted together, each with other tactical units, and with comprising three strands of copper wire their supplies. As troops push on to and four of steel, insulated, covered, new positions, new lines must be laid. and weather-proofed. (There islittle time for salvage.) And 3. Long-range communication wire the rapid advance of Allied forces in (W-143), a much-heavier, all-copper wire Europe boosted requirements to unantic- designed for communication over distances ipated levels. As a result, critical greater than the range of W-110B, and production shortages have developed in used where other more permanent commu- three types of Signal Corps wire: nication systems are not available. 1. Assault wire (W-130), an extremely light wire which is strapped on the CAN'T KEEP UP backs of Signal Corpamen in reels and Special facilities have been neces- carried to the most advanced posts. It sary for all three types. In the case lies exposed on the ground as the bearer of W-110B, facilities have more than crawls cautiously to within sight of tripled and production more than quin- the enemy to transmit information about tupled since Pearl Harbor. The W-143 the foe and often to direct artillery long-range wire production became size- fire. Because it is intended only for able only this year. And military re- temporary use it is considered expend- quirements for all three types have in- able. It consists of six finely drawn creased much more rapidly than it was strands of galvanized steel wire (to possible to expand facilities to pro- give it strength) and one of tinned duce them. With three-fourths of the copper, stranded together, insulated, year gone, only 59% of requirements and the conductors twisted together have been met for W-110B-by far the but not braided. largest program-and only a little more CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS than & fourth of the needs for W-143: rals about six weeks ago. This has im- proved the manpower situation, and most Deliveries % of Stated of the 24 wire and cable plants now Through Sept. '44 Req. turning out the wire are working three (miles) shifts a day, seven days a week. W-110B... 824,100* 59% W-130 208,285 48 BOTTLENECK OPERATIONS W-143 37,800 26 Seven steps are involved in the man- *Including equivalent single-con- ufacture of W-110B wire, and nearly all ductor wire for lend-lease. have been bottlenecks at one time or another. The first step is the produc- Despite steadily rising production tion of the small copper and steel strands since the first of the year, unfilled which comprise the conductors. The wires theater requisitions have accumulated. are then coated, stranded together, and Consequently the Army Signal Corps has covered with insulation. Next, cotton been forced to lower its minimum ob- yarn is braided around the insulation. jective to production feasibility. Yet The insulated conductors are then dipped output has been falling even below these in a weather-proofing material and fi- reduced levels. Output of W-110B wire nally paired by twisting together. Pro- in September, though 60% higher than in duction of the other two types is simi- January, missed the first-of-the-month lar, except that W-130 doesn't require goal by 8% (WP-Octl4'44, Assault- the braiding and weather-proofing proc- wire deliveries in September, nearly esses. double those of January, fell 11% short The outstanding limitation in W-110B of the forecast. And long-range wire is the supply of galvanized carbon-steel production, nearly six times greater wire. Facilities for making this fine than in January, was 17% shy of the wire are limited. More could be sup- forecast. Sharp increases over the plied, but it would have to be at the September rate of deliveries are re- expense of other programs, particularly quired to attain forecast production, stranded steel wire rope, used for un- and far steeper gains would be needed loading supplies, and aircraft cable. to meet stated requirements: FEWER TWISTS % Increase Needed Stranding capacity at present limits September To Meet '44 assault-wire production. Stranding ma- Deliveries Forecast Req. chines used by the steel industry and (miles) not ordinarily considered copper-wire W-110B.. 116,125* 15% 66% mill facilities are employed for this W-130 31,800 41 135 purpose, And additional stranding fa- W-143. 8,350 141 323 cilities are being acquired and will be *Including equivalent single-conductor in operation before the end of the year. wire for lend-lease. Furthermore, some relief has been ob- tained by changing specifications to Because of the seriousness of the reduce the number of twists per inch supply-demand position of these wires, required in the strands. their production wasplaced on the Pro- The lack of rubber has made insula- duction Urgency List for labor refer- tion a problem for all three types of CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 21, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 7 THE NERVES OF THE SIGNAL CORPS Three key types of wire-but one story of shortage. Production rose sharply in September but missed even the lowered first-of-month forecast. Total-Assoult, Field, Long-Range Communication Field Wire - W IIOB 400 250 Requirements Requirements (Monthly Avg) (Monthly Avg) 200 300 150 Forecast Forecost 200 IOO Actual 100 Actual 50 THOUSANDS OF MILES-TWISTED PAIRS o o J F M A M J J A S o N D J F M A M J J A 5 o N o 1944 1944 Long-Range Communication-W 143 Assoult Wire- W 130 50 80 THOUSANDS OF MILES-TWISTED PAIRS Requirements (Monthly Avg.) 40 Requirements (Monthly Avg) 60 30 Forecast 40 Forecast 20 20 IO Actual Actual o o J F M A M J J A 5 0 N D J F M A M J J A 5 o N o 1944 1944 WAR PROGRESS critical wire. Various compounds of superior to materials previously tried, synthetic rubber have been tried and but the rate of extruding is also slower. some replaced as improved processes More facilities likewise are being added were developed. At the present time, here. Buna S is proving themost satisfactory for W-110B and W-143, but the mixing SPECIAL TREATMENT operation requires & longer time than Cotton yarn for braiding was a lim- formerly needed for crude rubber. Fa- itation for W-110B earlier this year. cilities have been enlarged to compen- However, this situation has been eased sate for the longer milling time. Two by relaxing specifications to permit a types of plastic (polyethylene and poly- more open braid, and by special treat- vinyl chloride) insulation are also be- ment which has directed more yarn for ing used on W-130. Polyethylene is wire and cable use. Some rayon is be- CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS ing used for cotton as a temporary ex- into full-scale production due to diffi- pedient. culties in obtaining needed equipment. In the case of W-143, long-range wire, When it is finally completed next month, requirements have quadrupled since the output of long-range communication wire first of the year and facilities to is expected to increase sharply. meet the new program have not been able The situation comes to this. Pro- to keep pace. However, a former ord- duction of communication wire is at an nance plant at Lowell, Mass., is being all-time high and will continue to im- converted to the manufacture of this prove. But 1944 objectives are already wire. Although now in partial opera- beyond attainment and steadily going tion, thismill has been slow in getting higher. W-12: Pruning for the Pacific Plone schedule is down 5% from W-IL Em- -from 9,000 to 3,200. The idea is to phosis is on newer, long-range fighters release facilities at Consolidated Vul- and bombers. Superbomber schedules tee, San Diego, and North American, cut for reasons of feasibility. Dallas, to spur superbomber deliveries. Similarly with the large and far- IT IS NO longer news to say that the flying C-54 Skymaster transport. At the airplane program has been-and is being beginning of the year, the 1945 schedule -reduced. The new W-12 schedule cuts stood at 1,200 planes: today it's up the program for the next 15 months some to 1,379. With the A-20 Boston elim- 5% in airframe weight and numbers. The inated from the program, Douglas, Santa explanation is an oldone: battle losses Monica, will devote its full time to eontinue to decline and planes are last- the Skymaster. ing longer than anticipated. At the beginning of the year, the T00 MANY MODELS W-9 schedule for 1945 slated some 119,- There's another point to be made 000 planes with an airframe weight of about 1945. There duplication in the 1,300,000,000 pounds (chart, page 91. schedules, hence next year's program Now the 1945 schedule calls for 75,600 will be even lower than the figures show. planes and 900,000,000 pounds-cuts of New models now carried in the program 36% and 31% respectively. Comparisons will eventually displace standard models between then and now suggest that the or be dropped. Sooner or later, one or program is gradually being adjusted to the other must go. Meanwhile, the de- meet the requirements of the war in the cision must wait on flight testing. Pacific. For example, the current schedule carries 3,015 P-47Ns, a faster-flying, LIBERATOR CUT 64% longer-range version of the Thunder- Back in January, approximately 4,400 bolt. If performance lives up to prom- superbombers were scheduled for 1945: ise, an equal number of other fighters- today the docket has gone up 12% to about perhaps P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mus- 4,930, despite reductions in W-12 for tange-may be cut out of the program. feasibility reasons. At the same time, Other newmodels which duplicate stand- the B-24 Liberator has been slashed 64% ard models include the North American CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 21, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 P-82, & 2-engined fighter, and the Doug- clipped out of the 1945 schedule. Then las C-74, a 4-engined transport plane there's the case of the P-75, a new long- that can carry almost three times the range fighter designed for escort work load of a C-54 Skymaster (WP-Sep2' 44,pl). in the Pacific. If this model had met Elimination of duplicate models is expectations, evenmore Lightnings ght standard practice. Thus, for 1945, W-12 have been eliminated next year. Instead, calls for 622 jet-propelled P-80s, a W-12 drops the P-75 entirely in 1945; new fighter whichmay see lots of action previously, 2,550 were scheduled. in the war against Japan. However, al- As it is, the P-38 still stacks up most an equal number of P-38 Lightnings, as abig-volume fighter next year; 3,329 the favored fighter in the Pacific, are are slated. But at Lockheed, Burbank, 1944's FOUR Ws- 9,10,11,12 Each new aircraft program has reduced the job ahead by number and weight. The latest-W-12-cuts next year's airframe weight by 5%, number by 6%. 120 120 Airframe Weight W-9 100 100 W-10 MILLIONS OF POUNDS W-11 80 80 Actual Production W-12 MILLIONS OF POUNDS 60 60 40 40 Jon. Feb. Mor Apr. May June July Aug. Sept Oct Nov. Dec. Jon. Feb Mor Apr. May June July Aug. Sept Oct Nov Dec 1944 1945 12 12 Number W-9 10 IO THOUSANDS OF PLANES W-10 8 Actual 8 Production W-11 THOUSANDS OF PLANES W-12 6 6 4 4 Jon Feb. Mor Apr. May June July Aug. Sept Oct Nov. Dec Jon. Feb Mor Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov C&C 1944 1945 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 10 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS STRIKES ON TWO SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC To date, the proportion of mon-days lost has declined from last year in the U.S. and Canada, But in Britain, the proportion hos tripled (largely due to coal), 04 0,4 as a % AVAILABLE MAN-DAYS LOST U.S. az 02 % AVAILABLE MAN-DAYS LOST a a Conodo U.K. o o 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944° % August for us and Canado, e July RFUX MAR PROGRESS it goes out of production in May, 1946. At Consolidated Vultee, San Diego, the Incidentally, W-12 carries the plane peak rate on the B-32 Dominator is re- program into 1946 for the first time, duced late next year: thus B-32 sched- laying out schedules for the first half ules decline from 950 to 839 in 1945. of that year. Another wind-up during So far, the Dominator's tail surface that period is the PM Wildcat at General design has been unacceptable to the Army Motors' Eastern Aircraft Division, Lin- Air Forces (WP-Oct14'44,p2). den: final output is due in February, 1946. Although the A-25 Invader con- HELLDIVERS DOWN tinues at Douglas, Tulsa, it closes out Another important reduction next at the Long Beach plant in May, 1946. year is in the Helldiver (SB2C, SBW, Because Boeing, Renton, isn't build- and SBF). Whereas the revised W-11 ing up output as fast as expected, its schedule ran to 4,888 Helldivers, W-12 B-29 Superfortress schedule next year calls for 3.414, or 30% fewer. At Cur- drops by 345 planes to 1,935. But Bell, ties, Columbus, the SB2C is cut 15% to Atlanta, picks up an additional 120 2,820: At Canadian Car & Foundry, Ft. B-29s and moves up to 600. As a result, William, Ont., the SBW is sliced 51% to the net decline in Superfortresses next 475: and at Fairchild, Montreal, the year is 225 planes-from 4,300 to 4,075. SBF is sleshed 80% to 119, with the However, the peak rate on the B-29 re- plant winding up in April instead of mains unchanged at 385 per month: the continuing through 1945. only difference is that it will be at- W-12 gives the trainer program a -:- tained in July instead of June, 1945. jolt at North American, Dallas, where CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 21, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 11 the AT-6 Texan is reduced from 2, 196 planes to 1,892 in 1945. The FG Corsair War Progress Note at Goodyear, Akron, is lowered 13% next A PLEDGE AND A LAW year to 1,422 and leaves the program THE HISTORY of American labor's "no- in December: but this top-notch Navy strike" pledge shows that it has done fighter continues in production at Chance for this country what antistrike legis- Vought, Stratford. The F2G Corsair lation did for Britain and Canada. For schedule is unchanged. instance, 1942 strike statistics show At Grumman, Bethpage, 19% fewer F6F that in each country the proportion of Hellcats are scheduled next year-4,360 man-days lost was the same-five out as against 5,400-and production ends of 10,000 potential working days. And in December. In itsplace Grumman has the U.S. figures were far lower than groomed the F8F Bearcat, the 1945 sched- the 32 days in 1941 and the 43 days in ule for which is boosted from 609 to the 1937 sitdown-strike wave. 1,804. Though airframe weight is about Then in 1943, the proportion rose a third less than the Hellcat, the F8F in all countries, partly because of is a flying bundle of horsepower; its general war weariness and dissatisfac- engine is equipped with a water-injec- tion with wages. Thus in the United tion system, will give up to 40% more States, John L. Lewis' miners accounted horsepower on short runs. First ac- for two-thirds of the man-days lost. ceptance: December, 1944. In the F7F Britain had a coal strike early this Tigercat, Grumman has another rising year. As a result, the British loss 80 program. Next year's schedulerises 5% far this year has risen sharply to 19 to 875. This plane, the Navy's only 2- days out of 10,000-nearly double the engined fighter, will be used by the U.S. rate, and more than double Canada's. Marine Corps. The following table shows the number of man-days lost per 10,000 available days FROM TRANSPORT TO PATROL during World War II: In the past, the 2-engined PBM Mar- U.S. U.K. Canada iner patrol bomber has been used chiefly 1939... 28 4 4 as a transport plane. But now that Mar- 1940... 10 3 4 tin, Baltimore, has changed over to the 1941... 32 4 5 PBM-5 version witha 2,100hp engine (as 1942... 5 5 5 against a 1,700hp job on the PBM-3), 1943... 15 6 12 the Mariner will revert to type and 1944".. 10 19 8 serve as & patrol bomber with the fleet. *To August for U.S. and Hence W-12 lifts the 1945 schedule 16% Canada; to July for U.K. to 586 planes. Interestingly, coal strikes in both The Navy is interested in equipping the United States and Britain have been small aircraft carriers with the FR, & the most important. factor in time lost new 1-engined jet-propelled fighter. by strikes. This is reflected in a more than tenfold increase in next year's schedule for REPORTS ON REPORTS this plane-from 58 to 677. The FR is being manufactured at Ryan Aeronautical, Tight Tools San Diego; first acceptances were due The dollar volume of hardware pro- in August but none has yet come through. duction during the first half of 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Production-Employment-Transportation Lotest Preceding 6 Months Year Some Some N Months Month Month Month Month Ago Ago Ago 1939 1937 PRODUCTION INDEX-INDUSTRIAL 0935-39-1001 235 2014 252 258 248 119 118 Total Monufoctures 250 249' 248 257 267 119 117 Durable 351 350 349 365 370 119 125 Nondurable 171 169 167 171 184 120 111 F Minerols 146 145 145 153 143 121 119 NONAGRIC EMPLOYMENT-TOTAL (thousonds) 38,559 38,740 38,714 38,681 39,678 31,445 Monufocturing - Total 15,050 16,059 16,042 16,509 17,136 10,489 Duroble goods 9,352 9,527* 9,593 10,004 10,250 4,542 Nonduroble goods 6,498 6,512 6,449 6,505 6,906 5,947 Mining 826 85% 833 852 880 885 Trode 6,987 6,908 6,945 6,919 6,936 6,705 Government (Federol, State, and Locol) 5,947 5,869 5,830 5,871 5,868 4,097 Other 11 8,947 # 9,090 9,064 8,530 8,858 9,873 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF WAGE EARNERS (thous) All Monufacturing 12,777 12,940 12,931 13,408 13,955 8,587 Duroble goods 7,543 7,688 7,734 6,122 8,319 3,719 Nonduroble goods 5,254 5,250 # 5,197 5,286 5,616 4,868 TRANSPORTATION-COMMODITY AND PASSENGER (1935-39-100) 251 P 227 . 251 219 226 110 108 Commodity 216 206 215 206 211 110 107 Possenger 268 268 268 250 275 108 106 PRODUCTION OF CLOTHING AND SHOES FOR CIVILIANS (1935-39-100)f Clothing and shoes combined 100 90 99 112 105 120 Clothing 106 98 - 101 117 107 120 Shoes 19 ' 75 88 89 * 120 *Production, Employment, September; cliother, August funadjusted. Preliminary 'Revised Avoilable * Transportation, construction, finance, service and miscelloneous. was 69% ahead of output for the same rent Comments (confidential: pp. 20). period in 1941, but sharp reductions Under the C.E.D. and Ruml-Sonne plans, are expected when V-R Day comes, ac- the main source of revenue is derived cording to Hardware and Plumbing and from personal income taxes, with less Reating (confidential: pp. 14). Con- importance placed on excises and the tinued heavy demands for mechanics' corporation tax. But the Twin Cities hand service tools (pliers, wrenches, Plan, the only one which proposes a gen- ball been hammers, screw drivers, etc.) eral sales tax in addition to the re- and metal-cutting tools (broaches, rean- tention of all other excises, allows ers, chasers, dies, taps, twist drills, for a more substantial yield from cor- etc. ) have kept civilian supplies tight. poration taxes and places less emphasis (Department of Commerce, Bureau of For- on individual income taxes. eign and Domestic Commerce) (Federal Reserve System, Division of Research and Statistics) Tax Plans Three plans for postwar Federal tax- [This record is an attempt to select from the many documents coming to the attention of WAR PROGRESS ation-the Committee for Economic De- those studies which would be of most interest to readers. The list is by no means comprehensive. and velopment Plan, Twin Cities Plan, and no attempt has been made to evaluate reports for accuracy. Whether reports are available depends on Ruml-Sonne Plan-are compared in Cur- the policy of each individual agency.) CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted as if the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address. (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern- ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Confidentia Disclosure Punishable Under Explonage Act of = in SEP, your MAR 1 4 1973 - Economic Data Special Articles The President 1 WAR PROGRESS J. Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act September-Month of Minuses Where Will the War Worker Go ? DECLASSIFIED E.O. 11662, Sec. 3(E) and 6(D) OK (4) Commerce Dept. Letter, 11-14-72 By HHP, Date MAR 14 1973 -- Number 215 October 28, 1944 x4735 WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J.A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Planning and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr., Director) by the Reports Division (Joseph A. Livingston, Director). EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard, A, R. Hilliard, Morris Katz, Chester L. Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston (editor), Martha Menaker, J.S. Werking (pro- duction) CONTRIBUTORS Joseph A, Zettler (munitions), William F. Butler (aircraft) J. Ronald Meiklejohn (communications and electronics). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 215 WAR PROGRESS OCTOBER 28, 1944 September-More Downs Than Ups All mojor munitions groups miss schedule. been continuous since January. Aircraft Output-$5,345,000,000-is 4% below cuta have been the major factor: from goal, shade under monthly average of $23,500,000,000 at the beginning of the the year. Production peak probably past. year, the aircraft program has been re- duced monthly, and no of September 1 MUNITIONS PRODUCTION dipped in Septem- stood at $19,400,000,000, with still ber, continuing the up-and-down stand- further cuts in prospect. still which has characteriz 1944. The second largest reduction has been Output, at $5,345,000,000, wis only a in ships-$1,400,000.000-down from shade below themonthly average for the $15,600,000.000 in January to $14,200,- year, butmissed the first-of-the-month 000,000. Ammunition and combat andmotor goal by 4%. Moreover, had it not been vehicle programs were cut back sharply for a $250,000.000 reduction in the in January and increased again in the September schedule since August 1, pro- next three months. Little change was duction would have fallen short by 8%. made in guns and fire control. This further leveling off now maken it highly probable that the penk of ITS FIRST CUTBACKS $5,500,000,000 reached last December Communication and electronics, a will stand as thehigh mark of munitions steadily rising program throughout the production during the war. Though No- war, has experienced its first real vember production, BB of September 1, cutbacks-all since August 1. Between is scheduled At anall-time high of $5,- January and March, the program rose from 750,000,000, anticipated cuts in air- $4,400,000,000 to $4,800,000.000 and craft and Army Service Forces programe remained at that level until September plus continued failures to meet sched- 1 when it were reduced to $4,500,000,000. ule suggest that this level will not be Navy radar WIS cut back $62,000,000, attained. but a substantial part of the reduction Here's an indication of the degree was added to the 1945 program. A $37,- to which schedules have recently been 000,000 cut in batteries was an adjust- reduced: ment for failure to meet schedule dur- Schedule as of ing the first eight months. Vacuum tubes were cut $47,000,000. Ground and Aug. 1 Sept. 1 Change vehicular radiowns reduced $73,000.000 (in millions) and all of this is reflected in scheduled October $5,893 $5,675 -$218 November. production for the last quarter of this 5,936 5.753 -183 year. Airborne radio is down slightly. December. 5,887 5,744 -143 The critical airborne radar program This reduction has cut the 1944 mu- for ASF hanbeen reduced by $14,000,000 nitions program to $55,500,000,000. as for the final ouarter. This menne a compared to $72,000,000.000 at the be- lowering of monthly production goals ginning of the year. Except fore slight by 7%. This, together with & 25% in- rise in May, the paring process has crease in output in September, whittles CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS down themargin between production rate ASF ammunition during August: the 75m. and schedules to a point where it now through 105mm. antiaircraft ammunition (for the first time) seems possible to group was increased $29,000,000, or 224, meet stated requirements. and land mines and grenades were reduced by $39,000,000. HARD TO MAKE Sharp cutbacks in standard heavy On the other hand, tactical com- bombers and fighters and aircraft en- munication-wire requirements have been gines during August lowered the aircraft boosted, AS of September 1, from $74,- program by $331,000,000, or 2%. These 600,000 to $83,200,000. And even the cutbacks mark a continuation of the lower objective was hard to attain (WP- process of bringing aircraft schedules Oct21'44,p5) despite sharply increased in line with lowered requirements. output in September. The 1944 ship program was reduced ONLY INCREASES $258,000.000 between August 1 and Sep- September reflects the decline in tember 1. and that of 1945 increased by the munitions program. Ammunition and $129,000,000. The most important boost ships were the only categories to gain for 1945 took place in dry-cargo ves- over August. More than that, not a sels. Standard cargoes and the AKAs, single major category made schedule. the combat-loaders being converted by There are anumber of reasons for this. the Navy from Maritime types, dominate In the first place, the Labor Day week the decrease for this year. (Though end shortened the month to 25 work days. they have been given.priority over all There was also a reduction of some 100,- ship programs, including maintenance 000 munitions workers during the month. and repairs, the Navy in September con- Furthermore, there was probably a pay- verted only 24 APAs and AKAs against a chological letdowndue (1) to the initial goal of 30.) There was also a cut of success of Allied troops after the Nor- $37,000,000 in LCIs (Landing Craft-In- mandy push-through, and (2) the cumula- fantry): 100 were canceled out of the tive effect of program cutbacks which program. have led many workers to think that there In the ASF guns and fire control was no longer any need to strain, despite program, the 4.5-inch MIO (three-tube attempts to counter such a reaction AC) rocket launcher was cut in August through recruitment drives for workers from 167,100 units to 76,000 units-a for critical programs. This last has reduction of $21,000,000. been aproblem since the cutbacks began Two important changes took place in in the fall of 1943. Despite the decline in aircraft pro- duction, September output on a dollar- IN THIS ISSUE: value basis was greater than the average SEPTEMBER-MORE DOWNS THAN UPS monthly rate needed to meet schedules 1 PRODUCTION PROGRESS PRELIMINARY , for the remainder of the year under the WHERE WILL THE WAR WORKER GOT 8 new W-12 program (WP-Oct21'44, back KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 9 in January, the program called for pro- BUTTER STOCKS DROP 10 duction of nearly $2,000,000,000 in Sep- SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 12 tember, but successive cutbacks reduced REPORTS ON REPORTS 12 the first-of-the-month schedule to $1,- 620,000,000. And monthly pro- CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 28, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 3 duction for the last nuarter averages delivered [5] against A goal of 550: less than $1,500,000,000. Dodge, Chicago, delivered R09 against A schedule of 800. The result nt Dodge Aircroft WAS nothing new. Starting with en Ini- For theirst time, both plants turn- tial output of 15 superbomber engines ing out engines for sunerbombers ran in January, thisplant has topped sched- ahead of schedule. Wright, Paterson, ule consistently. PRODUCTION PROGRESS Preliminary Volue delivered or put in place-millions of dollars Sept. Aug - Sept % Deviction Preliminary Actual Change Schedule Sept Prelim vs. Schedule MUNITIONS AND WAR CONSTRUCTION $5,56 $5,642 -15 $5,765 -3) TOTAL MUNITIONS 5,345 5,404 +1 5,546 +4 Aircraft 1,539 1,616 -5 1,620 -5 Total airframes, engines, propellers 1,215 1,275 + 1,250 -5 Airplone spore ports 303 325 -6 319 -, Other aircraft and equipment (excl commun) 15 19 o 21 -14 Ships (incl maintenance) 1,153 1,145 +1 1,156 -3 Novy 529 540 -2 605 -12 Combotant 185 1% -6 201 -5 Londing vessels 212 214 -1 215 -3 Other 132 1,50 +2 134 -20 Moritime 395 578 + 359 +15 Cargo and supply 250 251 is B1 +15 Other 195 127 +6 126 +5 Army Vessels 60 57 45 55 +9 Ship Maintenance and Repoir 1/9 170 -1 169 1 Guns and Fire Control 250 274 -9 201 -11 Small orms (under 20mm. 47 49 4 AT o Artillery, mortors, rocket lounchers-ASF 61 60 42 60 +2 Fire control and searchlights (excl Rodor) 48 57 -16 60 +20 Novol guns and other A 100 -13 114 -15 Ammunition 606 589 +) 615 -1 Smallorms (under 20mm.) 45 43 +5 MG 4 Artillery ammunition, mortor shells, rockets-ASF 158 193 +3 153 +3 Aerial bombs-ASF 153 123 +4 15% -2 Noval ommunition and other 240 235 +2 250 :- Combot and Motor vehicles 458 450 +1 479 -9 Comber vehicles 142 155 +7 1% -14 Motor corriages for SP guns 25 25 -11 a = Automotive vehicles and tractors 265 272 -3 20 & Communication and Electronic Equipment 344 343 all 502 -5 Rodio 121 158 -12 152 -8 Rodor 159 121 +15 146 -5 All other & 84 o y o Other Equipment and Supplies 1,015 979 " 1,003 +1 WAR CONSTRUCTION (GOV'T FINANCED) 219 230 -8 213 1 As of September 1. , Schedule used for pretiminary CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS September's sunerbomber engines will rose 12% and topped schedule by 49. Spare normally be used in planes to be pro- cannon for the 155mm. howitzer declinen duced in November, when the W-12 sched- 11% and fell short of the goal. Spares ule calls for 168 superbombers: 158 B-29 for the other big guns came through about Superfortresses and 10 B-32 Dominators. as scheduled. If schedules are met, that will take Output of heavy artillery ammunition 1,008 engines (each plane requires six, was up 14% and bent schedule by 5%. Here including two spares) of September's an increase of 38% is needed over the 1,360 total. The 352 engines left over September rate to meet requirements. will help to make up a deficit earlier However, the 155mm. howitzer HE shell, this year. though it increased 40% over August, Despite the showing in engines for failed tomeet the repidly rising sched- superbombers, production of all engines ule by 10%. in September-$335,000,000 (preliminary) Fregmentation bombs fell 24 short of -missed schedule by 6% and fell 12% the first-of-the-month schedule, and away from the all-time peak reached in 250-pound and 500-pound general-purpose August. In numbers, September engine bombs missed by wide mergins. Output output ran to 21,200 AS compared with of fragmentation and GP bombs is still 24,100 in August. 40% below the rate needed to meet re- Aircraft as a whole-airframes, pro- quirements. Aerial bombs as A whole pellers, spare parts, gliders, etc., as were up 49, but 2% short of the first- well as engines-also fell short of fore- of-the-month goal. cast and the preceding month. Total out- out of $1,539,000,000 was 59 below sched- NOT ENOUGH ule and August. As brought out previ- Deliveries of heavy-heavy trucks in- ously in WAR PROGRESS, total airframe creased nearly 400 to 4,850, but failed weight dropped 400,000 pounds and 339 by 560 to meet the sharply lowered first- fewer planes were accepted, but weight of-the-month schedule. Production must ner plane increased (WP-Oct7'44,p double tomeet requirements. Light-heavy trucks (2á tons) also fell far short of Army Ordnance their mark: 17,700 were delivered, as for the first time in recent months, against 20,520 in August and a goal of production of ground army munitions 21,600. failed to show an increase; at $955,000, Of the medium tanks, only the M4 000, it remained at the August level. carrying the 75mm. gun ran ahead of Combat andmotor vehicles trailed August schedule. The M4 mounting the 105mm. by 5% and the first-of-the-month sched- howitzer vsa five short of the goal ule by 91. Guns and fire control de- of 250, but deliveries of the M4 mount- clined 39 but ran slightly ahead of ing the 75mm. gun dropped sharply to schedule. Only ammunition went up; it 432, and fell 142 shy of the schedule. rose 5% and was on the mark. Revised figures show that all heavy Signal Equipment field artillery met or exceeded first- Output of critical airborne rader of-the-month goals. Indeed, the Septem- equipment, which has been climbing rap- ber rate who sufficient to meet require- idly in recent months, rose another 25% ments for the remainder of the year. In in September and was virtually on sched- the case of the 1/5mm. howitzer, output ule. This, coupled with a reduction in CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 28, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 5 DOLLARS AND CENTS IN WAR PRODUCTION 1. Munitions employment has fallen 9% 2. Man-hours, too, ore down 9%. since the beginning of the year. 12 12 125 125 4, IOO IOO MILLIONS OF WORKERS 8 8 4 4 MILL ONS OF WORKERS INDEX-FIRL/ QUARTER 1944=100 75 75 50 50 INDEX-FIRST QUARTER 1944=100 25 25 o o o o JEMAM J J A 5 o N D J F M A M J JAS JFMAM J J. A 5 o N D J F M A M J J A 5 1943 1944 1943 1944 3. And so is the munitions wage bill. 4. But, munitions production has not follen, 4 4 6 6 3 3 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 4 2 2 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 4 2 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 2 I I o o o o J F M A M J J A 5 o N D J F M A M J J A J F M A M J J A S o N D J F M A M J J A S 1943 1944 1943 1944 5. Which means that output per mon- 6. And so has output per dollar of wages. hour has been rising, 125 125 125 125 100 100 100 100 INDEX-FIRST QUARTER 1944=100 75 75 50 50 INDEX-FIRST QUARTER 1944=100 75 75 50 50 INDEX-FIRST QUARTER 1944=100 25 25 25 25 o o o o JFMAM J J A $ o N o J F M A M J J A JFMAM J J A 5 o N D J F M A M JJAS 1943 1944 1943 1944 Note: September figures preliminary. WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS the 1944 program as of September 1 (due example, called fornearly 244,000 more orimarily to the cutback in aircraft deadweight tons in September than were schedules), brings revised requirements completed. And a big backlog of unde- much nearer fessibility. livered vessels has been accumulating. since the beginning of the year. GAIN PLUS CUT The all-important combat-loader pro- In the case of airborne radar for gram showed improvement. Deliveries the Army Service Forces, monthly nro- totaled 27 ships-19 transport-atteck duction now must rise 23% to meet the (APA) vessels end eight cargo-attack year's stated requirements, 88 compared (AKA). This who 13 more than completed with 55% A. month before. This improved in August, only one legs than the Sep- Dosition wiss result of (1) A 15% gain tember 1 schedule but for short of the in September production and (2) a 7% June 1 orogram for September, which reduction in the last cuarter's require- called for 44. Maritime yards completed ments. In the case of the Navy, monthly A total of 38 military-type vessels in output must rise only 8f, due to a 38% Sentember. This was slightly below the jump in September output. However, September 1 schedule but was 10 more scheduled increases in the last cuarter then were finished in August. call mainly for boonte in pr fuction of new items of equipment, which usually VICTORYS ONE OVER present problems, 80 that the objectives Merchant-ship construction declined may be more difficult to reach than is 4% from August to 975,000 deadweight indicated by the gain shown in September. tons, but was still 3% ahead of first- of-the-month schedule. The 43 Liberty PULLED DOWN shipe completed were two less than sched- Production of Navy ship and shore ule. On the other hand, the delivery endor declined 10% and missed schedule of seven Victorys vis one more than by 224. As 8 result, total rader out- called for, and the 19 standard tankers out fell 5% short of the September goal, completed were two more then scheduled. despite the fact that ground radar beat Standard cargo ships were right on the schedule by 17%. mark with five delivered. Outnut of airborne radio for the The October 1 Maritime program shows Nevy fell short of the mark by 152, and some acceleration in comoletions of for the Army by 4% merchant shine scheduled for the last Communication and electronic equin- three months of 1944, compared with the ment production AB a whole, at $343,- September 1 program. However, further 000,000, was slightly below August And reductions have been made in schedules 51 behind schedule. for military tynes, mostly in combat londers. Moritime Ships Varitine suir construction ran 2° Novol Ships ahend of August and completions of 127 Completion of 24 mejor 24 vessels helped vessels, totaling 1,197,000 deadweight to swell the tonnage of Navy-built shine tons, virtually met the first-of-the- in Sentember. Deliveries rose 291 over month schedule. However, the schedule August to 295,000 disclacement tons, Had been reduced for feasibility reasons. but still fell 124 short of the Septem- The Maritime program no of June 1, for ber 1 mchedule. Only major category to CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 28, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 MUNITIONS PRODUCTION FAILS TO RISE Not only did September production in every major category miss the first-of-month schedule, but except for ships and ommunition it fell below the August levels. 2500 1500 Aircraft Wor Construction 2000 1000 Total 1500 500 Airfromes, Engines, Propellers 1000 o J F M A M J J A 5 o N 0 J F M M J JASOND 1943 1944 500 1000 Combot and Motor Vehicles Airplone Spore Ports VALUE DELIVERED OR PUT IN PLACE-MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Total o 500 J F M AMJJASONDJFMAMJJASON D 1943 1944 Automotive Vehicles and Tractors Combot Vehicles 1500 o Ships lincluding mointenance) J FMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND 1943 1944 Total 1000 1000 Ammunition VALUE DELIVERED OR PUT IN PLACE-MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Total 500 Moritime 500 Navy Combatont Artillery, Mortor Small Arms Amm. (under 20mm) Shells and Rockets, ASF Landing Vessels o 0 JFMAMJ J A 5 N D JFMAMJ JASOND J F M A MJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND 1943 1944 1943 1944 1000 1000 Communication and Electronic Equipment Guns and Fire Control 500 500 Total Total Radio Small Arms lunder 20mm) Artillery, Mortors, Rocket Lounchers, ASF o Rodar o JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONO JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONO 1943 1944 1943 1944 Note: Actual through August, September preliminary. September I schedule thereofter, WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRES? meet schedule was patrol and mine craft: lag in the combatant ship deliveries. September % Deviation From Despite the fact that they have been Deliveries given priority over all other ship pro- Aug. Sched. 1000 tons) grams, even maintenance and repairs, Combatants 105 Navy conversions of combat-loaders (APA +239% -14% Landing ves... 136 and AKA) missed their reduced September 0 -8 Patrol &mine. 16 -6 0 schedules. Only 18 APAs were completed District craft 11 -15 against a goal of 23. The September -35 All others 18 schedule had been reduced by nearly 60% -28 -14 since July 1. and the October schedule Total 286 +29% -12% calls for 40. Deliveries of AKAs fell Deliveries of combatant ships in- one short of the lowered goal of seven, cluded the 27,500-ton battle cruiser but the September schedule as of July "Guam," the 27,100-ton aircraft carrier 1 listed 27. And 35 are scheduled for "Bennington, and two light (10,000-ton) the next three months. cruisers "Springfield" and "Duluth." In the case of amphibious flagships Three destroyers, nine destroyer es- (ACG), which also have priority, the corts, and eight submarines also were Navy completed two, though none was completed. Fut failure of the heavy scheduled. This leaves only one to be cruiser "Pittsburgh" to come through completed this month to wind up the on schedule accounted largely for the year's program. Where Will the War Worker Go? More than half of 5,000,000 in-migrants Employers and governmental agencies plan to return home ofter the wor Problem (chiefly the War Manpower Commission, is to keep workers in crowded munitions through the U.S. Employment Service) centers until Japan is defeated. could drawon the whole country to fill those needs. The combined pull of pa- WILLIE THE WELDER may not know how many triotism, high wages, and the lure of hundreds of percentage points employ- a change of scene was strong enough to ment in his West Coast aircraft plant make a one- or two-thousand-mile trip has been inflated as a result of war seem worth while. needs. But he does know-or thinks he But 80 many people have made such is knows-that a couple of months after trip since 1940 that the in-migration the defeat of Jepan there are going to is on the order of a major population be a lot more people than jobs where shift-the 400 counties in which war he is. And after the veterans come back production is concentrated show a net there won't be any of those jobs left in-migration of close to 5,000,000 peo- for the fellow who moved there after ple. The main direction of this shift Pearl Harbor. Maybe he'd better find has been away from the mid-country and out what the old home town can offer him. Northeast Atlantic states to the Great Getting farmers from Iown and clerks Lakes and West Coast areas-California from New York into the centers of war alone has gained over & million in pop- production was & clear-cut job. A def- ulation. In-migrants have increased inite number of workers was needed in the labor force anywhere from 5% or 109 a definite place at a definite time. in large industrial cities like Detroit CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 28, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Preceding Month 6 Months Year Week Week Ago Ago Ago War Program - Checks poid (millions of dollors) 1.776 1,563 1,629 1,630 1,616 Wor bond soles- E,F,G, (millions of dollars) 132 143 152 157 137 Money in circulation (millions of dollars) 24,216 24,157 23,658 21,334 19,090 Wholesole prices (1926+100) All Commodities 105.8 103.8 103.7 103.6 102.9 Form products 122.8 122.7 122.8 122.9 122.7 Foods 103.9 103.8 104.3 104.4 104.8 All other 95.9 98.9 98.9 98.5 97.5 Petroleum: Total U.S. stocks* (thousands of borrets) 427,552 426,088 417,276 411,718 421,405 Total East Coost stocks (thousonds of borreis) 77,622 77,220 73,712 56,739 63,458 East Coost receipts (thousonds of borrels,doily overage) 1,568 1,827 1,662 1,700 1,540 Bituminous cool production (thousands of short tons, daily overage) 1,979 1,957 1,953 1,958 1,954 Steel operations (% of capacity) 96.35 97.05 95.15 99.55 100.75 Freight cors unlooded for export, excluding grain (doily average) Atlontic Coost ports 2,667 3,082 3,425 3,115 2,423 Gulf Coost ports 589 421 462 316 420 Pacific Coost ports 1,868 1,795 1,896 1,690 1,258 Department store soles (% change from o year ago) +0% +16% +95 -115 +125 Preliminary *Excludes militory-owned stocks or Buffalo up to 300% or 400% in areas their present employment when the war like Mineral County, Nev., which had no is over: If they are right, up to 90% industrial existence before the war. of the in-mi grants will lose their jobs. When cutbacks come, most of these Workers will be in a better position in regions will accumulate a surplus of cities like Buffalo or Detroit, which manpower. Some areas may be able to have broader industrial bases than San better their 1940 level of employment Diego or Pichmond, California-but even within a year or 80 after V-8 Day, but the most optimistic guesses about post- in other places 1940 represents a max- war employment in Buffalo (WP-Aug26'44. imum rather than a minimum goal. And p8) leave half of its 30,000 in-migrant on this basis, the in-migrants-unable workers with no hope of a job there. to compete in seniority, especially with To a great extent, then, the problem veterans-will left out in the cold. of the in-migrant worker is only & part of the whole problem of postwar unem- ONLY POSTPONED ployment. But his situation has its own On the West Coast, large-scale cut- peculiar aspects: He knows his chance backs may be held off until Japan is of a job is smaller than average: he's defeated. It may even be necessary to probably suffering from the congested put on campaigns to hold labor in port living conditions more than the older facilities, lumber camps, and ship re- residents: and he nas few ties to keep pair yards. But when the axe finally him in a region where these things are falls, itwill cut deep. The big users true. of manpower-airplane plants and ship- And more than half of all in-migrants yards-talk in terms of 10% or 15% of have always planned to return to their CONFIDENTIAL 10 ... CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS former homes and occupations after the BUTTER STOCKS DROP war. Surveys made in eight major defense areas over the country indicate that I, The new supply of butter has dropped an average of 60% have no intention of for three years (19% below 41). 