The mfgr and logistical effort of WWII is staggering

[tadink]

I was taking the Ferry from SF to Vallejo the other day and went past Mare Island shipyards....where they built subs during WWII. It got me to thinking about all the stuff that was built for the war effort - including the Liberty Ships built around SF bay. At one point they were turning those things out once every 4 days?!

Combine all that with the construction and logistics in nearly every port, state, and military base across the country - all coordinated at a time when it took days to get mail across the country, and no Internet.

It is simply mind boggling - has anyone ever seen a documentary or documentation of the war effort?

We salute our guys everywhere who were/are in harm's way, and should not forget that there is a vast infrastructure that keeps them fed, armed, and supported 24x7.

TD

[GH85Carrera]

They built one Liberty ship in one day. Everyone pretty much knew they were disposable ships, but that is still amazing.

Military production during World War II - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Iciclehead]

If you want a very good read about how all of it was accomplished, read "Freedom's Forge" by Arthur Herman.

Very good, well written, factually quite accurate about what and how it was all accomplished.

Dennis

[tadink]

Thanks - I'll try to find it....

as I'm thinking about what it took to build, deliver, equip, and support the front line....it is just overwhelming. The wiki-link shows the numbers, and to think that behind the numbers was an entire supply chain to get all the stuff to the mfgr site, then deliver it to the front - - - just mind boggling!

td

[onewhippedpuppy]

I've always been captivated by the air war of WW2. Many of the large bombing campaigns consisted of THOUSANDS of planes. The scale of it is simply staggering. I've heard mentioned that our industrial capability is one of the biggest reasons why we won the war. A former WW2 vet neighbor of mine once told me the story of a German POW who was in the hospital at the same time as he, while recovering from combat injuries. The POW told him that he was certain that the Germans had better weapons than the Americans, but the Americans had so many more of them.

The home front angle is also very interesting. Conservation of precious metals, fuel conservation, liberty bonds, people quitting their day jobs to work in factories to support the war, media blackouts, the entire country was aligned and determined to win. Would that be possible today, with our more superficial society that hasn't known true hardship? Granted we haven't been similarly challenged, i.e. another nation conducting a military attack on American soil. But I really wonder if we would pull together for an extended period of time?

[scottmandue]

If you are ever in my town and want to see a victorey ship:

Welcome Aboard the S.S. Lane Victory

Oh, and we have this little thing too:

Battleship Iowa | A New Home in Los Angeles California

What amazes me is the bombers... no lasers... no radar... "let's go over thataway and drop some bombs!"

My dad learned to fly a P-47 at the very end of the war... so close as a matter of fact just as he was going to ship out they put him "on hold" and he never got deployed.

He has some pretty amazing stories about learning to fly fighter planes.

One story goes like this:

"We had lent the Chinese a bunch of P-40's... but that deal fell through so after a few years we got them back... they were not well maintained and pretty beat up... but they let us fly them..."

Imagine that for a minute, letting a bunch of 18 year old boys play around with 1930's vintage poorly maintained fighter planes.

[Baz]

Great post - it is truly amazing how much we built and accomplished through the war years. Our country really pulled together. My Mom has told me stories during her service as a WAVE in WW II and what the ladies contributed on the home front.

Much respect to those who contributed.

FYI: I was born at the Mare Island Naval hospital......

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

If you are ever in my town and want to see a victorey ship:

Welcome Aboard the S.S. Lane Victory

Oh, and we have this little thing too:

Battleship Iowa | A New Home in Los Angeles California

What amazes me is the bombers... no lasers... no radar... "let's go over thataway and drop some bombs!"

My dad learned to fly a P-47 at the very end of the war... so close as a matter of fact just as he was going to ship out they put him "on hold" and he never got deployed.

He has some pretty amazing stories about learning to fly fighter planes.

One story goes like this:

"We had lent the Chinese a bunch of P-40's... but that deal fell through so after a few years we got them back... they were not well maintained and pretty beat up... but they let us fly them..."

Imagine that for a minute, letting a bunch of 18 year old boys play around with 1930's vintage poorly maintained fighter planes.

One of our customers was the lucky age. He joined the Army the day he was old enough. Just a few weeks before Hiroshima they told him to go get some additional flight time in a new P-47. He was stationed in California and had his own Mustang to fly around on the Army dime. His favorite thing was to practice on sail boats. He would dive out of the sky scream over the sail boat as if he was shooting them. He would pull up hard right after he flew over and blow the boat over and laugh his but off. He was going way to fast for anyone to see a tail number.

[J P Stein]

Originally Posted by tadink

Thanks - I'll try to find it....

as I'm thinking about what it took to build, deliver, equip, and support the front line....it is just overwhelming. The wiki-link shows the numbers, and to think that behind the numbers was an entire supply chain to get all the stuff to the mfgr site, then deliver it to the front - - - just mind boggling!

td

Me too. Amazon here I come.

[KNS]

Can you imagine automobile production today simply shutting down for several years. "You can't buy a new car - only planes and tanks and...".

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by KNS

Can you imagine automobile production today simply shutting down for several years. "You can't buy a new car - only planes and tanks and...".

HA! Imaging if they shut down cell phone sales? Riots in the streets!

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by tadink

, and no Internet.

What! no internet. I guess they would have had to text instead.

[porwolf]

Originally Posted by KNS

Can you imagine automobile production today simply shutting down for several years. "You can't buy a new car - only planes and tanks and...".

With Porsches who needs new cars?

[mgatepi]

IF we are ever in the need to produce at the WW2 level again....it would be impossible.
We have so destroyed our manufacturing base in this country.
Very sad.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by mgatepi

IF we are ever in the need to produce at the WW2 level again....it would be impossible.
We have so destroyed our manufacturing base in this country.
Very sad.

Good point. If we are at war with China, can we still buy all of our goods from them?

[HarryD]

It was truly amazing what was accomplished. Even more so when you realize that at the beginning of the war much of that manufacturing capability did not exist until about 1942. Add to that the pace of technological development it was truly amazing.

Thank you Vets and your families.

[porwolf]

What I find amazing from the Wilipedia site is that the Soviet Union produced over 143,000 aircraft and Germany less than 120,000. Who would have thought?

[HarryD]

Porwolf: not really odd. Remember that Germany underwent non stop bombing once we were in gear. The deal in the WWII Movies about bombing the ball bearing factory was all about preventing the Germans from making weapons. After all at the end of the day war is about your manufacturing machine being able to out produce your foe. In All of the wars, you need to remember that our ability to make product was not impacted by our enemies sending waves of bombers daily to destroy our ability to make stuff.

[widebody911]

Originally Posted by mgatepi

IF we are ever in the need to produce at the WW2 level again....it would be impossible.
We have so destroyed our manufacturing base in this country.

This

[Jim Richards]

It's also too globalized.