Reo Motor Car Company in World War Two

Other Lansing Companies that contributed to winning World War Two
Reo Motor Car Company in World War Two
Recognizing a Company from my Hometown that contributed to winning World War Two
Lansing, MI
1904-1975
Rest in Peace

This page updated 2-29-2024.

Reo, or REO, stood for Ransom E. Olds; and was the company he founded when he left what later became the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors. Although he originally built automobiles, by the time World War Two arrived the company was only building trucks. Reo was an important source of employment on the south side of Lansing, MI, where I grew up.

Reo's plant was located at South Washington and Baker Streets in Lansing. The plant was torn down in the 1980's after Diamond Reo went out of business. My grandfather took part in one of the few non-violent sit-down strikes that happened in the US auto industry in the era of unionization. The four-week strike started on March 10, 1937. My grandmother, along with other workers' wives, passed food and supplies through the factory windows to keep their men going. After the strike, my grandfather got a job at Lansing Fisher Body. The move turned out to be timely, as Reo went bankrupt in 1939, closing the plant for a year.

In looking at the World War Two product information below, it is apparent that Reo was not producing vehicles at its 50,000 units of annual capacity. This was a problem that bedeviled the company for many years, and finally led to its demise in 1975. I remember, as a teenager, walking past 'The Reo', as we called it, on my way to downtown Lansing. At that time, the Vietnam War was in full swing and Reo was producing many M35 Army 2.5-ton 6x6 trucks for that conflict. Probably without these, it would have gone out of business earlier.

What a great looking Reo-built World War Two Model 29XS F-1 refueling tractor! This extremely rare Reo-built truck is owned by Ian Hughes in the United Kingdom. Reo built 1,740 of the 29XS for the USAAF which were used to pull large fuel trailers as shown here. Below are a series of photos of the vehicle both in action at an outside event and in a garage. These photos allow one to view this great Lansing, MI-built truck that helped win World War Two by keeping USAAF aircraft supplied with fuel. Image courtesy of Mick Wilson via Jeff Lakaszcyck added 2-29-2024.

Image courtesy of Mick Wilson via Jeff Lakaszcyck added 2-29-2024.

Image courtesy of Mick Wilson via Jeff Lakaszcyck added 2-29-2024..

This enlargement of the above photo shows the name "Reo" on the front. Image courtesy of Mick Wilson via Jeff Lakaszcyck added 2-29-2024.

Image courtesy of Mick Wilson via Jeff Lakaszcyck added 2-29-2024.

On August 31, 2019 I visited the World War Two reenactment at the Indiana Military Museum in Vincennes, IN. While there I walked down the fence line where the museum stores several vehicles. When I walked up to this one, I had a hunch that this was a Lansing-built M35 built at the former Reo plant as part of White Motors. There was no logical reason I should know this, as all of the M35s look alike. Author's photo added 9-11-2019.

But I was right! It was built at the former Reo plant on Washington Avenue in 1963 when I was in junior high school. It is possible this is one of the many M35s I saw come off the assembly as I walked by the plant. Author's photo added 9-11-2019.

The Indiana Military Museum has a large multi-bay building for restoring vehicles. Hopefully, this Lansing-built M35 will go through the building in the near future so it can be put on display in the museum. It is in very good shape for being 56 years old. Author's photo added 9-11-2019.

Author's photo added 9-11-2019.

It's 1907 and R.E. Olds is driving President Teddy Roosevelt in a Reo to Michigan State Agricultural College in East Lansing (Now Michigan State University) so he can deliver the commencement speech. Photo added 4-30-2015.

The next series of photos show the progression of the design and technology of the Reo truck between 1912 and 1938.

This is a 1912 Reo truck and is the oldest one I have found on display. It was on loan at the National Auto and Truck Museum in Auburn, IN. Author's photo added 1-22-2021.

Author's photo added 1-22-2021.

This Reo truck was used to distribute kegs of beer in Cincinnati, OH. Author's photo added 1-22-2021.

The truck has a 1912 Oho license plate. Author's photo added 1-22-2021.

Author's photo added 1-22-2021.

This 1925 Reo Speedwagon dump truck is a new addition to the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum in Lansing, MI. Author's photo added 9-7-2021.

Author's photo added 9-7-2021.

A 1938 Reo Speed Wagon at the RE Olds Museum in Lansing, MI. My grandfather worked at 'The Reo' in 1938, so he contributed to the building of this in some form or manner. Back in the old days, they sure knew how to build a good looking fire truck. Now you know where the band REO Speedwagon got its name. Author's photo.

