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Bailey
Products Corporation in World War Two
Union City, IN
This page added 12-14-2022.
Normally, when I find a World War Two
artifact with the company's name that manufactured it, I am able to
learn more about the company and what it made before and after the war.
In the case of the M1 mine fuze shown above, I was only able to find the
major contracts for the Bailey Product Corporation in Union City, IN.
Because Table 1 shows that it had contracts from 1941 through 1945, we
know it was in existence during the war period. There is also a
reference to it in 1948. Author's photo.
A 1943 newspaper article notes that it had two
plant sites in Union City, IN. Both were on streets that have
apparently been renamed. One plant was in a former hardware store
on Oak Street, which no longer exists. The main plant was on
Division Street, East Side. Currently, there is only a West
Division Street in Union City, IN. To complicate matters, there is
also a Union City, OH as both towns are on the Indiana-Ohio State
border. That being said, there is no Division Street on the Ohio
side of the border either.
Union City, IN currently has a population of
3,500 persons. Its claim to fame is in the 1960s being the home of
the McCoys, who became famous for their hit song "Hang On Sloopy."
"Hang On Sloopy" is Ohio's official rock song,
even though the group resided in Union City, IN. Go figure.
Bailey Products produced $1,511,000 worth of
M1 anti-tank mine fuzes like the one shown above. This fuze is on
display at the Museum of the Soldier in Portland, IN, 25 miles northwest
of Union City.
Table 1- Bailey Products
Corporation's
Major World War Two Contracts
The information below
comes from the "Alphabetical Listing of Major War Supply
Contracts, June 1940 through September 1945." This was
published by the Civilian Production Administration, Industrial
Statistics Division. |
|
Product - Customer |
Contract Number |
Contract Amount |
Contract Awarded
Date |
Completion
Date |
| Ordnance
Material - Army |
294-ORD-752 |
$315,000 |
6-1941 |
12-1941 |
| Housings -
Army |
294-ORD-763 |
$126,000 |
7-1941 |
4-1942 |
| Fuzes -
Army |
294-ORD-991 |
$122,000 |
3-1942 |
9-1942 |
| Fuzes -
Army |
294-ORD-1115 |
$614,000 |
4-1943 |
2-1943 |
| Mine
Fuzes M1- Army |
294-ORD-1210 |
$106,000 |
5-1942 |
11-1942 |
| Fuzes
Mine - Army |
294-ORD-2037 |
$248,000 |
12-1942 |
7-1942 |
| Fuzes
Mine - Army |
294-ORD-2372 |
$93,000 |
4-1943 |
4-1944 |
| Fuzes
Mine - Army |
294-ORD-2373 |
$328,000 |
4-1943 |
6-1944 |
| Fuzes
PD M53 - Army |
33008-ORD-619 |
$378,000 |
2-1944 |
10-1944 |
| Fuzes
PD M53 - Army |
33008-ORD-1030 |
$672,000 |
6-1944 |
5-1945 |
| Fuzes
PD M53 - Army |
33008-ORD-1727 |
$333,000 |
12-1944 |
6-1945 |
| |
Total |
$3,335,000 |
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Table 2 - Bailey Products
Corporation's Major World War Two Product Categories |
|
Product |
Amount |
Percentage |
| Fuzes,
Mine Fuzes M1, and Fuzes Mine - Army |
$1,511,000 |
45.3% |
| Fuzes
PD M53 - Army |
$1,383,000 |
41.4% |
| Ordnance
Material - Army |
$315,000 |
9.4% |
| Housings -
Army |
$126,000 |
3.9% |
| Total |
$3,335,000 |
100% |
There were 10,704,000 M1 anti-tank mines
produced from 1942 through the end of 1943. Bailey Products
produced a small share of the fuzes for the M1 anti-tank mine.
Those contracts were replaced with the M6 and M7 anti-tank mine starting in 1944.
The company began making M-53 81mm mortar fuzes.
Author's photo.
The fuze is in the "safe" position.
To arm it, the soldier would pull the safety fork out from the fuze.
The outside ring would then drop and the center post would be exposed.
When a vehicle ran over it, it would depress and set off the mine.
There was enough spring load on the center post that the weight of an
individual soldier would not set off the mine. Author's photo.
The Bailey-built fuzes were used in M1
anti-tank mines like this one built at nearby Durham Manufacturing
Company in Muncie, IN. Author's photo.
The M-53 fuze was for 81mm mortar shells and
had a delayed action. These were used with heavy charge shells
where penetration was desired.
An 81mm mortar is shown at the top of the
photo. 81mm mortar shells with M53 fuzes were very similar to the 60mm
mortar shells and fuzes on the sandbag. Author's photo.
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