American Stove Company During World War Two
St. Louis, MO
1901-1951 as American Stove Company
1951-1958 as Magic Chef
1958 - Current under various owners

This page updated 5-26-2024.

I like walking around military, naval, and aviation museums to find a World War Two military product on display from an unexpected American company.  Such was the case in August 2023 when I visited National Museum of Military Aviation in Colorado Springs, CO.  While photographing the SBD-4 that is on display at the museum, I noticed a drop tank underneath the aircraft.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Unlike many drop tanks I have seen, this one was not in museum restored pristine condition as I normally find them.  It looked sort of beat up.  Author's photo.

This drop tank looked like an original World War Two artifact that the museum was able to obtain.  Author's photo.

A closer examination showed that this is an original 58-gallon drop tank produced by the American Stove Company in St. Louis, MO.  The tank was produced under Navy contract 288S29259.  Table 1 shows that this particular tank was produced between February 1945 and November 1945 as part of a $541,000 order.  The U.S. Navy inspector's stamp can be seen in the upper left of the photo.  Somehow this drop tank survived 83 years to be found and then put on display.  Author's photo. 

In 1902, the American Stove Company was started by Mr. Charles A. Strockstrom in St. Louis, MO for the manufacture of household stoves.  Many readers are more likely to recognize the company's trade name of Magic Chef.  In 1951, the company changed its name to Magic Chef for better customer recognition.  In 1958, the company merged with Food Giants Markets of CA.  This was the first of many mergers and purchases of the company up to the current era.  Magic Chef stoves can still be purchased today.    

This page from T.O. No. 03-1-46 shows that the American Stove Company was the only supplier of the 58-gallon droppable fuel tank for the U.S. Navy. 

TBM-3E Avenger Bu. No. 83828 was on display at the 2024 TBM Reunion at Peru, IL.  It has two 100-gallon American Stove Company-built drop tanks under the wings.  Author's photo added 5-26-2024. 

Author's photo added 5-26-2024. 

Author's photo added 5-26-2024. 

Author's photo added 5-26-2024. 

Author's photo added 5-26-2024. 

 
This page from T.O. No. 03-1-46 shows that the American Stove Company was one of two suppliers of the 100-gallon droppable fuel tank for the U.S. Navy. 

The FM-1 was another type of World War Two naval aircraft that used the American Stove Company's 58 gallon drop tank.  Author's photo. 

The Curtiss SB2C was also a user of the 58 and 100-gallon drop tanks.  Author's photo.

The American Stove Company won the Army-Navy "E" award three times during World War Two.
The first award to the company was made on May 9, 1944.

The American Stove Company's World War Two Products:  Table 1 shows that the company had $32,030,000 in major contracts during World War Two.  Its products included parachute flares, bombs, 40mm shells, and droppable fuel tanks.  Both the USAAF and the Navy ordered drop tanks from American Stove Company.  Table 2 shows that Army Ordnance was the company's largest customer during World War Two.

The USAAF was a larger customer of drop tanks from the American Stove Company than the U.S. Navy.  American Stove Company made 110 gallon drop tanks for the USAAF.

This photo article from the 2-4-1945 edition of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat shows a worker holding either a 100 or 110 gallon drop tank with one hand over her head.

The Republic P-47 is known for its prowess as a low-level fighter bomber.  One of the weapons it used was the 500 lb. bomb.  Author's photo.

The American Stove Company was a supplier of 500 lb. bombs to Army Ordnance during World War Two.  Author's photo.

The company also made fragmentation bombs.  Author's photo.

This photo article from the 12-26-1943 edition of the St. Louis Post Dispatch shows all of the components that went into an American Stove Company-built parachute flare. 

This image shows two AN-M26 parachute flares that were photographed on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.  Author's photo.

The 40mm shell consisted of a brass shell casing, a projectile, and a fuze.  In this example, the shell like that which the American Stove Company produced is painted black.  Different companies produced the three main components for the shell.  They were all sent to an Army ordnance plant that assembled them into the final product as seen here.  Author's photo.

The American Stove Company Factory:

This post-World War Two advertisement for the sale of surplus equipment shows that the company was located at 2001 S. Kingshighway Blvd. in St. Louis, MO.  

This Google Maps satellite view shows that the factory is still there. 

After World War Two, a bridge was built in front of the plant to go over the railroad tracks to the south of the factory.  Image courtesy of Google Maps. 

This view from Daggett Avenue shows the north side of the former American Stove Company plant.  It also shows how close the bridge came to the front door on the east side of the building.  Image courtesy of Google Maps. 

This image is another view of the north side of the building along Daggett Avenue and the west side of the factory.  The area directly west of this building may also have been part of the factory complex.  However, whatever was there was razed and apartment buildings are being built in its place.  Image courtesy of Google Maps. 

This Google Earth image shows another view of the former American Stove Company factory.  Image added 5-26-2024.

This image shows the apartment complex that is west of the former American Stove Company plant.  This area most likely was part of the factory complex along with the empty field in the lower right of the photo.  Google Earth image added 5-26-2024.