In June 2019, I photographed this 1937 Mack Jr. 1/2-ton pickup truck at the Mack Museum in Allentown, PA. Why have I placed this photo on the Reo page? Because this is actually a Reo pickup truck with a Mack nameplate on it that Reo built in Lansing for Mack. This was Mack's attempt to enter the light truck market without having to commit limited engineering and manufacturing resources to the product. Reo produced the Mack Jr. from 1936 to 1938, when manufacturing stopped due to lack of demand. Note the similarity to the 1938 Reo Speed Wagon in the above photo. Author's photo added 7-3-2020.

It may say Mack Jr. on the outside and have the Mack Bulldog on the hood, but underneath it is a Reo. Author's photo added 7-3-2020.

Author's photo added 7-3-2020.

This 1947 Reo served with the Leland, MI Volunteer Fire Department from 1948 to 1971. The chassis was purchased at a local Reo dealership and the pump and other fire equipment from the W.S. Darley Company in Chicago, IL. Due to post-World War Two steel allocations, the volunteer firemen needed some political assistance to obtain the steel for the body. They then constructed their own fire engine on the Reo chassis. Today it is on display at the Michigan Firehouse Museum in Ypsilanti, MI. Author's photo added 2-23-2022.

Author's photo added 2-23-2022.

Reo in World War Two: Reo is best known for the trucks it built during World War Two because before and after World War Two Reo was a truck manufacturer. However, trucks were one of several products the company built during World War Two. Examination of the Reo corporate records at the Michigan State Archives in East Lansing, MI show that Reo produced several other important products, along with machining parts for other war goods manufacturers.

Reo records provide an insight into what other companies during World War Two may have been working on besides their main product line. In my research on other companies, I have long questioned whether the limited existing data tells the complete story of industry supplying World War Two. The most complete and comprehensive set of records that are readily available is the "Summary Report of Acceptances, Tank-Automotive Material, 1940-1945." The Summary is one of my most important documents to determine how many vehicles a company built during World War Two. However, it does have its limitations. It only comprehends the number of vehicles accepted by Army Ordnance during World War Two. As Table 2 shows, in 1942 Reo built trucks for a least ten other American military organizations and one private company. None of this information is comprehended in the "Summary Report of Acceptances, Tank-Automotive Material, 1940-1945." The U.S. Navy had several departments ordering trucks that they needed for their operation. Without the Reo records at MSU, this information would have been lost.

If Reo was building trucks for the over ten different organizations in 1942, there is no reason to think that other truck manufacturers weren't also doing the same. The Navy and other entities would have been placing similar orders with other truck manufactures to be able to acquire the massive number of vehicles needed to fight a global war.

The U.S. Navy was Reo's main customer during World War Two. While the Navy purchased 3,777 trucks from Reo, it also purchased 1,424,473 aerial bomb fuzes from the company. This was Reo's unknown and confidential product of World War Two. In "Reo Produces for War" shown below, there is a portion of a page that says "Censored." This was the Navy aerial bomb fuze production. The Navy considered this to be a sensitive product and Reo was not able to publicly say anything about it. Of 3,000 employees working at Reo in 1943, 844 (or 28%) were working a three shift operation making fuzes for the Navy.

Reo also made use of its idle machine tools and machined parts for multiple companies, including several that were making airframe parts for B-17s and B-26 bombers. Other customers included Food Machinery Company (FMC) and Standard Spring Companies. Reo built 41,920 bogies for tracked landing craft and 25,339 4-ton truck axles for Standard Spring, which was sub-contracting work out for the Timken-Detroit Axle Company. Due to a shortage of Clark Equipment Company and Warner Gear transmissions for use in the GMC CCKW and Studebaker US6 2-1/2-ton 6x6 and 6x4 series trucks, Reo was contracted by the U.S. Army to tool up and produce transmissions. As of September 1944, the company was contracted to build 22,814 transmissions.

Reo, as the Diamond-Reo Division of White Motor, went out of business in 1975. Instead of the records being put in a dumpster and sent to a landfill, like has happened with so many other companies that closed, someone in Reo made sure that the records were preserved. They ended up five miles to the east, in Conrad Hall at the Michigan State University Archives. For me, being able to go through the records and learn the complete story of Reo during World War Two brings me full circle, as my grandfather worked at Reo before World War Two, and it was one of several local factories located in the neighborhood in which I grew up. Also, Michigan State is where I went to college.