800 800 staying where they are even if jobs are available-the percentage is around 65% in Cleveland, Buffalo, andPhiladelphia; around 50% in Detroit and most cities 600 600 in California. In other words, over half of the 5,- 000,000 in-migrants intend to nove: others will ultimately be forced out 400 400 of their jobs after demobilization. The next question is: Where and what are they going to move to? Many of them 200 200 are reconciled to going back to the sub- marginal farms and submarginal jobs they had before the war. Some will hang on where they are until their savings o o I 2 I 4 * / 3 4 . I 3 4 # # 3 . and their chances for a job reach the (94) 1942 1943 1944 vanishing point. But others are pack- 2. As o result, consumption also has drop- ing up and leaving right now. ped, but not so much (12% below 41). MILLIONS OF POUNDS 600 600 SMOTTING 8 PONNOR PROPOSED PANACEAS As far back as the middle of last year, legislative committees in both 400 400 the Senate and the House discussed the need of demobilization benefits for the Civilian war worker-to curtail out-migration while it could still cause manpower 200 200 difficulties in war production and to aid in the removal of workers from over- crowded areas. These benefits-which, o Militory and Land-Lecee o in addition to unemployment compensa- 2 1 4 I . 3. 4 . 2 3 . I 3 . tion, would include retraining and re- (94) 1942 1943 1944 employment services and relocation n]- 3. And civilion-held stocks are of the low- lowances-were designed to keep manpower est point in nearly two years. 400 400 sufficiently mobile to meet all wartine needs, and then to assure each worker that at the end of the war he would be returned to his former home If he couldn't 200 200 get permanent employment in his newsite. But is war production actually suf- fering-or likely to suffer-from out- o o migration? Ever since the war in Europe # 3 . . I $ 4. I II 3 4 1234 1941 1942 1943 1944 showed signs of being won, there have - PROGRESS been scare headlines on the alarming CONFIDENTIAL OCTOBER 28, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 11 rate of out-migration from Baltimore, labor force to meet the stresses and Detroit, and West Const areas-but mu- strains that will be created in various nitions programs these same areas do regions until Japan is defeated. not seen to be seriously affected by Six months ago, a strong case might this particular cause. For one thing, have been made for bonuses to hold mi- productivity per worker has been con- grants on the job for the duration. The stantly stepped up for the past three argument who that shinyards and aircraft of four years, so remaining workers turn plants were losing workers so fast that out more. For another, many of the out- special inducements had to be offered: migrants represent less efficient or somuchextra DAY for eachmonth of serv- less skilled workers who have been laid ice, or e guarantee of moving expenses off or separated. Some support for this after the Japanese war. That was when is be found in reports from San Fran- out-migration WRB mounting And seemed to cisco and Los Angeles that of those threaten war production schedules. leaving war plants are going back to Today, however, though out-migration farms or into service industries. continues heavy, it has not assumed 8 magnitude that endangers schedules-in PULL AND COUNTERPULL West Coast airframe plants and ship- After V-E Day, out-migration-to areas yards, forexample, voluntary ouits have in which peacetime production ismoving declined 17% in the past year. And ahead rapidly-might become large enough though during the early reconversion to interfere production sched- period some pulls toward civilian-goods ules. That is one theory. But there is centers will be exerted, the fact re- a counterpull. Many workers may went mains that the cutbacks come a du- to get away to a job with good peace- ration war job will have attractions all time prospects: at the same time, when ite own. layoffs become general, A job will be a job. It seems likely that the period FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION between V-E Day and full reconversion Thus, the main force has gone out will see 8 shift from & seller's to n of the argument for special demobiliza- buyer's market for labor-the worker tion benefits to migrant workers as A may have good reasons for leaving his necessary war measure. However, that war job, but in most cases he will have doesnotminify not in shape, form, or sub- immediate bread-and-butter reasons for stance the basic problem of postwer re- staying. And as an example of what will location-in terms of (1) the worker happen again and again in the months to and (2) the communities in which the come, Chicago reports that many workers strended workers stay. have been returning to the war jobs they And, like many other postwar prob- quit when news of the European war was lemn, this one calls out for immediate more optimistic. handling-in this case, for its effect It seems likely, then, that the bal- on in-migrants' morale. There is al- ences amongmunitions requirements, cut- ready some evidence to indicate that backs, and out-migration will-generally the fear of cutbacks-leading to con- speaking-take care of themselves until scious or unconscious stretching out the end of the war. Some workers will of work-may harm war production just settle themselves in peacetime occupa- as directly na though thousands of key tions, and others will provide A mobile workers had quit their jobs. CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Employment-Labor Disputes-Hours and Earnings Lotest Preceding 2 Months 6 Months Year Same Same Month* e Month Ago Ago Ago Month Month 1939 1937 FEDERAL CIVILIAN EMPLOYMENT (thousands) 3,432 3,442 3,424 3,305 3,235 N.A. N.A. War agencies 2,549 2,554 2,547 2,453 2,370 Wor department 1,579 1,582 1,573 1,517 1,471 Navy department 751 752 754 719 678 Other 219 220 220 217 221 Nonwar agencies 883 888 877 852 865 N.A. N.A. LABOR DISPUTES Number of strikes in progress 445 550 530 390 267 373 656 Workers involved (thousands) 205 225 180 125 72 104 160 Number of strikes beginning during month 390 485 470 360 237 197 361 Workers involved (thousands) 185 190 145 115 67 37 89 Man-days idle (thousands) 660 935 680 415 210 892 1,450 AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS (dollars) All manufacturing industries 45.85 45.43 46.27 45.29 43.52 23.77 24.75 Durable goods 51.79 51.07 52.17 51.37 49.61 26.63 27.99 Nondurable goods 37.16 37.04 37.35 36.37 34.55 21.77 21.90 Bituminous coal mining 52.28 47.20 52.27 52.99 46.15 24.61 23.58 Metalliferous mining 44.96 43.46 45.12 44.04 45.31 27.47 31.62 AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS (cents) Allmanufacturing industries 101.6 101.8 101.8 100.3 96.5 62.4 63.8 Durable goods 111.1 111.7 111.3 110.0 106.0 68.8 69.1 Nondurable goods 66.4 86.2 86.2 84.1 81.1 57.6 58.7 Bituminous coal mining 118.9 119.9 118.5 117.8 115.0 89.0 89.4 Metalliferous mining 100.3 101.0 100.9 99.2 98.3 70.1 71.1 AVERAGE HOURS PER WEEK All manufacturing industries 45.1 44.6 45.5 45.3 45.1 38.1 38.8 Durable goods 46.6 45.7 46.9 46.7 46.8 58.7 40.5 Nondurable goods 43.0 43.0 43.4 43.2 42.6 37.8 37.5 Bituminous coal mining 44.1 39.5 44.1 45.2 40.3 27.4 27.5 Metalliferous mining 44.8 42.9 44.6 44.3 46.0 39.5 44.5 Employment, Labor Disputes, September; Hours and Earnings, August. F Preliminary. Not Available. REPORTS ON REPORTS eight months after V-E Day, according to executives in the automotive indus- New-Old Markets try. But estimates in various publi- After V-E Day, a large volume of cations for reconversion of the indus- military orders for industrial finishes try as a whole range fromless than three probably will be canceled, according to to more than nine months. How Soon Can The Paint and Varnish Industry (confi- the Automobile Industry Reconvert? (un- dential: pp. 16). Until production of classified: pp. 7) concludes that six civilians' durable goods-autos, refrig- months would be a good guess. erators, etc.-startsagain, manufacture (Bureau of Planning and Statistics. Re- of specialized coatings will be curtailed. ports Division) (Department of Commerce, Bureau of For- [This record is an attempt to select from the many eign and Domestic Commerce) documents coming to the attention of WAR PROGRESS those studies which would be of most interest to Autos After V-E Day readers. The list inby no means comprehensive, and no attempt has been made to evaluate reports for The first automobiles will roll off accuracy. Whether reports are available depends on assembly lines anywhere from two to the policy of each individual agency.] CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit Information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in conhection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies In a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted as if the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address, (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern- ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act DECLARENT 8(8) and LED 6(D) of (5) 1 1973 M Economic Data Special Articles The President 1 67. WAR PROGRESS War Production Board Confidential Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act Spot Fills in the Gaps Navy Programs Mature WX-5 for a One-Front War E.O. 11662 Bec. 2(K) and (D) oz (6) DECLASSIFIED Commerce Lesser, 11-16-72 x4735 M RHP, Date MAR 1 4 1973 x18 Number 216 November 4, 1944 I Form GA-8-8D No. (3-29-40 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA R WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 71452 COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM TO: STATISTICS DIVISION DIVISION on OFFICE The President on OFFICE H.O.E. HAME) NAME The ingo (ROOM NUMBER BUILDING BUILDING DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT W.P. / 216 +1 3 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER'S RECEIPT are ---- WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J.A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Program and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr., Director) by the Reports Division (Joseph A. Livingston, Director). EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard, A. R. Hilliard, Morris Katz, Chester L Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston (editor), Martha Menaker, J.S. Werking (pro- duction), CONTRIBUTOR Joseph A. Zettler (munitions), William F. Butler (aircraft), J. Ronald Meiklejohn (communications and electronics). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 215 WAR PROGRESS NOVEMBER 4, 1944 Spot Fills in the Production Gaps But spot authorization plan is only o percentage point in the economy. Is slock-gatherer- ON THE SPOT PROGRAM takes up labor, materials, and facilities not HERE are the 10 largest groups of utilizable in war work. products which are now under spot authorization, 68 of October 24: IN AN ECONOMY of nearly $200,000,000.000 a year, of which munitions production Beds, cots, springs, etc. alone amounts to $65,000,000,000, the Aluminumware, household spot authorization plan is An atom. To Vacuum cleaners date, it extends to only 1,331 plants Farm machinery throughout the country: authorized manu- Kitchen & household utensils facture of peacetime goods amounts to Plumbing & heating (incl.stoves) only $247,605,000, less than 0.3% of Metal furniture-household & the total value of manufacture. office However, the story of "spot" is not Electric appliances one of quantity, but of development. Auto parts & maintenance equip. Spot is catching on. It could-if war Refrigeration & air-conditioning program cutbacks continue-mount up to equip. several percentage points in the na- tional economy. expected to make use of materials in idle and excess inventories, and the NEW AND UNFAMILIAR processing of applications included the On September 15, A. month after its job of checking the availability of introduction, the War Production Board such stocks. With all these handicaps, had acted on only 61 applications and approval of applications averaged only approved only 31. The job was A brand around five a day for the first six new one for the 113 WPB field offices weeks of the program. handling the applications (WP-Aug19'44, p1): the forms were new; the procedures FIRST 100,000 vere new. The manpower officials work- But in the following week-September ing with WPB were extremely cautious 27 to October 3-exactly as many appli- about releasing workers fornonwar pro- cations were processed (220) as in the duction. The unfamiliar jobot process- whole program previously. Chief reason ing applications-with its manpower wis the allocation to spot of 100,000 facilities and materials reviews-took tons of prime carbon steel (an amount considerably longer than the current which has since been doubled). Process- average of around 20 days. ing of applications accelerated rapidly But most important in holding down (chart, page 3) and currently over 50 approvals WAS the fact that no prime are noted on per day. Over $6,000,000 steel could be spared for the program of production is authorized per day, (WP-Aug26'44,pl). Manufacturers were nearly 1,000 tons of steel. By now, CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS half of the valid applications received lishments that have never been fitted have been acted on, and with the speed into war production, and several of these of processing at its present level or have been "out for the duration. Thus higher this ratio will be improved. spot helps to see that the small manu- Spot was designed as a stopgap-some facturer is not lost in the reconversion have called it a spotgap. It was to shuffle. fill in during the period before V-E Day, when cutbacks in some military DEFROSTING MATERIALS programs and changes in others released Many of the idle materials put to materials, facilities, and workers for work under "spot" have been doing noth- the manufacture of civilian-type prod- ing more useful than take up space. ucts. But spot differs from the emer- Although the program has received a gency production of essential civilian tremendous impetus from the allocation items programmed by the Office of Ci- of prime materials, much of the produc- vilian Requirements in that the products tion makes use of idle and excess in- obtained are not the major objective. ventories no longer needed for war. A. safety-pin manufacturer, for instance, AIDS SMALL PLANTS applies for permission to re-enter the Of the 18,888 workers now engaged in civilian market making use of his stocks production authorized under spot, 13,917 of brass which were frozen by the gov- would otherwise be out of production. ernment at the beginning of the war. Of the 1,331 idle or partially idle Another manufacturer applies for plants which the spot program has put permission to make inner-spring mat- to work, the majority are small in size. tresses. He has been producing these Average employment is 83 workers: the for destroyer escort vessels, but now number in each plant working under spot his war contract has been canceled. If authorization averages 14. Plants em- he can make mattresses for civilians, ploying less than 50 workers have re- he can use outsized spring units left ceived 72% of the authorizations numeri- over from work, instead of fil- cally, 56% of the steel allocated, and ing a contract termination claim for 45% of the dollar value of production them; but he must get into production schedules. Many of these are plants immediately he is to sell these mat- adaptable to only one kind of war work; tresses; at a later date, because of others are small manufacturing estab- the outsized springs, "no dealer would consider mixing them into his stock." IN THIS ISSUE: RETURN OF THE INNER-SPRING SPOT FILLS IN THE PRODUCTION GAPS 1 As it happens, the inner-spring mat- tress is the product for which the great- KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 4. est number of authorizations have been given-over 300 in all. Mattresses can NAVY PROGRAMS COME OF AGE 5 be made in hundreds of small establish- ments whose facilities arenot not now uti- WX-5 FOR A ONE-FRONT WAR 10 lizable in war work. The government is just as ready to authorize french-fried SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 12 potato cutters or fishing tackle. To be placed on the authorized list, a CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 4, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 3 product must fulfill only one require- ment: that its manufacture will not SPOTGAP IN U.S. ECONOMY interfere, directly or indirectly, with Slow to start, quick pick up, then a war production. For this reason most leveling off. That's spot authorization. of the products listed are simple and do not demand a variety of materials Here are the applications octed upon: or components. 80 80 Daily Average Over 70% of authorizations are for Denied items in the consumers' durable-goods 60 60 category-kitchen utensils, office sup- plies, furniture, etc. On the list of the 10mostactive products and product- NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS 40 40 groups, page 1, certain exceptions to Approved NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS this rule may be observed, notably 20 20 farm machinery and air-conditioning equipment. National need for products has sometimes influenced field offices o o Aug. IS Oct 3 Oct 10 Oct 17 Oct 24 in granting authorizations. And a con- Sept 26 WEEK ENDING cession has been made to product es- sentiality in the preparation of a pre- Here is the value of approved applications: IO ferred list of "utility" products from IO Daily Average OCR, for the production of which a man- 8 8 ufacturer will be given an AA-5 priority rating for obtaining materials he may 6 require outside the controlled materials 6 allotted to him. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 4 4 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS MANPOWER TEST In the main, however, manpower uti- 2 2 lization, not product essentiality, is the important test applied to spot ap- o o Aug. 15 Oct 3 Oct IO Oct 17 Oct 24 plications. The would-be manufacturer Sept. 26 WEEK ENDING of musical powder boxes for ladies' And here is the steel allotted for approved dressing tables who feels that "music applications: in any form is a good morale builder 1200 1200 in these times" finds the government Daily Average interested only in his further state- ment that the boxes can be spun out of 800 600 aluminum "by an old gentleman who has a small shop in his home." About 90% of the applications denied are turned NUMBER OF TONS NUMBER OF TONS down because of manpower. As materials 400 400 and facilities become freer in future months, spot officials believe that the manpower test will become virtually the o o only one applied to applications. Aug. 15 Oct 3 Oct IO Oct 17 Oct 24 Sept 26 WEEK ENDING A form giving full manpower informa- WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS tion must accompany a manufacturer's his plant, using workers who, from time application for spot authorization- to time, are not fully occupied with specifying, among other things, "reduc- war work. Sometimes such an applica- tion anticipated innumber of employees tion is justified on the grounds that in plant if application were denied. the work will hold together an efficient When the application has been checked team of workers pending receipt of new by WPB for availability of facilities, war contracts. No single answer can materials, tools, etc., it then goes be devised for this type of request; to thelocal office of the War Manpower each demands separate study. Many such Commission where a careful check is requests have been granted, but manu- made to see that workers are not' drained facturers whoare over their PUC employ- away from war production. ment ceilings or behind in their war production schedules are sure to have FILL-IN WORK their applications denied. War plant operators often state that they are able to resume civilian pro- FEW HASTY NOES duction on A limited scale without in- Better than four out of five appli- terfering with munitions production or cations are now granted, resulting in making additional demands in the labor the authorization of schedules covering market. An aluminum manufacturer, for A year's production, the allotment of instance, proposes to punch out a few steel, aluminum, or copper, if necessary, pots and pans in an unused corner .of and the granting of priority ratings KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Preceding Month 6 Months Year Week Week Ago Ago Ago Wor Program-Checks paid (millions of dollars) 1,717 1,778 1,678 1,710 1,536 Wor bond soles-E,F,G, (millions of dollars) 231 132 260 245 194 Money in circulation (millions of dollars) 24,409 24,216 23,881 21,396 19,354 Wholesole prices (1926=100) All Commodities 103.9 ₽ 103.8 103.8 103.7 102.8 Form products 123.3 122.8 122.8 123.1 122.2 Foods 104.1 103.9 103.9 104.7 105.0 All other 98.8 F 98.9 98.8 98.5 97.5 Petroleum: Total U.S. stocks (thousands of borrels) 426,836 427,552 420,235 410,660 424,503 Total East Coost stocks* (thousands of borrels). 78,358 77,622 74,677 56,439 64,366 Eost Coost receipts (thousonds of borrels, doily average). 1,930 1,568 1,696 1,794 1,588 Bituminous cool production (thousands of short tons, daily average) 1,967 1,979 1,975 2,042 1,888 Steel operations (% of capacity) 94.9% 96.3% 95.6% 100.05 100.64 Freight cors unloaded for export, excluding grain (daily overage) Atlontic Coost ports 2,929 2,667 3,577 3,150 2,417 Gulf Coost ports 529 529 459 357 405 Pocific Coost ports 1,895 1,868 1,778 1,686 1,259 Department store soles (% change from o year ogo) +115 +8% +12% +18% +115 Preliminary Excludes militory-owned stocks CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 4, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 5 for othermaterials, if products are on economy in general and on war produc- the "utility" list. When an applica- tioninparticular, are closely followed tion denied, itis followed up by the in Washington by WPB's Controller Divi- Smaller War Plants Corporation, and some- sion, where weekly reports on spot ap- times by the appropriate WPE division, provals from field offices are tabulated for a recheck of the reasons why approval to show the overall shape of the program was not granted. Thus hasty and arbi- -products scheduled, materials used, trary denials are cut to a minimum. labor employed, and size and location The effects of spot, on the national of plants involved. Navy Programs Come of Age Planned 45 production decline of 23% reflects ing recent months some programs have maturity in schedules for landing craft, DEs, been reduced in accordance with newer subs,etc. But maintenance and repair bill expectations. There is a possibility rises 13%, may go higher. that certain vessels in the Material Planning Program may be eliminated. EECAUSE THE NAVY has a long-term job This cut could run as high as $500,000,- to do in the Pacific, V-E Day doesn't 000 for 1945. figureinits schedules. However, plans Thus the overall decline fromSeptember for 1945 indicate a 23% decline in pro- levels may be a few percentage points auction from the September annual rate up or down from what is now scheduled. of $16,000,000.000 to $12,400,000,000. Here's how the Navy's 1945 major pro- The September rate is somewhat below grams compare with the September annual production schedules for 1944, at $16,- production rate: 600,000,000. The drop reflects the ma- turing of some of the Navy's programs. Sept.'44 '45 % The winding up of the landing-craft Ann.Rate Program Change (in millions) program alone accounts for $1,300,000,- 000, or one-third of the decline in Ships (work done) $7,668 $5,665 -26% Ammunition schedules. 2,040 1,913 -6 Guns & fire con- NO ANSWERS YET trol 1,560 1,203 -23 Com. & elec The Navy's program for 1945 is not 1,608 872* -46 All other entirely spelled out. For example, the 3,156 2,714 -14 Total radar and radio contracts nowlet extend $16,032 $12,367 -23% only into the middle of next year. As a "Incomplete result, the communication and electronic programmay be boosted by nearly $500,- Although the value of work done on 000,000 from the current 1945 schedule combatant ships is due to decline one- of $872,000,000. Similarly, the main- third from 1944 to 1945, tonnage deliv- tenance and repair bill might be raised eries in 1945 will be 1,130,000 dis- an additional $100,000,000 or $200,000,- placement tons as against 1,080,000 000 from the $1,620,000,000 estimated tons in 1944-a gain of 5%. In other for next year. On the other hand, dur- words, the bank of undelivered work CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS 6 NOVEMBER 4, 1944 THOUGH THE NAVY'S PROGRAM DECLINES NEXT YEAR, THE WORK BANK PAYS BIGGER, BETTER DIVIDENDS Volue put in place on combatant ships in 1945 will fall below 1944 levels, but deliveries will exceed this year's total. In all, the program is down 23% from current levels. 1500 1500 1000 000 600 600 250 Total Novy Program Total Ships (Including mointenonce) Total Ordnance and Signal Equipment Other Equipr 800 and Supplies 800 200 1000 1000 Volue 400 400 600 Put in Place 600 150 400 400 100 500 500 200 200 Volue of Deliveries 200 200 50 o o o o o o o 1942 1943 1944 (945 1942 (943 1944 1945 1942 1943 1944 1945 1942 400 400 600 600 160 160 160 Londing Vessels Combatant Vessels Bottleships, Cruisers Aircraft Corr Volue of Deliveries Value of Deliveries 300 300 120 120 120 400 400 200 200 Volue 80 80 80 Put in Place Volue Put in Place Volue Volue of Put in Place Deliveries 200 200 Volue Put in Place 100 100 40 40 40 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS o o o o o o o 1942 1943 (944 1945 1942 1943 1944 1945 1942 1943 1944 1945 1942 60 60 125 (25 300 300 50 Submarines Destroyers Destroyer Escorts Aircraft Carr Escorts Volue of Deliveries 100 100 40 Volue Volue of Deliveries Volue Put in Place 40 40 Put in Place 200 200 75 75 30 50 50 20 20 20 100 IOO Volue Put in Place Volue of Deliveries Volue Put in Place 25 25 10 o o o 0 o o o 1942 1943 1944 1945 1943 1944 1945 1942 1943 1944 1945 1942 1942 100 100 200 200 200 200 200 Potrol and Mine Craft Guns and Fire Control Communicat Ammunition Volue of Deliveries 80 80 150 150 150 150 ISO 60 8 100 100 100 100 100 40 40 Volue Put in Place 50 50 50 50 20 50 20 o o o o o o o 1942 1943 1944 1945 M2 1943 (944 1945 1942 1943 1944 1945 1942 Note Actual through September, schedule thereofter, CONFIDENTIAL 8 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS THE PROJECTED UNITED STATES NAVY Today the fleet is five times that of 1940; by the end of next year it will be half again os big if currently planned construction is completed." 20 20 U.S. Fleet (End of month) 15 15 MILLIONS OF DISPLACEMENT TONS 10 10 All Other Patrol a Mine Croft MILLIONS OF DISPLACEMENT TONS 5 Londing Vessels 5 Combotants o o June 1940 Dec. 1940 Dec. 1941 Dec. 1942 Dec 1943 Sept. 1944* Dec. 1944* Dec. 1945* *Excludes sinkings, WAR PROGRESS done in 1944 will pay dividends in 1945. year. Similarly with the medium types And by the end of 1945 the Navy combatant -LCILs, LCTs, LSMs-the decline is from fleet is estimated to rise to 5,000,000 157 in September to a monthly average displacement tons (chart, above). of 54 in the first half and 33 in the second half of 1945. But small craft DUE FOR DROP under 50 displacement tons-LCPs, LVTs, At present, landing craft is still LCVPs-hold steady, with 1,937 delivered a major naval program. Though produc- in September and a monthly average of tion is down sharply from the peak an- 1,974 scheduled for 1945. nual rate of $3,300,000,000 in May, 1944, it still is high at $2,500,000,000, BATTLESHIPS AND CRUISERS or 40% of the September ship construc- Work done on battleships and cruisers tion total. But next year the rate drops next year is scheduled at a shade under to $1,200,000,000, or only 31% of the September levels. But whereas two 45,- total. 000-ton battleships-the "Missouri"and The decline is concentrated in heavy the "Wisconsin"-were delivered this and medium landing craft. In September, year, none is scheduled for next year. 47 ships over 750 displacement tons (LSTs, Déliveries of cruisers, on the other LSDs, and LSVs) were delivered. But hand, rise from 14 this year to 25 next next year's monthly average calls for year-the gain being in the heavy cruiser 13-with nearly all of the deliveries over 10,000 tons. concentrated in the first half of the The value of work done next year on CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 4, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 aircraft carriers slated to rise 16% Commission delivered 50 of these ships- over September rates: but deliveries, weighing 6,700 tons each-to the Navy because of work dône this year, are between July, 1943, and July, 1944. scheduled to rise even more sharply. To date in 1944, five carriers have been BIG REPAIR BILL delivered-the "Randolph" coming through The growth of the Navy's fleet, how- last month AB scheduled. Two more are ever, pats a bigger burden on minte- due, the "Shangri-La" this month, and nance and repair. Thus the repair bill the "Bon Homme Richard" for Christmas. goes up from $1,440,000,000 (September But fornext year, 12 flat-tops are due annual rate) to $1,620,000,000 next to be completed. And two of these will year, and may go even higher. be the heaviest carriers ever built- Here's how the picture for next year 45,000 displacement tons-the "Midway" shapes up on & value-put-in-place basis: and the "Coral Sen." The keels for these Sept.'44 '45 1 giant carriers-as heavy no the biggest Ann.Rate Sched. Change battleship-were laid in the last quarter (in millions) of 1943 and are due in the second half Landing vessels. $2,532 $1,246 -51% of next year. Battleships, cruisers 504 496 -2 MORE DESTROYER DELIVERIES Aircraft carriers 444 518 +17 On A value-of-work-done basis, de- Destroyers 600 585 -3 stroyers decline slightly in 1945 from Submarines 336 147 -56 the September, 1944, annual rate, but DRs 192 4 -98 next year's deliveries of 94 ships will Aircraft carrier top this year's 81. escorts 96 159 +66 Destroyer escorts, however, virtually Transports 240 121 -50 drop out of the picture-the last one Patrol & mine will be delivered in the first quarter craft 204 71 -65 of 1945. Similarly, the value put in Cargo & supply 228 93 -59 place on submerines drops more than 50% Aux. & other 780 603 -23 from the September annual rate. On the Maintenance & same basis, patrol and mine craft are repair 1,440 1,622 +13 due to decline 65%. Naval guns and fire control follow BABY FLAT-TOPS HEAVIER much the same pattern as ships-down in Aircraft carrier escorts-of much nearly every type. Antiaircraft and heavier type than formerly-are on the dual-purpose guns decline 25% from the books for A 66% gain in value put in September rate. Naval surface-fire guns, place. Sixteen ships of the 12,000-ton too, are down 25%. Similarly with fire class are due for delivery in 1945. In- control and searchlights, off 27%. deed, these baby flat-tops are heavier than the Independence class aircraft SOME UP, SOME DOWN carriers. Whereas the present program But ammunition presents a somewhat is being built by the Navy, the early different pattern. Although total naval program crume largely under Maritime ammunition declines 6%, heavy antiair- Commission supervision. The Maritime craft ammunition for the 5-inch gun is CONFIDENTIAL 10 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS due for a 17% gain over the September tracted for. As & result, the 46% de- rate of output. Similarly, naval sur- cline from the September annual rate face-fire ammunition rises 12%. Att- is undoubtedly too big. More likely munition for the 40mm. gun rises 13%. estimates are that the signal equipment The big decline is in torpedoes, depth program will decline about 15%. charges, and mines, from & September Thus, while next year's Navy sched- rate of $372,000,000 to $160,000,000 ules are not quite complete, it is rea- next year-down 57%. sonable to assume a decline of 20% to Next year's schedules for communi- 25% from September levels on & value-put- cation and electronic equipment are in-place basis. Whether this will be hardly a gauge of Navy needs. They mere- more or less depends to a great extent ly represent what has already been con- on how the war goes in the Pacific. WX-5 for a One-Front War Plane schedule for year after V-E Daycuts weight models with schedules for Navy models 14%, numbers 15% from present 45 plan. in the current W-12 program, it is pos- Army models drop, Novy's rise. Fort and sible to put the plane program in post- Liberator requirements down about 50% V-8 Day perspective. On that basis, output in Period I MORE THAN & year ago, the Army Air Forces comes to approximately 778,000,000 pounds began to study plane requirements for (three-fourths of it in Army models) a one-front war. That resulted in the and 64,500 planes. These represent cute WX-1 schedule, 4 tentative production of 14%in weight and 15% in numbers from program for the year after V-8 Day (Pe- presently scheduled production for 1945 riod I). (chart, page 11). Superbombers are un- This was necessarily a rough, ten- changed at 232,000,000 pounds (4,929 tative job; changes were not spelled planes) and will constitute almost one- out by model and plant, nor were they third of total airframe weight in Period translated into terms of labor and com- I. But Forts and Liberators are reduced ponents. Since then there have been 46% in airframe weight, to 78,000,000 other WX schedules, each more complete pounds (3,278 planes) versus 143,500,000 than the preceding one. And now the bounds (6,006 planes) ex-V-E Day. AAP has issued WX-5, themost realistic of the lot. ARMY DROPS, NAVY RISES As compared with current levels of HOW IT'S FIGURED output, reductions called for in Period No V-E Day planning schedules have I are greater still, running to 18% in been submitted by the Navy's Eureau of airframe weight for all planes. The Aeronautics, since the Navy program is drop in Army models is 26%, but Navy designed chiefly for operations planes actually rise 19%. Among major and undergoes no radical shift after categories, superbombers score the big- victory in Europe. But by assuming V-E gest increase from present levels-2224. Day to fall at the end of the year and Here's a list of post-V-E Day changes by combining WX-5 schedules for Army inmajor categories figured from (1) the CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 4, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... II W-12 program for 1945 and (2) the cur- equipped by the middle of 1945, hence rent annyal rate of output: requirements shift to a replacement basis. It is noteworthy that this cut 9 Change in Period I is concentrated at the Douglas plant From in Long Beach, an area where labor is W-12 Prog. Current scarce and re-employment prospects are for '45 Ann. Rate favorable: the Tulsa plant carries on Total mil. airplanes -14% -18% unchanged. Army procured -18 -26 The 42% cut in the P-51 Mustang fight- Navy procured nil +19 er-from 7,386 to 4,282-is divided Superbombers nil +222 between North American's plants at (1) Forts & Liberators. -46 -77 Inglewood, a crowded labor area, and Other bombers -5 +13 (2) Dallas, where labor is relatively Fighters (incl. easy. By concentrating production at naval reconn. -14 -29 Dallas, it would have been possible to Transports -17 -13 release labor in Los Angeles and utilize Trainers -55 -85 the working force at Dallas. However, Communications nil +20 a difficulty is that Inglewood will be Although the A-26 is to be used chief- making the P-51H next year, a faster ly in the Far East, output in Period I and longer-range version of the P-51K is reduced 14%, from 4,609 planes to at Dallas; a change-over at Dallas would 3,948. Most A-26 squadrons should be involve some shifting of tools. Also, THE SHAPE OF PLANES TO COME V-E Day plane program for 1945 would lop off 14% from present W-12 schedule, and 18% from current rate of production. 150 150 W-12 vs WX-5 AIRFRAME WEIGHT-MILLIONS OF POUNDS 100 100 W-12 Actual Production WX-5 50 50 AIRFRAME WEIGHT-MILLIONS OF POUNDS o o J F M A M J J A 5 o N D J F M A M J J A 5 o N D 1944 1945 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Cost of Living-Production-Income Payments-Inventories-Sales Lotest Preceding 2 Months Same Month Month® Month Ago 1943 1942 1941 1939 COST OF LIVING-ALL ITEMS (1935-1939-100) 126.5 106,4* 126,1 123.9 117.8 106.1 100.6 Foods 137.0 157.7 157.4 137.4 126.6 110.7 98.4 Other than foods 121.1 120.5° 120.2 116.6 113.1 106.7 101.6 FOOD PRODUCTION Dairy products (million pounds) Butter, creamery 112.5 130.5 153.7 126.5 137.4 146.4 133.8 Cheese 81.9 91.5 105.7 83.6 82.8 66.8 59.0 Evaporated milk 275.0 312.0 358.0 252.8 221.7 290,6 158.3 Medis-total (incl. lard, million pounds) 1,426 1,572 1,554 1,567 1,449 1,178 1,065 Beef and veol 690,2 704.5 575.8 600.4 641.5 580.5 495.9 Lomb and mutton 80.1 75.5 71.6 98.2 87.0 63.1 65,0 Pork, incl. lard 655.5 791.9 906.8 840.3 720.4 534.5 506.3 Lord 111.3 153.2 188.9 141.0 118.2 92.2 85.3 Poultry and Eggs Eggs (millions) 3,515 4,010 4,631 3,304 3,031 2,726 2,396 Poultry (receipts of 5 principal markets, million pounds) 46.8 38.7 42.1 42.6 45.7 35.2 30.1 INCOME PAYMENTS-TOTAL (million dollars) 13,659 12,605* 12,668 12,452 10,593 8,379 6,090 Solories and wages 9,257 9,185* 9,152 8,614 7,148 5,423 3,860 Comm, distr., and serv, industries 6,994 7,054. 7,017 6,743 5,915 4,725 3,351 Government 2,263 2,151 2,135 1,871 1,230 698 509 Military 1,304 1,277 1,265 949 485 135 38 Nonmilitory 959 874 870 922 747 563 471 Other income payments! 4,402 3,420 3,736 3,838 3,445 2,956 2,252 income payments annual rate (odjusted for seasonal, billion dollars) 156.0 157.0° 156.0 144.5 121.7 97.6 71.8 INVENTORIES-TOTAL (million dollars) 27,38 27,473 27,155 26,257 29,344 24,918 18,554 Monufocturers 17,256 17,278 17,215 17,719 17,459 14,252 9,809 Wholesolers 3,842 3,907 4,043 5,893 4,245 4,5% 3,505 Retailers 6,264 6,208* 5,897 6,645 7,660 6,282 5,212 RETAIL STORE SALES-TOTAL (million dollors) 5,866 5,643 3,452 5,457 4,966 4,720 3,647 Durable goods stores 842 035 835 615 817 1,144 B22 Nonduroble goods stores 5,044 4,808 4,617 4,642 4,149 3,578 2,805 *Entire series, September, Preliminary Revised If Work relief, direct and other relief, Social Security benefits, dividends and interest, entrepreneurial income. North American wants to keep its home duced 44% to 1,394 planes. The manu- plant occupied. As a result, WX-5 cuts facturer-Douglas, Oklahoma City-may out the Dallas plant in June. receive Superfortress work to fill in. As compared with the W-12 program WX-5 probably won't be the last of for 1945, production of the P-38 Light- the V-F Day airplane production pro- ning will be 17% lower in Period I, run- grams. Some changes already are in the ning to 2,757 planes. This is now the making. For example, the superbomber favored fighter in the Pacific: but it program islikely to be increased. Fur- is in for some stiff competition from thermore, lend-lease requirements have the jet-propelled P-80, which will be yet to be definitely established. And built up at Lockheed, Burbank, as the again, AS in all plane schedules, new P-38 tapers off. models are carried with the standard Another big cut in the C-47 Skytrain, models they are designed to displace: as the Army's volume transport, takes place newmodels prove their worth, such dupli- in Period I. Under WX-5, output is re- cation is eliminated (WP-Oct21'44,p8). CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (i) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted as if the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of oddress. (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern- ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act (B) 1 1 ARE & Economic Data Special Articles The President 1 WAR PROGRESS Confidential 6.7. Disclosure Ponishable Under Espionage Air War Production Board How Urgent Is "Urgent" Leather-Not Enough Give x1586 Planes Nearer Schedule, But... x249 x4735 official B.O. 11652 Bee. S(K) and 5(D) or (8) Commorce Dept. Letter, 11-16-78 By RHP, Date MAR 14 1973 Number 217 November 11, 1944 Pura CA-M-6D - (1-99-40 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 71806 R COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION The President DIVISION OR OFFICE protection OR OFFICE B.C.S. NAME NAME The white House (ROOM NUMBER BUILDING (HOOM NUMBER BUILDING DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT V.P. / 217 1 3 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD DE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER'S RECEIPT are a-eas WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Program and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr., Director) by the Reports Division (Joseph A. Livingston, Directors EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard. A. R. Hilliard, Morris Katz. Chester L Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston (éditor), Martha Menaker, 1.S. Werking (pro- duction), This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody, CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 217 WAR PROGRESS NOVEMBER 11, 1944 What Have We Got to Get Production Urgency List is streamlined toinclude on the list, the urgent components nat- only dangerously loggord must" items, urally ran into the thousands, and the newly important programs, secret projects, war plants thus accorded the urgency Purpose: To channel labor. status ran into the tens of thousands. Such a list had its obvious drawbacks "WHAT HAVE we got to get?" This is the as a guide to the local Production Ur- question-instead of "What would we gency Committees in their task of as- like to get?"