Youngstown Steel Door Company During World War Two
Youngstown, OH
1924 - 2016

This page added 3-17-2023.

Youngstown Steel Door was formed in 1924 to manufacture for the railroad industry just what the name of the company implied;  steel doors for boxcars.  Previously, these had been made of wood.  The company had several innovations for rail car doors constructed of steel and also made other steel railcar components.

Youngstown Steel Door Company World War Two Products:  Table 1 shows that the company had $25,084,000 in major contracts during World War Two.  Its first and third contracts were awarded for the manufacture of $3,786,000 worth of trailers for Army Ordnance.   The manufacture of trailers was 15% of the company's major contracts during the war.  The U.S. Navy Department of Aeronautics was the company's largest customer.  Its nine contracts amounted to $20,966,000 in disposable drop tanks for several of its fighters and patrol bombers.  Drop tanks gave Navy aircraft the ability to fly longer distances in the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean to attack their targets. Using an estimated cost of $150 per unit, Youngstown Steel Door manufactured approximately 140,000 drop tanks. 

M10 Ammunition Trailer:

This M10 ammunition trailer, produced by Youngstown Steel Door, is part of the collection of the Wheels of Liberation in Gettysburg, PA.  Author's photo.

This trailer does not have the data plate that was normally attached to vehicles and trailers.  Instead, it has this brass tag.  Author's photo.

The loading instructions indicate the amounts of different types of ammunition that can be loaded into the trailer.  Author's photo.

The metal box on the front of the trailer was for the storage of fuzes for the ammunition stored in the main section of the trailer.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

U.S. Navy Drop Tanks:  Youngstown Steel Door Company's main products that helped to win World War Two were drop tanks for U.S. Navy aircraft. 

This 165 gallon drop tank is on display at the National Museum of WWII Aviation in Colorado Springs, CO.  The information below indicates that Youngstown produced these as its part number 44-7280.

This factory photo shows the internal bracing that was required to stiffen the exterior half-shells of a drop tank.  Not only did these braces provide strength, but they prevented the aviation fuel from sloshing back and forth during flight.  The women are operating a spot welder that welded the interior braces to the half-shells.  Aviation fuel weighs six lbs. per gallon.  Each 165 gallon tank added 990 lbs. of take-off weight.  The bracing was needed to keep the exterior half-shells as light as possible without crumpling due to the 990 lbs. of fuel.  Photo courtesy of the Ohio Memory Collection.

The Youngstown Steel Door Company was a busy place during World War Two, providing drop tanks that extended the range of Navy F6F and Marine F4U fighters.  Photo courtesy of the Ohio Memory Collection.

There were several different designs and sizes of drop tanks during World War Two.  This F6F at the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, CA has a drop tank attached to the fuselage.  Author's photo. 

This Grumman F6F with a drop tank is on display at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT.  Author's photo. 

The F4U Corsair utilized Youngstown Steel Door Company drop tanks to increase its range as it fought its way up the Solomon Islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean.  Author's photo.

The Lockheed PV-1 and PV-2 both used 165 gallon drop tanks to extend their range on patrol over both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.  This PV-2 was on display at a 2013 aviation event in Topeka, KS.  Author's photo.

 Author's photo.

 Author's photo.

 This PV-2 with drop tanks is on display at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, FL.  Author's photo.

The Youngstown Steel Door Factory:  The factory's address was 3710 Hendricks Road in Youngstown, OH.  The factory, as can be seen in the Google maps satellite photo below, shows that the factory was located between Hendricks Road to the north and Connecticut Avenue to the south.  The east and west boundaries were railroad tracks. 

Image courtesy of Google maps. 

This view is from the northeast corner looking south down the railroad tracks that run along the east side of the factory complex.  Running west is Hendricks Road.  Image courtesy of Google maps.

This view is looking southeast from the west side rail tracks and Hendricks Road.  Image courtesy of Google maps.

This view shows the west side of the plant from Hendricks Road.  Image courtesy of Google maps.

This is the southeast corner of the factory as seen from Connecticut Avenue.  Image courtesy of Google maps.

This image shows the southwest corner of the factory complex from Connecticut Avenue.  Image courtesy of Google maps.

While the Youngstown Steel Door Company went out of business in 2016, parts of it have been repurposed by several other companies that have occupied some of the space.  Below are several images of the factory courtesy of Loopnet.com.

There is a lot of space in this high-bay building. 

This view of the same building shows the high capacity overhead crane in the facility.  

It is rare that a plant layout is available that shows all of the different buildings for a factory complex.