Reo Motor Car Company Non-Military World War Two Era Trucks: One overlooked aspect of World War Two is the number of civilian or non-military trucks that were built. While automobile production in the United States came to a halt in February 1942, civilian truck manufacturing was allowed by the War Production Board on a limited basis. After all, trucks were needed to move war supplies throughout the supply chain. However, the information on non-military truck volumes built between 1941 and 1945 is extremely limited. While there are no available production numbers of Reo-built civilian trucks during the war, the two pages below from the 1945 annual report show the types of trucks that the company built for this market.

Image added 4-22-2020.

Reo Motor Car Company World War Two Products: 29,800 Trucks and Buses, 1,424,473 Navy Bomb Fuzes, 41,920 LVT Bogie Wheel Assemblies, 25,339 Four-ton 6x6 Heavy Duty Axles, 22,814 Transmissions for 2-1/2-ton trucks, B-26 Tail Assembly Spars, B-17 Outer Wing Components, Aircraft Radial Engine Starter Parts, Aircraft Engine Parts

Trucks: 29,800 total trucks of various sizes. This was Reo's signature product of World War Two.

Table 3, line 12 shows that Reo built 2,318 7-1/2-ton trucks for the Army Air Force during World War Two. Image added 4-22-2020.

Table 1 - Reo War World War Two Trucks Accepted by Detroit Ordnance, US Army The information below comes from "Summary Report of Acceptances, Tank-Automotive Material, 1940-1945" Published by Army Services Forces, Office, Chief of Ordnance-Detroit, Production Division, Requirements and Progress Branch January 21, 1946.
Line Number	Type	Reo Model	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	Total
1	2-1/2-ton 6x6 without winch (Studebaker US6)	US6					13,004	9,200	22,204
2	2 1/2-ton 4x2 Cargo	21HHHS		40					40
3	2 1/2-ton 4x2 Dump	21XHHS	157	104					261
4	5-ton 6x4 Cargo	23XHHRS		1					1
5	5-ton 4x2 Dump	23BHRS	6						6
8	20-ton 6x4 Tractor (Federal 604)	28XS			700				700
	Total		163	145	700		13,004	9,200	23,212
Number of trucks not comprehended in Tables 2 and 3. Add Lines 2, 3, 4 and 5. Entered on Line 1 of Table 5.									308

*The 2-1/2 ton 6x6 Trucks were license built Studebaker US6s for Lend-Lease for the Soviet Union.
**The 20-ton 6x4 Tractors were copies of the Federal 604. This was Reo Model 28-XS and was powered by Cummins HB600 Diesels, of which 190 went to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease.

Author's Note and Disclaimer: The Detroit Office of Ordnance of the U.S. Army was the primary purchasing entity for vehicles for the U.S. Army during WWII. It also purchased vehicles for the USMC, US Navy, and for Lend-Lease. However, there were other organizations that also purchased vehicles including the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army Air Force, U.S. Army Signal Corps, Navy Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, and foreign countries making direct purchases.

I insert the above disclaimer on all my web pages, where I use information on acceptances by Army Ordnance. The information in the tables below makes Reo a poster child for why I do this. I was able to access the Reo corporate records at the Michigan State Archives in East Lansing, MI, and found that in 1942, Reo had orders for trucks from many different organizations that are not comprehended in the table above. Army Ordnance records from World War Two do not capture all of the vehicles made by American companies during the war. If Reo had orders like those below, no doubt so did other truck and vehicle manufacturers. The number of trucks built during World War Two was more than the "official" count given by Army Ordnance.

