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Cleveland
Diesel Main Page This page added 2-10-2021. "How Cleveland Diesel Answered the Call" This document published by Cleveland Diesel is an important source of historical information about this GM Division up to and including late 1943. The 127 pages tell the early history of the company and how it contributed to the winning of World War Two. It may, in fact, be the best source of information on the division. With the sale of Cleveland Diesel in 1962, its history was lost, and it became a forgotten GM Division. This document provides historical information published by the Cleveland Diesel Division, making it a primary source document. For the person researching Cleveland Diesel, this is an invaluable document. Cleveland Diesel built diesel engines for submarines, destroyer escorts, and other ships during World War Two. Once submarine nuclear powers systems became available after World War Two, Cleveland Diesel's market for marine diesels dwindled, and it no longer fit into the General Motors family of products. But during World War Two, its engines were very important to the winning of the war. That is made evident by many of the letters from the U.S. Navy and newspaper clippings included in this document.
This is the longest of the
World War Two booklets produced by General Motors divisions during the
war. But it does not contain any of the "fluff" that other
divisions included such as information on the various ball teams they
had or other non-war related product information. "How Cleveland
Diesel Answered the Call" has sections on history, pre-war, conversion,
bottlenecks, war products, sub-contracting, delivery accomplishments,
organization, Navy awards, commendations, press clippings, conclusion,
and epilogue. It is well worth the time to read it and learn about
this forgotten GM Division that did so much to help win World War Two.
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