-which WPB's Production signing the plant urgency ratings (WP- Executive Committee put to the Army, Sep23'44,p7). In many highly indus- Navy, and other claimant agencies when trialized areas there was not enough it made up the new National Production labor to go around among the scores of Urgency List, issued October 16. Short- "urgent" plants. In the Buffalo area, age of manpower in key production cen- late in September, there were 41 such ters has forced the committee to dis- plants seriously behind schedule be- criminate among the many programs that cause of their need of 5,348 workers. previously werelisted for preferential Their production affected virtually treatment in manpower referrals. every branch of the war effort, includ- Only two kinds of programs remain ing such finished products as aircraft, on thelist: (1) those which are so far radar, rockets, steel, and tires: and behind schedule as actually to endanger components of such products as tanks, military operations (relatively few in warships, ammunition, gasoline, and rub- number because of the cushion maintained ber. The question in Buffalo was not between production and requirements), how to find enough labor for all these and (2) programs of suddenly increased products, because that was impossible: importance, the acceleration of which the question was how to decide which may be expected to shorten the war-new plants should get the workers at the or newly effective weapons like the expense of all the others. Superfortress, combat-loaded vessels, and rockets; or activities like the WHICH COMES FIRST? Navy's special secret projects and the So the problem of these 41 plants Manhattan District Project. was still & national problem, not a local one. And, while the local PUC, THOUSANDS OF "URGENTS" through its Army, Navy, and other mil- The oldlist covered & broader range itary procurement members, could get of urgent programs. It contained hun- glimpses of the national production dreds of items in 37 main product cate- picture, it did not have the overall gories, from aircraft to wire: and it view necessary to rate with confidence automatically tagged as urgent all com- the relative urgency of all these "ur- ponents of every one of these items. gent" plants. Should chemicals for With such products as aircraft carriers, gasoline or rubber be tavored at the cruisers, tanks, trucks, and tractors expense of armor plate for cruisers or CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS tanks? Which is more important, a bering, and steel plants. But the big radar set or a rocket? reduction in the list results from the A knowledge of military needs, alone, fact that components are no longer au- will not answer such questions. Future tomatically included. Thus the item times and far-off places are involved. "tanks" in the old list brought into Perhaps the radar set is shortly to be the urgent category all plånts through- out of production completely, super- out the country making any sort of parts seded by a better one. Perhaps a steel for tanks: whereas the new list hangs plant is coming into production a thou- the urgent tag on just 12 plants. Half sand miles away which will soon take of Buffalo's behind-schedule "must" that item of the urgency lists forever. plants were removed from the top-urgency Perhaps some unimportant-looking prod- category by this new list. uct on the area's list, say jute centers for wire rope, was more important all CASE OF THE 40MM. GUN the time from the national point of view Plants accorded the urgency status than any of the ships, tanks, or planes by the listing of a product are not that the PUC was worrying about. necessarily those where final assembly is done: they are behind-schedule plants AMONG THE MISSING anywhere in the production chain, weak It is evident, then, that in areas links whose failure may hold up the like Buffalo, where the manpower supply whole job. The Navy's 40mm. gun, for does not come up to war needs, the PUCs instance, is included in the list mainly required amore selective list of urgent because production of its power hoists war products. And this is precisely is seriously behind schedule: and of what PEC's newlist amounts to. It sets the seven plants listed for this gun, forth those programs that must get the four are electric companies. labor regardless of everything else. Completing the National Production This list (page 3) has 12 fewer main Urgency List is a list of plants, not product categories than its predecessor: classified under any of the separate missing, among other things, are gaso- product headings, whose production is line, rayon, tractors, logging and lum- critically important for a whole series of war programs. Right now, this list is made up mainly of chemicals manu- IN THIS ISSUE: facturers and construction projects. WHAT HAVE WE GOT TO GET? 1 REVISING THE "MUSTS" THESE ARE THE *MUST* PROGRAMS 3 THE CRACKLE OF THE BIGGER BILLS Such A list of "must" programs, of 4 course, has to be kept up to date: and TOO LITTLE STRETCH TO LEATHER 5 the PEC subcommittee that compiled it KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 7 will continue to revise the list peri- THE COST OF LIVING DOLLAR-80 CENTS 8 odically as needed, making recommenda- PLANES-BETTER BUT NOT ENOUGH 9 tions to PRC as it sees fit for the SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 11 dropping of programs from the list and WAR PROGRESS NOTE 12 for the addition of new programs sub- REPORTS ON REPORTS 12 mitted for inclusion by the Army, Navy, and other claimant agencies. It will CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 11, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 3 THESE ARE THE "MUST" PROGRAMS HERE is the new National Production Urgency List, effective October 16. Under 10 of the headings the urgency status is given to specified plants: under the others it is given to all plants making the listed products and components. AIRPLANES Army: B-29, B-32. A-26, P-38, P-47 M & N, P-51H, P-63, P-72, P-80, C-46 (R5C), C-54 (R5D), CG4A, CG15: Navy: PB4Y, RY3, PV2, P2V, PBM, TBM, TBY, 878, PBP, F4U4, F2G, FR, SC (122 plants specified). AMMUNITION Naval high capacity (6-inch and above). AMMUNITION Production of ammunition for 105mm. howitzer, 155mm. gun, 155mm. howitzer, 8-inch gun, 8-inch howitzer, and 240mm. howitzer, including the following compo- nents: shell forgings, shell machining, fuses, boost= ers, propellant powder, filler (TNT or RDX), cartridge cases and primers; and loading into complete rounds. BATTERIES, DRYCELL Limited to 13 plants. BOMBS Production of general-purpose and fragmentation bombs over 23 lbs.; all chemical warfare sérvice bombs ex- cept M-50A2 and M-47A2; 100-1b. practice bomb; 500-1b. clusters: and butterfly clusters: including the fol- lowing components: bomb bodies, boosters, fins, filler (TNT or RDX), and fuses. CANNON Production of cannon, prime movers, carriages and cranes for 105mm. howitzer, 155mm. howitzer, 155mm. gun, B-inch howitzer, and 240mm. howitzer. DUCK Army, shelter tent, numbered, and flat duck; tire fabric: tent twills; and cotton duck yarn. FOUNDRIES AND Limited to 171 shops. FORGE SHOPS GUN Limited to 7 plants for the Navy 40mm. gun. GUN Self-propelled M-36 (3 plants specified). MANHATTAN DISTRICT PROJECT NAVAL Limited to 9 establishments for repair and mainte- ESTABLISHMENTS nance of the Fleet. NAVY SPECIAL SECRET PROJECTS RADAR Ship, airborne, and air transportable radar, and crit- ical components. ROCKETS Production of the following components, including the construction of facilities for the manufacture thereof: motors, bodies, noazles, fuses, propellant, station distributors, and shipping containers: and the load- ing and assembly into complete rounds. SHIPS Construction or conversion of combat-loaded cargo vessels, combat-loaded troop transports, aircraft carriers, cruisers, and tankers (41 plants specified). TANKS Models M-24 and T-26 and remanufacturing program of M-4 series (12 plants specified). TIRES AND TUBES Construction of facilities for and production of air- craft, combat, and heavy-duty truck and bus tires and tubes, including molds. TRUCKS Heavy trucks and components thereof (55 plants spec- ifled). WIRE AND WIRE ROPE Wire rope and components thereof, and the steel com- ponents of field and assault wire (67 plants spec- lfied). CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDEN WAR PROGRESS also exercise a review function over the local labor supply, their WPB rep- the operations of the local PUCs, hear- resentatives know the local manufactur- ing appeals of plant ratings and regu- ing facilities, and their military rep- larly postauditing them in critical resentatives know what local war pro- labor areas. duction must be obtained. Together with the Manpower Priorities Committees, they LOCAL DECISION are equipped torate the plants and the Basically, the job of saying which local civilian services as to the rela- war plants shall get the workers be- tive urgency of their labor requirements. longs to the PUCs. They are on the scene The function of the Washington committee, of action: they know the situation. with list of national "must" items, Their War Manpower representatives know is to supplement and assist theirefforts. THE CRACKLE OF THE BIGGER BILLS Money in circulation has more than tripled since September 1939, September 1944 Coins, $50 and Over $1,$2,$5 September 1939 September 1930 $10 and $20 $4,200,000,000 $7,300,000,000 $23,800,000,000 And the major increase since the war began has been in the $20s, $50s, and $100s. Bills Outstanding Coins % Gain $1 and $2 $5 $10 $20 $50 $100 $500 Average % $1000 and Goin Over 6 4 2 o o 100 200 300 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS- SEPT 1944 % GAIN-SEPT 1944 OVER SEPT 1939 will PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 11, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 5 Too Little Stretch to Leather Military footgear takes big share of largest hide go into a pair of combat boots: the Army supply in history, and overall shoe output service shoe takes four square feet of is below prewor. Prospect is that '45 will upper leather. Though themilitary pro- be another two-pair year. gram calls for 46,500,000 pairs of boots and shoes, plus belts and other equip- CURRENT SUPPLIES of leather in the raw ment, the actual leather used is equiva- are running beyond prewar average. Month lent to about 135,000,000 civilianpairs. by month, domestic output of hides is Add to this number the 271,000,000 becoming the largest in history. Cur- rationed-type shoes scheduled for 1944 rent production plus imports will reach and, in terms of leatner, current shoe 23,300,000 cattle hides and 15,600,000 production-at the equivalent of 406,- calf and kip skins-some 12% above 1936- 000,000 pairs-is well above prewar 40. And with the exception of goat and levels. kid (down 10%), receipts of other hides and skins are near prewar levels. NOT A THREE-PAIR YEAR In terms of supply, civilian shoes LESS OUT OF MORE are running on their uppers. Tradi- The more nides and skins, the more tionally, Americans have purchased about leather. And normally, more leather 360,000,000 pairs of leather (rationed- means more shoes. But the factories type) shoes per year, or approximately which averaged 360,000,000 rationed- three pairs of shoes per person. Ra- type shoes during 1936-40 arenow using tioning lowered 1943 civilian buying to more leather to build fewer pairs: 320,000,000: excluding use of the Novem- Pairs ber ration stamp, itwill cut 1944 pur- (millions) chases to 300,000,000. Production avail- Military production 46.5* able to civilians, however, is consider- Govt. export agencies 38.0 ably lower-less than 490,000,000 pairs U.S. territories 3.5 for the two years. As a result, by the Military-use civilian types 7.5 end of 1944 manufacturers, wholesalers, Available for civilians. 222.5 and retailers will have suffered a two- Total 318.0 year inventory depletion of perhaps 130,000,000 pairs. *31,000,000, first eight months 1944. TIGHT SPOTS Leather doesn't go 80 far 88 it used Present rationed-shoe inventories to-at least where much of itis put in amount to about 165,000,000 pairs. Many military footgear. The shoes custom- shoe stores are short on sizes and lines arily worn by women and children-the as a consequence. The situation is great bulk of current rationed sales- especially bad in shoes for infants and require about one and one-half square small children and in D and E widths of feet of upper leather per pair. Men's adult footwear. Consumer inventories heavy oxfords take about two and one- have also been reduced. Before ration- half. But seven square feet of leather ing took effect early in 1943, many men CONFIDENTIAL 6 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS CIVILIAN SHOE SUPPLY - A TIGHT FIT Though demand for rationed-type shoes has been held down, consumption has eaten into stocks, which are near the wartime low- 33% below January, 1943. 50 300 New Supply vs. Consumption Stocks-end of month (Rationed types) (Retoil and Wholesole) 40 Consumption 200 30 MILLIONS OF PAIRS New MILLIONS OF PAIRS 20 Supply 100 10 o o J F M A M J J A 5 o N o J F M A M J J A JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJA 1943 1944 1943 1944 WAR PROGRESS and women bought heavily. So the coun- With no change in either current try went into the rationing period well- allocations to government export agen- shod and well-stocked. By now, however, cies or the number of civilian shoes half that reserve has gone to remedy the drawn by service men, an overall pro- deficit in civilian production. duction of some 400,000,000 rationed- As 1945 prospects shape up today, the type pairs will be needed for 1945, or production needed for civilians totals an increase of 130,000,000 over 1944 approximately 350,000,000 pairs. Lean manufacture. (Assuming ration currency inventories call for rebuilding, and the at two pairs per capita.) If shoe in- nation cannot travel on less than two ventories are left at the unsatisfactory ration stamps per year: current levels, the required increase Essential Civ. is 80,000,000 pairs. Prod. '45" NO HELP FOR IT (million pairs) For ration currency 264.0 At best, the outlook for civilian Releases from rationing. 32.0 shoe production is not promising. No Institutions & employers 4.0 help can come from leather inventories, Total 300.0 for hide and skin stocks fell to their For inventory 50.0 lowest workable levels during 1943, a Grand total 350.0 year earlier than shoe inventories. No major assistance can be expected *1944 estimates. from increased domestic hide production. CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER II, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 Despite the largest cattle and calf pop- world surplus by liberated nations, are ulation in history (82,000,000 head on bound to increase during the coming January 1, 1944), domestic slaughter in year. 1945 will do well to better the 1944 If military needs for leather are record yield of approximately 34,000,000 sharply reduced, then an approach to hides and skins. (This 42% proportion the 350,000,000 civilian requirement of slaughter to cattle and calf popula- is possible. But it will not be smooth tion is the average proportion mintained going. Manpower could conceivably be during 1936-40.) a problem. Tanneries have lost workers, in part because tanning output was re- IMPORTS OFF stricted during 1943. Stresses and Moreover, U.S. cattle-hide imports strains will continue n shoe factories. are dropping rapidly to the prewer aver- But, except in the tanneries, labor age of 2,000,000 (partly because of in- shortages are not likely to produce ternational allocation). Goat and kid serious difficulties. The military vic- skins, 99% of which normally are in- tories which will free the necessary ported, now are running some 5,000,000 leather also will gradually release below the 41,000,000 prewar average, essential factory workers. with no immediate improvement indicated. On the leather and shoe front, only Furthermore, requests from foreign re- one thing appears certain. Shoe ration- lief and rehabilitation agencies, to- ing seems destined to continue for some gether with direct demands made on the time after V-E Day. KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Previous Month Some Week Week Wook Ago 1943 1942 1939 Wor Program-checks poid (millions of dollars) 1,822 1,717 1,729 1,796 1,922 - Wor bond soles-E,F,G (millions of dollars) the 251 BY 152 271 - Money in circulation (millions of dollars) 24,674 24,409 24,099 19,354 14,312 7,352 Wholesde prices (1926=100) All commodities 104.0' 105.9 103.8 103.0 99-7 79-3 Form products 124.1' 125.3 123.3 122.8 109.8 67.5 Foods 104.4 104.1 104.1 105.7 102.9 72.3 All other, 96.8' 98.8 96.9 97-5 95.7 84,4 Petroleum (1000 borrets) Total U.S. stocks 429,703 426,856 424,556 426,723 416,610 415,224 Total East Coost stocks 78,249 78,358 75,363 65,511 63,537 - East Coost receipts?." 1,873 1,950 1,740 1,543 1,081 - Bituminous codi production(1000 short tons) 2,025 1,967 2,015 1,647 1,972 1,785 Steel operations & of copacity) 96.3% A.% 96.95 100% 99.66 92.56 Freight cors unlooded for exports, excl. grain** Attontic Coost ports 2,686 2,909 3,310 2,648 1,222 - Guif Coost ports 567 529 5 434 356 - Pacific Coost ports 1,968 1,895 1,650 1,217 961 - Department store soles (1935-39-100) 214 207 195 202 182 127 Preliminary "Excludes military-owned stocks **Dally average "Unodjusted CONFIDENTIAL 8 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS THE COST OF LIVING DOLLAR- 80 CENTS L Because living costs have been inch- 2.And overage weekly wages in monu- ing up recently, facturing industries have not kept pace, 150 150 60 60 INDEX JANUARY, 1941- 100 100 100 INDEX 1941=100 40 JANUARY, DOLLARS PER WEEK 40 DOLLARS PER WEEK 50 50 20 20 o o o o 1941 1942 1943 1944 1941 1942 1943 1944 3. The "real" wage dollar has drop- 4. But today's factory worker gets ped slightly since June. $1.72 for every dollar in January,1941, 60 60 DOLLARS PER WEEK 40 40 DOLLARS PER WEEK January 1941 20 20 August 1944 o o 1941 1942 1943 1944 5. And though the dollar is worth only 6. He is still ahead of the game in 80 cents in January, 194l,prices, real wages- $1.37 to $1.00. January 1941 January 1941 August 1944 August 1944 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL WOVEMBER 11, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 Planes-Better But Not Enough October output is best since May, though 2% picture, the Martin plant at Omaha was short of W-12 in weight. Deficit is concen- on the target with 16 Superfortresses. trated in few plants making the urgent And Boeing, Wichita-pioneer builder Superforts, Invaders,etc. of this ship-actually ran four B-29s ahead of its docket of 66. Wichita has AIRPLANR OUTPUT last month made the been on or ahead of schedule since April best showing since May: 7,429 planes and may be in for a bigger slice of the were accepted, with An airframe weight Superfortress program. of 75,363,000 pounds (preliminary)--this being only 21 short of the new W-12 A HIGH BUT A MISS program (WP-Oct21'44 ,p8). As in the All told, superbomber acceptances last four months, most of the deficit last month came to 125 planes, all of was concentrated in a handful of plants: them B-29s. This was two over Septem- but those plants are working on some of ber and n. new high for the program: but the program's most urgent models. schedule was missed by 23 planes: 17 Superfortresses and six Dominators. SUPERBOMBER SMAGS Now that the 2-engined A-26 Invader Three superbomber plants, for ex- bomber has been flying combat missions, ample, accounted for three-fourtns of design changes are coming in fast. From the month's deficit from schedule. At here on, the big job at Douglas' Long Consolidated Vultee, Ft. Worth, six B-32 Beach and Tulsa plants is to feed the Dominators were slated but the plant most important of these into the produc- drew a blank in acceptances. Until the tion line, at the same time keeping the tail structure is redesigned (WP-Oct14 model up to its steep schedule. Despite '44,p2), the B-32 isn't even suitable a new high of 109 Invaders last month, for training purposes: that's likely to schedule was missed by five planes. throw the plant three or four months More important, only a small number of behind schedule. Bell, Atlanta, missed these planes incorporated the raised its mark on the B-29 Superfortress for cockpit canopy, a "must" modification; the fifth month in A row, turning out other versions of the A-26 fail to give 27 versus a schedule of 40. The new maximum sideward visibility in combat management is still ironing out wrinkles formation. This month's schedule calls in the production control system and it for 147 Invaders. is expected to take a few more months before the job is in hand. Boeing, Ren- EQUIPMENT TROUBLE ton, Wash., failed tomake schedule for With the exception of the C-54 Sky- the first time this year, turning out master, which missed the mark by 28% only 12 Superfortresses out of & sched- (37 planes AS against 511, all medium ule of 20. It's taking longer than and heavy transports were on or ahead anticipated to retrain workers: yet the of schedule. The holdup was at one schedule at Renton steps up sharply plant-Douglas, Chicago. Here, the 36 from now to A peak of 200 a month after Skymasters called for were produced; June, 1945. but radio equipment from the Signal On the other side of the superbomber Corps failed to come through on time; CONFIDENTIAL 10 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS as a result, only 22 were accepted. LOG OF C-54 SKYMASTER Patrol bombers ran 28% ahead of the The Douglas, Santa Monico, plant hos met previous month in airframe weight, but or bettered the schedule consistently, made the poorest showing against sched- 75 75 ule of all major groups for the second month in a row; the goal was missed by 50 50 32%. W-12 called for asteep climb last Schedule month-almost double the 130 planes 25 25 turned out in September. But there is Actual no blinking the fact that the program W&S hit hard at Lockheed, Burbank, where o o / # # M JJASOND only 11 PV-2 Harpoons were accepted out 1944 1945 of aprogram of 78. Production was close to schedule; but wings from the Goodyear But the Douglas, Chicago, plant has logged behind. plant at Litchfield Park, Ariz., failed 100 100 to come through. A new management has been speeding up wing output at Good- 75 75 year and this plant should be on the Schedule beam by the end of the year. In contrast to patrol bombers, fighters made the 50 50 best showing among major groups (air- frame weight basis): 25 Actual 20 October Acceptances NUMBER OF PLANES o NUMBER OF PLANES as % of o Sept. W-12 JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND 1944 1945 All military planes. 95% 98% Army procured 93 100 As o result, total production has missed the Navy procured 106 92 first-of-month schedule six times so for Combat planes 94 98 this year (ond has o long way to gol. Superbombers 102 85 150 150 Forts & Liberators. 85 103 Patrol bombers 128 68 125 125 Medium bombers 100 102 Schedule Light bombers 93 103 100 100 Fighters (incl. naval reconn. 101 102 Transports 100 97 75 75 Trainers 92 100 Communications 102 95 50 50 Forts and Liberators, a declining pro- gram, didn't decline as fast as scheduled 25 2 and the 1,024 accepted were 31 more than Actual called for. Fighters were another pro- o o gram that spilled over the W-12 schedule: JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOMO 1944 1945 although 3,202 were slated, output can - PROGRESS 103 planes higher. Except for new and CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 11, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL II SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Labor Force-Federal Finance-Labor Turnover Lotest Preceding 2 Months Some Month Month* Month Ago 1943 1942 1941 1939 LABOR FORCE-TOTAL (millions) 52.93 53.03 54.01 53.1 54.6 54.0 .Employment 52.21 52.25 53.17 52.2 53.2 50.6 Mole 34.20 34.19 35.14 34.8 37.9 37.6 Femole 18.01 18.06 18.03 17.4 15.3 13.0 Unemployment -72 .78 .84 .9 1.4 3.4 Male .39 .40 .43 -5 -9 2.3 Femole .33 .38 .41 .4 -5 1.1 N.A. FEDERAL FINANCE (GENERAL FUND) Expenditures- Total (million dollars) 8,024 7,930 8,119 7,456 5,937 2,083 721 War 7,479 6,998 7,571 6,989 5,481 1,537 12% Nonwor 545 932 548 467 456 546 597 Revenues-Total 2,001 5,926 2,568 2,030 607 445 279 Income Toxes 1,240 5,174 1,552 1,303 206 68 38 Other revenues 761 752 1,016 727 401 377 241 Wor bond soles 695 692 602 1,708 935 271 N.A. Jai 599 591 499 1,340 665 123 N.A. "F"ond"G" 96 101 103 368 270 148 N.A. Wor bond redemptions 395 277 272 138 32 24 N.A. "E" 373 255 246 125 28 2 N.A. "F" and "G" 22 22 26 13 4 22 N.A. Net debt (billion dollors) 200.3 194.4 192.1 145.8 88.0 50.9 42.2 LABOR TURNOVER IN MFG. INDUSTRIES (rate per hundred employees) All manufocturing Accessions 6.2 6.3' 6.3 7.2 8.7 4.9 5.9 Separations-Total 7.7 7.9" 6.6 7.0 7.9 4.1 2.9 Quits 6.1 6.4" 5.0 5.2 4.7 2.1 -9 Militory .2 3 .3 .6 1.7 .2 N.A. Aircraft Quits 6.2 6.3' 4.8 4.9 4.4 2.7 1.0 Military , .5 .6 -7 2.8 .2 N.A. Shipbuilding Quits 6.8 6.8" 5.6 6.2 5.4 2.7 1.0 Military 4 .5 .6 1.0 2.6 .2 N.A. Labor Force, Federal Finance, October, Labor Turnover, September. Preliminary. Revised. N.A. Not ovailable. experimental types, such as the F7F although a few experimental models got Tigercat and the jet-propelled P-80, into the air. On the other hand, Gen- all models came through in smart style. eral Motors' Eastern Aircraft Division For example, the P-38 Lightning was on at Trenton turned out a record number schedule at 364; the F4U (FG) Corsair of TBM Avengers-340, or 10% ahead of was 3% ahead at 401; and the F6F Hell- schedule. cat was 5% ahead at 550. Indeed, the Another urgent Navy model is the SC month's turnout of 763 P-51 Mustangs Seahawk, a reconnaissance plane being was a new high for any single fighter made at Curtiss, Columbus. October ac- plane. ceptances came to 21, the highest for The Navy has revised carrier comple- a single month since the Seahawk's de- ments to include more torpedo bombers, but last April; but the schedule called thus underlining the importance of the for 35. The Navy originally pinned its new TBY Seawolf at Consolidated Vultee, reconnaissance hopes on the S03C Seamew. Allentown, Pa. However, none of the 10 However, that particular plane didn't TBYs scheduled this month came through, come up to expectations. Meanwhile, CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS the OS2U Kingfisher-a model that went fidential: pp. 23). But consumption out of production in November, 1942-1s of inedible products (soap, paint And serving ns " the eyes of the Fleet." varnish, etc.) rose 109-most of the The RB-1 Conestoga stainless-steel increase going to the manufacture of transport bowed out of the program last soap. And during the year ending June month on schedule with three planes. 30, 1945, soap production will need Since the initial acceptance last March, 2,400,000,000 pounds of fats and oils 17 Conestogas have been built by Budd, -269 more than the quantity consumed Philadelphia. The RB-1 was originally in the past fiscal year. intended to replace the C-47 Skytrain (Department of Commerce, Bureau of For- for Navy transport operations and 800 eign and Domestic Commerce) were on contract. However, results failed to justify this program. The Fertilizers plant now being shifted to ordnance. Hanpower and Production in the Per- War Progress Note tilizer Industry (unclassified; pp. 31 reports that supplies for the fertilizer BIG MONEY industry will be limited because of FOR EVERY DOLLAR in circulation in Sep- increased military requirements for tember, 1939, there are more than three nitrogen and sulphuric acid. But the today. And the boost in medium-large War Food Administration expects consump- bills ($10 to $100) is even greater- tion torise: the delivery goal between more than four times as much. Corre- July and December, 1944, is about 30% spondingly, very small and very large ahead of deliveries for the same period bills scored gains too, but not so great. last year. This leads to the question, "Why?" (War Manpower Commission, Reports and Nobody has the full answer. Some say Analysis Service) that because of black market dealings, operators are using cash instead of Price Control checks. And that would mean big bills. Two-thirds of the people they have Others say that hoarding is keeping big interviewed favor or expect continuation bills out of Federal Reserve vaults. of price control after the war, OWI cor- Still others say that because of wide- respondents report in Attitudes and Ex- spread migration, higher incomes, and pectations on Prices, Wages, Inflation tax evasion, people are carrying bigger Control, etc. in the Transition Period bills. Whatever the reasons, the facts C:40 (restricted: pp. 41). Only one are that denom' nations from $10 to $100 editor believes that immediate aboli- now constitute 76% of all money in cir- tion of price control is expected after culation as against 62% in September, the war. Labor leaders report finding 1939-and the $20 the most important no opposition to its continuance. And of all in value. of the businessmen questioned, fewer than half were opposed. REPORTS ON REPORTS (Office of War Information, Bureau of More Soap Special Services) During the first half of 1944, con- sumption of fats and oils in edible [This record in an attempt to select from the many documents coming to the attention of NAP PROGRESS products (shortening, cleomargarine, those studies which would be of most interest to readers. The list laby no means comprehensive, and etc.) dropped 19 below the last half of no attempt has been made to evaluate reports for accuracy. Whether reports are available depends on 1943, according to Pats and Oils (con- the policy of each individual agency.] CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties: (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted as if the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS, (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern- ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Aa of on no Boy- Sept. THE & MAR 14 1973* Economic Data Special Articles The President Hew the 1 WAR PROGRESS C.F. War Production Bd Disclosure Panishable Under Espionage Ad The Why and How of Critical Programs 6(D) of R E.O. Commerce X 4735 By RHP, Date MAR 1.4.1973 X 4675 Number 218 November 18, 1944 Fune GA-M-ND il UNITED STATES OF AMERICA R WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 72055 COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION The President DIVISION OR OFFICE provide ou OFFICE R.C.S. (NAME) (NAME) The White Jouse (ROOM NUMBER BUILDING HOUM NUMBER BUILDING DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT '.P. / 218 1 3 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER 5 RECEIPT are WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and économic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Program and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr. Director) by the Reports Division Ooseph A. Livingston, Director) EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (draffing), Winona Hibbard A.R. Hilliard, Morris Katz. Chester L Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston (editon, Martha Menaker, IS Werking pro- duction) This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 218 WAR PROGRESS NOVEMBER 18, 1944 What and Why of Critical Programs "Must" items score brood gains in October, Output of castings in critical found- continuing performance since push be- ries just about held its own: so far, gan in June. However, production is below the seasonal upturn in the industry has immediate requirements on battlefields. not been up to expectations. Key men are still being drafted: last month, for CRITICAL PROGRAMS continued to make instance, thelist of selectees included progress last month. They were up 6% 8 general manager and a form-and-pattern on an overall basis. Newhighswere re- maker. corded in heavy-heavy trucks, dry-cell batteries, Superfortresses, combat- MONTH OF PROGRESS loader completions, and general-purpose Still, there is no gainsaying the and fragmentation bombs. fact that October was e month of prog- Nevertheless, most critical programs ress. Increases over September ranged continued to fall behind their require- from 1% for large truck and bus tires ments. In heavy-heavy trucks, for in- to 201 for total tanks: stance, deliveries of 6,753 units were = Gain 13% ahead of September, but schedule Sept.-Oct. wasmissed by 18%. Airborne redar, esti- Large tires 1% mated at around $111,000,000. was bet- Superfortresses 2 ter than September but 41 shy of sched- Heavy artillery ammunition 3 ule. And although output of large truck Heavy artillery 4 and bus tires was up slightly to 276,000 Dry-cell batteries 6 units, this was 35% short of stated re- Airborne radar 7 quirements. On the other hand, heavy Communication wire 10 artillery ($16,700,000) was 1% ahead Light-heavy trucks. 11 of the first-of-the-month forecast: Cotton duck 13 W-130 assault wire 138,000 miles) 34 Heavy-heavy trucks 13 ahead; and themedium tank mounting the GP & fragmentation bombe 16 105mm. howitzer (357 units) 9% ahead. Tanks 20 The showing reflects the accumulated SPECIAL TROUBLE energy going into these programs-me- In several cases, special factors teriala, machinery, menpower, components, cut down monthly increases and made it and organization. The big push in most that much harder to make first-of-the- of these programs begen in June. Since month goals. In airborne radar, it was then, gains as high na 66% in airborne the old story-design changes; another radar, 534 in the Superfortress, 39% in major shift- to new equipment is under cotton duck, and 35% in heavy-heavy way and assembly lines have been slowed trucks have been recorded, as the chert down. In large tires, the pattern of on page 3 indicates. One of the out- distribution wes changed: more of the standing gainshas been in Navy rockets: big types within the "large" group are the October figure is not yet available, wanted, and these take more man-hours. but the June-September increase was 1338. CONFIDENTIAL 2 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS On an overall basis, critical pro- grams since June are up 47% BENEATH THE SURFACE Critical programs are not a new prob- THIS issue of WAR PROGRESS is de- lem. Shortly after the of France, voted entirely to a discussion of the United States had to build up ma- critical war programs. It is based chine-tool production and distribute on a report to the War Production tools to the right manufacturers at the Board byHiland G. Batcheller, chief right time. That was Critical Program of operations. That report in turn Number 1. There has been a long list was an outgrowth of a series of meet- since: small-arms ammunition, General ings with representatives of the Army, Sherman tanks. destroyer escorts, land- Navy, Maritime Commission, and War ing craft: synthetic rubber, high-octane Manpower Commission: the purpose of gasoline, aluminum forgings and extru- the meetings was toget at the facts sions: steel plate, alloy steel, zinc, and find out what could be done to copper; Flying Fortresses, Lightnings, lift production of critical items. and so on. Most of them are now for- The staff of WAR PROGRESS and gotten. other personnel of the Bureau of However, there is this difference Program and Statistics participated between critical programs of today and in the preparation of Mr. Batcheller's critical programs of 1942. Then, the report. shortages werein relation to plans for equipping an Army and Navy almost en- In a war, critical programs are in- tirely in training: today, shortages evitable. When field commanders learn relate to immediate combat operations. that a 105mm. howitzer or gun isn't Critical production is not going into enough to destroy fortifications, they pipelines or strategic reserves. It is demand 155s and 240s. When millions of going directly into battle. And when tons of supplies are moved over rough we don't deliver enough tanks or tents terrain and rubber wears out faster than or high-capacity ammunition, it affects expected, tire requirements jump. When soldiers and sailors AS well as plans. scientists develop new types of radar or high-altitude bombing devices, these must be translated into battlefield IN THIS ISSUE: equipment with all possible speed. For the time being, requirements are un- WHAT AND WHY OF CRITICAL PROGRAMS 1 limited. AIRCRAFT 6 HEAVY-HEAVY TRUCKS A nation At war must always be chang- 8 TIRES 9 ing-upgrading-its equipment: supply- FOUNDRIES AND FORGES 10 ing heavy-heavy trucks instead of lighter HEAVY ARTILLERY 11 ones; building combat loaders instead of ARTILLERY AMMUNITION 12 ordinary cargo and transport ships: put- AIRBORNE RADAR 13 DRY-CELL BATTERIES ting the pressure on Superfortresses 14 COMMUNICATION WIRE 14 and Invaders instead of Fortresses and TANKS 15 Bostons. Out of such change, out of COTTON DUCK 16 such upgrading, critical programs emerge. COMBAT LOADERS 17 For theprogram as a whole, however, NAVAL ORDNANCE 19 SHIPS-REPAIRS, PARTS the situation has changed. In 1942 and 20 KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 20 early 1943, there was too little of practically everything. Now we have CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 3 enough of many weapons; indeed, some concentration: 48% of all ammunition items are being cut back. Also, in 1942 is critical, 62% of all combat and motor and early 1943 the entire program was vehicles. Here's the statistical story: accelerating rapidly; goals were high, and lags behind schedule were large; % of Program That Is Critical more items missed than made schedule. Not 60 now. Combat & motor vehicles 62% Ammunition Today, about 60% of production is 48 Communication & elec- on or ahead of schedule; 40% is behind. tronics 36 However, of that 40%, & large part is in the critical programs-the programs Ships (incl. maintenance & repair) 27 in which the climb is especially steep, Aircraft 19 the programs inwhich no amount of pro- Guns 17 duction for the time being would be enough. Other equipment & supplies 5 Total munitions All told, critical programs today 28% account for 28%of the entire munitions To put it in dollars and cents, out program. But there is a high degree of of a programmed production of $5,400,- MUNITIONS PRODUCTION FROM WARSAW TO METZ 6 6 4 4 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 2 2 o o 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Note: October production preliminary WAR PROGRESS According to preliminary figures, munitions program began that production failed to beat production in October amounted to $5,230,000,- the mark in the samemonth of the previous year. 000, slightly below the September level and 2% (Munitions output in October, 1943. ran to behind the first-of-month schedule. Production $5,390,000,000.) But in previous years vir- was the lowest for any month of the year. More- tually all schedules pointed sharply upward; over, this was the first time since the war in 1944, many programs have been cut back. CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS 000,000 a month in the last quarter, what extent are labor shortages a cause $1,500,000,000, including a dozen im- of criticality? Design changes? Step- portant programs, can be specifically up? Facilities? A series of meetings classed as on the "critical list.' with representatives of the Army, Navy, and War Manpower Commission helped to WHEN IT'S CRITICAL throw light on what part each factor Now what is it that puts a program plays in each program. Admittedly, the on the critical list? There are four matter is judgmental. One person or decisive elements: organization would assign more weight 1. An upsurge in demand, or require- to labor, another more to design changes, ments. and 80 on. But there would be a wide 2. New models or design changes. area of agreement, and probably not much 3. Labor shortages. deviation from the following evalua- 4. Facilities shortages. tions: The factors-the causes of critical- ity-vary with each program. In air- 1. Sharp stepup in requirements-40%. borne radar and tanks, design changes 2. New models or design changes-26%. are significant; inlarge truck and bus 3. Labor shortages in critical pro- tires the sharp stepup is the big factor: grams-22%. 