Table 2 - 1942 Reo Truck Orders Five different departments of the U.S. Navy, three different departments of the Army, the Treasury Department, the Interior Department and the Marine Corps ordered trucks from Reo in 1942. There is also a private company and three listings that refer to Lend-Lease. There are similar orders for Navy and Army Air Corps/ Army Air Force trucks in both this Table and Table 3. Table 3 no doubt comprehends trucks in this table, as it is orders for only one year. Table 3 encompasses the entire war effort.
Line Number	Number Ordered	Reo Model Number	Type	Customer	Contract No.	Comments
1	25	22-C	Chassis and Cab	Lend-Lease	DA-TPS-9814	These were probably ordered by the British Purchasing Commission.
2	25	21-C	Chassis and Cab	Lend-Lease	DA-TPS-9814	Same as above.
3	280	23HHXH	Stake and Dump	Bureau of Yards and Docks	NXSY-17341	Comprehended in either Lines 1, 3 or 4 of Table 3.
4	500	23CH	Stake	Bureau of Aeronautics	NXS-6711	Comprehended in either Lines 1, 3 or 4 of Table 3.
5	200	23HH	Dump	Bureau of Aeronautics	NXS-6711	Comprehended in either Lines 2 or 5 of Table 3.
6	95	25XS	Stake	Navy-Washington	NXS-66	Comprehended in either Lines 1, 3 or 4 of Table 3.
7	700	28XS	Tank Transport	British Lend-Lease	W-3989-QM-11615	These trucks are comprehended on Line 8 of Table 1.
8	1,740	29XS	Fuel Service	U.S. Army Air Corps	W-535-AC-27790
9	150	119XHS	School Bus	Kaiser Company-Peterson	No Information	Kaiser used these to get its employees to work and transport them around the huge shipyards building Liberty ships.
10	100	19BHS	Cab and Chassis	Treasury Dept.	DA-TPS-10240	These were ordered by the Treasury Dept. for the Australian Government.
11	8	19XS	Chassis and Cab	Treasury Dept.	ER-T98PS-1395	Same as above.
12	37	121XHHS	Buses-School	Navy	NOS-92774
13	2	56T	Buses	Navy	NOS-90916
14	5	19XHS	Chassis and Cabs	Navy	NOS-96585
15	1	19BHS	Chassis and Cabs	Navy	NOS-96585
16	6	20XS	Chassis, Stake Body	Dept. of Interior	1BP-2684
17	9	21XHS	Chassis, Dump Body	U.S. Engineers	W-461-ENG-9828
18	115	20XHHRS	Chassis, Dump Body	Marine Corps	NON-30870
19	1	23XHHRS	Chassis, Dump Body	Quartermaster Corps	W-398-QM-9394
20	16	21XHHRS	Chassis	Marine Corps	NON-29692
21	19	22BS	Chassis	Navy Department	NOS-82476
Total	4,034	Total of all the truck and busses in this table.
	519	This is the total of trucks not comprehended in either Table 1 or 3. These are considered to be duplicates or subsets of trucks comprehended in those tables. Entered on Line 2 of Table 5.

There are no capacity ratings for the trucks in Table 2, while there are no Reo Model numbers or Purchase Order numbers in Table 3 to make positive identification of the same trucks being shown in each table.

Table 3 - Army, Army Air Corps and Navy Trucks produced by Reo during World War Two From "Reo in the Fight for Freedom" This was an end of the war oversize booklet published by Timken in honor of the work Reo did in building trucks and Timken axles. Some the trucks below are also comprehended in Tables 1 and 2.
Line Number	Number Built	Type	Comments
1	594	1-1/2-Ton Navy Stake Trucks	Comprehended on either Lines 3, 4 or 6 of Table 2.
2	594	1-1/2-Ton Navy Dump Trucks	Comprehended on either Line 5 or 18 of Table 2.
3	743	3-Ton Navy Stake Trucks	Comprehended on either Lines 3, 4 or 6 of Table 2.
4	438	5-Ton Navy Stake Trucks	Comprehended on either Lines 3, 4 or 6 of Table 2.
5	875	3-Ton Navy Dump Trucks	Comprehended on either Lines 5 or 18 of Table 2.
6	300	5-Ton Navy Dump Trucks	Comprehended on either Lines 5 or 18 of Table 2.
7	200	10-Ton 6x6 Navy Aircraft Salvage Trucks
8 - Total	3,744	Total Navy Trucks

9	22,204	2-1/2-Ton 6x6 Truck	Comprehended on Line 1 of Table 1.
10	700	Diesel Powered Tank Transporters	Comprehended on Line 8 of Table 1.
11 - Total	22,904	Total Army Trucks

12	2,318	Army Air Force Truck Tractors and Fire Trucks	1,740 comprehended on Line 8 of Table 2.
13 - Total	2,318	Total Army Air Force Trucks
14 - Grand Total	28,966	This is the traditional number normally associated with the number of trucks Reo built during World War Two. Entered on Line 3 of Table 5.

