View Single Post
  #9  
Old 01-11-2009, 09:47 PM
citydesk175's Avatar
citydesk175 citydesk175 is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Macomb, MI
Posts: 167
Default GMnext.com posting on WWII production

I went to GMnext.com and grabbed this list from their history section that I posted in the first place. There is also a scan of a photo album honoring the Milford Proving Ground efforts in WWII which I will leave as an exercize for the digitally skilled.
The story at the end is true and I was the one to take the call. Pontiac did make artillery shells but had no HE

Look closely for the joke at the end of the list
And if you have anything to contribute to the WIKI, please do
Thanks
================================================== ======


Here is a list of the WWII General Motors War Material Production 1940-45: (This is the best list I could assemble from the contemporary sources at war's end)

198,000 Diesel engines for tanks & landing craft
206,000 Airplane engines
13,000 Complete bombers and fighter planes
97,000 Aircraft propellors
301,000 Aircraft gyroscopes
38,000 Tanks, tank destroyers and armored vehicles
854,000 Trucks, including amhibious DUKWs
190,000 Cannons
1,900,000 Machine guns and submachine guns
3,142,000 Carbines
3,826,000 Electric motors
11,111,000 Fuses
360,000,000 Ball and roller bearings
119,562,000 Shells
39,181,000 Cartridge cases
540,619,000 Grand Total

To this day, the government has not forgotten GM's contribution.

EPA call recently to inquire if there was any leftover High Explosive (HE) on the Pontiac site, After we posed some logical questions: Why ship HE from the Coast to Pontiac, load the artillery shells, then ship these things back to the Coast. Loading the HE into the shells should properly be done at the port just prior to loading the transport ship.

EPA was satisfied with our logic and had no further questions.

Ralph Reinhart

__________________
There are 2 rules for success in life:
1. Don't tell everything you know
2.
=====================
There are 10 types of people in this world"
those who know binary and those who don't
========================