4. Facilities shortages-12%. in tactical field wire, facilities short- ages are dominant; and in cotton duck The meetings brought out that each and combat loaders, labor is an impor- critical program presented its own set tant element. of problems. Each program offered its The War Production Board has tried own challenge. The treatment of each to evaluate these various factors. To had to be individually prescribed. The critical programs call for a specific, not a general, remedy. As in the past, WHY ARE PROGRAMS CRITICAL? we must channel specific resources, specific know-how, into each program and thus lift production over the hump. WHYS AND HOWS The discussions that follow give Lobor Design Change 12% the whys and wherefores of some 15 crit- 25% ical programs-how they got that way, what's being done about them, etc. The Facilities 12% list is not complete. But it is nearly complete. Stepup 40% Other critical items which might be mentioned are wire rope; silica gel, used as a desiccant for shipping ma- terials to damp, tropical climates; anhydrous hydrofluoric acid, basic chem- ical in freon and aviation gasoline; mechanical fuel hose, insect screen cloth. No list, however, could possibly be complete. Even when war production CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 5 PROGRESS ON CRITICAL PROGRAMS PERCENT ABOVE JUNE,1944 OUTPUT o 20 40 60 80 Airborne Rodor September 66 0 B-29 Superfortress 53 October Toctical Field Wire 41 , Cotton Duck 39 Heavy-Heavy Trucks 35 Large Truck and Bus Tires 33 Dry-Cell Batteries 31 Heavy Artillery Ammunition (over 105mm) 24 Heavy Artillery lover 105mm) 21 Light-Heovy Trucks 21 All Tonks 20 Novy Rockets* 133 H.C. Ammunition* 45 Novy 40mm A.A. Guns* 36 - *October done - - PROGRESS drops substantially from current levels sible to discern new trends. Only re- -even when we are fighting a one-front cently 60mm. and 8 lmm. mortars were war-we will have critical programs. re-emphasized, along with mortar ammu- It is to be expected that new devices, nition. They have just been added to new weapons will be developed: that the critical list. The jet plane, if the armed forces will want them. New it is perfected, is certain to be in tactics in the field are almost certain great demand; similarly with other air- to put a premium on certain types of planes. The Army and Navy both have weapons. When that happens, the demand, their secret projects, anyone of which for the time being, will be unlimited. may yield a critical item in the months The Japanese campaign may bring forth to come. When we get over the hump of an entirely new set of musts. the critical programs we're working on, Even now, looking ahead, it is pos- we'll have others. CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS Aircraft these slow deliveries for at least a month or two. SIX PLANES, integrally related tomili- Here is 8 brief summary of these tary plans, are on the critical list: programs: B-29 Superfortress B-29 SUPERFORTRESS B-32 Dominator Production of the B-29 Superfortress A-26 Invader has been built up sharply from 33 8. C-54 Skymaster year ago to 125 last month. However, PBM-5 Mariner the schedule continues to advance steeply PV-2 Harpoon (chart, left). Also critical is the R-3350BA engine To date themain difficulty has been and its components for the Superfortress at the Bell, Atlanta, plant. Kinks have and Dominator. to beworked out of the production con- In all cases except the Mariner, trol system. A new plant manager took schedules continue to rise sharply. And over in September, but it may be another in all cases except the Skymaster, Jac- few months before the Superfortress tical design changes have slowed up pro- really begins to roll out of Atlanta. duction lines. These are all compara- Boeing, Renton, Wash., has the tough- tively new planes. Once they go into est job of any B-29 plant: Last month combat, pilots report any tactical de- it delivered 12 planes, but its sched- ficienciee-excessive landing speed, ule calls for 200 amonth by July, 1945. inadequate vision, insufficient arma- To do this, Boeing must have 3,500 or ment, etc. Changes indesign inevitably 4,000 additional workers at the begin- follow and modifications must be made: ning of 1945-this in the face of a tight labor market in the Seattle area. Boeing, Wichita, should attain the STEEP CLIMB AHEAD peak rate of 75 Superforts a month called 300 300 8-29 29 Superforiness for beginning next January. The plant Production - - has been on or ahead of schedule since May, and schedules may be increased. At Martin, Omaha, production must rise from 16 to 55 planes over the next aoo 2001 four months. To' make this increase, about 2,000 workers are needed immedi- I RAME ately. Martin's wagescale is relatively I B low: the starting rate is 60 cents an hour. However, labor supply in Omaha - 100 8 should increase now that harvesting is over. B-32 DOMINATOR Only three B-32 Dominators (two of them experimental models) have been ac- 0 0 - I - cepted, against 16 scheduled. The B-32 suffers from instability and will re- quire more developmental work before it CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 is suitable for combat. At best, out- put will lag three to four months behind UP-THEN UP AGAIN the current W-12 schedule until the de- is £ Navy High Capacity Ammunition sign is perfected. Production a Schedule R-3350BA ENGINES 20 2 Tied in with the B-29 and B-32 is the R-3350BA engine, used in these super- bombers. As a result of a magnificent is is production jobat Dodge, Chicago, there DOLLARS B June Schedule is at present a cumulative surplus of 261 R-3350BA engines. Nevertheless, DOTE I 8 o ID January Schedule it's a critical programon atleast three October Schedule counts: (1) schedules are close to re- quirements and the proposed stepup in Actual 5 5 superbomber schedules may result in a shortage of spare engines: (2) several major design revisions are contemplated 0 -the shift to direct fuel injection o E - - - I Del - One Pies - 1945 being themost important; (3) production must go up 2b times by October, 1945. Wright, Lockland, is the question mark in the R-3350BA program. Deliver- lemhere is to quadruple present produc- ies from this plant are scheduled to tion by next July-getting up from 109 begin in January, 1945, and to build up planes permonth to 435-in the face of to 1,200 a month. expected tactical design changes. Douglas, Long Beach, turned out 55 C-54 SKYMASTER Invaders last month, five short of sched- The 4-engined heavy C-54 Skymaster ule; its monthly peak is 135 in May, transport isurgently needed for trans- 1945. The other producer, Douglas at oceanic operations. It was initially Tulsa, was on schedule with 54. This accepted in 1942 and isnow in the quan- plant is about a month behind Long Beach tity-production stage, hence most "bugs" in making design changes. have been eliminated. However, the schedule climbs to 135 a month by Sep- PBM-5 MARINER tember, 1945: last month's output ran The latest version of the Mariner, to 37. One of the key plants is in the PBM-5, is said to be the only sat- Chicago, and labor recruitment may be isfactory flying boat for use as a pa- difficult. trol bomber since the old Catalina. After four bad months, production A-26 INVADER really got going in October; Martin, Right nowdesign changes are dogging Baltimore, turned out 48 planes-the the A-26 Invader, as first reports come peak rate. However, this reflected some in from combat theaters (WP-Nov11'44,p4). acceptances of planes nearly completed Changes are tricky and it may be two in prior months. Because Martin com- or threemonths before production lines plained of manpower shortages and be- are completely changed over. The prob- cause additional tools would have been CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS required, the old peak of 55 a month by May, 1945, was revised early this month. STILL FAR TO GO e PV-2 HARPOON Heavy Heavy Trucks - . - This land-based patrol bomber is in great demand from the Navy to replace . obsolete planes now serving in combat theaters. Lockheed, Burbank-the as- sembly plant-has been building fuse- . lages at close to the scheduled rate. But wings, subcontracted to the Good- year plant at Litchfield Park, Ariz., Total 1 b THEUSANDS - TRUCKS . have not been coming through. As a re- sult, only 11 of the 78 Harpoone called for last month were accepted. Goodyear had to go through a major I # redesign of the Harpoon wing six months ago; also, it has to build up-and train -a labor force. A new management was o - - - - installed several months ago and pro- - I duction is now moving. By early next year, Goodyear should not only be meet- ing current requirements but making up "must," it was to all intents & new its backlog as well. program. To be sure, the experience and know-how of the automobile Indus- Heavy-Heavy Trucks try could be brought to bear quickly. HEAVY-HEAVY trucks (over 2a tons car- But components manufacturers had to rying capacity) have been a production learn new techniques in mass building "must" formore more than & year. Ever since of heavier equipment: axles, transmis- the North African campaign, the Army sions, and 80 on. Further, facilities has put on the pressure for vehicles had to be expanded. With that back- that can carry big loads and take a ground, the performance to date-though pounding over tough roads. But when far short of military and civilian needs 1944 requirements were stepped up psharply -cannot be written off (chart, above). in November, 1943, facilities of the The flow of supplies and components to automotive industry were otherwise en- the manufacturers of light-heavy trucks gaged; they had been converted to planes, (2) tons capacity) has been affected by combat vehicles, artillery, machine the pressure to build up the deliveries guns, and other types of munitions. of heavy-heavies. As a result, light- Moreover, heavy-heavy trucks of the heavy truck deliveries have also fallen kind required had never been made to behind requirements. any appreciable extent in the United Today the foundry industry is a bot- States. (We turn out more heavy-heavy tleneck. It has been unable to expand trucks in & month today than we did of production fast enough to supply the the roughly equivalent commercial jobs castings for & full complement of axles, in & peacetime year.) Hence, when the transmissions, and engines. Indeed, heavy-heavy truck program emerged as a the demand for spare equipment is often CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 80 great that the services prefer to Tires take parts and hold up the completion of vehicles. REQUIREMENTS forall for all truck and bus tires Among components, heavy-duty axles have been mounting steadily and today have been the themost most critical. Many war- exceed anything heretofore envisioned. time heavy-heavies are four- and six- Wear and tear are greater than expected. wheel drive affairs, use two and three As a result, demand is far beyond the heavy-duty axles versus one or two in industry's capacity to produce. peacetime. With requirements at 83.- This is particularly true in the 000 big trucks, this means many times "large" sizes 19 to 14 inches in cross the pescetime ax output. Anewheavy- section)-despite the fact that capacity duty axle plant Standard Steel Spring, for thesehas gone up 70% since the be- Madison, I11.) is scheduled to be in ginning of the year and production has full-scale production within a month, increased from 178,300 units in January and should help to relieve the pinch. to 276,000 units last month, a rise of Engines arenext to axles on the criti- 55% (chart, below). cal list, then come transmissions. However, to meet stated requirements Castings for all three of these com- in the first quarter next year (1,604,- ponents have an AA-1 rating. However, 000 units), monthly output would have to orders areplaced by many manufacturers run mote than 90% higher than the Octo- with several foundries for the same ber level-to some 535,000 tires. casting; the foundries have no way of Last August, 5,000 men were needed determining what end product the cast- in tire factories throughout the coun- ing is destined for: Will It wind up try. To get them, labor referrals to in a heavy-heavy truck, a farm tractor, tire manufacturers were given a priority a power shovel, a repair part for a washing machine? BIG SHORTAGE HELP AT HAND 600 500 Lorge Truck and Bus Times However, components manufacturers Probaction - Residence and builders of the trucks themselves can request directive treatment for getting needed castings. Although this procedure has been available for several 400 400 months, it has not been used to any great extent. At the present time, the Army and WPB are taking steps to see that I ! B manufacturers make broader use of the 1 directive treatment. - - The WMCwill will continue to refer labor to the truck assembly plants, components manufacturers, and foundries. Recently, WPB turned over to WMC a plant-by-olant statement of requirements for 10,000 nd- . ditional workers in 170 critical found- - - - - - ries. The foundry industry, inciden- tally, is a problem all its own. CONFIDENTIAL 10 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS ers' output 80 as to obtain optimum de- FAR SHORT OF NEEDS liveries of "large" and other critical 350 350 types of tires to the armed forces. Toctical Field Wire wiso, WHILE - Mo Computed Requirements Foundries and Forges 300 300 THE foundry and forge industries cut Deficit across virtually the entire critical 250 250 list; forgings and castings are used in combat loaders, artillery, ammunition, 200 THOUSANDS OF MILES 200 THOUSANDS 2 a heavy-heavy trucks, aircraft, tanks, etc. The problem splits into two parts: ISO (1) labor and (2) identification and 150 distribution. The wartime foundry and forge indus- IOO 00 Schedule tries are concentrated around Chicago, Actual Cleveland, Detroit, and the Milwaukee- so so Racine region-all labor areas in which munitions industries, paying high wages, o o - - compete for workers. Also, back in 1943 - $ - - On - - - Fees 1944 1945 when the high-paying, glamorized war industries such as aircraft and ship- building were expanding sharply, forges exceeded only by that for certain secret and foundries came out second best in projects; in addition, the Army and Navy the race for manpower. agreed to furlough certain experienced tire builders. Despite the fact that PAY QUESTION referrals and hires have been substan- Since that time, the War Labor Board tial, the net gain after separations has granted more than a thousand wage (but including interdepartmental trans- increases in individual cases and, with fers) has been less than 3,000, leaving the cooperation of WPB, incentive pay approximately 2,200 still short. systems have been installed wherever The immediate problem is to get more possible. Average weekly earnings in labor 80 as to use existing plants to the foundry industry have gone up from the limit of their capacity. During 10% to 25% since the beginning of 1943: 1942, when the Army was expanding most and at from $50 to $52 in August, 1944, sharply, tire production was declining they were not far from those in airframe and tire building was not grounds for assembly plants ($54.73). However, this deferment. Besides, many workers went is partly attributable tolonger hours: to thenew war industries, such 88 air- also, the comparatively low starting craft, ordnance, shipbuilding. And since wage for unskilled workers-averaging building of the big tires is hot, heavy, between 65 cents and 70 cents an hour- and generally disagreeable work, it's is still a restricting influence. More- hard to get them back, despite the fact over, the very nature of foundry jobs that wages are high. is adeterrent, and turnover is a prob- A decision: may soon be made to expand lem; recent experience shows that only facilities further. Meanwhile, steps about one out of every four new workers are being taken to allocate manufactur- stays on the job three months or more. CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL " On top of that, the armed forces drained workers and are still cutting UPTREND IN HEAVY GUNS into labor supply. Although workers in XII x Heavy Field Artillery critical plants are supposed to have the - preferential treatment in Selective Service, local boards don't always fol- low instructions. Right now, the War Production Board RI a is trying to get & restatement of the essentiality of foundry and forge work- ers. Further, the Army and Navy are now working on a plan to furlough a se- WILLIONS OF DOLLARS WILLIONS OF DOLLARS lected number of ofmen to the forge shops and foundries. And several thousand Jamaicans and Barbadians have been made available to the industry now that their farm work on the War Food Administration program has run out. However, thereare few takers. Hous- ing isa a problem: also, there is a neg- ative feeling toward foreign workers in certain communities and labor unions. Within the past few fewdays, WPB's Steel sistently reduced on grounds of feasi- Division has been given complete re- bility when new when new facilities could not be sponsibility for the production and brought into production fast enough. distribution of all ferrous forgings It takes from six to 18 months to develop and castings. The Division believes machinery to manufacture heavy carriages, there is adequate foundry production cannon, and recoil mechanisms. for the supply of top urgency programs The most important, and currently and will institute whatever steps are the most difficult, phase of the eprogram necessary to assure distribution of is cannon-spare tubes and replacement present production accordingly: for ex- recoil mechanisms for guns already in ample, proper identi fication of the most operation. Becauseof the tremendously important projects at the foundry level increased rate of fire on the battle- (page 8). This should eliminate the fronts, requirements for spare cannon principal bottleneck. As for the forg- jumped in June, 1944, from an actual ing Industry, by and large It is not delivery of only 323 units in all of now holding up important programs. 1943 to a scheduled 3,702 in 1944. New facilities have been brought in Heavy Artillery to achieve these new objectives: but THE BASIC PROBLEM in heavy ground ar- because it became apparent in the second tillery (4.5-inch gun through 240m. quarter of 1944 that they would not be howitzer] is facilities. As in ammuni- in production for six to eight months, tion, strategic requirements were sharply the schedule was revised downward, boosted in April as the result of our until by October 1 the year's total own battle experience and that of our schedule stood at 3,642 units. Present aliles. Schedules have had to be con- indications are that 3,646 spare cannon CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS will be delivered by the end of the year. Obtaining machine tools is the main This is 21% below computed strategic difficulty. At the time the program wes needs of 4,591 units. expanded, contractors concentrated their Difficulties in meeting schedules for machine-tool orders in & few plants. fire-control equipment, particularly These plants, in turn, concentrated their for the M10 periscope, are the result orders for components. The result was of labor shortages in areas where this overburdening component manufacturers' equipment is made-in Rochester, N.Y., capacity. The principal bottlenecks for instance, and Minneapolis, Minn. rightnow are hydraulic equipment, elec- It is becoming increasingly difficult trical controls, motors, and gears. to recruit women workers, who have been Getting the tools is only one phase used to & large extent in this manu- of the problem. Putting them to work facture in the past. is another. Tooling up for shell pro- Thus the problems in heavy guns are duction is & complicated precision job. basically similar to those in heavy am- The manufacture of a 155m. shell by munition. Increase in schedules has modern production methods requires more resulted in shortage of facilities and than 40 separate operations on 40 dif- manpower. New plants take time to build; ferent machines, with two miles of con- and new manpower, since it cannot be veyor systems between. And a produc- recruited in advance, also takes time tion rate of over 1,500,000 a month is to obtain and train. required for this shell. Even experienced manufacturers can Artillery Ammunition get into trouble on such a job. One of HEAVY artillery ammunition (over 105mm.) the country's major steel companies, has been a critical program since last with previous experience on smaller April, when Army requirements were in- creased sharply B8 the result of North African and Italian battle experience A RISING TARGET and of increased lend-lease demands - - ASF Artillery Anmunition (Der Citime) from our allies. At that time, production was running at a rate of $27,000,000 a month. To- - - day's schedules call for production of $80,000,000 in March, 1945, and more than $100,000,000 amonth to be reached - - later next year. Already output has risen 67% since last April to $45,000,- I I a 000: but it still has & long way to go I 1 B 4) 40 (chart, right). I Most of the remaining increase must come from new facilities, scheduled to - come into production in the fourth quar- - ter of 1944 and first quarter of 1945. At present it does not appear that these new facilities are going to come into # - - / - - I - - - - - - - - production fast enough to meet require- ments. CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 13 shells, lagged badly getting into pro- duction on the 8-incher. Difficulties ALMOST UP TO SCHEDULE are certain to be experienced by com- ISO 8 Airborne Rodor panies with no shell experience--manu- Production vs Schedule facturers of stoves, oil drilling sup- plies, construction machinery-which have been brought into the program. And to the time required for developing the IDO 100 production know-how must be added the time it will take to train new personnel who must be brought into the industry. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Schedule MILLIONS OF DOLLARS SHELL LOADING Deficit 50 50 In the shell-loading plants and in the manufacture of powder and high ex- plosives, the only major problem is man- power. Recruiting is difficult because Actual of the remoteness of the plants from large cities, inadequacy of living and o o Mo./wg - I - - - I - As I Det - Dec I Fee - 1945 1944 1945 transportation facilities, the hazards I of the work, and its obviously temporary nature. To date, in finding about 15,- 000 of the needed workers, the War Man- Yet airborne radar is far from a ma- power Commission has kept up with demand, ture art; in fact, it is unlikely to but the real pinch is yet to come. come of age in this war. Design changes, n:w inventions, and new uses are con- BOMBS stantly forcing readjustment in produc- Competition for this type of labor tion lines and production schedules. comes from the rapidly expanding bomb But production has not been up to even program, which also has the highest the reduced programs (chart, above). schedules in its history. High as they The job of the manufacturer has been are, some of the bomb schedules are not to keep step with the scientist-an al- adequate tomeet official requirements; most impossible task in anew industry. production of bodies for the general- In ASF airborne radar, for example, one- purpose bombs, for instance, is not ex- quarter of the scheduled production in pected to come up to the need. The Army the last quarter is in items which barely has decided that no new facilities are got into production in September. to be installed because they cannot be Any estimate of the progress of air- completed before April, too late for borne radar output must take into ac- near-term operations. count not only the month-to-month gains, Airborne Radar but also the growing pains encountered in the improvement of equipment. And EARLY in 1943, the production of air- it is quite proper to say that the very borne radar amounted to about $20,000,- factors which retard stepups in produc- 000 amonth; today output exceeds $100,- tion-design changes, new models-are 000,000 and the program continues to & cause for satisfaction, even though rise, though not so sharply as formerly. they derange production lines. The de- CONFIDENTIAL 14 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS Dry-Cell Batteries NARROWING THE GAP 300 300 A RAPID INCREASE in military require- Dry-Call Botteries Production - Requirements ments has put dry-cell batteries on the critical list. Production has been in- creasing rapidly-it's up more than 50% since the beginning of the year-but 200 200 further sharp stepups are necessary to Deficir fill combined military and civilian de- $7120 20 SOME MILLIONS OF CELLS mand (chart, left). Civilian allot- ments have been cut to virtual subsist- ence levels. New capacity isnow coming into pro- IDO 8 duction-largely as the result of AA-1 ratings on facilities; labor has also been put on the urgency list. Otherwise there doesnot. appear to be any partic- ular or immediate remedial step to be o o taken. he - - I for Out Des. - 1945 Dry-cell batteries are a low-wage industry and some plants have been starved for labor. However, incentive wage sys- sign changes and the newmodels actually tems have been installed. About 1,500 improve the efficiency of our military new workers will be needed as new fa- machine. They save lives. cilities come in. Consequently the requirements for With the continuation of the present airborne radar are more or less insa- urgency rating on labor and continued tiable. As soon as a new model is de- pressure to maintain capaci operations, veloped, the idea is to install it not production ought to meet military oper- only in all airplanes coming off assem- ational needs by January. bly lines, but also in planes on the fighting fronts. But capacity seldom Communication Wire can take such a big jump all at once. TACTICAL communication-wire require- Complicating this is the fact that ments have increased much more rapidly the industry is working at peak capac- than it has been possible to expand ity: facilities are jammed. Hence, facilities (chart, page 10). Despite whenever engineers develop anewmodel, steadily rising production, requisi- some assembly line has to be stopped in tions fromactive theaters have been 80 order to produce the new device. The far out of line with production possi- result is a setback in the output of bilities that the critical types of wire that particular plant. In a few plants are now on ration basis; each theater there are critical manpower shortages. commander has been notified of the amount Current schedules taper off in 1945; he can be furnished. As a result, the nevertheless the art of radar will con- Army Signal Corpshas found itnecessary tinue todevelop. And asnew items come to set up a feasible requirement based in, the production jobwill continue to on estimated production possibilities. be difficult. Three types of wire are critical: CONFIDENTIAL WAVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL IS 1. Assault wire (W-130), made of 3. Long-range communication wire size .0095 steel end copper wire stranded (W-143), an all-copper wire gned for and insulated. Stranding facilities 8 talking distance five times that of have been the major limiting factor. W-110. The trouble here that require- Additional stranding facilities have ments have quadrupled since the first been added, and further relief could of the year and facilities to meet the be obtained if all stranders operated new program have not been able to catch around the clock. up. The overall problem here is the 2. Field wire (W-110B and WS-1/TS), training of labor for the new plant at the most widely used of all tactical Lowell, Mass. wires. In addition to being stranded The lack of rubber has made insula- and insulated, it is cotton covered and tion a problem for all three types of weatherproofed. The chief production critical wire. limitation is the supply of galvanized carbon-steel wire. Facilities formak- Tanks ing this fine (.013) wire are limited. TANKS have made a strong comeback in More could be supplied, but it would be the Army Supply Program. Whereas pro- at the expense of other programs, par- duction early this year had been pared ticularly stranded steel wire rope and down to about 1,200 per month, require- aircraft cable. In accordance with the ments have been increased, and by the urgency of the various programs, 1,709 end of this year nearly 2,000 & month tons of this wire monthly have been set are scheduled. aside for the Signal Corps, but this However, tanks are on the critical is not sufficient to meet computed list not somuch because of the stepup, objectives. but largely because of changes in basic design (chart, left). The trend has been toward greater SHIFTS IN TANKS firepower and mobility. Early thisyear, asoc are medium tanks with the 75mm. gun were superseded by the 76mm. gun and the 105mm. howitzer. Also the M24 light me 2000 tank was brought into the program. At the present time, the big deficit is in - : the M4A3 with a 76mm. gun. Last month - 600 it fell 203 behind a schedule of 553. - I 1 a I I 8 MAKING TRACKS 000 The deficit traces to two important - - - - design changes: (1) a new type of sus- pension and (2) a wider track-from 16 inches to 23 inches. Ultimately all soc 500 medium tanks will roll on the wider track: it provides better balance and offers greater traction in both wet and # # - - - - - a - - dry terrain. Currently only the M4A3 and M4 with 105mm. howitzer are so equipped. The 105mm. howitzer gets first CONFIDENTIAL 16 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS call on the wide tracks, the 76mm. gets requirements has been submitted to WMC. the residue; hence the deficit tends to Further, WPB has arranged to schedule pile up in the 76mm. production of critical castings for The production job is to get suffi- tracks and armor. cient manpower in foundries and to train the manpower in casting these new and Cotton Duck wider tracks. To date, rejections have COTTON DUCK for military tentage is run high. critical because of the sudden, steep As a further factor, the Chrysler rise in requirements early this year-- and Fisher tank arsenals are tooling up some 12months after production had been for the T26 heavy tank, deliveries of cut back sharply from the peak in the which are scheduled to start this month winter of 1942-43. at 10 and accelerate rapidly to 600 a Second-quarter production was 40% month by mid-1945 and more than 800 a below requirements, but in the past few month by the end of that year. This months output has increased substantial- draws on components to fill the pipe- ly. By the beginning of next year, lines for these tanks without any cor- production will satisfy then-current responding rise in deliveries. requirements, but there does not seem Other component difficulties-small to be any likelihood of making up the armor castings, 90mm. turrets, differ- accumulated deficit, which represents entials, front plates, and radio turret a real shortage (chart, left). There bustle-have also caused delays. In- are two major difficulties: deed, as production rises, it is pos- 1. Procuring labor. sible that other components may become 2. Reconverting to duck many of the bottleneck items. looms which were shifted toother mili- A plant-by-plant list of manpower tary and essential civilian fabrics, particularly work uniforms, when tentage requirements were reduced early in 1943. WE HAD IT ONCE The shortage of labor for duck pro- 2 8 Cotton Duck duction is indicated by the following Production vs. Requirements table, which compares loom operation in the first quarter of 1943 with the third quarter of 1944: 60 8 '43 1st '44 3rd % Quarter Quarter Drop 8 YARKS 8 some Looms in place 22,100 19,200 13% 40 40 Looms by shifts: 1st shift 20,300 17,600 14 2nd shift 18,600 14,500 22 3rd shift 13,500 5,100 62 20 20 In the first quarter of 1943, about 90% of the looms actually in production operated two shifts, and 65% operated three shifts. In the third quarter of o o Avg - - - I June I I to On Now Des - Pain - 1942 IS43 944 1945 1944, by contrast, only 83% of the looms PROGRESS which were in production operated two shifts, only 29% operated three shifts. CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 17 A substantial increase in production could be obtained if more workers were PEAK IN COMBAT LOADERS available for third-shift operations. 8 2 This shift is unpopular, particularly among women employees, who constitute 50 50 50% of the working force. From 5,000 to 6,000 workers would help rebuild second- and third-shift operations, but 40 40 recruitment is difficult, particularly since the wage level is comparatively NUMBER OF VESSELS Schedule low-50 cents an hour, as against 80 30 30 Morifine Deliveries to Novy NUMBER or VESSELS cents to $1 in aircraft and shipbuild- Novy Completions ing. The current rate of labor turn- to 20 over is high. If the production of high-tenacity rayon for tire cord can be speeded up, ID 2 substantial additional quantities of cotton yarn can be diverted to duck. At present, 20% of tire cord yarn is 0 o daty - - On - Des - Fees Mar Age - July 944 IHS being used for duck; it is proposed to PROGRESS increase this ratio to 30%. PARTIAL CONVERSION Technical difficulties make it vir- Combat Loaders tually impossible to convert any con- THE COMBAT LOADER PROGRAM of today is siderable part of looms from such fab- comparable to the landing craft program rics as drapery and upholstery. Conse- of late last year and early spring. It quently, it was decided to order partial was anintegral part of military plans; conversion of looms from work clothing it was given top urgency by the Joint fabrics-particularly denims, drills, Chiefs of Staff: a stiff delivery dead- and twills-to the manufacture of tent line was set and production had to step twill. Similar conversions were also up sharply to meet it. ordered of looms engaged on bag fabrics, Like landing craft, deliveries lagged such as coarse sheetings. These con- in the early stages of the program, but versions arenow in process and produc- then came through rapidly. History is tion of duck and duck substitutes has repeating, but not quite on schedule. been rising rapidly, but still falls far It looks as if the November 1 deadline short of needs. for deliveries of "minimum" operational Itmay be possible to reduce military requirements ( 100 and 35 AKAs) will requirements for tentage duck by using be met about 8. month late. substitute types of construction, such Aside from the sharp stepup, the as light metals. There is also some chief factor] has been the manpower short- likelihood that requirements for num- age. Most of the combat loader yards bered duck can be decreased by greater are on the Pacific Coast, where manpower use of waterproof paper. Both of these was tight to begin with; further, it possibilities are being explored. But has proved to be especially difficult the immediate task is to speed conver- to obtain and hold skilled mechanics- sion and build up work rosters. steamfitters, electricians, etc. Some- CONFIDENTIAL 18 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS times final completions have been de- layed because these skilled workers were QUICK STEPUP lacking to perform the finishing oper- 40 $ Rockets-Novy ations required. Production in terms of actual work done started up from virtually nothing in January and has now passed its peak. 30 30 However, the peak in deliveries is due this month (chart, page 17). COMING AND GOING MILLONS OF DOLLARS 20 20 Despite the fact that many workers MILLIONS OF DOLLARS are being hired, nearly as many are leaving because they are thinking in terms of finding work with 8 surer, ID I o longer security. The point has been brought home to the workers that after the completion of the combat loader pro- Achel gram Victory ships will continue to o o Fails - - - - I - On - Das - Feb 1944 be built. Nevertheless, the idea per- 1945 sists on the West Coast that the crit- ical production period is about over. All told, the Maritime program for the Navy by the December 1 delayed dead- combat loaders, as set up in July, called line. However, this does not mean 138 for 243 ships, of which 213 were to be ships ready for service. Some of the delivered to the Navy this year. But vessels delivered by the Commission are because of slippages, only 181 are now on a bare-hull basis and require four scheduled for delivery in 1944: or five months' work. In all cases, the Total '44 '44 Navy has some outfitting to do on the '44-'45 Program Program ships-guns, radio, and radar equipment, Program July 1 Nov. etc. must be installed-but trequently 1 Combat trans- this work isdone concurrently with the ports (APAs) 161 155 135 Maritime Commission 80 that some deliv- Combat cargo ery dates of the Navy and Maritime co- incide. ships (AKAs) 82 58 46 Total 243 213 181 By the end of October, the Navy listed as completed 78 ships (not including The Navy isnow calling for 163 ships the iveheadquarters ships) as against in its expedited program-158 combat the 90 delivered by the Maritime Commis- loaders and five headquarters ships sion. However, the Navy hopes that (AGCs); these AGCs have already been enough ships will be completed in No- completed. vember to make the total of 135 ships. By the end of October, the Maritime To date, components, although in Commission had delivered 90 combat load- tight supply, have not been a major ers-41 coming through in October alone. cause of delay. But now, with volume Another 48 ships are scheduled for No- production and a large number of ships vember. If these come through as planned, on the ways, components may hold up the 138 ships will have been delivered to program. Thus the task is double bar- CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 18, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 19 reled: (1) to get the necessary workers quarter requirements in 1945. The Chief and hold them, and (2) to follow the of Naval Operations has recently estab- components and spare parts through man- lished the rocket program as second only ufacturers' lines right into the ships. to combat loaders among urgent Navy Naval Ordnance programs. As with HC ammunition, tooling up IN NAVAL ORDNANCE three programs are of new plants is the limiting factor. critical: (1) high-capacity ammunition, Electric motors and electrical equip- (2) rockets, (3) 40mm. antiaircraft guns: ment, conveyors, compressors, hoists, and the problem in all of them stems and hydraulic equipment are needed. from the same cause: sudden and large The Army heavy-artillery ammunition increases in requirements. program competes with the rocket pro- Production of major caliber high- gram for many of these machine tools. capacity ammunition for bombardment Again, in the 40mm. antiaircraft gun purposes-for use against shore forti- program, requirements have increased fications and for softening up beaches- so fast that production could not keep has more than doubled during the first pace (chart, below). Here it is a nine months of 1944: but requirements case of supplementing the 20mm. anti- have mounted even faster. Thus when out- aircraft guns. put caught upwith production schedules Great difffculty has been encountered in June, the Navy raised the schedule in components: power drives, steel cast- (chart, page 71. ings, bearings, and many and kinds of elec- Now, projected production of HC am- trical parts. In June, the PEC approved munition shows a peak rate in 1945 which the inclusion of 40mm. guns and related averages (for all sizes: 6-inch to 16- equipment among the critical programs, inch) 441 more than the October rate and by October the flow of parts was in 1944. Production of projectiles is the ALMOST STRAIGHT UP limiting factor in the program, par- 40 8 ticularly because of machine-tool short- Novy 40m Antiaircreft Dune Protection . - ages. Other factors are insufficient trained manpower and shortages of com- ponents among new contractors, who have NO If been, as 8 rule, one to three months late inmaking initial deliveries. Vet- eran contractors generally are running on schedule, which suggests that what DOLLARS DOLLARS ao - the new contractors need is time-time for tooling up, getting the bugs out, channeling components, training workers. Furthermore, this program competes with Army ammunition for components and tools. The story of naval rockets is much the same. Requirements have increased much faster than output. Current pro- - duction is eight times that of the first quarter (chart, page 18). But output must triple to meet third- CONFIDENTIAL 20 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Previous Month Some Week Week Week Ago 1943 1942 1941 Wor Program-checks poid (millions of dollars). 1,594 1,022 1,563 1,957 1,254 343 Wor bond soles-E,F,G (millions of dollors) 152 142 145 158 96 38 Money in circulation (millions of dollors) 24,717 24,674 24,157 19,559 14,465 7,384 Wholesole prices (1926+100) All commodities 104.1° 104.0 103.8 102.8 99.7 91.7 Form products 124.4° 124.0 122.7 122.1 110.7 89.6 Foods 104.9 104.4 105.8 105.5 103.0 88.8 All other 96.8° 98.8 98.9 97.5 96.1 95.1 Petroleum 0000 borreis) Total U.S. stocks 427,723 429,703 426,000 425,925 454,602' 488,614 Total Eost Coost stocks! 78,443 78,249 77,220 65,946 62,677 96,110 East Coost receipts 1,703 1,873 1,827 1,558 1,113 1,450 Bituminous cool production 11000 short tons) 1,992 2,025 1,937 499 1,905 1,900 Steel operations (% of capacity) 96.0% 96.3% 97.05 96.25 99.66 96.66 Freight cors unlooded for exports, exct. grain** Ationtic Coost ports 2,591 2,686 3,082 2,624 1,236 Gulf Coost ports 1,678 was 567 421 398 292 305 Pocific Coost ports 1,975 1,968 1,795 1,226 1,025 179 Department store soles (1935-39-100) 230 214 221 211 1/2 159 Preliminary "Excludes militory-owned stocks **Dolly overage "Unodjusted "Estimated increasing. but requirements for 1945 Puget Sound Navy Yard, Mare Island Navy rise so rapidly that production sched- Yard, Hunter's Point Drydocks in San ules based upon feasibility donot catch Francisco, and Terminal Island Crydocks up to them until late in the year. in San Pedro, Calif. Ships - Repairs, Parts Maintenance partsare short. Monthly deliveries of spare parts have been REQUIREMENTS for naval ship repair running at only about 80% of require- and maintenance aremounting along with ments. At times 2011 of the landing the size of the fleet. With more ves- craft in the Pacific have been laid up sels afloat, there is more rehabilita- for want of parts. Deliveries of parts tion work to be done. Furthermore, ships for diesel engines have been running are coming inmore frequently for over- $1,000,000 A month behind schedule; haul. Still further, battle damage- and this schedule is due to rise from now that heavy actions are taking place A current average of $12,000,000 amonth in the Pacific-adds to this critical to $23,000,000 in 1945. Often the Navy problem. As aresult, repair yards are would prefer crankehafts and bearings crowded. to finished engines in which they are Because naval vessels can be spared components. only between operations, some are be- There are no stockpiles of these ing returned to the fleet without all parts. As fast AS they are now pro- necessary repair andmaintenance. Man- duced, they aredistributed, on 8. piece- power shortages exist in the four naval by-piece basis, to shipyards and to ed- establishments on the West Coast, i.e., vanced bases all over the world. CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except 8 Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the Use of such record is restricted as if the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS: (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO. GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Confidential Disclosate Punishable Under Espiodage Act 11482 DRAWN Bob sirted OF (5) 20 Commission the you Teach MAR 14 1973 Economic Data Special Articles ( The President 1 WAR PROGRESS C.P. Disclosure Punishable Under Esplonage Au War Production Board War Production-Unchanged X 4735 DECLASSIFIED x4675 E.U. 11652 Sec. 3(E) and 8(D) of (E) Commette Dept. Letter, 11-15-72 By RHF, PMAR 14 1973 Number 219 November 25, 1944 - Form GA-M-8D (1-01-40 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA S- 73141 WAR PRODUCTION BOARD R COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD TO: FROM: STATISTICS DIVISION The Pr sident Division on OFFICE DIVISION on OFFICE NAME NAME The white - NUMBER BUILDING (ROOM NUMBER BUILDING DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT 719 1 3 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER'S RECEIPT Addressee's Copy are - WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies, To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of Individual members, Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. Wat Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Program and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell. Jr., Directori by the Reports Division (Joseph A. Livingston, Director) EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard A. R. Hilliard, Morris Katz, Chester L Kietter, Joseph A. Livingston (editor), Martha Menaker, J.S. Werking fore- duction): This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 219 WAR PROGRESS NOVEMBER 25, 1944 October Production- Still on a Flat Output, about the some as September, misses 3. In some items, not on the crit- reduced schedule by 2%. Critical programs ical list, production has been lagging do better, but must improve greatly to behind schedule and the deficits have meet battlefront needs. been pushed forward into 1945, thus lowering scheduled production for 1944. FOR THE second consecutive month, total Items in this group are airborne radio, munitions failed to gain ground. Oc- destroyers, big landing craft, other tober output, at $5,230,000,000 (pre- ships and miscellaneous items. These liminary) dropped nominally below Sep- account for 25% of the fourth-quarter tember andmissed the first-of-the-month reduction. schedule by 2%, as against a 4% miss in September. However, the October sched- AMMUNITION'S CUT ule has been lowered consistently. If The biggest dollar cut was in emmu- schedules in many items had not been nition. Next came aircraft, continuing reduced, output could easily have been the trend of cutbacks which haveoccurred much higher. In May, the October sched- throughout the year. The smallest dol- ule was $6,125,000,000; by July it had lar decline was in the critical combat gone down to $5,960,000,000; by Septem- and motor vehicle group, as the follow- ber, to $5,675,000,000. And since then, ing table shows: there has been an additional decline of Monthly Av. $315,000,000. 