Table 4 - Reo Designed and Built Protype Trucks in 1942
Quantity	Type	Comments
1	6x4 Tandem-Drive Heavy Duty Tractor
1	6x6 2-1/2-Ton Truck	This was the Studebaker US6, Reo appears to have used the same number.
2	6x6 Tractor Trucks for Prime Mover for 155mm Guns
2	4x4 1-1/2-Ton Low-Silhouette Truck	Reo Model Number LS30F, USA Registrations 3114165-6, QMC Contract12362, Ordnance Contract 2769
1	4x4 3-Ton Low-Silhouette Truck	Reo Model NumberLS60F, USA Registration 4349038, QMC Contract12362, Ordnance Contract 2769
Total = 7	Entered on Line 4 of Table 5.

Table 5 - Total of Known Trucks and Buses built by Reo in World War Two
Table 3 is the primary data for this table. Data from Tables 1 and 2 have been adjusted to remove any duplicate accounting. To the best of my knowledge with the data I have, this is the total number of military vehicles built by Reo in World War Two.

Table Number Number of Trucks and Busses

1 308

2 519

3 28,966

4 7

Total Number of Trucks and Buses built by Reo in World War Two 29,800

Four of the six trucks Reo built for the U.S. Navy are shown in this photo from the 1945 Reo annual report. The report indicates they were built in 1944. It is unknown whether production extended to other years of World War Two.

This photo from the 1945 Reo annual report shows the 10-ton 6x6 Navy wrecker, the 7-1/2-ton 6x6 tractor for the Army Air Force, and the 2-1/2 ton 6x6 truck for the Soviet Union. The report indicates they were built in 1944. It is unknown whether production extended to other years of World War Two, except for the 2-1/2-ton, which was also built in 1945 as shown below.

Reo ran two parallel truck lines during World War Two. Image added 6-25-2020.

Image added 6-25-2020.

U.S. Navy Aerial Bomb and Death Charge Fuzes: 1,424,473 Bomb fuzes. This product was considered confidential by the U.S. Navy during World War Two. Information of this product can be found in Reo World War Two correspondence and production records. In the "Reo Produces for War" that is shown below, the Navy fuzes are what is in the "Censored" section. All Reo could do was note it had a secret product. The fuze contracts were a significant part of what the company built during World War Two. Reo received a letter of intent from the Navy in May 1941 and was in production December 1941.

Table 6 - Number of Reo Employees working on Navy Fuzes as of 6-1-1942
Shift	Number of Direct Labor Employees	Number of In-direct Labor Employees	Total
1	157	58	215
2	259	141	400
3	170	59	229
Total	586	258	844

Table 7 - Reo Navy Aerial Fuze Production December 1941 through January 1942 Models 19, 21, 23, 27, 28, 29
Time Period	Quantity
12-1941	3,030
1-1942	5,050
2-1942	8,080
3-1942	9,090
4-1942	13,130
5-1942	17,675
6-1942	14,140
7-1942	16,665
8-1942	18,180
9-1942	20,705
10-1942	31,840
11-1942	33,549
12-1942	59,538
1-1943	69,600
Total	320,272

Table 8 - 1944-1945 Reo Navy Aerial Bomb Fuze Production
Model	Quantity	Comments
146	454,082	End of Production (EOP) on 12-4-1944
157	272,304
159	30,000	Scheduled through October 1944
228	18,500	18,500 at EOP in March 1944
229	100,933	100,933 as of July production
230	183,575	183,575 authorized as of July 1944
232	7,000	7,000 built as of the end of May 1944
233	3,577	3,577 total build as of July 1944
235	5,050	5,050 as of July 1944
243	27,180
244	2,000	30,000 scheduled thru 2-1946 Start of production July 1945 at with 2,000
Total	1,104,201

Table 9 -Total Reo World War Two Navy Fuze Production
Table	Quantity
7	320,272
8	1,104,201
Total	1,424,473

Other World War Two Products:

Table 10 - Reo Contracts from other Manufacturers
Company	Product	Quantity	Comments
Hudson Motor Car Company	Machining B-26 tail assembly spars		Initial contract May 28,1941. Contract modified in 1943 when Hudson purchased three milling machines to speed up production of the spars. The machine process involved 67 different operations. Hudson built 1,841 B-26 tail assemblies from Mary 1942 to March 1944.
Martin Aircraft Company	Machining of unknown parts.		This could also be for machining tail assembly spars, as the B-26 was a Martin design and it was the builder of the aircraft. This contract ran all the way through 1945.
Murray Corporation	Machining of unknown parts for B-17s and B-24s.		Murray Corporation built B-17 outer wings early in World War Two, then built B-24 subassemblies and ailerons.
Hayes Manufacturing Company	Machining of unknown parts.
Ford Motor Car Company	Machining of unknown parts.
RCA Victor Division	Machining of unknown parts.
Douglas Aircraft	Machining of unknown parts.
Food Machinery Corporation	LVT bogie wheel arm assemblies.	41,920	This was one of Reo's biggest World War Two products. The last units were shipped on April 16, 1945. Another contracted 7,500 units were never built.
Atlas Drop Forge, Lansing Drop Forge, John Bean Manufacturing Company	Heat treating of parts		In 1942 Reo was heat treating parts for these and 20 other companies. There were several more drop forges in Lansing during World War Two.
Timken-Detroit Axle Company	Machining of unknown parts.
Standard Spring (Subcontract agent for Timken-Detroit Axle Company.)	Axles for 4-ton 6x6 trucks	25,339	Timken was unable to keep up with the demand for axles during World War Two. Timken used Standard Spring to find suppliers that could build axles for 4-ton 6x6 trucks. Standard Spring gave Reo two contracts. The first was for 6,000 sets of axles. This included the fronts and the dual rear axles for 18,000 units. These were ordered on November 4, 1943, with start of production in May 1944. The production rate was 500-800 sets per month or 1,500-2,400 axles per month. On a second contract, Reo delivered 3,745 out of 4,002 front axles, when the order was terminated on July 10, 1945. It also delivered 3,594 of the 3,851 forward rear axles on order by the time the order was cancelled on July 6, 1945.

Transmissions for 2-1/2-ton trucks come down the assembly line at Reo late in 1944. These were equivalent to the Clark Equipment Company 204-VO and Warner Gear AS1-T93 transmissions.

Reo World War Two Product Images: I have always wondered whether any of the 22,204 Reo-built Studebaker US6 2 1/2-ton 6x6 trucks had been sold as war surplus at the end of hostilities. In April 2018 I found out that the answer is yes! The US6 shown below was built by Reo on July 26, 1945, and was sitting inside the fence at the site of the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show in Portland, IN. It is no longer there. This has been in Jay County, Indiana since 1977, and has been hiding in "plain sight" only 47 miles from my house. When I visited the Museum of the Soldier on April 22, 2018, I was told about the truck and went over to see it. I took the first three photos though the chain link fence which surrounds the facility. The next four photos were taken by Brian K. Williamson of Portland, IN, when he bid on the truck.

Author's photo added 4-24-2018.

Here is the Reo Motors data plate with date of delivery of 7-26-1945. This late date saved it from going to Russia under Lend-Lease, as the war in Europe was over and the war in the Pacific would end in a month. Photo courtesy of Brian K. Williamson added 4-24-2018.

Photo courtesy of Brian K. Williamson added 4-24-2018.

Photo courtesy of Brian K. Williamson added 4-24-2018.

There are also two 1945 Reo-built US6 trucks at a location in Michigan. I was informed the weekend before that there were only six Reo-built US6s still left. I do not think that the two shown below were included in the number. These are then numbers 7 and 8.

This Reo Serial Number 218557 has a delivery date of 4-25-1945. It was purchased by the owner for a parts vehicle, specifically for its front rear axle. The other Reo truck needs to have that axle replaced. Author's photo added 9-26-2020.

Author's photo added 9-26-2020.

This is Reo Serial Number 222146 and has a delivery date of 10-17-1945. Author's photo added 9-26-2020.

Author's photo added 9-26-2020.

The trucks shown above and the other 22,201 2-1/2-ton 6x6 trucks Reo built during World War Two would have looked like this Studebaker US6 2 1/2-ton 6x6 when new. It is owned by the Studebaker Museum. Author's photo.

This is a 2-1/2-ton 6x6 US-6 truck built by Reo in Lansing. Photo added 4-14-2015.

This shows the Reo US-6 without the cargo body. Near the end of the war, many were shipped this way. Photo added 12-29-2020.

Reo built 438 5-ton stake trucks for the U.S. Navy. This is U.S.N. registration number 93020. Photo added 12-29-2020.

This is one of 594 1-1/2-ton dump trucks that Reo manufactured for Navy use. This is U.S.N. registration number 127225. Photo added 12-29-2020.

U.S.N registration number 79605 is one of 300 5-ton dump trucks Photo added 6-28-2018.