4th Qtr. as Change Similarly, the schedule for the last of Oct. 1 from Sept. quarter has been reduced $870,000,000 (millions) (%) between September land October 1. There Aircraft $1,476 -$61 -4% are three main reasons: Ships 1,136 -19 -2 1. Lower requirements for such pro- Guns & fire con- grams as the Flying Fortress, the Lib- trol 269 -18 -6 erator, ground radio, etc. Production Ammunition 642 -76 -11 is more than sufficient and schedules Combat & motor have been cut back. About 40% of the vehicles 540 -10 -2 fourth-quarter reduction was of this Com. & elec. nature. Requirements for small-arms equipment 382 -60 -14 ammunition, until recently in this group, Other equipment have been boosted during the last month. & supplies 990 -45 -4 2. Inability to lift production to Total $5,435 -$289 -5% required levels for feasibility reasons. This applies mainly to the critical The important point about October programs, such as heavy-heavy trucks, production was that critical programs heavy field artillery, heavy artillery registered further improvements: they ammunition, the Superfortress, tactical gained 6% over September (WP-Nov18'44, field wire, etc., and accounts for 35% p1). Although some of the increases of the reduction. were comparatively small, the situation CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS improved all along the line and some however, was concentrated in the steeply of the gains were sizable: communication rising, hard-to-meke planes. Similarly, wire, 10%: heavy-heavy trucks and cot- value put in place on ships declined, ton duck, 134; general-purpose and frag- but by only 19. On the other hand, com- mentation bombs, 16%: tanks, 20%. munication and electronic equipment was up 7%, yet fell shy of the rising BATTLEFRONT RATIONING schedule. However, the armed forces are still Munitions employment declined another getting far less than they need of all 100,000 last month. From the 10.365,- the critical items, some of which have 000 peak last November, munitions work to be rationed to the troops because of rolls are now down to 9,170,000-the the shortages-tactical fieldwire, for lowest since 1942. Most of the decline example. Output generally must improve is due to cutbacks. It is interesting much more than it did in October if to note that if the workers who were needs are to be met. For example, a separated from their munitions jobs in rise of 50% over the October rate is re- October could be strategically distrib- quired for heavy artillery ammunition uted they would go far toward filling to meet the 1944 production goal: and manpower needs in critical programs. the goal is below computed strategic requirements. Aircraft As was the case In September, not & As scheduled, aircraft production single major program made even the re- hit its lowest point of the year last duced schedule last month. The biggest month, although the drop was somewhat miss W38 in combat and motor vehicles more than forecast. As compared with -off 59. Here schedules are rising September, W-12 called for a decline of sharply for heavy-heavy trucks and tanks. about 21 in output of airframes, engines, Although output showed marked improve- propellers, gliders, spare parts, etc. ment in each instance, production fell AL $1,470,000,000 (preliminary), how- far short of requirements. ever, the drop actually ran to 49; and Aircraft WAS scheduled downward and that was 39 short of the $1,512,000.000 production dropped 4% below September scheduled. to a new low for the year. The deficit, PBM-5 COMES THROUGH IN THIS ISSUE: With the exception of the PBM-5 Mar- iner, which wasup to expectations, the OCTOBER PRODUCTION-STILL ON A FLAT 1 deficit from schedule-$42,000.000-wes all accounted forby critical programs: PRODUCTION PROGRESS PRELIMINARY 5 the B-29 Superfortress, B-32 Dominator, A-26 Invader, C-54 Skymaster, PV-2 Har- WHO GETS U.S. PLANES, TANKS, GUNS? 8 poon, and R-3350BA engine (WP-Nov18'44, p61. These are practically all new KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 10 models and it's a formidable job to overcome design changes, or sharp in- REPORTS ON REPORTS 11 creases in requirements, or both. The failure of aircraft to meet sched- SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 12 ule in recent months has been concen- CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 25, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 3 CONTOURS OF MUNITIONS PRODUCTION Until last month, output ran consistently ahead of the same month of the previous year; now the '44 curve slips under '43. 6 6 1944 1943 4 4 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 1942 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 2 2 1941 o o Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct Nov Dec. Note: October 1944 preliminary. WAR PROGRESS trated in comparatively few models, aircraft engines were 3% short of the largely those with expanding schedules. new engine schedule (WE-12). Most of Indeed, this has been the outstanding the deficiency was accounted for by feature of the program since June. Most Pratt & Whitney, East Hartford. Here, other planes-those in which schedules shipments of 1,485 units compared with are stable or declining-have been on a WE-12 goal of 1,550. However, the the target. plant was right on the mark with 50 R- 2800 2-stage C engines, amore powerful OVER AND UNDER version of the Double Wasp, used in the Continuing its outstanding perform- Navy's new F4U-4 Corsair fighter plane. ance, Dodge's Chicago plant turned out Another off-schedule performance last 957 superbomber (R-3350BA) engines last month was at Packard, Detroit. It turned month, 57 more than scheduled. But this out only 1,950 V-1650 Merlin engines, was more than offset by Wright, Pater- 19% short of the scheduled 2,400. Mer- son, which delivered only 529, or 71 lin requirements-about half of which less than expected. This plant exceeded are exported for use primarily in the schedule in September for the first time Lancaster and Mosquito-are now being with delivery of 551 superbomber engines. reviewed. Thus, existing schedules may Wright, Paterson, was strikebound for not be a true measure of production a few days this month and its goal may performance. be missed again in November. All other engine plants did well in At $319,000,000, deliveries of all October, with Pratt & Whitney, Kansas CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS City, turning in & banner month. Al- All of the big guns met or exceeded though its expanding schedule called first-of-the-month schedules except for 350 R-2800 1-stage C engines, spare cannon for 155mm. howitzers, but liveries actually ran to 427, or 22% ammunition for all of them, except the higher. This engine is a 2,100hp job, 155mm. guns, fell short of the mark de- is used in Grumman's new F8F Bearcat spite increased production. and in Republic's "M" and "N" versions Output of heavy-heavy trucks (ord- of the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter (WP- nance only) rose sharply--from 4,850 Oct21'44,p8). to 5,560-and ran 470 ahead of the great- In airplanes alone, the 75,363,000 ly reduced first-of-the-month forecast. pounds of airframe weight accepted (7,- The light-heavy trucks (2) tons) 429 planes) were only 2% short of sched- which rolled off the assembly lines ex- ule, the narrowest margin since May ceeded September output by 1,030 and (WP-Nov11'44,p9). the October forecast by 827. On the other hand, the 18,156 light trucks Army Ordnance were nearly 3,000 less than scheduled. The October story in ground army mu- Medium-tank production showed marked nitions was a repetition of September's; improvement. The 357 M4s mounting the production improved but not enough. 105mm. howitzer turned out were 112 Consequently, the attained rate of out- ahead of September and 29 more than put is still considerably below the forecast. In the case of the M4 mount- schedule for November and December; many ing the 76mm. gun, deliveries increased schedules in turn are short of produc- 100 over September but fell 190 short tion goals for the year. And these of the 924 goal for October. (Here it goals are far short of the Army's com- has been a case of concentrating on the puted requirements. Moreover, require- 105mm. howitzer model at the expense ments for the first quarter of 1945 are of the 76mm. model. ) The November sched- even higher. ule for the M4 mounting the 76mm. gun Production goals in key critical calls for 1,185. programs especially are well above Oc- Aerial-bomb output rose 4% but ran tober production. Thus, in heavy ar- 1% behind forecast. Biggest deficits tillery ammunition, output during No- were in critical 250-pound general- vember and December must go up about purpose bombs, and 100-pound fragmen- 25% to meet the 1944 schedules and about tations. 50% to meet the production goal. Sim- ilarly in heavy-heavy trucks and aerial Naval Ships bombs. In tanks, however, schedule and Naval ship deliveries were just about goal are about the same: on schedule last month-243,000 dis- placement tons came through as against % Stepup Req. in 250,000 scheduled. Completions of com- Nov. & Dec. t.o meet batants included the 27,000-ton air- Sched. Prod. Goal craft carrier "Randolph," the 14,000- Heavy art. ammun 25% 50% ton cruiser "Pittsburgh," two destroy- Heavy-heavy trucks. 20 65 ers, seven DEs, and five submarines- Tanks 20 20 all told, 62,000 tons. September de- Aerial bombs 12 30 liveries of combatants were much higher CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 25, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 5 -105,000 tons; that total was swelled 2%. LSTs-the big tank carriers-ac- by three cruisers. counted for nearly half the landing As scheduled, landing vessels dropped craft tonnage and for slightly more than below the September level of production; one-fourth of total Navy deliveries however, the decline wasnot so much as last month. planned, and schedule was exceeded by Deliveries of district craft topped PRODUCTION PROGRESS-Pretiminary Value delivered or put in place- millions of dollars % Deviation Oct. Sept. % Oct. Oct. Prelim Preliminary Actual Change Schedule* vs. Schedule MUNITIONS AND WAR CONSTRUCTION 5,444 5,469 nil 5,569 -2 TOTAL MUNITIONS 5,234 5,249 nil 5,359 -2 Aircraft 1,470 1,537 -4 1,512 -3 Total airframes, engines, propellers 1,167 1,216 1 1,199 -3 Airplone spore parts 285 303 -6 293 -3 Other aircraft and equipment (excl. commun.) 18 18 o 20 -10 Ships (incl. maintenance) 1,096 1,109 -1 1,128 -3 Novy 518 520 nil 560 -8 Combatant 189 181 +4 188 +1 Londing vessels 188 211 -11 190 -1 Other 141 128 +10 182 -23 Moritime 351 360 -3 341 +3 Corgo and supply 230 238 -3 228 +1 Other 121 122 -1 113 +7 Army Vessels 58 60 -3 58 o Ship Maintenance and Repair 169 169 o 169 t Guns and Fire Control 259 251 +3 269 -4 Small arms (under 20mm) 48 47 +2 47 +2 Artillery, mortors, rocket launchers - ASF 58 61 -5 57 +2 Fire control and searchlights (excl. Rodor) 58 49 +18 62 -6 Naval guns and other 95 94 +1 103 & Ammunition 605 599 +1 610 -1 Smoll arms (under 20 mm) 46 45 +2 48 1 Artillery ommunition, mortor shells, rocketsASF 185 188 h 178 +4 Aerial bombs-ASF 133 128 +4 134 -1 Naval ommunition and other 241 238 +1 250 L Combat and Motor Vehicles 445 426 +4 468 -5 Combot vehicles 149 135 +10 162 -8 Motor corrioges for SP guns 29 27 +7 26 (12 Automotive vehicles and tractors 260 259 nil 273 -5 Communication and Electronic Equipment 369 344 +7 383 1 Rodio 122 119 +3 128 -5 Rodor 151 139 +9 157 :- All other 96 66 +12 96 -2 Other Equipment and Supplies 990 983 +1 989 nil WAR CONSTRUCTION (GOVT. FINANCED) 210 220 -5 210 1 e As of September I for construction; os of October I for all others. t Schedule used for preliminary. CONFIDENTIAL 6 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS UPS AND DOWNS IN MUNITIONS PRODUCTION As in September, all major groups missed the first-of-month schedule in October. But guns, signal equipment, combat and motor vehicles rose. 2500 1500 Aircroft War Construction 2000 1000 Total 1500 500 Airframes, Engines, 1000 Propellers o 1943 1944 1945 500 1000 Combat and Motor Vehicles Airplone Spare Ports VALUE DELIVERED OR PUT IN PLACE-MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Total o 500 1943 1944 1945 Automotive Vehicles and Tractors Combot Vehicles 1500 o Ships (including mointenonce) 1943 1944 1945 Total 1000 1000 Ammunition VALUE DELIVERED OR PUT IN PLACE-MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Total 500 Moritime 500 Artillery, Mortor Novy Combotant Smoll Arms Amm. Shells and Rockets, ASF (under 20mm) Londing Vessels o o 1943 1944 1945 1943 1944 1945 1000 1000 Communication and Electronic Equipment Guns and Fire Control 500 Total 500 Total Radio Small Arms (under 20mm) Artillery, Mortors, Rodor Rocket Lounchers, ASF o o 1943 1944 1945 1943 1944 1945 Note: Actual through September, October preliminary. October I schedule thereofter WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 25, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 September by 18%, but ran 32% behind of the value of deliveries. In Septem- schedule. Auxiliary and other vessels ber, Maritime turned over 19 APAs and scored a gain of 11%, but failed to eight AKAs. Despite this big rise, how- meet schedule: in the past, this group ever, deliveries have been running be- has run consistently behind schedule: hind Navy needs. Thus, in the June pro- Oct. % Deviation from gram, 140 ships were scheduled for de- Deliv. Sept. Sched. livery by the end of October: actually (000 tons) 90 came through. In other words, the Combatants 62 -41% -2% program is about one month behind. Landing ves 132 -3 +2 Patrol&mine.. 16 SHOW OF STRENGTH 0 0 District craft 13 +18 -32 Liberty ships, though a declining Aux. & other. 20 +11 -13 program, came in strong-51 delivered Total 243 -15% -3% as against the 48 scheduled and the 43 completed in September. They accounted The Navy completed 41 combat loaders for 22% of the dollar total. -35 APAs and six AKAs; these ships had Victory ship deliveries held at the previously been delivered by the Mari- September level of seven-one ahead of time Commission. Although this, was a forecast. Yards originally scheduled big rise over September completions of to deliver Victory ships are concen- 23 ships-six AKAs and 17 APAs-deliv- trating on combat loaders which have eries were five below schedule. The top priority, even above maintenance peak of deliveries (as in the case of and repair. Maritime) is set for this month when a Delivery of 18 tankers missed the total of 53 ships are scheduled. After stepped-up October forecast by one; that, completions drop sharply. The however, this was one ahead of earlier end of the program is now scheduled for schedules. The Navy, because of its the middle of 1945. speedy advance in the Pacific, has beer calling for tankers to be delivered Maritime Ships ahead of schedule wherever possible. The Maritime Commission came through with its biggest month of the year both Signal Equipment in numbers and value. Dollarwise, pro- Output of communication and elec- duction ran 6% ahead of the first-of- tronic equipment, at $369,000,000 (pre- the-month schedule. Deliveries amounted liminary), was up 7% over September, to 168 ships totaling $438,000,000, as but fell 4% short of schedule. against 127 ships valued at $383,000,000 The critical airborne radar program, in September and 162 ships at $415,000,- which had registered sharp gains of 22% 000 in May, the previous 1944 peak. in August and 25% in September, rose However, the all-time peak was in De- only 8% in October and missed the first- cember, 1943, when deliveries amounted of-the-month goal by 3%. Design changes, to $518,000,000, of whichLiberty ships newinventions, and new uses have brought constituted more than two-fifths. another major readjustment in the pro- The important increase was in combat gram, with a resultant slowing down in loader deliveries to the Navy-32 APAs production momentum. The impact of the and nine AKAs: these accounted for 45% new equipment is expected to have a CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS flattening effect upon output for the Output of radio equipment rose 3%, remainder of the year. In fact, the was 5% shy of schedule. However, air- production schedule, which has been borne-radio production for the Army rising sharply, declines in December Service Forces was up 12% and only 3% for feasibility reasons. short of schedule. Ground-radar production hit a two- Production of critical communication year low of $5,000,000-a steep drop wire increased 10% and was 2% under the from the peak of $42,000,000 last March. schedule based on feasibility. Output This decrease has nearly offset the rise is still running far below unreachable in airborne radar for the A.S.F. requirements (WP-Oct21'44,p5). Who Gets U.S. Planes, Tanks, Guns? More than $15,000,000,000 of munitions have any other class of munitions, ships the gone to Allies since Pearl Harbor. Every smallest. Ordnance exports have fallen fifth plane, every third combat vehicle, sharply from last year and, in propor- 38% of artillery are exported. tion to production, are slightly lower for this year than ships. Ammunition, OF EVERY five planes produced since reversing this trend, takes a larger Pearl Harbor, this country has kept four percentage of production than in 1943. for her own armed forces, sent one to Although in dollar value lend-lease mu- Soviet Russia, Britain, or another United nitions shipments have been increasing Nation. Though ratios for other indi- year after year, production has been vidual items vary widely, what happened going up even faster, and consequently to planes tells how the U.S. shared her the proportion has been declining. This total munitions production. explains why the 1944 share of total Some $15,000,000,000 of ships, planes, munitions exports, at 17%, is slightly guns, ammunition, tanks, and other mil- below the two previous years: itary vehicles have gone to the Allies from January 1, 1942, through August, % of U.S. Output 1944. Lend-lease shipments, bulk of Exports 1942 1943 1944 these exports, took 17% of the U.S. Total munitions 19% 18% 17% munitions output. Cash purchases by Planes 23 16 18 Allies have declined sharply in volume Ships 8 16 13 and percentage of U.S. production since Guns 20 20 12 this country entered the war-from 20% Ammunition 21 11 14 in 1941 to 5% in 1942, to less than 1% Combat & motor veh 34 32 42 in the last two years. This year, only *By number. **Ry value. in the heavy-heavy truck category do In 1942, about one in every four direct Allied purchases represent any planes was sent to the Allies. Last sizable share of production-15%. This year this ratio dropped to one in six, is due primarily to on-the-barrelhead rose this year to about one in five. sales to Canada. Export emphasis has been on combat types Export share of combat and motor ve- -medium and light bombers and fighters. hicles has been considerably larger than For example, of more than 11,000 planes CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 25, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 9 TO OUR ALLIES: 17% OF U.S. OUTPUT As against 18% in 1943 (when munitions production was lower than this year). Range is from 12% of guns to 43% of combat and motor vehicles. Total Munitions Aircraft 30 30 30 30 20 20 20 20 10 ID IO IO o o 0 o 1942 1943 1944 1942 1943 1944 Guns Ships 30 30 20 20 % OF u. S. PRODUCTION EXPORTED 20 20 IO IO IO 10 o o % OF U. S. U.S. PRODUCTION EXPORTED 1942 1943 1944 o o 1942 1943 1944 Combat, Motor Vehicles 40 40 Ammunition 30 30 30 30 20 20 20 20 IO IO IO IO o o o o 1942 1943 1944 1942 1943 1944 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 10 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Latest Previous Some Week Month Week Week Ago 1943 1942 1941 Wor Program - checks poid Imillions of dollors). 1,659 1,594 1,775 1,731 1,420 327 Wor bond scies-E, F, G (millions of dollors) 235 152 132 163 166 45 Money in circulation Imillions of dollors). 24,045 24,717 24,216 19,726 14,648 10,567 Wholescle prices (1926:100) All commodities 104.1 104.1 105.8 102.6 100.1 Form products 92.3 124.5 124.4 122.8 121.2 Foods 110.9 90.7 104.9 104.9 103.9 105.6 All other 103.3 89.6 96.9 96.8 90.9 97.5 90.1 95.6 Petroleum 1000 borreis) Total U.S. stocks 426,886 427,715 427,912 426,723 Total Cost Coost stocks 453,005 489,306 77,293 70,443 17,622 67,146 61,815 East Coost receipts 90,309 1,722 1,703 1,568 1,704 1,140 N.A. Bituminous cool production 1000 short tonsi 1,958 1,992 1,979 1,910 2,020 2,083 Steel operations (% of copocity) 95.45 96.05 96.35 97.05 96.79 97.05 Freight cors unlooded for exports, excl. grain** Ationtic Coost ports 2,665 2,591 2,667 Guif Coost ports 2,859 1,190 1,446 514 465 & 477 Pacific Coost ports 336 407 2,025 1,973 1,868 1,313 94% 177 Department store soles 0935-39- 1001 N.A. 230 209 225 1/12 139 Preminary *Excludes militory-owned SPOCKS **Dolly average "unodjusted Estimated *.*.Not Avoiable flown or shipped to the U.S.S.R., 7,300 to the South Pacific rose steadily. were fighters, nearly 3,500 bombers. Through August, 1944, some 5,300 planes Most have been Bell Airacobra P-39s, had been sent to Australia, New Zealand, Curtiss P-40 fighters, Douglas A-20 and the China-Burma-India theater. More attack bombers, and North American B- than a third were fighters, the remain- 25s. But only 5% of the heavy-bomber der chiefly heavy and light bombers, production has been exported, none to trainers, and transports. the Soviet. This year more big bombers All told, more than 36,000 aircraft have gone to the South Pacific than have been exported to the Allies since elsewhere. Last year the United Kingdom this country entered the war, plus thou- received twice as many as all other sands sold or lend-leased prior to Pearl United Nations combined. Harbor. Here's howplane exports compare Though Britain produced more than in percentage of U. Sproduction by types: 75% of aircraft used by the Royal Air Force, the U.S. since Pearl Harbor has % of U.S. Output sent the U.K. nearly 9,000 planes, of Exports 1942 1943 1944 which nearly three-fourths have been Bombers 31% 16% 15% bombers and fighters. However, this Heavy 5 4 6 year the number of transport, trainer, Medium 22 19 24 and communication planes going to the Light 33 25 22 U.K. rose steeply. Fighters & reconn. 38 23 16 As the U.S. closed in on the Japs, Transports 23 10 18 exports of nearly all types of planes Communication 3 10 17 CONFIDENTIAL NOVEMBER 25, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL II Of more than 2,200,000 tanks, trucks, types. The latter are chiefly landing and other war vehicles produced in this craft, PT boats, and other small craft, country, approximately 775,000 have gone but include a few combat types, such as to the Allies. By far the largest share aircraft carrier escorts and corvettes. -315,000-has been sent to the Soviet: Under the Lend-Lease Appropriation Acts, about half that number to the Pacific, these ships, leased for the duration of with the U.K. share less than 100,000. the war, remain U.S. property. Here's Within the combat and motor vehicle how they compare with U.S. production classification, exports varied widely. by type: In light and medium trucks, the Allies took a littlemore than a fifth of U.S. % of U.S. Output Leased 1942 1943 1944 production. Heavy-heavy truck exports, Combatant 4% 1% 1% though taking only a little more than two-fifths of wartime output as a whole, Naval auxiliary & small craft 9 72 43 this year accounted for 48%. Nearly a Merchant 10 12 10 fourth of big-truck shipments has been to the U.K., and about a fifth to the Since the Soviet depends heavily upon Pacific. Less than 1,000 have gone to the U.S. for its light artillery, 62% Russia. of our output was exported last year, and 58% is going abroad to the Allies WHERE THE TANKS GO this year. Eritish demand is primarily Approximately 30,000 tanks-47% of for medium artillery, the U.K. taking U.S. production-have been sent to the 41% of 1944 production. Of big guns Allies. This year, however, nearly three (over 105mm.) only 8% is being exported, of four tanks are being exported. U.K. chiefly to the British. All told, 38% is taking more than half of the output of U.S. artillery production is going of light tanks and 38% of the medium to the Allies this year, against 53% in tanks. Tank shipments to the Soviet and 1943. Pacific theaters have declined sharply. Nearly a fourth of U.S. artillery- Similarly, onlya fifth of U.S. trac- shell production has gone to the United tor output is being exported this year, Nations-chiefly light shells for the chiefly to the U.K., against three- Eritish-but this year's rate is only 19%. fourths in 1942. More than 160,000 other military ve- REPORTS ON REPORTS hicles-armored cars, scout cars, per- sonnel carriers, etc.-went to Russia; Shipbuilding exports total 400,000, or about two- High separation rates and lower ac- thirds of U.S. output. cession rates are the most serious prob- On the other hand, the $2,640,000,000 lems confronting shipyard production, worth of naval and merchant ships and according to Estimated Labor Require- small craft leased to the Allies (mostly ments for the Shipbuilding Industry to the British) is less than 14% of U.S. (restricted; pp. 67). Employment in all shipyard deliveries. Leased ships exceed shipyards must rise 3.5% over the August 500 cargo vessels of 1,000 gross tons or level by the end of the year in order over: include nearly 1,300 merchant and to insure scheduled delivery of all auxiliary craft under 1,000 gross tons, naval and cargo vessels. But during the and over 1,400 naval vessels of all first six months of next year, employ- CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Employment-Hours and Earnings Some Month Latest Preceding 2 Months Month Month Ago 1943 1942 1941 1939 NONAGRIC EMPLOYMENT-TOTAL (thousands) 38,481 38,593 38,741 39,718 39,900 37,439 31,700 Monufacturing-Total 15,724 15,873 16,020 17,194 15,956 13,847 10,780 Duroble goods 9,261 9,369 9,513 10,366 9,047 7,200 4,829 Nondurable goods 6,463 6,504 6,507 6,828 6,909 6,647 5,951 Mining 813 826 834 873 959 1,013 931 Trade 7,172 6,996 6,918 7,076 7,296 7,612 6,769 Government (Federol, State, and Local) 5,934 5,946 5,869 5,847 5,554 4,634 4,122 Other 1 8,838 8,952 9,100 8,728 10,135 10,333 9,098 NUMBER OF WAGE EARNERS (thousands) All monufacturing 12,812 12,942' 12,924 13,935 13,079 11,571 8,587 Duroble 7,580 7,690 7,726 8,319 7,313 5,933 3,719 Nondurable 5,232 5,252 5,198 5,616 5,766 5,638 4,868 AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS (dollors) All monufacturing industries 46.25 45.86 45.43 44.39 37.80 30.67 23.93 Duroble goods 52.18 51.82' 51.07 51.01 44.45 35.28 26.83 Nondurable goods 37.67 37.15 37.04 34.73 29.53 25.90 21.64 Bituminous coal mining 50.95 52.22' 47.20 45.96 35.64 32.75 25.51 Metolliferous mining 44.75 44.99 43.46 44.76 39.16 34.04 27.60 AVERAGE HOURLY EARNINGS (cents) All monufocturing industries 103.1 101.6 101.8 99.3 89.2 74.8 62.8 Durable goods 113.1 111.1 111.7 109.7 99.7 83.2 69.7 Nondurable goods 87.6 86.5 86.2 82.3 74.3 65.4 57.4 Bituminous coal mining 121.6 119.0 119.9 116.8 106.5 103.4 89.6 Metalliferous mining 101.6 100.3 101.0 99.5 90.6 82.1 70.1 AVERAGE HOURS PER WEEK All monufacturing industries 44.9 45.2° 44.6 44.7 42.4 41.0 38.1 Durable goods 46.1 46.7" 45.7 46.5 44.6 42.4 38.5 Nondurable goods 43.0 43.0 43.0 42.2 39.7 39.6 37.7 Bituminous coal mining 42.0 44.0° 39.5 39.4 33.5 31.5 28.5 Metalliferous mining 43.9 44.75 42.9 44.8 43.2 41.6 39.6 "Nonagricultural Employment, October, all other, September. Preliminary. 1 Transportation, construction, finance, service and miscelloneous. Revised. ment will drop rapidly if current sched- Woman's Angle ules are maintained. Housewives Report: C41 (restricted; (Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor pp. 11) indicates that today less em- Statistics) phasis is being placed on price and quality. Instead, correspondents report The Tobacco Trade more concern over scarcities of certain Tobacco (confidential; pp. 25) re- commodities, especially sugar, butter, ports that production of all types will meat, and clothing. Once again house- rise 24% over last year's output, but wives request more complete rationing civilian cigarette supplies will con- of meat as a means of insuring better tinue to be tight. Because of labor distribution. shortages, much of the leaf has begun (Office of War Information, Bureau of to spoil before processing. Further, Special Services) the volume of July leaf-tobacco imports dropped 40% below the previous month, [This record is an attempt to select from the many documents coming to the attention of WAR PROGRESS while exports soared 51%. those studies which would be of most interest to readers. The list is byno means comprehensive, and (Department of Commerce, Bureau of For- no attempt has been made to evaluate reports for accuracy. Whether reports are available depends on eign and Domestic Commerce) the policy of each individual agency.] CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to/ become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted BE if the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address. (5) On written request, or before seperation from the Govern- ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account, WAR PROGRESS 1 Disclosure Punishable Under Expirinage Act B.O. 13668, See S,B) and 600) or 00 Desumence Good Action, 31-21-22 By me Into MAR 14 1 1973 Economic Data Special Articles The President 1 WAR PROGRESS 6.7 Production War Board Confidential Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act Behind the Boost in Small-Arms Ammunition-From Cradle to Sky With the Superbomber x4735 x249afficial x249 x 1178 DECLASSIFIED E.O. 11652 Sec. 3(%) and (D) or 408, Commerce Dept. Letter, 11-15-72 By RNP, DateMAR 141973 Number 220 December 2, 1944 - Fune GA-M-8D UNITED STATES OF AMERICA S- 72596 R WAR PRODUCTION BOARD COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION DIVISION OR OFFICE DIVISION OR OFFICE) NAME NAME BUILDING ROOM NUMBER (BUILDING) ROOM NUMBER DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT 3 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER'S RECEIPT are WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the Various war agencies. To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Program and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr. Director) by the Reports Division (Joseph A, Livingston, Director) EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard A.R. Hilliard, Morris Katz, Chester L Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston (editor), Martha Mehaker. J.S. Working (pro- duction). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 220 WAR PROGRESS DECEMBER 2. 1944 Behind the Boost in Small Ammunition Raising output 60% by mid-1945 means Now, with huge quantities of ammuni- bringing standby facilities into operation, tion being shot up on all fronts, the finding 60,000 workers. Program may great stockpiles which had been built compete with big shells for brass, powder. up have been drawn down. So increased production has been ordered. SMALL-ARMS AMMUNITION-an easy program Production, even at this greatly all this year-is again on the upsurge. increased level, will still be well The Army Service Forces is proposing under the peak reached by the middle to raise the current rate of produc- of 1943, and by itself would be feasible tion from about $46,000,000 & month to -although the quick rate of expansion at least $75,000,000 by next summer. under consideration will be difficult The increase in rate of output is to achieve. not a complete surprise. When the small- Some increase in production can be arms ammunition program was first re- expected almost immediately-as unuti- duced sharply late in 1943 and then lized capacity in operating plants is again early in 1944, some boost in pro- brought in. However, some machinery has duction was contemplated on a when-as- been completely dismantled and stored and-if basis-when, as, and if the two- in grease, and the plants themselves front war continued into 1945. Toward are beingused for storage and for man- that end, capacity had been kept in ufacture and repair of other munitions. reserve. Hence a period of make-ready is neces- SMALL-ARMS AMMUNITION SHIFT What it means in terms of (o) current production, (b) future schedules. 175 175 150 150 125 125 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IOO 100 Proposed Schedule 75 75 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Nov I 50 Schedule 50 25 25 o o J F M A M J J A 5 o N D J F M A M J J A 5 o N D Average Month 1943 1944 1945 Note Actual production through October, 1944, schedule thereofter. WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS sary. Getting machines back into oper- ing to $600,000,000 would have to be ation and finding labor to operate them constructed. These would require many are the immediate tasks. This willmean more thousands of workers to build and putting the program on the Production operate them, thus increasing the pinch Urgency List for labor referrals. on manpower. Officials believe that as many as Should the Army decide to expand both 30,000 workers can be added by March programs, some revision in the projected and that many more by June, boosting small-arms ammunition program may be the total to 115,600. Another recruit- necessary for feasibility reasons. It ment drive will be necessary to get is a matter of determining which pro- women back into the plants. Then it gram is the most urgent, or the extent will take a couple of months more to to which both can be increased. finish training the workers and to iron out production bugs. BULLET BOOSTS An additional 50,000,000 pounds of As late as November 1. small-arms brass strip a month would be needed to ammunition schedules for 1945 were slated meet the expanded program. This is not to rise only 6% over the monthly rate expected to be any problem unless the for the last quarter of this year. Under artillery ammunition program is also the proposed revision, there are sharp expanded. increases in five types of bullets: the Production of lead for the bullets .30-caliber armor-piercing, the .30- would have to be stepped up some 3,000 caliber ball, the .30-caliber tracer, tons permonth. Lead is not A critical the carbine .30-caliber ball, and the metal, though its supply and demand .50-caliber armor-piercing incendiary. position isnot what it was a year ago, One type-the .50-caliber tracer-is and some curtailment of civilian uses cut back, and the .50-caliber armor- may become necessary. piercing goes out. Two cartridges, which Competition is the main problem. The aren't in current production and hadn't ASF is considering another sharp rise been planned for 1945, are returned to in output of artillery ammunition, par- the program. These are the .50-caliber ticularly 60mm. and Almm. mortar shells, incendiary and the .45-caliber ball: and 90mm., 105mm., and 155mm. HE shells. Monthly Rate That would precipitate concurrentand 4th Qtr. Proposed 1 highly increased demands for brass and 1944 1945 Change powder. Indeed, new facilities amount- thousands) 30-cal. AP $3,000 $7,500 +150% IN THIS ISSUE: 30-cal. ball 1,290 9,330 +623 30-cal. tracer. 630 2,120 +237 BEHIND THE BOOST IN SMALL AMMUNITION 1 50-cal. API 8,700 18,100 +108 SUPERBOMBERS FROM BLUEPRINT TO TOKYO 3 50-cal. tracer. 2,760 2,300 -16 SCORECARD ON SUPERBOMBERS 6 50-cal. incen.. 0 6,500 8 POST-D-DAY LEND-LEASE 8 30-cal. car- KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 9 bine ball 1,680 4,290 +155 WAR PROGRESS NOTES 10 45-cal. ball 0 800 8 SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 12 50-cal. blank. 600 600 0 REPORTS ON REPORTS 50-cal. ball... 12 14,040 15,600 +11 50-cal. AP 9,000 o -100 CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 2, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 3 Canada, which also has some standby with bullets and shells. It was assumed facilities, will be able to give consid- that French plants would not be in a erable help with the expanded program. position to give any help. Now, it has Some assistance may also come from am- been learned that they can. However, no munition plants in liberated areas of inventory has yet been taken of the types France. U.S. procurement has been based or the volume they can produce. There on the assumption that this country is also the problem of mining and trans- would supply all of the French troops porting coal to operate the plants. Superbombers From Blueprint to Tokyo Now in quantity production (1,000 delivered) quarter a year ago the superbomber ac- and proving itself, the big bomber con- counted for about 2% of the total value stitutes 12% of this years aircraft, 28% of aircraft; this year it will account of fourth-quarter '45 program. for 12%: and next year it will run to 28% of the fourth-quarter total, or IN DECEMBER, 1942, the Army Air Forces $1,450,000,000 out of $5,150,000,000. received three experimental models of Aircraft, in turn, is accounting for the B-29 superbomber from Boeing, Seat- about a third of all munitions. tle. It was a Christmas present whose value is only now becoming apparent. IN 1940, A DRAWING Last month, the thousandth super- The story of the superbomber goes bomber was delivered to the AAF: and back to the early months of 1940, before this week it completed its 20th combat the AAF knew precisely when, where, mission with a third assault on Tokyo whom, or how it would fight-before the (map, page 5). But the combat missions Flying Fortress was in quantity produc- are only beginning, for the superbomber tion, before the first experimental stacks up as the most important single model of the Liberator was accepted. item in the entire munitions program Builders of long-range bombing planes next year. were invited to submit designs for a ship with more speed, range, altitude, SUPERS' DOLLAR VALUE and bomb capacity than either the Flying The $3,700,000,000 scheduled for Fortress or the Liberator. superbombers in 1945 is more than double Several companies submitted designs the value of either tanks or trucks, and those of Boeing Aircraft (B-29), about triple the value of either land- Consolidated Vultee (B-32), and Glenn L. ing craft or radio equipment. Indeed, Martin (B-33) were accepted. Since that of the seven major categories in the time, Martin's model has been dropped munitions program, the value of super- and another Consolidated design (the bombers next year actually tops two of B-36) accepted. But it was Boeing's them: guns and fire control ($2,300,- B-29, the now much-publicized Super- 000,000), and communication and elec- fortress, that got the first contract; tronic equipment ($3,200,000,000). three experimental models were ordered Statistically, the past, present, in the summer of 1940. And in May, 1941 and future of the superbomber may be -well over a year before the first of summed up as follows: In the fourth these models was built-the ship was CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS ordered into quantity production. It plant was in the acceptance column. A was & radical step: it WAS & gamble. month later, the Martin plant at Omaha But the AAF took that gamble on two joined the show. And early this year, counts: (1) it wasworking against time: Boeing's Renton plant-slated for the (2) it was convinced that the Boeing biggest production job of them all- design was sound. began to come through (table, page 5). Hundreds of contractors and subcon- tractors were lined up for the job of 8-29 vs. 8-19 producing and assembling upwards of The Superfortress isnot the biggest 40,000 different parts. bomber ever built: Douglas' 4-engined B-19, accepted late in 1941, isa fourth SUBS GET GOING again as big in airframe weight. But Eight companies-Fisher, Goodyear, the B-19 was not suitable for combat; Hudson, DeSoto, Cessna, Libbey-Owens- it was underpowered, was used chiefly Ford, Briggs Manufacturing, and Murray as a flying laboratory for the develop- Corporation-undertook to produce major ment of other long-range heavy bombers. subassemblies such as wings, ailerons, The Superfortress-with less weight and elevators, rudders, fins, bomb doors, more horsepower-was the next step. It gun turrets, landing gear, nacelles, had the right combination of size and and plastic noses. performance to fly higher, farther, Frigidaire at Dayton, O., built an faster, and carry a bigger bomb load addition to produce the 4-bladed hy- than any other bombing plane in the world. draulic dural 24F60 Hamilton propeller. When the Superfortress climbs to its The facilities of ght General Elec- service ceiling of some 35,000 feet, tric plants were brought in to make the enemy ground forces see it only as 8 fire-control system. silver speck trailing white vapor across Wright Aeronautical at Paterson, N.J., the sky. was expanded to turn out the 18-cylinder, 2,200hp R-3350BA engine: construction FASTER, FARTHER of the mammoth Dodge engine plant at As against the 3,000-mile range of Chicago ($180,000,000 and 5,800,000 the Flying Fortress, the B-29 can ex- square feet) was started: and, later ecute missions twice as far and carry on, tooling up for even more engines about double the weight of bombs (20,000 was begun at Wright's Lockland, 0., plant. pounds versus 9,600 pounds) at a top speed of approximately 350 miles an PLANTS ARE STARTED hour, 35% better than the Flying Fort. Construction of three new assembly The B-29 has been designed to fight plants, large enough to handle the 49,- its way to and from the target without 000 pounds of airframe-twice that of escort. Much of its armor and armanent a Flying Fortress, got under way, and were developed as a direct result of plans were made to convert a fourth battle experience. As crews reported (Martin, Omahal. weak spote in the Flying Fort and the Boeing, Wichita, was the first such Liberator, changes were made in these plant. Its initial superbomber-the planes, then taken over as an integral first of some 700 B-29s already turned part of superbomber design. out at that plant-was accepted inJuly, Up forward, there are' four 50-cal- 1943. By November, 1943, Bell's Atlanta iber machine guns in a power turret on CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 2, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 5 ... THE B-29 SUPERFORTRESS OVER JAPAN Here is the log of bombings since the first raid on Bangkok on June 5, 1944. U.S.S.R OUTER MONGOLIA MANCHURIA Anshan 7-2 9-8 Tongku 9-26 7-29 Dairen JAPAN 9-26 CHINA Tokyo 111-24 Loyang Kaifeng Looya 11-27 . 9-26 7-7 Sosebo, 11-29 9-26 7-76 Omuro Nonking Yowata 7-7 H-II Shanghai 10-25 6-15 Hankow II-II II-II 7-7 7-7 11-21 11-21 8-20 Nogasoki 8-10 BURMA Einansho se Heito 10-17 10-16 Okayóma 10-14 10-16 Rangoon II-3 THAILAND MOOCHINA PHILIPPINES Bongkok 6-5 11-27 Pongkalon-Brandon SUMATRA Singapore 11-5 BORNEO Palembang, 8-10 NEW GUINEA WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SCORECARD ON SUPERBOMBERS Date of Acceptances First Through October Monthly Peak B-29 Acceptance Oct., '44 Output No. Date Boeing, Seattle Dec., '42 3* - - - Boeing, Wichita July, '43 654 70 75 Jan., '45 Bell, Atlanta Nov., '43 128 27 55 June,'45 Martin, Omaha Dec., '43 44 16 55 Mar.,'45 Boeing, Renton Jan., '44 74 12 200 July,'45 Total Superfortresses 903 125 385 July, '45 B-32 Consolidated Vultee, San Diego Aug., '44 2# 0 50 Sept., '45 Consolidated Vultee, Fort Worth Sept,'44 1 o 60 Oct., '45 Total Dominators 3 o 110 Oct., '45 B-36 Consolidated Vultee, Fort Worth Aug., '45 0 o 10 May, '45 Total Superbombers 906 125 505 May, '46 "Experimental models. the upper side of the ship and two more (For the first time, this puts the fire- in another turret on the underside. control system of A warplane in the In the Flying Fort and the Liberator, same class with that of 8 warship. this was a vulnerable spot that wis Moreover, the crew of eleven-pilot, subsequently protected by installation copilot, navigator, radio operator, of a chin turret (WP-Aug5'43,p2). Aft flight engineer, bombardier, gunners- there is another brace of 50-caliber all do their work in pressurized, ten- machine guns in a third power turret perature-controlled cabins. The oxygen above and still another pair ina fourth mask and the electrically heated flying turret below. As for the tail-in the suitarefor emergency rather than reg- early Flying Fortresses, the first week ular use in the superbomber. point exploited by Luftwaffe fighters -the B-29 has a fifth turret with two $175,000 REPAIR BILL 50-caliber machine guns and a 20mm. can- The Superfortress isa precision job non. All told, that's 12 machine guns from stem to stern. During one of the and a 20mm. cannon distributed among E-29's early tests, a screw no larger five power turrets. than 8 small finger worked loose. It fouled an electric connection, made it WARSHIPS OF THE AIR impossible to lower the wheels. The This armament is all operated by plane had to make a belly landing and remote control: if one gunner is hit, repairs cost $175,000. Fecause of an- another can take his place, thus con- other "bug," 580,000 electric connec- tinuing the fire of all the ship's guns. tions had to be resoldered. CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 2. 