Reo built 200 10-ton 6x6 salvage trucks for the U.S. Navy. Photo added 12-29-2020.

This Reo 29XS, powered by a Hercules HXD engine, was used to pull USAAF fuel trailers. Reo built 1,740 of them in this configuration. It built another 758 for use as fire trucks. Photo added 12-29-2020.

Jeff Lakaszcyck photographed this surviving Reo 29-XS in 2004. Photo added 1-17-2021.

Reo built 700 28-XS 20-ton tractors, each powered by a Cummins HB600 diesel engine. Photo added 12-29-2020.

This Reo-built Mark 229 Hydrostatic Tail Fuze was used by the US Navy during World War Two in its 650 and 1,000 pound depth charges. Reo built 100,933 of these through July 1944. The fuze is 16.33 inches long with a diameter of 3.25 inches, while the sixteen blade arming vane is 5.25 inches in diameter. Depth settings were made by a hand dial on the device and could be set for 25, 50, 75,100 and 125 feet. The small hole on the left end of the body was used to insert a pin into the device to disarm it. Reo did not arm the fuzes it built. The fuzes were inert when they left the factory. The units were armed at another location. Author's photo from the RE Olds Museum in Lansing, MI. Added 4-30-2015.

Also, another Reo-built depth charge fuze is on display at the R.E. Olds Museum. Note the pin that keeps the vanes from spinning and maintains it in a safe mode. Author's photo added 4-30-2015.

This Reo-built T13E1 was one of two prototypes built by the company under contract from the Trackless Tank Corporation. The first was completed in May of 1942, and along with the second prototype was shipped to Fort Knox, KY for evaluation. Testing resulted in the cancellation of the project.

This diorama at the National Museum of the USMC depicts an LVT-1 going over a log barricade at Tarawa. Reo built 41,920 bogie wheel assemblies for vehicles like this. Author's photo added 6-28-2018.

This is an LVT-4 that is on display at the Indiana Military Museum. Each LVT-4 had 20 boogie wheel assemblies. Author's photo added 10-1-2021.

This photo shows the boogie wheels assemblies like Reo built during World War Two. Author's photo added 10-1-2021.

This Martin B-26 is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The Hudson Motor Car Company built rear fuselage sections for this type aircraft and shipped them to Martin's plant in Omaha, NE. Reo produced tail assembly spars for Hudson. Author's photo added 4-3-2020.

The rear fuselage of the B-26 was the section Hudson made for the Martin Omaha plant. Author's photo added 4-3-2020.

Murray Corporation built B-17F outer wing assemblies under contract from Douglas Aircraft. Murray contracted some of the work for the outer wing assemblies to Reo. Author's photo added 4-3-2020.

The Plant:

Mia Tioli made this excellent looking model of what the Reo Plant looked like in 1906. In the end, most of the green space was covered with factory expansions. The road along the bottom is Washington Ave. During the mid-sixties, I used to walk this section of Washington from my house to the downtown area which would be to the left or north. I remember trucks, and especially Army 2-1/2-ton 6x6 and five-ton 6x6 trucks, coming off the assembly line, no doubt on their way to Vietnam. In the lower right hand corner, which would be the intersection of Baker Street and Washington, the City of Lansing had a firehouse with a Seagrave engine. On the site where the west side of the test track is located, the Reo Clubhouse was later built.

This view is looking south with the Lansing railroad station for the Grand Trunk Railroad. Now you know where Grand Funk Railroad got its name. Author's photo.

The Reo Complex looking southeast at a later date than the model above. The Reo Clubhouse has been built and is on the northwest corner of the property along Washington Avenue.

This is a post-1979 photo, looking northwest at the Oldsmobile Complex in Lansing, MI. while at its apex. Much of it has now been torn down. In the background, one can see the Fisher Body / Olds Forge / Olds Jet Plants that have also been razed. Also visible is the former Lansing Sexton High School that I attended. Of interest, from a Reo prospective, is the empty field in the front center of the photo, as this is where "The Reo" stood. Since this photo was taken, the area has been made into an industrial park. The red building to the right (north) of the former Reo complex is the train depot that can be seen in the model above.

The train station still stands, even though the Lansing Board of Water and Light has built a new building just to the north of it. Someone had the presence of mind to make sure there was room for the structure. It will outlast all of us! Author's photo taken on 4-8-2015 and added 4-30-2015.