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 7 The Superfortress is now in quantity training them will be a job in itself. production, butits manufacturing prob- What's more, the superbomber engine is lems are far from ended. Bell, Atlanta, apotential choke point for all plants; is still trying to hit the right com- present output is close to requirements, bination for fast and accurate produc- but production must rise 2b times with- tion; Boeing, Renton, is finding it inayear at the same time that several harder than anticipated toretrain work- major design revisions are effected. ers from Fortress to Superfortress pro- In the case of the B-32 Dominator, duction: and for all plants, tactical companion ship of the B-29, engineering design changes are constantly coming in problems have hit hard since the begin- and must be made directly on the assembly ning. Last August, two experimental line. As a result, the Superfortress models were accepted at Consolidated has missed first-of-the-month schedules Vultee, San Diego. A month later, the seven out of ten months this year (WP- first regular acceptance came through Nov18'44,p6). at Consolidated Vultee, Ft. Worth, but the schedule stood at six; none was ac- RISING AND REVISING cepted in October, as against a slate Looking ahead, Boeing at Renton and of 10. (The November schedule called Martin at Omaha must increase their for 14 Dominators: through the 29th, working force 10% and 20%, respectively, however, only one had been accepted.) in the next few months; and Renton is Chief trouble here is that the Dom- in one of the nation's tightest labor inator's tail must be redesigned to areas. After getting these workers, overcome instability; and each redesign PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE OF SUPERBOMBERS Output must triple by mid-1945. If "bugs" are eradicated, the B-32 Dominator will account for one-sixth of superbombers next year. 600 600 B-36 B-32 400 400 NUMBER OF PLANES NUMBER OF PLANES 200 200 B-29 0.29 o o J A 5 o N D J F M & M J J A 5 0 N D / F M A M J 1945 J A 5 o N D / F M 1946 A M J 1943 1944 Note: Actual through October, 1944, WIZ Schedule merecher WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS seems to bring on other engineering difficulties. Until these are licked, Post-D-Day Lend-Lease tooling up for quantity production won't Shipments are down 9% trom second quar- be realized. ter's invasion high, but top first quarter As for the third and largest super- by 6%. Munitions, food drop; industrial bomber currently in the program-Con- products rise. U.K. share down 16%. solidated Vultee's 6-engined B-36-it's still in the experimental stage; first THIRD-QUARTER lend-lease shipments, at acceptance is approximately a year off. $2,834,000,000, were down 9% from the However, 88 superbomber schedules second quarter, when preparations for now stand, monthly output of 125 in D Day sent exports to an all-time high October must more than double by Feb- of $3,113,000,000. However, the third- ruary, then almost double again to reach quarter total was still 6% higher than the currently scheduled peak of 505 the first quarter. And shipments of Superfortresses, Dominators, and B-36s lend-lease goods to the Allies this year in May, 1946 (chart, page 71. To attain will exceed the $10,000,000,000 figure that peak, the, Superfortress, alone, must for last year. Shipments for the first get up to 385 planes a month, or three- nine months of 1944 amount to $8,630,- quarters of the superbomber total. And 000,000. This is a quarterly rate of if the Dominator doesn't come through, $2,880,000,000, as against $2,500,000,- the Superfortress-or some other ship- 000 a quarter in 1943. may be needed to fill in the strategic Munitions shipments accounted for production gap. only 52% of the lend-lease total in the LEND-LEASE DOWN AGAIN Third-quarter shipments to the Allies drop 9% from second-quarter levels. U.K. portion declines 16% but exports to U.S.S.R. rise 11%. 4 4 3 3 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS All Other 2 2 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS U.K. I - I U.S.S.R. o o 1st Qtr 2nd Otr 3rd Qtc. 4th Qtr 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rdQtr 4thQk 1st Qte 2nd Qtr. 3rdQtr. 1942 1943 1944 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 2, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Some Week Lotest Previous Month Week Week Ago 1943 1942 1941 War Program-checks paid (millions of dollars) 1,838 1,659 1,717 1,392 1,139 352 War bond soles - E,F,G (millions of dollars) 235 235 231 189 182 48 Money in circulation (millions of dollars) 24,997 24,881 24,409 19,940 14,848 10,717 Wholesale prices (1926=100) All commodities 104.1° 104.1 103.9 102.6 100.1 92.2 Form products 124.1' 124.5 123.3 121.2 110.8 90.3 Foods 105.0 104.9 104.1 105.8 103.6 89.5 All other 98.9' 98.9 98.8 97.5 96.1 93.6 Petroleum (000 barrels) Total U.S. stocks 425,627 426,886 426,836 428,791 450,566 489,988 Total East Coost stocks 75,700 77,293 78,358 67,525 60,954 98,508 East Coast receipts 1,690 1,722 1,930 1,704 1,068 N.A. Bituminous cool production (000 short tons)" 2,030 1,945 1,967 2,117 1,964 1,732 Steel operations (% of copacity) 96.3% 95.45 94.9% 99.15 98.3% 95.9% Freight cars unloaded for exports, excl. grain** Atlontic Coost ports 2,688 2,665 2,929 2,579 924 1,570 Gulf Coost ports 512 514 529 366 239 460 Pocific Coost ports 1,938 2,025 1,893 1,216 962 193 Department store soles (1935-39=100) N.A. 251 207 201 176 176 Preliminary *Excludes military-owned stocks **Daily overage "Unodjusted Estimated N.A. Not Avoilable third quarter, as compared to 58% in Egypt, India, and New Zealand declined: the second quarter, when planes, tanks, % guns, ammunition, and ships were needed 3rd Qtr. 2nd Qtr. Change in large quantities for the invasion (millions) of France. On the other hand, exports Grand total $2,834 $3,113 -9% of industrial products rose from 27% U.K. 1,238 1,481 -16 to 33%; agricultural products were down U.S.S.R. 939 846 +11 from 16% to 15%. India 159 228 -30 Italy (British) 141 87 +62 U.K. TAKES LESS Egypt 87 177 -51 Shipments to the United Kingdom were Australia 61 84 -27 down $243,000,000, or 16%, from the Algeria 23 16 +44 second-quarter peak, and the U.K. share China 14 9 +56 of lend-lease was only 43%, as against Brazil 13 7 +86 48% in the second quarter. Union of S.A... 10 24 -58 Exports to the Soviet increased 11% French Morocco. 9 15 -40 -the highest since the peak in the New Zealand 9 11 -18 fourth quarter of 1943. The Soviet share All others 131 128 +2 of total shipments was 33%, as against Shipments to France amounted to $2,- 27% in the second quarter. 700,000-all in September. They includ- Shipments to the Italian theater were ed $2,100,000 in munitions and $620,000 up sharply, but those to Australia, worth of industrial products. CONFIDENTIAL 10 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS War Progress Notes Cigarette dealers ought to be getting more than 90% of their 1943 supply. But NO CLUE TO THE QUEUES in many cases they aren't. Somewhere PRODUCTION is no clue to the current in the pipeline between the manufacturer queues before cigarette counters. Out- and the ultimate consumer, cigarettes put of cigarettes in 1944 will run to are being delayed, diverted from normal nearly 330.000,000.000-an all-time channels, or distributed badly. Thus high-20,000,000.000 more than in 1943 certain areas located around Army camps and 140,000,000,000, or 75%, more than which have subsequently moved are get- in 1940. True, the armed forces are ting more than their needs. In addi- receiving slightlymore than one-fourth tion, domestic Army post exchanges- of this year's production. Yet the num- which receive sqme 10% of the tax-paid ber of cigarettes remaining in this supply-have been getting approximately country is not far below peak output. their normal needs. This means that Through October, according to tax- the decline in production has largely paid withdrawals, 200,000,000,000 cig- been absorbed by the civilian popula- arettes were produced for civilians tion. Furthermore, some evidence of and the armed forces in this country, black markets exists. And because of as against 210,000,000.000 in the first the close balance between supply and 10 months of 1943, or 5% fewer. The demand, minor disruptions cause major recent trend has been slightly downward: local difficulties. October output WELS 2% below the average in the Washington area, for example, month in 1944, but 31% ahead of the dealers are estimated to be getting average month in 1940. only 78% of last year's receipts. In THIRTY YEARS OF CIGARETTE OUTPUT Production for domestic use so for this year is not for from the 1943 peok. Gain since the war begon is largely o continuation of the normal trend. 32 32 Ratio Scole (Monthly Average) 4 16 TAXPAD-BLLIONS OF CIGARETTES 8 8 4 4 TAXPAO-BILLONS OF CIGARETTES 2 2 I - ISIS neo nes raso 1935 1940 1944 Note: IS44 overage bowl an first - nonths - PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 2, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL II terms of specific brands, the picture is far worse. Thus one large chain re- PEAK IN CIGARETTES ports that it is getting only 50% of Output this year will be 7% cheod of 1943, last year's receipts of Camels and 56% but the tax-paid (domestic) portion falls. of Philip Morrises. That means consumers 350 350 are being forced to change brands, which tends to increase panic buying. 300 300 Tax-Free Cigarette smoking has probably in- creased somewhat because of the war, 250 250 but more important is the normal in- crease-youngsters coming of smoking at the chart on page 10 shows that the BILLIONS OF CIGARETTES 200 200 age, more women smoking, etc. A glance 150 Tox-Paid 150 BILLIONS OF CIGARETTES rate of increase during the war has been only slightly higher than the peacetime 100 100 rate of growth. The only years to show a decline were 1931 and 1932, the de- 50 50 pression years; in those years, sale of o o "roll-your-own" smoking tobacco increased 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 Est. sharply, as it has in the past month. WAR PROGRESS Parenthetically, although shipments to the armed forces abroad will be up the country where labor has been drawn from 51,100,000,000 last year to 91,- from a distance the same difficulty has 800,000,000 this year, the number of been faced. After recouping their trans- men abroad increased in about the same portation expenses, workers find other proportion. In other words, there has employment in their new surroundings, been no increase per soldier or sailor. seeking higher wages, better conditions, or workmore in line with their previous TURNOVER TROUBLE skills. And in some cases-though there HENRY KAISER recently dramatized the is no tangible evidence of this-they problem faced by his shipyards on the may quit to find permanent peacetime Pacific Coast. He reported that his jobs. Thus a single plant with a large Richmond, Calif., shipyard lost 26,000 labor demand will often serve as an im- workers from August through October. porter of labor for the entire area. However, this loss was 99% made up Indeed, Kaiser has taken the lead AS by rehires. Moreover, it was a little an importer. less than the average rate of separation Though the Kaiser statement points there since January, 1943, which has up the problems, it does not indicate run to 13.5% of the workers per month- a new trend. There has been no appre- equivalent toa complete replacement of ciable increase in the volume of labor the labor force every seven and one-half turnover during recent months. As in months. the past, the "flight" of workers from Hence the problem appears to be the shipyards and other war jobs appears old, familiar one of high labor turn- to be away from the war jobs that they over. The West Coast, with its prepon- donotlike, away from rigorous and un- derence of new industry, has suffered familiar workin areas where inadequate A. labor turnover 20% above that of the housing, transportation and other pub- nation as & whole, but in all parts of lic facilities make life a burden. CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Cost of Living-Labor Disputes-Wage Earners-Production-Transportation Some Month Lotest Preceding 2 Months Month® Month Ago 1943 1942 1941 1939 COST OF LIVING-ALL ITEMS (1935-39-100) 126.4 126.5 126.4 124.4 119.0 109.3 100.3 Foods 136.4 137.0 137.7 138.2 129.6 111.6 97.6 Other than foods 121.2 121.1 120.6 117.0 113.3 108.2 101.7 LABOR DISPUTES Number of strikes in progress 490 45 550 320, 269 664 356 Workers involved (thousands) 225 205 225 264 67 348 140 Number of strikes beginning during month 440 390 485 207 207 432 205 Workers involved (thousands) 220 185 190 121 62 196 107 Mon-days idle (thousonds) 690 660 935 1,012 244 1,905 1,508 NUMBER OF WAGE EARNERS (thousands) All manufacturing 12,660 12,802* 12,942 13,965 13,166 11,616 8,854 Durable 7,460 7,570 7,690 8,389 7,464 6,035 3,967 Nondurable 5,800 5,232 5,252 5,576 5,702 5,581 4,887 PRODUCTION INDEX-INDUSTRIAL (935-39-100) 232 234 235 249 218 176 127 Total monufactures 248 250 251 269 253 183 127 Duroble 343 345° 349 575 312 221 153 Nondurable 171 173' 171 183 168 152 121 Minerols 145 146 147 140 134 139 126 PRODUCTION OF CLOTHING AND SHOES FOR CIVILIANS (1935-39-100) Clothing and shoes combined 99 102° 95 103 105 131 116 Clothing 101 106 98 105 107 130 117 Shoes 91 64° B4 & 96 127 114 TRANSPORTATION-COMMODITY AND PASSENGER (1935-39-100) 225 231' 226 226 20% 159 137 Commodity 212 215' 207 213 194 164 127 Possenger 260 256* 287 269 207 132 108 Cost of Living, Labor Disputes, Woge Eorners, Production indes, October; all other, September, Preliminary. Revised Unodjusted. REPORTS ON REPORTS quarter of this year; shipments, which totaled $20,900,000, rose 5% over the Paper Production previous quarter, according to Opera- Requirements for paper and paper tions of the Domestic Расним Cleaner products reached a wartime high in Octo- Industry During the Third Quarter 1944 ber, are expected to increase in Novem- (confidential: pp. 2). Electric motors ber. And production for the first nine and related control equipment were the months of 1944 has been slightly above chief products manufactured-most of the comparable period in 1943. Pulp and them for use in aircraft-but ammuni- Paper: November (unclassified; pp. 32) tion made up more than one-fifth of states that maintenance of the current third-quarter production. level of production depends on manpower, (War Production Foard, Bureau of Pro- trucks, tires, and the flow of materials. gram and Statistics) (Department of Commerce, Bureau of For- [This record is an attempt to salect from the many eign and Domestic Commerce) documents coming to the attention of WAR PROGRESS those studies which would be of most interest to Not for House Cleaning readers. The List laby no means comprehensive, and no attempt has been made to evaluate reports for Vacuum cleaner companies reached A accuracy. Whether reports are available depende on peak in war activity during the third the policy of each individual agency.] CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate Information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted as if the record were itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address. (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern- ment position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Confidential Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act DECLASSIVED 20. 11652 Bac. 3(E) and 5(D) of (8) Doman Dept. Letter, 11-15-72 the ame, INC MAR 14 1973 Economic Data Special Articles The President 1 WAR PROGRESS 6.7 Discribute Funnhable Under Espionage Act War Production Board Time Turns Back in Service Industries Big Ammunition on Top of Small The Explosive Rise in H2SO4 x4735 E0. 11652 Boo 3(5) and $(D) at 61 DECLASSIFIED X 178 Commerce Dept. Lottor, 11-16-78 By MHP. Date MAR 14 1973 Number 221 December 9, 1944 No Pera GA-10-6D (2-00-40 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA S- 73581 WAR PRODUCTION BOARD R COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD TO: FROM: The President STATISTICS DIVISION DIVISION OR OFFICE DIVISION OR OFFICE RCS (NAME) NAME The White House ROOM NUMBER (BUILDING) (ROOM NUMBER) BUILDING DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT WP-221 3 1 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER SHOULD DE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER'S RECEIPT Addressee's Copy are WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overal: war program for the various war agencies, To this end, it presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Altholigh War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as D whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. Wer Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Program end Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr. Director) by the Reports Division (Joseph A. Livingstor, Directors EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard. A. R. Hilliard, Morris Katz. Chester L. Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston (editor), Martha Merisker, J.S. Warking (pro- duction). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 221 WAR PROGRESS DECEMBER 9, 1944 Time Turns Back in Service Industries Employment, virtually unchanged since 1940, are more workers requiring service- is back to 1870 level in relation to number more men and, more women in factories- of factory workers. Quality suffers as ex - than at any time in history; but the perienced help leave for war jobs. number of persons serving them has not increased proportionately. If the qual- BACK IN 1940, for every worker employed ity of service workers is taken into in a U.S. factory, there were two en- account, there has been a decrease, as ployed in the service industries-bar- we shall see later. The main point is bers, retailers, shipping clerks, bus that factory work pays well; that as drivers, radio repair mechanics, bank war industries boomed they drew off tellers, waitresses, servants. workers from the service industries. But four years of war have set the The retail clerk became a welder, the clock back 70 years. Instead of one in bus driver an airplane mechanic, the the factory for two in trade, transpor- electrician an employee ina rader plant. tation, and the services, the ratio has changed to 1 to 1.3, or what it WAS in ESSENTIALS IN WAR 1870 (chart, page 41. That was when War-essential services have suffered mother cut dad's hair and did the laundry the least from thisdrain. Thus, trans- as amatter of course, when dry cleaners portation, communication, and utilities and grocery deliveries were rarities, have gained close to 1,000,000 workers when people stayed at home most of the -or 25%. Wholesale and retail trade, time, had no telephones, and dad was on the other hand, has gained very little the handy man around the house, and when (250,000 workers, 39), and personal, the garage mechanic was a blacksmith. professional, and miscellaneous serv- ices scarcely at all (70,000 workers, TIME FLIES-BACKWARD less than 19). This backshift of 70 years in four The strain-the shortage of service is dramatic but unsurprising. Under workers-is part and parcel of everyday the pressure of war demands, manufactur- life. For example, there are 30,000 ing has expanded and with it manufactur- fewer restaurants in the country than ing employment. In 1940, some 10,000,- in 1939 to handle a business that has 000 persons worked in factories, today doubled during the same period. Fami- some 17,000,000. At the same time, em- lies that formerly ate at home eat out, ployment in the service industries has now that Mrs. Jones is working in & war remained virtually unchanged-21,000.- plant. Many of the restaurants that 000 persons in 1940 and 21,500,000 in have managed to stay in business run 1944 (chart, page 5). at only one-half to three-quarters of That explains why laundry service capacity, and they have little chance isn't what it used to be, why garages of obtaining additional helpunless they will take cars "on appointment only," are designated 88 "locally needed* by why deliverieshave been cut out. There manpower authorities. Hotels are gen- CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS erally understaffed, many by as much as play an important part in providing re- one-third. employment for discharged war workers Similarly with repair services. The and returning servicemen whomight other- number of expert refrigerator repair- wise be jobless? men in the country has dropped from 20,- Two points stand out: 000 to 6,000 while wartime demands for 1. Service employment has been held their services have risen sharply. Elec- down artificially by manpower controls tric motors stand in rows on repair- and abnormal wage differentials, re- shop shelves for want of someone who sulting in a huge service "deficit" can overhaul or rewind them. WPB's Of- throughout the country. fice of Civilian Requirements estimates 2. Service employment has not actu- that at least 40,000 repairmen could ally remained level in effectiveness start work tomorrow on electrical ap- but has fallen off qualitatively, and paratus alone-motors, refrigerators, it would soon fall quantitatively as radios, and miscellaneous appliances. well replacements were not obtained, Thousands of radio-trained veterans because it includes a large proportion could step directly into radio repair of workers not normally in the labor shops. market who will drop out in the immedi- There are some 600,000 fewer domes- ate postwar period. tic servants in the country than in 1940, at a time when the demand for them is GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN practically unlimited. Laundry workers The service deficit-the gap between were recently so severely needed on the demand and supply-is now so large that West Coast that aircraft companies ran it seems unlikely to evaporate before full-page advertisements in the news- the defeat of Japan, even with a con- papers urging them not to leave their siderable drop in manufacturing activity. jobs to go to work in war plants. In People want improvement all services: short, there is a huge unsatisfied de- they want less waiting at the dry clean- mand for service workers. er's and the dentist's, more comfortable traveling and shopping, cleaner laundry WHAT'S ANEAD and cleaner streets, and someone to mow will this demand carry over into their lawns and deliver their groceries. the post-V-E Day period when munitions And competition-will operate to see that manufacture is sharply cut? Will it they get these things. As soon as one restaurant hires an extra counterman, or one store starts delivering groceries, IN THIS ISSUE: all competing restaurants and stores TIME TURNS BACK IN SERVICE INDUSTRIES 1 will feel the need to follow suit. Their customers have been going without serv- KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 6 ice, just as they have been going with- out goods; but they have not forgotten ANOTHER BIG AMMUNITION ORDER 7 that they want it, and the defeat of Germany will have the psychological ef- THE EXPLOSIVE RISE FOR H2S04 9 fect of intensifying this want. Second, in actuality the effective SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS 12 worker force of the service industries has fallen sharply during the war years. CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 3 SERVICE HELP WANTED EVERYWHERE From coast to coast, the demand is for cooks, barbers, clerks, butchers, repairmen. DAY Detroit Free Dress KANSAS CITY STAR / LOTHERT The Atlanta Dournal ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH S STUDUIS POST: Los Ang Tes Times - The Kamingham EXPLOYMENT News - EMPLOYMENT THE - BUTCHER - CHICAGO - - - - - DAILY Washed NEWS OF M NAME - RY. / II Herald NEW Fribune 7 Civillan The Miami Herald For / I 1 The Evening Star WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS EMPLOYMENT THROUGH THE YEARS Back in 1870, service industries comprised one-fourth of all employment. By 1930, the ratio had jumped to nearly half. 50 50 40 40 MILLIONS OF EMPLOYEES Service 30 30 20 20 MILLIONS OF EMPLOYEES Manufacturing and Construction 10 10 Agriculture, Forestry, and Mining o 0 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 Note: Figures include self-employed persons; service workers include transpor totion and public utilities, finance, domestic employees, trade and miscelloneous services. WAR PROGRESS The statistical fact shown in the chart ments recruited by the service indus- on page 5-that volume of employment tries generally inferior in strength, has remained nearly level-is entirely capability, andtraining to the departed misleading. Millions of workers have personnel, but large proportions of them left the service industries to go into are part-time and emergency workers not war work, manufacturing, and the armed normally in the labor force: the very forces. Generally speaking, these de- young, the very old, the people holding parting workers have been the strongest, jobs for the duration only, the "float- the most competent, the best trained. ers," and the nearly unemployable. Res- Industry, as well as the Army, has se- taurants and stores are hiring women of lected workers for their physical qual- 65 and 70 years of age. Although sta- ifications. Women service workers "of tistics show hotel employment to be up medium stature and robust build" have 10% over 1940, officials of the American been specified by manpower officials as Hotel Association state that the hotel particularly desirable welding trainees. labor force today is not comparable in And of course industry has made use of effectiveness to that of four years ago. skills and aptitudes wherever they were available. The 14,000 missing refrig- UPGRADING TO COME erator repairmen are symptomatic of As the war effort slackens, increas- what has happened to the service indus- ing numbers of these replacement workers tries' supply of trained workers. will drop out, and many others will be Not only are the millions of replace- forced out as soon as better types of CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 5 labor become available. If a returning provide job opportunities for war work- veteran takes the factory job of a ro- ers and returning veterans. bust waitress who learned welding for As a matter of fact, a recent news- the duration, shè is apt to go back to paper survey shows that service employ- work in the restaurant, where she, in ers all over the country are genuinely turn, may displace an elderly lady who worried about whether they are going has been working there during her ab- to be able to get the additional help sence. The elderly lady may return to they need within the next year or 80. the household where she had been in Thus far, it appears that they are not domestic service, and there displace benefiting much from the reduction of some temporary worker whowill drop back the manufacturing labor force. Between into the ranks of the unemployed or un- September, 1943, and September, 1944, employable. This filtering-down of manufacturing lost 1,000,000 men and workers through the service industries 300,000 women, but during the same period will be typical of the period when the the armed services took 1,900,000 men war effort is slackening. All of the and 100,000 women. During this same service industries, without exception, period the service industries have made will tend to improve the quality of their only significant employment gain their labor forces after V-E Day, and of thewar years, 175,000 men and 825,- thus even those that may not increase 000 women, but it is evident that only their volume of employment (transpor- a small fraction of this gain can be tation and retail trade, perhapal will attributed to the release of workers 2-TO-I TO 1.3-TO-I In 1940, there were two service workers for every factory worker. But the wartime growth of factory employment has cut this ratio. 40 40 30 Manufacturing 30 MILLIONS OF EMPLOYEES 20 20 MILLIONS OF EMPLOYEES Service ID ID o o Age July Out Jun Age - Our § Age July Oct an Age July Oct Jon Apr My Out 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 Note: Figures include self-employed persons, service workers include transportation and public unlites, Finance, domestic employees, vois and miscationeous services. - PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS from manufacturing. Most of it is the increase employment by 10%-15% has listed result of urgent recruiting among house- over 150 hotel jobs that handicapped wives, school children, and the unem- veterans can fill. ployed. All in all then, it mslikely that the service industries will cushion the WAGE DIFFERENTIAL employment drop when war production Compared to factory wages, now aver- schedules fall off-say after the de- aging $46.28 per week, service wages feat of Germany. are low-$31.37 in cleaning and dyeing establishments, $27.20 in laundries, RECONVERSION CUSHION $24.00 forskilled telephone operators. But it is impossible to go farther Returning veterans have shown little and predict the employment demand for inclination togo into the service field service workers after the fall of Japan. except as proprietors of small busi- That will depend upon the general level nesses. Of course, if V-E Day reduces of employment and economic activity. wages in manufacturing plants by the Primarily there will be a snap-back to elimination of overtime, incentive pay- the 1940 relationship. of two service ments, etc., wages in service will be- workers to one in manufacturing. But come relatively more attractive, and whatever the immediate postwar condi- the situation may case somewhat. Many tions may be, the large potential labor handicapped veterans will find their demand of the service industries iscer- most suitable work in service. The tain to reduce the temporary unemploy- American Hotel Association, striving to ment of the reconversion period. KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Previous Month Some Week Week Week Ago 1943 1942 1941 Wor Program-checks paid (millions of dollors). 1,680 1,858 1,822 1,802 1,348 410 Wor bond scies-E,F, G (millions of dollars) 561 255 142 211 211 59 Money in circulation (millions of dollars) 25,107 24,997 24,674 20,135 14,966 10,834 Wholesole prices (1926+100) All commodities 104,2 104.1 104.1 102.8 100.1 92.3 Form products 124.6 124.1 124.4 121.8 110.6 91.1 Foods 105.1 105.0 104.9 105.6 103.3 89.2 All other 99.0 98.9 96.8 97.6 96.1 95.7 Petroleum 1000 borreis) Total U.S. stocks 425,003 425,627 427,723 409,300 450,979 490,680' Total East Coost stocks 74,518 76,283 78,445 66,840 59,896 97,190 East Coost receipts 1,878 1,690 1,705 1,412 1,163 N.A. Bituminous cool production (000 short tons 2,000 2,050 1,992 2,147 2,154 2,016 Steel operations (% of copacityl 96.0% 96.3% 96.05 99.56 96.36 97.66 Freight cars unlooded for exports, exct groin** Atlontic Coost ports 3,064 2,688 2,591 2,922 1,144 1,431 Gulf Coast ports 469 512 465 595 451 418 Pacific Coast ports 1,904 1,958 1,973 1,311 1,021 207 Department store soles (1935-39-100) 30% 26 250 269 250 225 Preliminary *Excludes militory-owned stocks "Estimated **Deily Average Not Avoilable Unodjusted CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 Another Big Ammunition Order Increase in 17 types of shells for big weapons in September-a gain of 245% over pres- will amount to two-thirds of arfillery am- ent production. Then they will consti- munition program by September - o gain tute two-thirds of the artillery-am- of 245% over present production. munition program, as against one-third today. ANOTHER INCREASE in artillery-ammuni- Reasons for increased production are: tion output in 1945 is being planned by (1) enormous quantities of all kinds the Army Service Forces concurrently of ammunition are being shot up on all with the projected boost in small-arms fronts, (2) the war in Europe is last- ammunition. Back in March, the 1945 glonger than previously anticipated, artillery-ammunition program called for and (3) the war against Japan will re- $2,500,000,000. Then came the big boost quire more than had been expected. in heavy-artillery ammunition, and by November 1 the program had jumped to COMEBACK FOR STANDBYS $3,350,000,000. Now it is up to $3,- The impact of the simultaneous ex- 700,000,000. At the peak rate-sched- pansion of the small-arms and artillery- uled for late 1945-production will run ammunition programs will be far-reach- at an annual rate of $4,400,000,000. ing. The main problem in small-arms Currently, production is at an annual ammunition is getting standby plants rate of $2,200,000,000. back into operation and obtaining addi- The latest increase is concentrated tional workers (WP-Dec2'44,pl). Super- in shells-particularly high-explosive imposition of the artillery-ammunition -for five artillery weapons: 60mm. and program on the small-arms ammunition 81mm. mortars, the 105mm. howitzer, and program will require some $300,000,000 the 90mm. and 155mm. guns. The rise worth of new facilities (not including will take time to materialize. Already land and construction), as follows: facilities are being installed to take Facilities Cost care of recent boosts in heavy artillery (millions) ammunition (over 105mm.). Now additional TNT. $10 facilities will be required to meet the Smokeless powder 140 latest increases. It will take until Machine tools 135 May to complete them. Then production Shell-loading 4 will take a spurt until September, there- after leveling off (chart, page 8). Together the two programs will need an additional 1,000,000,000 pounds of FIVE GUNS, 17 SHELLS brass strip a year. This boosts total In all, 17 types of high-explosive, 1945 requirements to 4,270,000,000 pounds. armor-piercing, illuminating, and smoke Existing brass-strip facilities have & shells fired by the five guns are af- capacity of only 4,808,000,000 pounds. fected. Peak production of these shells Three means of making up the deficit are had been scheduled at $165,000,000 in being considered: (1) cutbacks in in- May, 1945-a rise of 144% over the cur- dustrial and building uses of brass rent rate of output. The plan is to strip, (2) conversion of brass mills to carry the schedule up to $233,600,000 more strip, and (3) conversion of more CONFIDENTIAL 8 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SEED CORN IN DECEMBER, SHELLS IN JUNE Next years artillery ammunition program has been roised 10%, but all the gain comes after May, 1945, when additional facilities will be completed. 400 400 Artillery and Mortar Ammunition-ASF Proposed Schedule 300 300 November I MILLIONS OF DOLLARS New Program Instituted Schedule 200 200 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Actual Production 100 100 o o J F M A M J J A 5 o N D J F M A M J J A S o N D J F M A M J J A 5. o N D 1943 1944 1945 WAR PROGRESS steel-mill facilities to brass. About and have to depend on rural localities 15,000 additional workers, many of them for manpower. Incidentally, powder skilled, will be needed to get the brass- plants designed for small-arms ammuni- strip mills up to capacity, and most of tion and now diverted to other manu- the mills are in tight labor areas. facture will be returned to their orig- Fuses and boosters for artillery inal use. shells require an additional 115,000,- Machine tools are another problem. 000 pounds of brass rod in 1945. Like- The companies slated to turn out the wise, the stepped-up need for rotating increased orders for 105mm. shells say bands boosts brass-tube requirements that 2,270 machines costing $100,000,- by 23,000,000 pounds. The expanded need 000 will be needed. Another $35,000,- for brass will, in turn, create a heavy 000 intools will be required for shells demand for copper. Result: stepup in of other sizes. The Defense Plant Cor- manpower requirements all along the line poration and the War Production Board's down to copper mines, smelters, and Tools Division are combing surplus stocks refineries. for suitable tools. This could mean a sizable reduction in prospective order MEN AND GEOGRAPHY boards. Moreover, enlarging smokeless-powder Chemicalsmay be a bottleneck. Sul- plant facilities presents a problem due furie acid, already tight (page 91, to geography (WP-Aug5'44,p6). Many of will be even tighter. It is needed in the plants were purposely located away huge quantities for explosives. Like- from heavily populated areas for safety wise, facilities will have to be ex- CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 panded for increasing output of TNT. Production Shell-loading facilities may also Oct. Sept. '45 % be enlarged. Plans areunder consider- Shells Actual Proposed Change ation todeclare some unused Army camps (thousands) surplus in order that they can be turned 60mm. mortar $6,400 $17,900 +180% over to the industry for conversion as 8lmm. mortar 7,700 27,300 +255 shell-loading plants. Bag-loading fa- 105mm. how.. 41,700 139,500 +235 cilities are adequate, but an additional 90mm. gun 7,400 36,500 +393 5,000 men will be required to operate 155mm. gun.. 4,500 12,400 +176 the plants on a three-shift basis. Total $67,700 $233,600 +245% Shells for the 105mm. howitzer dom- All art. inate the revised artillery ammunition ammun $185,000 $364,000 +97% program. As the table below shows, the The increase nartillery ammunition current rate of production for these may mean that any schedules now worked particular shells must rise from about out for small-arms ammunition are only $42,000,000 to nearly $140,000,000 and preliminary. Adjustments might benec- will account for 40% of the total for essary later when the impact of both the group: programs has been fully determined. The Explosive Rise for H₂SO₄ Record-breaking supply of sulfuric acid will 000 tons, 15% more than in 1943. But not be enough to meet first-half '45 re- requirements will total 11,300,000 tons, quirements; is now under allocation. Pinch or 900,000 tons more than the industry is due to continued two-front war. is expected to deliver. And in the first half of 1945, even allowing for con- AS RECENTLY AS the fall of 1943, when tinued additions to productive capac- industrial activity reached the highest ity, requirements will run more than point inU.S. history, there was enough 400,000 tons ahead of estimated new sulfuric acid-the most widely used supply. As & result, sulfuric acid basic chemical-to goaround. That was has just been put under nationwide al- the year when total new supply ran to location anda new construction program the equivalent of almost 9,100,000 tons started. of 100% sulfuric acid (H2804)-8,425,000 tons of virgin acid plus 650,000 tons LESSON OF CASSINO of acid "recovered" for further use. The pinch in sulfuric acid goes back So while basic materials such as steel, to the battlefield. In the early months copper, lumber, aluminum, chlorine, of the current year, when ammunition formaldehyde, ammonia, and toluene had was a declining program, the expanding all been placed under one sort of con- supply of sulfuric acid was being di- trol or another, sulfuric acid was still verted to industrial applications, such a free material. as themanufacture of aviation gasoline, This year, the new supply of sulfuric pigments, rayon, chemicals, steel, and acid (virgin production plus recovered fertilizer. Then came Cassino and Anzio. acid) is expected to reach a record- Requirements for heavy ammunition did breaking total of approximately 10,400,- an about-face. That called for more CONFIDENTIAL N ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS explosives and smokeless powder, virgin acid produced, eight tons were which in thurm called for more sulfuric recovered for further use; this year acid. On top of that have come succes- the proportion will rise to nine out of siwe honsta im other types of anni- every 100 tons; and in the first six tim-the latest taking form just this months of 1945, the ratio will be 10 work (gage 71. And as the two-front out of every 100 tons. werr continues, industrial requirements Because the amount of recovered acid continue to increase chart, page 11). that may become available is unpredict- Amide from the overall shortage of able, one can never be too sure about capacity, existing facilities aren't future supply-demand statistics for sul- equipped to turn out enough of the higher- furic acid. Early this year, ordnance strength acids to meet today's special- plants were expected to make available ized requirements. Im contrast to the to superphosphate manufacturers 100,000 manufacture of fertilizer, which can tons of spent acid per quarter. In the gett along nicely with the equivalent first two quarters, 200,000 tons of re- of at 50% concentration of sulfurie acid, covered acid came through as planned; production of aviation gasuline requires but in the last two, total deliveries a 98% grade: rayon, close to 100%; TNT, may come to only 30,000 tons. M9%: and SD on. The result is that some essential TANK-CAR PROBLEM products have been turned out only at Transportation is also a problem. the expense of others. What happened Sulfuric has to be shipped in spe- last monthin the case of amanufacturer cial tank cars and normally goes to in Charlestown, W. Va., is typical. He consumers thin radius of 150 to 200 needed 500 tons of high-strength vir- miles. But now longer hauls are often gin acid to produce a specialized chem- called for. A producer of virgin acid buthis regular supplier-in north- in New Jersey who customarily shipped em Kentucky--had to send all his high- his output to nearby fertilizer manu- strength acid to a nearby ordnance plant facturers may now be sending virgin acid for the production of military explosives. to an ordnance plant 300 or 400 miles away. Or maybe a producing plant blows AFTER TNT a boiler tube and must shut down for However, as more high-strength vir- repairs; if deliveries to munitions gin acids are used, more low-strength makers are cut off as a result, it may acids can be recovered for further use. be necessary to fill in the gap with In effect, this increases total supply. shipments from another, though more Once an ordnance plant makes a batch of distant, producer. TNT, say, the "spent" acid can be used This calls for more tank cars per in the manufacture of products such as ton of shipment. And there are not alum, naphtha, lubricating oil, steel enough sulfuric-acid cars to go around. sheets, fertilizer, etc., which don't Recently, lack of tank cars has made require gh-strength acids. Fertilizer, it necessary to delay certain deliveries incidentally, is the biggest user of of spent acid from ordnance plants to spent acid. In turn, fertilizer is the superphosphate producers. Worse, sur- biggest consumer of sulfuric acid, ac- plus acid in out-of-the-way places can- counting for about & third of total not always be moved to "must" consumers. output. The tank cars are more critical than Last year, for every 100 tons of the product they carry. CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 9, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL II There are now about 3,900 tank cars and American Car& Foundry, Milton, Pa. in the "acid fleet. If Of this total, 2,800 But there isno longer any regular open are available to private plants and capacity for converting the 500 cars 1,100 to Army ordnance plants. To meet needed by private producers of sulfuric requirements, however, the fleet must acid. increase to 5,000 cars by next April The War Production Board and the (3,300 for private use and 1,700 for Office of Defense Transportation are the Army). That comes to 1,100 addi- now studying the possibility of having tional cars in all. these cars converted in the private Currently, the 600 additional tank shops of big tank-car operators such cars required by the Army are being as DuPont, Allied Chemical & Dye, and converted from petroleum-carrying to Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. acid-carrying at two plants: General The rub is, however, that the tank cars American Transportation, Sharon, Pa., to be converted may not be forthcoming: NOT ENOUGH H₂SO₄ Here is how the new supply of sulphuric acid has risen since 1941: 4000 4000 Virgin plus recovered acid 3000 Deficit 3000 THOUSANDS OF TONS-100% BASIS 2000 2000 Actual Forecost THOUSANDS OF TONS-100% BASIS 1000 1000 o o 10 20. 30. 40. 10. 2Q 30. 4Q 10 2Q 30. 40. 01 20. 3Q. 40 IQ 2Q 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 And here is where the ocid is going: 2nd Quarter 1944 2nd Quarter 1945 All All Metol Other Other 8% lurgical 8% Metal- lurgical E 6 Fertilizer Fertilizen 317 31% Explosives" Explosives" 14% 13% Petroleum Petroleum Chemicols, Points 111113% Chemicols, Points 14% 25% 27% 2,600,000 Tons 2,900,000 Tons includes Army Ordnonce MM PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS SELECTED MONTHLY STATISTICS Income Payments-Production-Sales-Inventories-Consume Expenditures Some Month Lotest Preceding 2 Months Month* Month Ago 1943 1942 1941 1939 INCOME PAYMENTS (million dollors) Total 13,669 13,684 12,605 12,690 10,961 8,608 6,327 Solories and wages 9,395 9,281 9,185 8,775 7,422 5,52% 3,920 Comm, distr and serv industries 7,049 7,018 7,054 6,854 6,051 4,766 3,572 Government 2,346 2,265 2,151 1,908 1,571 758 548 Militory 1,342 1,304 1,277 973 547 140 NO Nonmilitory 1,004 959 É 955 024 618 506 Other income payments 1 4,274 4,403 3,420 3,915 3,533 3,004 2,279 Income poyments annual rote (odjusted for seosonal, billion dollars) 157.7 156.3 157.0 146.1 124.8 98.6 75.1 FOOD PRODUCTION Dairy products (million pounds) Butter, creamery 100.1 113.3 130.5 107.6 124.0 133.7 125.2 Cheese 74.6 81.5 91.5 75.2 71.6 85.8 55.9 Milk, evaporated 245.0 275.0 312.0 188.9 205.1 261.7 144.6 Meats (million pounds) Total linel lard) 1,605.0 1,426.0 1,572.0 1,680.0 1,532.0 1,435.0 1,162.0 Beef and veol 762.6 690.2 704.5 684.4 686.0 642.7 499.3 Lomb and mutton 89.7 80.1 15.5 104.5 90.7 67.2 62.1 Pork (incl. lord) 752.5 655.5 791.9 891.1 755.6 725.2 600.5 Lard 120.1 111.3 153.2 148.2 120.0 127.5 99.5 Poultry and eggs Eggs (millions) 3,278 3,515 4,010 2,957 2,755 2,470 2,085 Poultry (receipts of 5 principal morkets, million pounds) 62.0 46.8 38.7 33.2 58.9 49.4 37.2 RETAIL STORE SALES (million dollars) Totol 6,052 5,895 5,645 5,789 5,430 4,871 3,748 Durable goods stores 888 82% 854 852 B64 1,234 959 Nondurable goods stores 5,1/4 5,071 4,811 4,936 4,566 3,636 2,809 INVENTORIES (million dollars) Total 27,565 27,454 27,515 28,390 26,993 26,252 19,157 Monufacturers 17,054 17,139 17,266 17,709 17,547 14,730 10,069 Wholesolers 5,999 3,995 3,907 3,959 4,029 4,533 3,599 Retailers 6,512 6,320 6,262 6,642 7,417 6,989 5,489 CONSUMER EXPENDITURES (million dollars) Total 6,296 8,015 7,807 7,672 7,028 6,376 5,293 Goods 5,762 5,475 5,245 5,237 4,698 4,254 3,385 Services 2,536 2,542 2,562 2,435 2,330 2,112 1,908 "Income Payments, Production, Soles, inventories, October, Expenditures, September, F Preliminary Revised, + Work relief, direct and other relief, Social Security benefits, dividends and interest, entrepreneurial income, requirements for transportation of pe- very tight around the Pacific Coast, troleum by rail have turned upward since largely because of steadily mounting September, when tankers were diverted requirements foraviation gasoline. As for use in the Pacific. As 6 matter a result, all sulfuric acid produced in of fact, the total number of petroleum the entire western part of the U.S. was cars (110,000) is reportedly 15,000 put under allocation in December, 1943: short of requirements right now. A new the production pie in that region was building program for tank cars may have divided by WPB's Chèmicals Bureau BO to be authorized. that most essential needs would be met Control by allocation isnot entirely first. new to the industry. In the closing Now the same sort of control is being months last year, sulfuric acid became instituted in the rest of the country. CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except a Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record unless the use of such record is restricted 03 if the record were Itself a copy of WAR PROGRESS. (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address. (5) On written request, of before separation from the Govern- ment position which entities them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS. to return all copies charged to their account. WAR PROGRESS Confidental Disclosure Punishable Under Esplonage Act / DECL NEW CRU B.O. 11662 Bee. SEE and A(D) or (%) Commence Dept. The DEP, - MAR 1 4 1973 Economic Data Special Articles The President 1 WAR PROGRESS C.F. Mar Production Board Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Act / Critical Programs Up 11% x4735 DECLASSIPTED 1178 NO. 1165%, Sec. 3(8) and KD) or (E) Commetor Dept. Letter, 11-16-20 X 4675 By 101P, Date MAR 14 1973. I Number 222 December 16, 1944 Fina GA-M-8D No. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA R WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 73724 COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION The President (DIVISION OR OFFICE) IDIVISION on OFFICE RCS The Whit House (HAME) NAME ROOM NUMBER BUILDING ROOM NUMBER BUILDING DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT KP 222 3 #1 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER 5 RECEIPT are WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J. A. Krug, Chairman War Progress is a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies. To this end, It presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions, Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board BS a whole, or even of individual members. Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. War Progress is prepared in the Bureau of Program and Statistics (Thomas C. Blaisdell, Jr. Director) by the Reports Division (Joseph A. Livingston, Director) EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T. Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard A.R. Hilliard, Morris Katzi Chester L Kieffer, Joseph A. Livingston leditori, Martha Menaker, J.S. Working (pro- duction). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See Inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 222 WAR PROGRESS DECEMBER 16, 1944 Critical Programs Up 11% in November But miss steeply rising goals by 4%. WPB,WMC, The big push on these critical items Army, Navy tackle problems on plant-by- started shortly after the Normandy in- plant basis. Men, materials, machines now vasion in June. The record since then go to needed items-but not fost enough. is one of steady increases in produc- tion. Thus Superfortress output today CRITICAL PRODUCTION moved along last is running 100% higher than in June; month, up 11% over October. Apparently heavy artillery ammunition, 50%; Navy the job of organizing the flow of ma- rockets, 200%; cotton duck, 63%; tacti- terials, labor, and machinery into the cal field wire, 50% (chart, page 3). items the Army and the Navy most ur- gently require-the Superfortress, heavy ADDING AND SUBTRACTING artillery ammunition, combat loaders, During November, several changes tanks, field wire, trucks, airborne were made in the critical list. Combat radar-is being done. But it is not loaders were removed, and the propor- being done so speedily as strategic op- tion of ships classed as critical dropped erations require. The month's gains did from 27% to 26%. The Army deleted some not keep pace with steeply rising sched- bombs. In October, the entire general- ules. Programmed goals were missed, purpose, fragmentation, and incendiary overall, by 4%: bomb groups were "in." In November these were cut to one-third and more than off- % Above or Below Oct. Sched. MUNITIONS RETROSPECT Airborne radar +3% 0% Output this year will be 13% cheod of last year, but more than double 1942. B-29 Superfortress +30 +3 80 80 Total Munitions Production Critical ammun.-ASF +15 -1 Heavy art. ammun. (over 105mm. ) +23 +€ Heavy field art. 60 60 (over 105mm.) +5 0 All tanks +12 -4 Heavy-heavy trucks +1 -15 Light-heavy trucks +2 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS 40 40 +11 Large truck & bus tires. +1 +5 BILLIONS OF DOLLARS Navy rockets +22 -6 Navy HC ammun +7 +3 20 20 Navy 40mm. AA guns +16 +5 Combat loaders +12 -12 Tactical field wire +5 -3 Cotton duck +17 -1 o 0 Dry-cell batteries +5 -9 1942 1942 1943 1944" "how achedule Total critical programs +11% -4% - PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 2 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS set the immediate impact of boosts in The pointis that the War Production other ammunition programs which will Board, the War Manpower Commission, the notattainmaturity until mid-1945. The Army, and the Navy have organized spe- effect: only 37% of total ammunition is cifically to do the job of cleaning up critical, as against 48% last month. the critical programs on a one-by-one Other noteworthy changes were the ad- basis. Remedies have been and are be- dition of the 57mm. gun, two planes, ing devised, thus: and & big stepup in mortars. To get machine tools quickly to the The net result is that the portion of ammunition plants, WPB's Tools Division the program classed as critical is down has been made the clearinghouse for slightly-from 28% to 25%, as follows: all tool orders. To direct manpower into critical % of Program programs, the WMC will make field checks That Is Critical of key plants to determine (1) how much Oct. Nov. manpower they need, (2) why recruiting Aircraft 19% 20% is difficult, (3) how labor can be sup- Ships (inc. M. & R.)... 27 26 plied. And by bringing manpower figures Guns 17 19 down to & consistent basis-and estab- Ammun. (inc. bombs) 48 37 lishing definite responsibility-the Combat & motor vehicles 62 61 facts will be laid on the table. Commun. & electronics 36 37 As insurance against the continuance Other equip. & supplies 5 3 of deficits in truck and bus tires, a Total munitions 284 25% decision has just been made to build Nolist and no percentage for critical new plants. This is on top of plans to items will ever stay put. As the total round out and expand existing facilities. munitions program itself changes, crit- To supply urgently needed engine ical portions change. Moreover, battle parts for tanks, trucks, ships, loco- experience will continue to influence motives, etc., WPB has set up a new di- the critical list. vision to schedule the production and distribution of engine parts under M-293. IN THIS ISSUE: The Navy's Engine Parts Coordinating CRITICAL PROGRAMS UP 115 IN NOVEMBER 1 Office (EPCO) in Detroit-which has AIRCRAFT 3 built up detailed information on inter- TRUCK AND BUS TIRES 5 nal-combustion engine manufacturers- HEAVY TRUCKS 7 has made its facilities available to COTTON DUCK B ASF CRITICAL AMMUNITION 9 WPB and the Army. HEAVY ARTILLERY 10 FACT FINDERS TANKS 10 NAVAL ORDWANCE 11 These specific actions are part of MRO PARTS 12 a much broader project. They are the DRY-CELL BATTERIES 13 resultofa series of meetings designed AIRBORNE RADAR 11 to bring the Army, Navy, War Manpower COMBAT LOADERS 14 COMMUNICATION WIRE 14 Commission, WPB, and other agencies to- WIRE ROPE AND STRAND 15 gether to find out the facts about crit- MACHINE TOOLS 15 ical programs and to act accordingly. CASTINGS AND FORGINGS 16 What follows is an outgrowthor those KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 16 meetings. It attempts to measure pro- CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 16, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 3 PROGRESS ON CRITICAL PROGRAMS Here is how they have advanced since June. Big gain: Novy rockets. NOVEMBER % GAIN ABOVE JUNE, 1944, OUTPUT o 20 40 60 80 100 Navy Rockets 262 B-29 Superfortress 99 Novy 40mm AA Guns 89 Airborne Rodor 68 Novy Ammunition-High Capacity 64 Cotton Duck 63 ASF Heavy Artillery Ammun. 51 Toctical Field Wire 49 Dry-Cell Batteries 43 Heavy-Heavy Trucks 37 Light-Heovy Trucks 33 All Tonks 31 Lorge Truck and Bus Tires 30 Heavy Field Artillery-Over 105mm 26 WAR PROGRESS duction progress and to put a finger on result, aircraft on the critical list the good spots and the bad. In a sense, rose from 19% to 20% (chart, page 5). it is a control record of what has been The Catalina is used by the Navy as done and what remains to be done so that a patrol bomber and by the Army (which operating decisions can be reached and calls it the OA-10 Catalina) as an air- specific results-on a plant-by-plant sea rescue plane. Output has been lag- basis-can be achieved. And to carry ging behind schedule and, in turn, sched- the work beyond Washington and beyond ule is behind Army-Navy requirements. the agencies immediately concerned, The Army wants the M and N versions representatives of the Army, Navy, WMC, of the Thunderbolt because they are and WPB have already visited key pro- faster than either the Mustang or the duction centers and laid the facts on Lightning-and can put up a better fight the table with businessmen and labor against German jet planes in the Europe- leaders. The theory is that if manage- an theater; moreover, they are both long- ment and labor know what the armed forces range planes, particularly the P-47N. need, they'll provide. Both these Thunderbolt models use the new and more powerful R-2800 1-stage C Aircraft engine, which called fora fuselage re- design. In addition, the P-47N requires TWO aircraft programs were, added to anew and larger wing incorporating ad- the critical list last month: the PBY ditional self-sealing fuel tanks. (OA-10) Catalina and the M and N ver- On the whole, the November showing sions of the P-47 Thunderbolt. As a in critical aircraft was good. Output CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS of thenine critical items ran to $253,- vaders was again accounted for by Doug- 000,000, up 21% as compared with Octo- las, Long Beach; it experienced a short- ber: but that wasn't enough to achieve age of glass panels for the new cockpit the steep rises called for and the first- canopy. Although Douglas' Tulsa plant of-the-month schedule was missed by 16%. continued its on-schedule showing, the Here is how the number of acceptances 80 planes accepted will probably be used in each critical program last month for training purposes. They did not compared with October and first-of-the- include the new canopy-a virtual "must" month schedule: for combat operations. Nov. % Change PEAK PUSHED AHEAD Accept. Oct. Sched. At Douglas, Chicago, the production B-29 Superfortress 163 +30% +3% B-32 Dominator 1 clock on the C-54 Skymaster transport - -90 was tentatively set back four months A-26 Invader 142 +30 -3 C-54 Skymaster -peak output isto be reached in Octo- 39 +5 -34 PBM-5 Mariner ber, 1945, instead of June. Labor is 48 0 0 PV-2 Harpoon a problem. The plant is in an out-of- 11 0 -88 PBY Catalina the-way location. Besides, workers can 11 -8 -45 P-47 Thunderbolt get higher wages inmore accessible war (M and N) 46 +1,150 -42 plants. For instance, starting wage at R-3350BA engine 1,491 0 -10 the Dodge superbomber engine plant is $1.25 an hour versus $1.00 at Douglas. The Superfortress had its best month Douglas, Chicago, accounted for the against schedule since May. However, entire deficit in C-54s last month; it is still running behind Army require- output of 23 planes compared with a ments and all plants are up against the schedule of 43. During the month, work tough-and inevitable-problem of mak- was moved into the Douglas, Oklahoma ing tactical design changes at the same City, plant; this increases the propor- time that the schedule moves sharply tion of Chicago's subcontracting from higher. On November 30, the B-29 Super- 15% to 35%. Further subcontracting is fortress schedule for 1945 was lifted contemplated if the labor force can't by a total of 312 planes at two plants, be built up. Boeing, Wichita, and Bell, Atlanta. The Acceptances of the PBM-5 Mariner result is a stepup in the monthly peak patrol bomber-made at Martin, Balti- from 385 B-29s in July, 1945, to 415 in more-were again on the mark with 48. October. The schedule was cut in October. How- ever, the Navy could use more of these DOMINATOR DIFFICULTIES planes. December output of the PBM-5 Last month engineers corrected the may beheld up for lack of new C-642-SB directional instability that had been propellers from Curtiss-Wright. Unless clamping down on acceptances of the B-32 these are received by the middle of the Dominator. But the ship still has to month, only 25 Mariners can be accepted go through the Army testing mill before instead of the 48 called for. it is cleared for quantity production. At, the end of November, the Navy Even after that, many changes-the re- revised its acceptance schedule on the sult of testing-will be necessary. PV-2 Harpoon land-based patrol bomber Last month the deficit in A-26 In- to reflect the expected rate of wing CONFIDENTIAL $$ DECEMBER 16, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 5 8- deliveries from Goodyear, Litchfield To date, only 43 PBY Catalinas have it Park, Ariz. The jam on wings at Good- come through at Consolidated, Vultee, nt year has been eased; at the same time, New Orleans, versus a cumulative first- he Lockheed, Burbank-the assembly plant- of-the-month schedule of 95. And the ed has a large bank of completed fuselages schedule has been set back repeatedly. it ready to go. The new schedule should This is a relatively new plant and the be feasible if the situation at Good- problem here is one of organization- year continues to improve. to absorb and train a labor force 80 that assembly lines can be manned for LONG ROAD efficient production. The plant has Thanks to another splendid month at submitted a lower schedule on this plane. Dodge, Chicago, there is still a small However, the model is so urgent that surplus of R-3350BA superbomber engines. 8 the services are continuing to study But the schedule was missed again-by the possibility of getting output up 10%. As in October, Wright, Paterson, S to the level called for by the current missed schedule; it turned out only 412 W-12 schedule-48 a month by next April. superbomber engines as against a goal Of the total number of P-47M Thunder- of 650. A strike early in the month bolts programmed-133 planes-only 55 was largely responsible. Output of su- have been accepted. Through November, perbomber engines still has a long way the entire 133 had been completed, but to go: last month's deliveries (1,491) acceptances were held up because of were only 42% of the scheduled peak bugs in the engine. However, another (3,550). 72 P-47Ms came through early in Decem- JOB AHEAD IN CRITICAL AIRCRAFT Output of these selected planes must rise 200% over current levels to meet 1945 peak. 800 800 600 600 June I Schedule MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 400 400 Dec. MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Schedule 200 200 January I Schedule Actual o o Jan. Feb Mor Apr. May June July Aug. Sept Oct Nov Dec. Jon. Feb. Mor. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept 1944 1945 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 6 ... CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS ber, thus indicating that engine diffi- culties are being overcome by Republic TIRE TROUBLE and Pratt & Whitney engineers. First-quarter 1945 allotments of large truck and bus The problem in the P-47N is more tires are for below requirements. 800 serious. No P-47N were accepted in No- 800 9:00 through 14:00 vember. And through November there have been two acceptances against a cumula- tive first-of-the-month total of 36 600 600 planes. Because of its extreme weight, the plane requires larger and stronger tires than previous versions of the Thunderbolt. These tires are supplied THOUSANDS OF TIRES Street Requirements 400 400 by Goodyear, Akron, but shipments have I I t THOUSANDS OF TIRES been delayed by labor disputes. Alciments This model is slated for a monthly 200 200 peak of 300 in March (then a level of 250 amonth after April). Getting A new model up so high in so short a time is a formidable task; however, the manu- o o , F - A # / a A 5. o . o J F a facturer-Republic, Farmingdale-feels 1943 1944 1945 that it can do the job. One of the big - PROGRESS problems at Republic is to retrain labor save lives. Studies of the size and from the regular Thunderbolt (P-47D) location of needed facilities, the time line to P-47N production. when equipment can be made available, and the steps necessary to assure an Truck and Bus Tires adequate supply of rayon cord, carbon black, and other necessary components PRODUCTION of 1,273,000 truck and bus are now being made. tires in November was slightly above the October figure (1,215,600) but al- IFS OF TIRES most 20% below the 1,562,000 monthly Meanwhile, a series of meetings have rate needed to meet screened require- been held withmanufacturers to explore ments for the fourth quarter (chart, ways and means of getting increased pro- right). In the most critical group duction out of existing facilities. As (9.00 through 14.00), production of a first step, tire manufacturers indi- 270,600 in November compared with 267,- cated they might squeeze an additional 300 in October: this was 184 below the 5% during the first quarter, raising screened requirement rate but 5% above production of truck and bus tires through allotments. the 14-inch size to 4,067,000. More- Stated requirements outrun current over, with auxiliary equipment already and prospective production rates byfar. slated for installation in the first Hence, & decision has just been made quarter, production might be raised 149 to build new facilities in loose labor further-to 4,746,000-if an additional areas. Construction of a new plant 6,100 workers could be obtained by the takes about 10 months from foundation beginning of the year. to output; but if the two-front war Even on this basis, production would continues, additional capacity will still fall about 25% short of stated CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 15, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 requirements-6,388,000 tires-and there lst Qtr. '45 is considerable doubt whether the needed (thousands) number of workers can be obtained in Requirements: time. Tire plants are in tight labor Stated 6,400 areas. About 700 workers are needed in Screened 4,900 Akron, where there is already an acute Production: manpower situation which isabout to be Current forecast 4,100 aggravated by the reopening of an ar- With added workers 4,700 tillery ammunition plant. Another 500 % increase 17% or so are needed in New England, mostly Increased output vs: at Chicopee Falls, where the shortage Stated requirements -25% has persisted for some months despite Screened requirements -3 an exclusive priority on WMC referrals. Production with later equip. 5,700 Workers are also needed in Michigan and % over current forecast 40% Los Angeles. Interregional recruitment Within the truck and bus tire group, will probably be necessary in many of close to 90% of requirements is for 53 these cases, but thereare two obstacles: sizes (out of a total of 218) and the first, little can be accomplished until Rubber Bureau has inaugurated a new re- after the Christmas holidays: and second, porting system to keep closer tabs on some plants are reluctant to use more the production of these. This system nonwhite workers. may later become the basis for sched- uling some of the 53 sizes. SEVEN-DAY WEEK The current emphasis is on manpower because it offers the most immediate Heavy Trucks hope of increasing production. Unions TRUCK PRODUCTION, after improving some- and management, after consultation with what in November, has shown further Army, Navy, and government officials, progress in December, partly reflecting have agreed on a seven-day week through- easing of the acute tightness in axles. out theindustry. As a collateral step, With production schedules for the first action has been taken to augment or quarter of 1945 somewhat lower than for round out production facilities of ex- the fourth quarter of 1944, heavy-truck isting plants. Manufacturers have been production may be over the hump-though urged to make prompt application for that does not mean that all the prob- whatever equipment they can use, and lems have been permanently solved. such applications are being promptly November production of heavy-heavy processed; some machinery orders have trucks (6,822) was 19 above October already been placed on equipment manu- and not far from the Automotive Divi- facturers' schedules. Tiremakers esti- sion's prediction of 7,000 for themonth. mate that If such new equipment is fully Light-heavy production was up 119-from manned, production in the tire groups 23,650 to 26,174-and ren 2% ahead of through 14 inches can be increased to schedule. 5,700,000. (However, this new equip- ment would not be in production until LOWERED GOAL after the first quarter.) This is 40% The schedule on heavy-heavies was above the original estimate, as the lowered at the beginning of November. table shows: In contrast to an earlier program of CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS some 8,000 monthly in the first quarter and there are a dozen important mili- next year, the schedule has now been tary truck models for which first-quarter set at about 6,700 per month. truck allocations are only 50% to 60% The cut reflects a drop in the Army's of requirements. (Tires are discussed numerical requirements. But it does on page 6.1 not imply that the production job ahead has been diminished proportionately. Cotton Duck The cutback is concentrated in what the Ordnance Department calls "operational" PRODUCTION of cotton duck and duck sub- trucks-vehicles designed for a partic- stitutes in November was estimated at ular operation (usually behind the lines) 52,000,000 linear yards, up 17% over -such as cargo carrying in the Persian October and right on schedule (chart, Gulf area or along the Burma Road. As below). However, it was 16% below an example, the 5-ton 4 X 2 truck trac- tor is scheduled to decline 65% between this quarter and next (from 6,138 to NOT ENOUGH COTTON DUCK 2,145). Though output hos picked up sharply, it is still below screened requirements. 8 100 TACTICAL TRUCKS (Includes substitute fobrica) But tactical trucks-the ones used in close support of troops-are in- Screened 80 I 80 creased sharply. In contrast to the current quarter, the first-quarter sched- ule for the 6-ton 6 X 6 is up 58% (from 8 60 1,487 to 2,342), and the 4-ton 6 X 6, 71% (1,459 to 2,507). These types are MILLIONS OF YARDS MILLIONS OF YARDS more complex to build; they require 8 40 three, rather than one or two, driving axles, and take more critical compo- nents, rubber, and man-hours. 20 20 Tactical trucks are in greater de- mand than ever; the Ordnance Department would like to have more than current o o D # - 5 o 1943 1944 1945 schedules call for. In fact, it will PROGRESS be necessary to satisfy some of the difference between demand and supply screened requirements. Still further out of light-heavy production. increases in January and February are Axles were again the major bottle- planned, since requirements have in- neck in November, accounting for 508 creased 29% over the fourth-quarter undelivered trucks; but in the first level. Consequently the accumulative two weeks of December the axle problem deficit in tentage since the beginning was greatly eased by improvement at the of the year will have to be made up in new Standard Steel Spring plant at Mad- other ways-light metal shelters, for ison, Ill. example. Tires continue to be a bottleneck; Some 500 additional looms were put lack of tires kept 103 trucks plant- into duck production and about 900 more bound at Four-Wheel Drive in November, into tent twill in November, boosting CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 16, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 9 the combined total to more than 23,000. The War Production Board's Textile MOUNTING DIFFICULTIES Bureau is making & plant-by-plant check Old peck for 105mm ammunition: 90% above current output; proposed peak: 170%. of manufacturers on compliance with WPB 150 ISO orders which require (1) that they pro- Artillery Ammunition (105mm) Proposed Peck duce as much duck as they did during the first quarter of 1943, and (2) that 125 125 they don't operate looms on other fab- rics a greater number of hours than on 100 IDO duck. The Army's decision to release 500 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 75 75 skilled textile workers to duck mills August Schedule MILLIONS OF DOLLARS will help the manpower situation. In- centive payments to workers and mills 50 50 Schedule to overcome the low wage-and-price prob- lems are also being considered. The 25 25 present price structure is said to fa- vor other fabrics at the expense of duck. However, the Office of Price Administra- o o N o M J J A S O N D 1944 1945 tion has made an agreement with the Army - PROGRESS on the question of ceiling prices on duck; this may mean a price boost in over 105mm., and 90mm.: 4.2-inch and some mills to stimulate production. 60mm. mortar shells. The critical cate- Belgium and France have substantial gories failing to meet first-of-the- facilities for making duck. A recent month forecasts were the 8lmm. mortar report put French capacity at from 3,- shells and bombs. 000,000 to 4,000,000 yards per month. Although heavy-artillery ammunition The problem here is getting raw cotton exceeded forecast by 6%, the perform- and other essential supplies to the mills. ance was not quite so good as it seems. Loadings of reconverted shells boosted ASF Critical Ammunition the total in the 155mm. group. The im- portant 8-inch shell, M106, failed to PRODUCTION of all critical ASF ammuni- meet its schedule of 110,000 rounds by tion items was up last month, the total 15,000 shells, or the same amount as running 15% ahead of October. However, the loadings schedules exceeded machin- first-of-the-month schedules-generally ing schedules. The loadings forecast reduced for feasibility reasons-were for December also exceeded estimated missed by 1%. Gains covered a wide machinings. range, for example: CRITICAL BOMBS 155mm. M101 (gun) 5% Critical bomb production was gher 60mm. mortar 28 than October but below schedule. Only Incendiary bomb cluster M18 37 244,000 of the 500-pound bombs came 155mm. M107 (howitzer) 55 through, though 300,000 were called for. The critical categories which achieved This constitutes half the critical bomb first-of-the-month goals were heavy am- program. Here the Army has not been munition 105mm. (chart, right) and able to place orders according to plan; CONFIDENTIAL 10 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS facilities have not been free. However, available capacity increases this ismonth MORE MORTAR SHELLS and & good gain in output is likely. Production must rise 170% over current levels to In 81m. mortar ammunition, order place- meet the proposed peck. 50 2 ment-finding available facilities- Morior Shelle (60mm and Binn) - Page - likewise is a problem. November production is no real key 40 40 to the problems ahead. Planned increases in shells for the 60mm. and the 8lmm. mortars (chart, right), the 105mm. 30 8 howitzer, and the 90m. and 155mm. guns mean that the peak level for artillery ammunition will be at an all-time high to SWITCH SKOTTING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 20 - 20 I late in 1945-double the current rate of output (WP-Dec9' 44, Consequently, - production difficulties formerly con- ID or centrated in shells for big guns are now extended throughout the artillery- ammunition program. Furthermore, the o o concurrent proposal of the Army Serv- 1245 1944 945 ice Forces to double the output of small- i arms ammunition by next summer could level: production increased for the later make that program highly critical 240mm. howitzer and the 155mm. howitzer, (WP-Dec2'44 Dll. but declined for the 155mm. gun, the 8-inch gun, and the 8-inch howitzer as Heavy Artillery scheduled. These lowered schedules for complete units reflect the interchange- OUTPUT of heavy field artillery con- ability of facilities for guns and spare tinued to improve in November, up 5% cannon, rather than a slackening in the and about on schedule. All big guns need for these items. and spare cannon met or exceeded sched- ule except the 155mm. gun spare cannon, Tanks which fell five units short. This is attributed to lack of synchronization AS THE RESULT of increase in produc- between the two facilities that made tion of the fabricated steel rubber- deliveries for the first time: Rock backed type of tread, medium tank out- Island Arsenal at Rock Taland, Ill., put in November was up 12% to 1,879. and theWatertown Arsenal at Watertown, However, the November 1 schedule called N.Y. Rock Island Arsenal is producing for 1,958 medium tanks. Because of 8 the breech assemblies, Watertown Arse- pickup in the production of the fabri- nal, the tubes: the two components are cated type of tank tracks, no tank pro- assembled at Watertown. This difficulty duction was lost in November for lack is expected to be overcome this month. of treads. Production of spare cannon rose 5%, All tanks were on schedule except: chiefly because of the recent activa- (1) The M4 medium tanks with 105mm. tion of new facilities. Output of com- howitzer which were 89 behind the 330 plete units remained at the October forecast. This was because of diver- CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 16, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL II sion of the guns to a command shipment to the United Kingdom: this shortage MORTAR NEEDS SHOOT UP will be made up when the guns can be Goin of 100% called for in two months-that's the replaced. (2) The M24 light tanks were story of this critical gun. 2000 2000 31 shy of the 448 scheduled, because Mortors 00mm and Bimm) of failure to receive hulls from the Heil Company and 75mm. gun mounts from National Rubber Company. Heil's prob- 1500 1500 lem is manpower, particularly welders; the company has been given permission to recruit directly at the local USES THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS 1000 1000 office. National Rubber was recently switched from the 37mm. gun mount to THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS Janery Schedule the 75mm., and production bugs in the new operation have not yet been elim- May Schedule 500 500 inated. Now A potential threat to tank produc- Schedule tion is the shortage of bogie tires— the rubber rollers which support the o o - # . A M / # A 5 o N D - M tank treads. Widening of the tracks 42 43 1944 1945 PROGRESS from 16 inches to 23 inches is equiva- lent to an increase in requirements for to schedule the flow of machine tools bogies, at a time when the supply is as equitably as possible. already tight. Failure of rockets to meet their current schedule is the result of tem- porary technical ifficulties with parts, Naval Ordnance motors, and explosives. For the future, NAVY'S critical ordnance programs did the bigproblem is finding the construc- fairly wellin November. All made sub- tion workers for two large loading fa- stantial gains over October production: cilities now being built. Temporary 40mm. antiaircraft guns gaining 16%, facilities now use would be entirely high-capacity ammunition 7%, rockets inadequate to provide for the rapidly 22%. As awhole the three programs were stepped-up program, which calls for up 15% and made first-of-the-month sched- doubling of present output by next March, ule. (Only rockets missed-by 6%.) (chart, page 12). But schedules have been modified for production feasibility and are far be- 50% FOR FEASIBILITY low strategic requirements. Although high-capacity ammunition The production difficulties beset- met schedule, the schedule itself had ting these three programs have been been reduced nearly 50% below require- similar. All three have lacked the fa- ments, for feasibility reasons. Large cilities, the machine tools, and the shortages inall sizes have been carried trained manpower to meet their sharply over into the months ahead; and even increased requirements. All three have if present schedules are attained, re- been in competition with the expanding quirements will not be met until the Army ordnance program. The Army, Navy, latter part of 1945. and WPB Tools Division are attempting The 40mm. antiaircraft gun, on the CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS tanks, more locomotives, more ships, NAVY ROCKETS SOAR etc. are put into service. As an in- Though output hos more than tripled since June, if dication of how the problem has grown, must rise much higher to meet peak needs. consider the fleet. At the beginning 80 80 Novy Rockets of 1942-just after Pearl Harbor - the Navy had 1,300,000hp of internal-com- bustion engines installed in its ves- 60 60 sels: today, it has around 50,000,000hp -and the fleet still growing (chart, page 13). Obviously, it takes more bush- MILLIONS OF DOLLARS 40 40 MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ings, valves, piston rings, cylinder heads, and so on to keep 50.000,000hp of engines running than 1,300,000hp. QUESTION OF PARTS 20 20 It is still not certain to what ex- tent the engine parts problem is caused by inadequate production of parts and o o to what extent by improper sequence of o N 0 a , 1944 1945 deliveries because of inadequate iden- - PROGRESS tification of parts orders. But last other hand, may, be off the critical list month, steps were taken to find out. in & month or so. The modernization Under Direction 3 of the General plan whichmade this program critical- Scheduling Order (M-293), the War Pro- the project of installing this gun on duction Board is undertaking to assure virtually all of the vessels in the delivery of critical engine parts by. fleet-has been rescheduled 80 that the 1. Scheduling parts for spares on main burden of it will not be felt un- the basis of relative urgency among the til the second and third quarters of various claimants. 1945. If present production gains are 2. Developing an increase in ship- continued, output will soon reach the ments from a particular parts supplier. level of requirements. 3. Screening manufacturers' engine schedules to rock-bottom levels. MRO Parts In cooperation with the services, a special group has been set up in WPB ALTHOUGH requirements for certain types to administer the new order, with the of trucks, tanks, airplanes, and naval former director of theProduction Sched- vessels are critical, parts to equip uling Division in charge. Already. WPB them-and keep them going-are even more plant scheduling officers, working out critical. This applies especially to of the regional offices, have been es- all internal-combustion engine parts tablished in the most important problem (diesel and gasoline) such as bearings, plants. All told, the number of plant cylinder liners, fuel-oil filters, pis- scheduling officers may finally run to ton rings, impellers, cylinder heads, 25 or 30; and they will be coordinated and valves. by a WPB plant scheduling officer who The problem in engine parts increases will work with the Navy's Engine Parts month by month as more trucks, more Coordinating Office (EPCO) in Detroit. CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 16, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 13 EPCO was established early this year Dry-Cell Batteries to check up on manufacturers supplying engines, parts, and components for the PRODUCTION was up 5% in November to 221, Navy. The staff has built up a prac- 000,000 cells. This reflects a contin- tical working knowledge of the capacity, uation of the steady progress in the managerial ability, labor problems, and program. Since midyear, month-to-month past performance of virtually every increases in output have been greater plant in the engine industry. than stepups in requirements. Thus in June the gap between output and require- ments was 75,000,000 cells; in November KEY TO REPAIR PARTS PROBLEM the gap was down to 21,000,000 cells. By the beginning of 1945, installed horsepower will be But first-quarter monthly goals call 40 times greater than three years ago. 80 80 for 291,000,000 cells and the produc- Installed Horsepower- Internal Combustion Engines" (Beginning of year) tion-requirements gap may increase until March. In that month production may reach 275,000,000 cells. 60 60 The 275,000,000-cell goal is contin- gent on getting additional manpower for MILLIONS OF HORSEPOWER MILLIONS OF HORSEPOWER existing facilities and for new facili- 40 40 ties which are now being activated. The National Carbon Company's new plant at St. Louis began its hiring during the latter part of November and production 20 20 operations on one line were scheduled to begin on December 11. Employment will gradually step upduring the month as additional production linesare opened. o o 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 Several plants, notably those in "New Ships - PROGRESS Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and Madison, have been able to utilize facilities EPCO has made its facilities avail- to a greater extent as a result of net able to the Army and WPB. Thus it is gains in employment. now a clearinghouse for all scheduling and order information for the entire Airborne Radar internal-combustion engine industry. The short-run problem here will be to AIRBORNE radar for the Army and Navy, find out how big the spare-parts pie according to preliminary estimates, met is and then to divide it among the most schedule in November at $111,000,000 urgent programs. The long-range objec- and ran 3% above October. tive will be to find the choke points, Because new items are constantly clear them, and thus increase the flow coming in and production of a new item of parts sufficiently to meet all le- at any given moment may just have started gitimate requirements for claimants to roll, results in a particular month such as the Petroleum Administration are decidedly uneven. Thus PU-7() AP for War, Office of Defense Transporta- motor generators, at 1,706 delivered tion, Department of Agriculture, aswell in November, beat first-of-the-month as the military services. schedule by 206 units and gained 902 CONFIDENTIAL 14 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS units over s October production. But program-251 ships in all-declines the PU-16( )AP inverters, with 350 sched- rapidly: however, the Joint Chiefs of uled, did not get into production at Staff are currently considering whether all because of additional experimental additional combat loaders will be re- work required to obtain satisfactory quired. operation. Design change is still the biggest Communication Wire production problem, asithas been from the start. All of the critical items BECAUSE requirements have been boosted are new developments which have come again, tactical field wire has become into the program within the last few evenmorecritical-if that spossible. months. That goes despite the fact that Novem- Requirements for these items are ber production of 179,000 miles of all high and immediate. The AN/APT-5, for types was 5% above October and only 3% instance, would have to more than double below the scheduled rate of 184,000 its November production (617 units) to (chart, page 15). The schedule, how- meet its December goal of 1,400. And ever, had been pared down to feasibility this December goal has been adjusted levels. And on top of that, require- for feasibility: requirements are 2,080 ments for 1945, previously estimated units, 50%higher still. Similarly with at 190,000 miles a month, have been the AN/APG-15-November production was raised to a monthly average of 234,000 25 units: December schedule is 150, De- miles, above the current production cember requirements are 493. There are rate. half a dozen other sets with equally To meet the needs of fast-moving critical production schedules. troops-and to replace the damage of The greatest single need of the in- artillery fire-assault, field, and dustry is that specifications on new tactical communication-wire require- sets be received at the earliest possi- ments have gone up at an accelerating ble dates and that orders be placed rate, much faster than the rise in pro- promptly to allow for adjustment of duction. So critical is the need that schedules within plants. some lend-lease wirewhich does not come up to Signal Corps specifications has Combat Loaders been used. Productionwise, both manpower and COMBAT LOADERS are being taken off the facilities are short. The Copper Divi- critical list. Forty-six ships were sion is now gathering information on completed lastmonth, six behind first- the maximum stranding capacity of (a) of-the-month schedule but five above existing facilities and (b) new facili- October deliveries. This brought total ties soon to become available, and it Navy completions to 124, leading only will estimate theadditional facilities 45 to wind up the Navy's "expedited needed to meet stated requirements. program" of 169 ships by December 31. The Steel Division will make a similar Programmed "must" needs of 135 loaders report on steel wire capacity. (by November 1) were completed on Decem- The big jump in requirements in No- ber 7, five weeks late. vember was in field wire (W-110B and As the result of slippage, peak de- W-I/TS) for which 1945 requirements liveries originally set for October have been raised from an estimated 139.