This is the last and only Reo building still in existence, as seen in April 2015. Author's photo added 4-30-2015.

The former Reo Showroom on South Washington Ave., as seen in November 2015. Artist Tony Hendrick painted this mural attached to the building in 2015. Author's photo added 11-25-2015.

Author's photo added 11-25-2015.

The building in the mural shows several former Reo employees with the now razed Reo Clubhouse in the background. In its prime, the Clubhouse was a gathering place for Lansing residents to come and listen to concerts and participate in parties and dances. Author's photo added 11-25-2015.

The former Reo storage lot. This is where the last two photos were taken in November 2015. Author's photo added 4-30-2015.

Today this new building occupies the location of the former Reo Clubhouse in the Reo Industrial Park. Author's photo added 4-30-2015.

World War I:

This militarized version of the Holt Tractor was built by Reo in 1917 as a 5-ton prime mover for artillery in World War One. It was photographed at the former Ropkey Armor Museum in Indiana. The museum is now closed; and the location of the tractor is unknown. The Tractor has a 45 hp engine. Holt later evolved into Caterpillar. Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Post-World War World War Two:

During World War Two, Reo built Studebaker-designed US6 2-1/2-ton trucks for the war effort. In 1949, Reo designed and built 5,000 2-1/2-ton 6x6 six-wheel trucks designated as the M34 and known for a while as the "Eager Beaver," due to its ability to ford rivers and streams. The M34 was quickly replaced by the 2-1/2-ton 6x6 10-wheel M35 that was produced by Reo, Studebaker, Kaiser-Jeep, and AM General from 1950 to 1999. It was known to the troops that used it as the "Deuce and a Half." This design replaced the WWII GMC CCKW in service. The original M34/35 series was powered by a Reo-built 331 cu. in. 6-cylinder Gold Comet Engine.

Below is a photo of seven of the 5,000 M34 6x6 2-1/2 ton trucks built by Reo. This photo was taken in front of the Reo office buildings looking north-northeast along Washington Avenue in Lansing. These can be identified as the M34, as the trucks only have single tires on each end of the rear axles and the clearance cut-out over the tires in the bed.

Photo added 4-14-2015.

After the Korean War was over, Reo lost the contract to GMC, which had a lower cost structure and its own design designated M135. Later Reo, as part of White Motors and Diamond Reo, produced M35s for the Vietnam conflict. As an interesting aside, as noted above, Reo built Studebaker-designed 2-1/2-ton 6x6 trucks during World War Two, and Studebaker was building Reo-designed 2-1/2-ton 6x6 M35s when it went out of business in 1963. (See my Studebaker page for a photo.)

A Lansing, MI-built Reo/White M35 2-1/2-ton 6x6 truck is seen here at the James Dean Festival in Fairmount, IN. Since the beginning of this website over a year ago, I have been searching the military events to find a Lansing-built M35. Of all places, I find it at a vintage car show 25 miles from my house. Author's photo added 10-5-2014.

The reason for the Lansing Reo M35 search is that growing up in Lansing in the 1950s and 1960s, I used to see these trucks come off the end of the assembly line. Often, I would see them being test driven on Washington Ave. As I walked by the plant during the 1960s, I knew that these trucks were destined for Vietnam. Author's photo added 10-5-2014.

White Motor Company bought Reo in May of 1957 and Reo became the Lansing Division of White Motors. So, while the name tag says White Motor Co., the plant was still known to us locals as "The Reo". In any event, this truck was designed by Reo in 1949 and assembled in the same plant 15 years later. They were still Reo trucks. This M35A1 was built in February of 1964. Maybe I saw it come off the end of the assembly line on Washington Ave. as did many of this type. Author's photo added 10-5-2014.

A year after White purchased Reo, it then purchased the Diamond T Truck Company. One of the immediate benefits to Reo is that its OH185 V8 engines were then supplied to Diamond T. In 1960 White moved the Diamond T operation from Chicago to Lansing and built both truck lines in the plant until 1967 when the two truck products were combined into one product line, Diamond Reo. Author's photo added 10-5-2014.

REO Produces for War

This is the Reo Model 28XS, which is based on the Federal 604 20-ton tractor. Most of the Reo output was for Lend-Lease to Canada, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. This is one of the few trucks built during WWII that used the Cummins HB600 diesel engine.

Reo built 2,318 7-1/2-Ton 6x6 Tractors for the US Army Air Force.

Other Lansing Companies that contributed to winning World War Two