- will be achieved this month. Then the 000 milesmonthly to 179,000 miles. No- CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 16, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 15 vember production was 130,000 miles. Given sufficient steel wire, it is WIRE CLOSE-UP estimated that present wire mill fa- Output of toctical field wire goins ground steadily, but cilities could produce 160,000 miles. is still below requirements. 250 250 Production beyond this level would re- Tocticol Field Wire Requirements - - - quire additional facilities for com- pounding, insulating, and stranding. 200 200 Thus, it is indicated that production for somemonths ahead will lag well be- And hind minimum requirements. Schedule ISO 150 Stranding facilities continue to limit production of assault wire (W-130) THOUSANDS OF MILES Jonuary 1 Schedule I Schedule THOUSANDS OF MILES as the problem is intensified by the 100 100 new jump in demand for field wire, which uses the same facilities, and which has Achel been given a top priority. 50 50 In the case of long-range communi- cation wire (W-143), the U.S. Rubber plant at Lowell, Mass., has been much o o F M A M / / A 1 o N o # # M slower in getting into production than 1944 1945 - PROGRESS was anticipated, due chiefly to prob- lems* in training labor to produce an brackets. A simplification program acceptable product. This plant was de- prohibiting the use of certain sizes, signed to carry the load on W-143 wire. grades, and constructions became effec- tive late in October. Benefits of this move are now being felt. Wire Rope and Strand Since August, the Steel Division SHIPMENTS of wire rope and strand in has been receiving amonthly order board October, at about 33,000 tons, were 6% fromwire rope and strand manufacturers above September, the third successive on the basis of which it can divert month to show a gain. shipments from less essential to more Requirements for wire rope cannot essential uses when necessary. be closely estimated. But carryovers of unfilled orders have shown a general Machine Tools upward trend during the past twelve months; and carryover of military orders TO SPEED deliveries of machine tools, has increased more rapidly than the to see that manufacturers are not over- total. loaded, WPF's Tools Division will here- Among important military uses for after act as a central clearinghouse wire rope and strand are winch cables for orders. for heavy trucks, cranes, power shovels, Heretofore, applications for mili- etc.; deck lashing, davitrope, arrester tary facilities programs (PD-3As) for gear rope (on aircraft carriers), and under $100,000 have been approved by WPB in the field, while PD-3As for more other shipboard uses. Lack of labor is a limiting factor. than that amount have cleared through Also, a shift of demand to the smaller the Construction Bureau. Now all such diameters of wire rope has resulted in applications involving more than $5,000 overtaxing machine capacity in these worth of machine tools will RO to the CONFIDENTIAL 16 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS Tools Division, which already receives the stepped-up production of engine all similar applications (WPB-541) for parts expected to result from recent tools for nonmilitary facilities. The new scheduling activities (page 12), Tools Division will screen applications demand for such castings may increase. to distribute the load among tool build- During the past month, the Steel D1- ers. The results expected are (1) great- vision has set up working arrangements er aggregate production and (2) greater with the procuring agencies, partic- assurance that needs of primary urgency ularly with the Office of Chief of (Army) will be satisfied first. Ordnance, Detroit (OCOD) and the Navy's Engine Parts Coordinating Office at Castings and Forgings Detroit (EPCO). These all represent steps toward solving the problem of AT LONG LAST, castings are reported to order identification (WP-Nov18'44,p9 be flowing through in adequate quantity There is also the task of achieving for the heavy-truck program, which has maximum utilization from foundries that been severely handicapped by shortages can cast the larger and more-difficult- and, in some instances, by excessive to-make types of products. Here man- rejections. power is still & bottleneck. For some The situation is still touch and go, time, there has beenalist of critical with castings moving directly from the plants which obtain preferential treat- receiving platform to the production ment in labor referrals. Now, the Army line. There are no banks against which has agreed to furlough 1,000 selected to work in most of the more difficult men to work in the foundries: and the types of castings-cylinder heads and Navy has also agreed to grant furloughs blocks, axles, pumps, etc. And with for this purpose. KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Previous Month Some Week Week Week Ago 1943 1942 1941 Wor Program-checks poid (millions of dollars) 2,022 1,680 1,594 1,675 1,387 474 Wor bond soles-E,F,G (millions of dollars) 611 561 152 199 184 78 Money in circulation (millions of dollors) 25,163 25,107 24,717 20,255 15,092 11,023 Wholesale prices (1926=100) All commodities 104.2 104.2 104.1 102.9 100.1 92.2 Form products 124.4 124.6 124.5 122.0 112.0 90.8 Foods 105.4 105.1 104.9 105.9 104.0 68.7 All other 99.0 99.0 98.8 97.8 96.2 95.7 Petroleum (000 borreis) Total U.S. stocks 423,321 425,023 426,886 429,621 448,578 490,806 Total East Coast stocks 73,089 74,518 77,293 67,166 57,318 95,623 East Coost receipts 1,718 1,878 1,722 1,711 1,150 I.A. Bituminous coolproduction (000 short tons) 2,006 2,018 1,945 2,122 1,899 1,903 Steel operations (% of capacity) 96.96 96.05 95.45 99.35 98.65 97.55 Freight cors unlooded for exports, excl Atlontic Coost ports 3,357 3,064 2,665 2,904 1,068 1,596 Gulf Coost ports 495 469 514 558 319 397 Pocific Coost ports 1,760 1,92% 2,025 1,260 925 121 Department store scies (1935-39-100). 363 30% 252 297 295 250 Preliminary Excludes military-owned stocks E N.A. Estimated Daily Average That Avoilable Unodjusted CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. it contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States. Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to permit information from any copy in their custody to become available to anyone except e Government employee under their immediate supervision who will be bound by the restrictions hereby agreed to and who requires access to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep all copies in a securely locked container when not actually in use. (3) Not to incorporate information from WAR PROGRESS in any record onless the use of such record is restricted as if the record were itself - copy of WAR PROGRESS, (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address. (5) On written request, or before separation from the Govern minnt position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO- GRESS, to return all copies charged to their account WAR PROGRESS Confidential Disclosere Punishable Under Espionage Act or a Description Dogs X EAP you # MAR 14 1 1973 Economic Data Special Articles / The Provident 1 WAR PROGRESS 6.7. I Board Disclosure Punishable Under Espionage Ad I I General Program Order Changes CMP November War Output Down 1% X 4735 DECLASSIFIED X 4675 E.O. 11652 See 0(8) she 6(D) or (S) Dept. Latery 11-14-28 By BEIP, Invoice MAR 14.1973 --- Number 223 December 23, 1944 Pune (3-29-46) / UNITED STATES OF AMERICA R WAR PRODUCTION BOARD S- 73689 COURIER SERVICE CONTROL RECORD FROM: TO: STATISTICS DIVISION The President DIVISION OR OFFICE - OFFICE RCS (NAME) NAME The White House ROOM NUMBER BULDING IROOM NUMBER BILING DESCRIPTION OF DOCUMENT WP 223 3 $1 COPY 3 THE SERIAL NUMBER IN THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER Addressee's Copy SHOULD BE IDENTICAL TO NUMBER ON SENDER RECEIPT SPD WAR PROGRESS Prepared in the War Production Board J.A. Krug, Chairman War Progress 190 a confidential report designed to provide a coordinated and continuing picture of the overall war program for the various war agencies, To this end, It presents, analyzes, and interprets basic statistical and economic information, and from time to time examines the pros and cons of controversial questions. Although War Progress is an official publication of the War Production Board, statements in it are not to be construed as expressing official attitudes of the Board as a whole, or even of individual members Conclusions, whenever reached, should be considered editorial conclusions. War Progress is prepared by the Reports Division Weseph A. Livingston, Directors EDITORIAL STAFF Thomas A. Falco, Roy T, Frye (drafting), Winona Hibbard A. R. Hilliard, Morris Katz, Chester L. Kietter: Joseph A. Livingston (editor), Martha Menaker, J. 5/ Working (prom duction). This report contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the defense of the United States. See inside back cover for rules of custody. CONFIDENTIAL NUMBER 223 WAR PROGRESS DECEMBER 23, 1944 General Program Order Limits CMP Policy restricting civilian use of CMP materials ing, sewing machines, and 80 on: WPB's to fourth quarter 44 levels will hold back Industry Divisions expected to request steel supply to conserve men, focilities for 350,000 additional tons for B products, critical programs. chiefly automotive repair parts, build- ing materials, construction machinery, FOR THE FIRST TIME in CMP history the steel drums, office equipment, and & question of steel supply is not of pri- wide range of industrial machinery: the mary importance. Supply for the first independent nonmilitary agencies put in quarter of 1945 will hold just about claims in behalf of much-needed equip- level, but even if it were twice as ment: War Food Administration for farm high, claimant agencies would not get machinery and containers, Office of much more than has already been allotted Defense Transportation for diesel lo- to them for CMP's eighth round. comotives and rails, Petroleum Admin- The issuance of the War Production istration for oil drilling machinery, Board's new General Program Order sig- etc.: and reconversion-minded manu- nalizes & change in controlled materials facturers angled for priorities with procedure: from here on CMP will be which to refit their plants for peace- holding back the steel supply to main- time production. tain the war effort-to protectmilitary production from the draining away of MISSING MEN industrial energy, manufacturing facil- Put even while these plans were be- ities, and above all, manpower. In ing made, the present critical situa- fact, CMP begins to look like another tion inmilitary production was develop- manpower control. ing. In the midst of 8 slow overall decline of munitions needs, require- PLANNING FOR PLENTY ments for guns, ammunition, heavy trucks, Back in October, CMP officials ex- and certain other items began A spec- pected the first quarter of 1945 to be tacular rise. Among the production A period of freer allotments, 8 time problems resulting from these sudden for fattening upstarved programs. With increases, the most universal and dif- estimated steel production within 19 ficult was the manpower shortage in of fourth-ouarter 1944 supply, And the industrial areas. Throughout all of overall munitions demand certain to 1944 the munitions industries had been drop (actually eighth-round allotments releasing workers at the rate of 100,- to the military are 10% less than in 000 a month. These workers had not re- the current round), the claimants for mained handy, ready to be rehired as essential civilian items made optimistic the need developed: most of themhad dis- plans. WPB's Office of Civilian Re- appeared from the labor market (the quirements prepared to request 123,000 armed forcesmade anet gain of 2,000,000 more tons of steel for increases in 55 during theyear). The new military pro- products, such as stoves, kitchen uten- grams found themselves short thousands sils, beds, mattresses, washtube, screen- of workers in the spots where they were CONFIDENTIAL 2 COMPIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS needed. It became evident that increases 4th Qtr. 1st Qtr. in civilian-type production in these 1944 1945 Change areas must be ruled out for an indefi- (000 net tons)* nite period. Mil. total 6,686 6,011 -675 The new General Program Order im- ARCO 108 79 -29 plements this policy. In effect, it Army 3,340 3.705 +365 rules that no civilian production pro- Navy 1,438 1,207 -231 gram calling for allotment of controlled Maritime 1,800 1,020 -780 materials or the use of assigned pri- Foreign total. 1,464 1,460 -4 ority ratings in production will be ap- FEA 1,147 1,165 +18 proved at a level higher than that of Canada 317 295 -22 the fourth quarter of 1944 (for seasonal Nonmil. total. 2,835 3,067 +232 programs, of the corresponding quarter WFA 906 1,022 +116 of 1944) except upon positive demon- NHA 17 27 +10 stration that the higher level is es- PAW 374 391 +17 sential and will in no way interfere ODT 1,114 1,253 +139 with war production. All other civilian OWU 153 103 -50 production will have to be undertaken OCR. 271 271* 0 through spot authorization with its Operations V.C. 3,093 3,316* +223 deferred allotments and rigid on-the- Unallotted re- spot manpower checks. (Even this lee- serves total. 1,648 1,709 +61 way for civilian production has been MRO 1,245 1,386 +141 eliminated in 126 industrial cities by Constr. & a 90-day suspension of virtually all facil 403 323 -80 new spot authorization in labor shoit- Total 15,726 15,563 -163 age areas.) . Figures adjusted for comparability PARTIAL SUCCESS between quarters. The intent of the order-to prevent It will be noted that while the di- increased allotments for nonmilitary rect military share of carbon steel has production-has only been partially dropped 675,000 tons below the previous realized, however, as the table of car- quarter (chiefly because of the taper- bon-steel allotments shows: ing off of the shipbuilding programs), the grand total of allotments has dropped only about 163,000 tons. Thus claimants IN THIS ISSUE: not directly military will receive over GENERAL PROGRAM ORDER LIMITS CMP 500,000 tons more steel in the eighth 1 round than they did in the seventh. MUNITIONS EMPLOYMENT TRENDS Looking for the reason, we find that 3 among the independent agencies only WFA and ODT have made substantial gains. KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK 5 OCR, subjected to a flat interpretation of the new policy, got none whatever NOVEMBER WAR OUTPUT IS DOWN 15 6 of its 123,000-ton requested increase, and was forced once again to relinquish PRODUCTION PROGRESS PRELIMINARY 9 its aimof raising output ofmost of its products to "Level II, " its theoretical CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 23, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL ... 3 MUNITIONS EMPLOYMENT TRENDS 12 12 Total Munitions November, 1943. MILLIONS OF EMPLOYEES 8 8 I. Factory rolls in munitions plants declined 12% from the peak in 4 4 MILLIONS OF EMPLOYEES o o JFMAMJ J A S o N D J F M J JASOND 1943 1944 2. The drop in these major groups has 3. While in these, employment stayed been continuous, high or is picking up again. 120 120 Aircraft Comm. and Elect. 80 80 40 40 o 0 JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJ J A S o N D J F M A M J J A S O N D 1943 1944 1943 1944 120 120 Ships Ammunition INDEX-NOVEMBER 1943.100 80 80 40 40 INDEX-NOVEMBER 1943=100 o o JFMAMJJASONOJFMAMJJASON D JFMAMJ J ASONDJFMAMJJASONO 1943 1944 1943 1944 120 120 Combat and Motor Vehicles Guns and Fire Control 80 80 40 40 o o JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASONO JFMAMJJASONDJFMAMJJASOND 1943 1944 1943 1944 WAR PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 4 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS minimum essential production rate of of which has wasted much labor in re- civilian goods in wartime. WFA's in- conditioning work). crease is almost entirely the result But a considerable part of the OVC of a 200,000-ton supplementary allot- increase is for products which CMP can- ment for metal food containers (made not control, the "pure" B products (re- possible by Maritime's release of plate pair parts, many tools, standard gears, mills) and is justified by the saving bearings, and other components, nuts of labor it will effect in the food- and bolts, etc.). These are not pro- packing industry. ODT's increase does grammed because requirements are inde- not in fact represent a gain in its terminate, being the sum total of the production program, but rather the re- demand from manufacturers of a host of ceipt of a delayed allotment of steel items of equipment who have the neces- necessary to maintain its previously sary priorities to buy what they need. approved rail program. The Industry Divisions must estimate The 223,000-ton increase in the share this derived demand and get enough steel of WPB's Operations Vice Chairman is under CMP to meet it. not so quickly explained: B products- 90% of this total-are a complicated THE MRO SIGN group. They are products required in Similarly for the Maintenance, Re- common bymany claimants: tools (every- pair, and Operating Reserve-second thing from a tack hammer to a drill largest nonmilitary increase on the press), supplies (bolts, nuts, paper, list-steel must be set aside to supply lumber, hardware, etc.), components an estimated demand frompriority-hold- (gears, tires, bearings, vacuum tubes, ing purchasers, but here there is even etc.), and certain end products (type- less control because, except for pumps, writers, stoves, fire extinguishers). greasing tools, anda few other special Some are military, some civilian, some items, the purchaser's priority is au- both. Some are programmed, some not, tomatic. Railroads, steel companies, some both (for different agencies). and most war manufacturers, together Some can feasibly be held down to seventh- with construction projects, coalmines, round production levels: some can't. state and county governments, and even department stores, can use automatic REQUESTS GRANTED ratings, often as high as AA-1, to buy With machine tools and industrial repair parts and materials, to replace equipment urgently needed by plants and tools and machinery, and often to re- foundries making munitions for both the model or enlarge facilities. Recently Army and the Navy (not to mention Rus- it has even become possible for a manu- sia's claims for mining machinery for facturer touse to his MRO allotment symbol the Ukraine and generators for Dnepro- for the procurement of certain tools petrovsk), it is not surprising that for future use. the Tools Division and the General In- With machinery wearing out, with dustrial Equipment Division received manufacturers having plenty of money, most of their requested increases. Other with talk of reconversion in the air, increases were allowed because they the volume of such purchases has in- would not demand more labor (as in cer- creased steadily of late, and the MRO tain badly needed building materials) reserve has been forced up with each or because they would actually save CMP period. Also the issuance of spe- labor (as with oil drums, the shortage cial authorizations for the purchase CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 23, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 5 of B products under the OVC allotment stringent. The 17 products listed be- has been more liberal in recent months. low have been singled out for special Department stores get elevators, hotels surveillance. Even if military needs get kitchen ranges, police departments for these products should decrease, get radios, textile mills and printing leaving steel allotments unutilized, offices get new machinery. Industry Divisions are forbidden to in- In fact, the size of the eighth-round crease civilian production without a CMP allotments to OVC and to the MRO plant-by-plant check to determine how reserve are & necessary consequence of the skillsof the released workers could the V-E Day optimism that swept the be used elsewhere in the war effort: country a few months ago. By comparison Automotive Division: with them the few tons of steel withheld Trucks & truck tractors from the production of egg beaters and Off-the-highway trucks hairpins does not seen very important. Truck trailers Some thoughtmay have to be given to all Motorcycles the methods by which production is au- Construction Machinery Division: thorized if the ninth-round allotments Power cranes & shovels (on which work begins in & couple of Heavy motor graders weeks) are to reflect more consistently Tracklaying tractors the purposes of the General Program Order. Consumers' Durable Goods Division: For those products that the Order Bicycles & powercycles actually does control-for programmed Commercial electric food equipment production-its restrictions are often Cutlery KEY STATISTICS OF THE WEEK Lotest Previous Month Some Week Week Week Ago 1943 1942 1941 Wor Program-checks paid (millions of dollars) 1,510 2,022 1,659 1,469 1,257 542 Wor bond scies-E,F,G (millions of dollars) 531 611 235 165 205 66 Money in circulation (millions of dollars) 25,292* 25,163 24,845 20,382 15,329 11,224 Wholescle prices (1926=100) All commodities 104.4° 104.2 104.1 102.9 100.5 95.1 Form products 125.6° 124.4 124.1 121.8 113.3 92.8 Foods 105.7 105.4 105.0 105.7 104.2 90.4 All other 99.0° 99.0 98.9 91.8 96.2 95.8 Petroleum (000 borrels) Total U.S. stocks 423,006 423,321 425,627 428,035 442,406 489,756' Total East Coost stocks 72,994 75,000 76,253 66,755 56,210 90,532 Eost Coost receipts " 1,738 1,710 1,690 1,560 1,056 N.A. Bituminous cool production (000 short tons) 1,986 2,006 2,030 2,175 2,017 1,910 Steel operations (% of copacity) 96.35 96.95 96.35 99.35 96.45 97-95 Freight cors unlooded for exports, excl. groin** Aflontic Coast ports 3,312 3,357 2,688 2,570 1,056 1,654 Gulf Coost ports 570 495 512 399 351 359 Pocific Coost ports 1,800 1,750 1,955 1,225 909 112 Department store soles (1935-39-100) 365° 363 256 321 333 299 P Preliminary *Excludes miltory-owned stocks E Extimated Daily Average NAME Available Unadjusted CONFIDENTIAL 6 CONFIDENTIAL MAR PROGRESS General Industrial Equip. Division: current CMP operations, it is neces- Industrial power trucks sary to note that, for the first time Service Equip. Division: in over a year, copper supply may be- Typewriters come a factor limiting production. The Commercial laundry machinery new ammunition programs have increased 35mm. motion picture equipment by 30% the overall 1945 requirements Transportation Division: for brass strip. Even if it is not nec- Locomotives (steam & diesel) essary to reconsider the copper allot- Railroad cars ments already made for CMP's eighth Busses & bus bodies round, itis certain that copper allot- Before concluding any discussion of mentswill be tighter in the ninth round. November War Output Is Down 1% Gain of 11% for critical programs was not critical list may get on at any time. matched by wor output as o whole. Every Thus the Catalina patrol bomber (used major category fell behind schedule for by the Army as an air-sea rescue ship) third month in o row. continually missed schedule over a pe- riod of months. Last month it was added 'NOVEMBER'S spurt in critical programs to the critical list. Other recent ad- was not matched by overall munitions ditions for similar reasons are the production. While total output of $5,- 57mm. gun and the Victory ship. The 200,000,000 (preliminary), was 1% be- P-47 (M and N) was added because of the low October, critical programs-con- sharp stepup in schedule. And the re- stituting A fourth of the full dollar cent boost in small-arms ammunition could value-gained 11% (WP-Decl6'44,pl For result in that program being added later. example, aircraft AS a whole declined In dollars, munitions output fell 3%, but critical planes rose 21%: all $155,000,000 short of schedule. Ships, guns and fire control fell 1%, but heavy which accounted for 20% of total pro- artillery was up 5%; total ammunition duction, were responsible for 30% of rose only 1%, but heavy artillery am- this deficit. Aircraft accounted for munition increased 23%, Navy rockets 27% of total output, 32% of the deficit. 22%, Navy high-capacity Ammunition 7%. The Thanksgiving holiday undoubtedly The production job was not quite so was a factor in the failure to meet good in relation to schedule. Every schedule. Furthermore, munitions em- major category fell behind forecast for ployment declined another 85,000. Since the third consecutive month. First-of- the peekinmunitions employment in No- month goal was missed by 3% in both vember, 1943, approximately 1,300,000 critical and other programs, but the workers have been separated from factory lag was of a different nature. Critical rolls. Aircraft alone accounted for programs were scheduled to rise and 36% of this loss. they did, but not enough. Other pro- grams were due to fall a little, and Aircraft they fell too much. In addition to the familiar problems With the two-front war continuing, of tactical design change, inadequate deficits pile up the production job production control, and model change- ahead. Programs not on the current over, bad weather was a factor in the CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 23, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 7 November airplane showing. This pre- however, the B-32 faces 8. complete round vented the flight testing-hence accept- of testing which will probably bring a ance-of almost 100 planes completed number of design changes. during the month, including some Fly- Although the PBM-5 Mariner patrol ing Fortresses, Lightnings, and Corsaire. bomber at Martin, Baltimore, was again As a result, the 71,600,000 pounds of on schedule at 48 planes, patrol bombers airframe weight accepted were 5%below as a group were still bucking new-model October and the first-of-month schedule. and production-control problems. Numeri cally, output came to 6,747 planes, The 2-engined Catalina (PBY, PB2B, 9% belowOctober and 6% short of schedule. PBN, and OA-10), which has just gone This month's schedule calls for 72,- on the critical list (WP-Decl6'44, p51, 800,000 pounds of airframe weight 16,- illústrates the difficulties in this 862 planes), about 2% more than actual group. Though output was ahead of Oc- output in November: and through the tober, goalswere missed at all but one middle of December, acceptances were plant: Naval Aircraft, Philadelphia. running at a rate high enough to meet Consolidated Vultee, New Orleans, was this goal. But because of the Christ- still trying to absorb labor and organize mas holiday, it's & tossup whether the for efficient production, Vickers, schedule will be met. Last year, holi- Montreal, making the Army version of day absenteeism was high and output the Catalina (OA-10), was held up by failed to meet the month's mark. modifications: and Boeing, Vancouver, was snagged by bad weather. Result: SUPERS OVER SCHEDULE The 57 Catalinas accepted were 25% short After missing the target since May, of the first-of-month schedule. output of B-29 Superfortresses. at 163, In all, 166 patrol bombers came through was five planes above the first-of- last month as compared with 158 in Oc- month schedule. With 75 Superforts, tober and a goal of 273. On 8 weighted Boeing at Wichita again exceeded ex- basis, the first-of-month schedule was pectations, this time by six planes: missed by 31%, the widest margin of any Boeing, Renton, was five planes over major group: its mark of 25; and Martin, Omaha, was again on the beam with 24 Superfor- Nov. Acceptances tresses. The only plant that missed as % of schedule was Bell, Atlanta, which turned Oct. W-12 out 34 planes. This was seven better All military planes. 95% 95% than October but six short of the first- Army procured 95 98 of-month schedule. Bell's plant manager Navy procured 94 86 was killed in a plane crash late in No- Combat planes 94 95 vember but has since been replaced. Superbombers 131 99 It now looks asif the B-32 Dominator Forts & Liberators 86 99 will come through after all. During Patrol bombers 103 69 November, engineers licked the problem Medium bombers 106 106 of instability and one Dominator was Light bombers 94 96 accepted at Consolidated Vultee, Pt. Fighters (inc. Worth, out of a schedule of 10. None naval reconn. 89 93 had been accepted in October. In the Transports 101 93 first half of December, five more came Trainers 82 100 through. Before it is in the clear, Communications 81 78 CONFIDENTIAL 8 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS The month's debut was the TBY Sea- falo will shut down for 10 days this wolf at Consolidated Vultee, Allentown, month to take inventory. Not only will Pa. The TBY is urgently needed by the that reduce December acceptances, it may Navy to meet increased requirements for also disarrange the production line in torpedo bombers. However, only one was January. In contrast to the Commando, accepted out of & schedule of 15. Pre- the 39 C-54 Skymasters accepted last liminary flight tests indicate the need month were 34%below schedule. And once for many design changes: moreover, the again, the deficit was all accounted for Allentown plant is new and still has by Douglas, Chicago (WP-Decl6'44,p4). the problem of organizing for efficient Despite carburetor trouble at North and accurate production. American, Dallas, output of P-51 Mus- tangs hit another all-time high in No- SIX-PLANE MISS vember at 765 planes-2% better than Because of an above-schedule showing expected. Grumman, Bethpage (525 F6F at Douglas, Long Beach, the mark of 308 Hellcats), Eastern Aircraft, Trenton Flying Fortresses was met. Although (150 FM Wildcats), and Bell, Buffalo Ford, WillowRun, ran above schedule on (255 P-63 Airacobras), all met or ex- the Liberator, itwasn't enough to make ceeded schedule. Nevertheless, fighters up the loss at Consolidated Vultee, Ft. as & group failed to repeat their good Worth, where an emergency spare-parts showing in October-acceptances of 2,- order made it necessary to strip com- 908 were 170 planes short of schedule. pleted planes. Thus the B-24 missed schedule by sixplanes-567 versus 573. Signal Equipment All told, Fort-Liberator output ran to Communication and electronic equip- 875 planes. ment critical Items showed general im- Last month, the Douglas plant at provement, but apparently at the ex- Long Beach completed its shift to the pense of the rest of the program. Over- full-vision cockpit canopy for the A-26 all output, at $350,000,000 (prelim- Invader light bomber, and the 67 planes inary), was 2% under October and missed programmed were completed. Because of schedule by 6%. The schedule was 2% a shortage of glass panels, however, lower than the October goal. acceptances slipped five planes below Airborne radar for the Army Service schedule. At Douglas, Tulsa, the 80 Forces met the first-of-month goal but Invaders that came throughme schedule, registered a gain of only 3%, as against but none of them had the new cockpit 11% in October and 15% in September. canopy. Tulsa is now making the change- Production was handicapped by recent over and this will cut into December major adjustments in the program which acceptances. have brought many design changes-the At long last, it looks as if the C-46 bugaboo of radar. The airborne radar Commando is on the beam. All modifica- schedule declines in December, but rises tions have now been incorporated in this sharply again starting in January. Out- 2-engined heavy transport, and close- put must increase 25% over the current out of the P-40 Warhawk line means that rate to meet the March goal. the home plant-Curtiss, Buffalo-will The biggest dollar deficit of the be able to devote all its resources to month was in radio. For example, air- the C-46. The 189 Commandos accepted borne radio for ASF dropped 24% under in November exceeded schedule by one October and 15% below schedule. A large plane, topped October by nine. But Buf- cut in the radio program is scheduled CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 23, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL 9 for 1945: radar is taking over many of new 1945 requirements call for an aver- its functions. age monthly production 30% above the Production of highly critical com- current level, and this with existing munication wire continued to show im- facilities. In November, only one of provement-up 5% and only 3% below sched- the critical types-W-110-beat the ule. But schedules are running far be- first-of-month schedule. It is in this low computed requirements, which only wire that virtually all of the increase recently have been boosted again. The is needed. Long-range communication PRODUCTION PROGRESS - Preliminary Value delivered or put in place-millions of dollars Nov. Oct. / Nov. % Deviction Nov. Prelim. Preliminary Actual Change Schedule* vs Schedule MUNITIONS AND WAR CONSTRUCTION $5,415 $5,461 -15 $5,560 ->> TOTAL MUNITIONS 5,205 5,242 -1 5,360 -3 Aircraft 1,416 1,466 -> 1,465 -3 Total air fromes, engines, propellers 1,125 1,164 -3 1,167 1. Airplone spore ports 276 285 -3 264 -3 Other aircraft and equipment (excl. commun) 15 17 -12 14 +7 Ships (incl. maintenance) 1,066 1,120 -5 1,111 - Novy 486 523 -1 563 -14 Combotant 173 189 & 187 -7 Londing vesseis 182 205 -10 172 16 Other 131 131 0 20% -30 Moritime 225 307 -3 324 *10 Cargo and supply 260 245 +5 240 18 Other 8 119 -20 84 +15 Army Vessels 58 61 -> 57 +2 Ship Maintenance and Repoir 167 169 -- 167 ! Guns and Fire Control 259 261 -1 269 :- Small orms (under 20mm) & 5 o & 0 Artilery, mortors, rocket lounchers-ASF 57 58 & 58 A Fire control and searchlights (excl. Rodor) 50 59 -5 60 -7 Novol guns and other 98 90 +2 103 -5 Ammunition 612 604 +1 613 all Small orms ammunition (under 20mm) 47 47 o 47 0 Artillery amm, mortor shells, rockets-ASF 196 185 16 187 +2 Aeriol bombs 134 133 +1 139 - Noval ommunition and other 235 259 & 240 & Combat and Motor Vehicles 476 E +8 491 & Combat vehicles 163 148 +10 171 -5 Motor corrioges for SP guns 30 29 +10 32 o Automotive vehicles and fractors 274 159 +6 281 -3 Communication and Electronic Equipment 350 358 to 371 b. Rodio 112 119 -6 120 -7 Rodor 142 144 - 150 -2 All Other & & +1 101 -5 Other Equipment and Supplies 1,026 991 = 1,040 -- WAR CONSTRUCTION (GOV'T FINANCED) 210 219 :- 210 , As of October I for construction, on of November for of others Schedule used for pretiminary CONFIDENTIAL 10 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS wire-W-143-exceeded October output by mounting the 105mm. howitzer: deliveries 21% but was 14% behind schedule. Assault totaled 241 against a forecast of 330. wire-W-130-fell 3% below October and . Output of 1,082 M4s mounting the 76mm. missed schedule by 17%. gun and 117M4s carrying the 75mm. gun exceeded schedules. Army Ordnance Shell loading for heavy artillery Production of ordnance and engineers (over 105mm. jumped 23% and was 6% ahead items for the Army Service Forces hit of forecast. However, production must $1,000,000,000 for the month since rise even more to neet the all-time high January. This was an increase of 4% scheduled for 1945. Mortar shells, an- over October, but 1% shy of the first- other accelerating program, also ran 6% of-month schedule. With the schedule ahead of the month's goal, but in the reduced for feasibility reasons, the case of the 81m. heavy high-explosive attained rate of output remains for mortar shell there whe an 8% lag. HE short of the Army's computed requi rements. 75mm. through 105mm. shells, 9% under Despite improved production in No- October, were 1% ahead of schedule. vember, output of key critical items Fragmentation bombe ran 7% ahead of must still rise sharply to meet the schedule. Incendiary bombs, on the first-of-month schedules for December: other hand, fell 214 short of the fore- % Gain % Stepup Req. cast, and aerial-bomb production as a whole was 4% behind schedule. Over To Meet Oct. Dec. Sched. Novol Ships Heavy art. amm.,. +23% +9% Heavy-heavies Navy ship completions ran to 239,000 +2 +11 Tanks +12 +13 displacement tons in November, 2% below Aerial bombs +1 October, 4% behind the first-of-month +9 schedule. Deliveries of combatant ships Although dollarwise the production fell 71 behind the goal, due to delay of heavy-heavy trucks (ordnance only) in completing four vessels-three de- was up 24, the 5,540 big trucks deliv- stroyer escorts and one submarine. The ered ran 20 fewer than in October. Rea- DE program is virtually completed, with son: the Army ispushing the more costly 12 more due out of a total of over five tactical trucks, used in close support hundred. of troops, in preference to "operational" "Shangri-La," the 27,000-ton aircraft types, designed for behind-the-lines carrier, came through as scheduled, hauling. In addition to being more ex- together with the "Commencement Bay"- pensive, tactical trucks are more dif- the first of 19 aircraft carrier escorts ficult to build, require more critical of the 12,000-ton class. This baby flat- components and man-hours (WP-Dec16'44, top is somewhat heavier than the Inde- p7). Output of light-heavy ordnance pendence classaircraft carriers. These trucks continued to rise sharply: 20,- two ships alone accounted for nearly 736 were delivered as compared to 18,- three-fifths of the total combatant 885 in October. The schedule called tonnage. In addition, six destroyers, for 18,395. three DEe and seven subs were delivered, Tank production was up 12%, but the foratotal of 67,000 displacement tons 1,879 tanks which rolled off assembly as against 62,000 tons in October. lines were 79 short of schedule. Most. Landing-craft deliveries, at 120,000 of the deficit was in the medium M4 displacement tons, again beat schedule CONFIDENTIAL DECEMBER 23, 1944 CONFIDENTIAL II NOVEMBER MUNITIONS PRODUCTION For the third consecutive month, all major munitions groups missed the first-of-month schedule. Only ammunition, combat and motor vehicles goined over October 2500 1500 Aircraft Wor Construction 2000 1000 Total 1500 500 Airfromes, Engines, 1000 Propellers o 1943 1944 1945 500 1000 Combat and Motor Vehicles Airplone Spore Ports VALUE DELIVERED OR PUT IN PLACE-MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Total o 500 1943 1944 1945 Automotive Vehicles and Tractors Combol Vehicles o 1500 1943 1944 1945 Ships including mointenance) Total 1000 1000 Ammunition VALUE DELIVERED OR PUT IN PLACE-MILLIONS OF DOLLARS Total Moritime 500 500 Artillery, Mortor Novy Combolant Smoll Arms Amm. Shells and Rockets, ASF funder 20mm) Landing Vessels o o 1943 1944 1945 1943 1944 1945 1000 1000 Communication and Electronic Equipment Guns and Fire Control 500 500 Total Total Rodio Small Arms (under 20ml Artillery, Morton, Rocket Lounchen, ASF Rodor o o 1943 1944 1945 1943 I944 1945 Note Actud through October, November preliminary November I schedule thereofter, except for snot orm - which a - of Dar. L - PROGRESS CONFIDENTIAL 12 CONFIDENTIAL WAR PROGRESS slightly, although they were 9% below equally ahead of the first-of-month the October total. Completions were schedule. The total was second only to high lighted by the first eight LSMRs the all-time peak in December, 1943. (landing ship medium, rocket). These While deliveries in units totaled only ships, equipped with rocket launchers, 159 to October's 168, they were 13 ships go right up to the beachhead and pound ahead of forecast. enemy shore installations. So far, only As in October, the big factor was 12are scheduled, butmoremay be added delivery of combat loaders to the Navy. later. Deliveries of APAs and AKAs ran to 50, Patrol and mine craft again hit the as compared witha first-of-month sched- target, but, as scheduled, dropped be- ule of 46 and an October total of 41, low October. District craft continued accounting for virtually half of the tomiss schedule by a wide margin, with total value of Maritime completions. deliveries slightly below the previous November production brought the cumu- month and 33% behind the first-of-month lative delivery of these types to 140, goal. Auxiliary and other craft rose exactly the number which were previously sharply over October but missed the scheduled to have been delivered by the objective by 7%: end of October. December schedules call for 43 ships, with the January schedule % Deviation declining sharply. Nov. From Deliv. Oct. Sched. AHEAD ON BOTH COUNTS 1000 tons) After that, the emphasis snifts to Combatants 67 +8% -7% Victory ships, most of which are built Landing craft 120 -9 +3 in the same yards as combat loaders. Patrol & mine 13 -19 o Nine Victory ships were delivered in District craft 12 -8 -33 November, two more than October and Aux. & other 27 +35 -7 schedule. Last May, production had Total 239 -2% -4% reached a peak of 16 vessels, but was Navy completions of combat loaders interrupted by the combat loader pro- ran to 46 (eight AKAB and 38 APAs), but gram which took precedence. The new missed the goal by one AKA and five peak is set fornext June, when 46 ships APAs. In October, 41 of these ships are due for completion. were completed. To date, 124 combat Liberty ships came in ahead of the loaders have been completed by the Navy forecast once again-48dellvered against out of 169 in the expedited program. 41 scheduled. In October, 51 were com- With the December deliveries (53 sched- pleted. Last month they represented uled) they will be off the critical 22% of the Maritime program; last Decem- list. The APA program is scheduled to ber, 43%. By next June they will be out end in March; the AKA program, in July. of Maritime schedules. Delivery of 22 standardtankers matched Maritime Ships the December ,1943, all-time high. Sched- For the second consecutive month, ule was beaten by two ships, the October value of Maritime deliveries in November performance by four. As now scheduled, reached a 1944 high. At $486,000,000, deliveries of tankers will remain level production ran 11%ahead of October and until June, then drop out of production. CONFIDENTIAL War Progress is loaned to you for official use. It contains CONFIDENTIAL information affecting the security of the United States Revelation of its contents in any manner to unauthorized persons is prohibited by the Espionage Act. OFFICIAL RULES for its CUSTODY (1) Not to premit inform tion from any, copy in their custody to become available to shyone except Dr. Government employee under their immediate supervision wd Il be bound by the restrictions hereby ugreed bo and wh requires occurs to WAR PROGRESS in connection with his official duties. (2) To keep as copies in a securety locked container when not actually in with (3) Not to Information from WAR PROGRE 35 in any receipt unless the use of such record is restricted as H the record were that - copy of WAR PROGRESS (4) To give prior written notice of any change of address (5) On written request. or before separation from the Govern- mont position which entitles them to receive WAR PRO. GRESS to-return all copies charged to their account WAR PROGRESS Disclosure Punishable Under Explourge Act only MAR 14 1973 Economic Data Special Articles