The American Automobile Industry in World War Two
An American Auto Industry Heritage Tribute by David D Jackson

 Overview      Lansing Michigan in World War Two   The U.S. Auto Industry at the Normandy Invasion, June 6, 1944    The U.S. Auto Industry and the B-29 Bomber   U.S. Auto Industry Army-Navy "E" Award Winners   The Complete listing of All Army-Navy "E" Award Winners   Sherman Tanks of the American Auto Industry   Tank Destroyers of the American Auto Industry    M26 Pershing Tanks of the American Auto Industry   M36 Tank Destroyers of the American Auto Industry   Serial Numbers for WWII Tanks built by the American Auto Industry   Surviving LCVP Landing Craft    WWII Landing Craft Hull Numbers   Airborne Extra-Light Jeep Photos  The American Auto Industry vs. the German V-1 in WWII   American Auto Industry-Built Anti-Aircraft Guns in WWII   VT Proximity Manufacturers of WWII   World War One Era Motor Vehicles   National Museum of Military Vehicles   Revisions   Links

 Automobile and Body Manufacturers:  American Bantam Car Company   Briggs Manufacturing Company   Checker Car Company   Chrysler Corporation   Crosley Corporation   Ford Motor Car Company   General Motors Corporation   Graham-Paige Motors Corporation   Hudson Motor Car Company   Murray Corporation of America   Nash-Kelvinator   Packard Motor Car Company      Studebaker    Willys-Overland Motors

General Motors Divisions:  AC Spark Plug   Aeroproducts   Allison   Brown-Lipe-Chapin   Buick   Cadillac   Chevrolet   Cleveland Diesel   Delco Appliance   Delco Products   Delco Radio   Delco-Remy   Detroit Diesel   Detroit Transmission   Electro-Motive   Fisher Body   Frigidaire   GM Proving Grounds   GM of Canada   GMC   GMI   Guide Lamp   Harrison Radiator   Hyatt Bearings   Inland   Moraine Products   New Departure   Oldsmobile   Packard Electric   Pontiac   Saginaw Malleable Iron   Saginaw Steering Gear   Southern California Division   Rochester Products   Ternstedt Manufacturing Division   United Motors Service   Vauxhall Motors

 Indiana Companies:  Bailey Products Corporation   Chrysler Kokomo Plant   Continental Steel Corporation  Converto Manufacturing    Cummins Engine Company   Diamond Chain and Manufacturing Company   Delta Electric Company   Durham Manufacturing Company   Farnsworth Television and Radio Corporation   General Electric Kokomo Plant   Haynes Stellite Company   Hercules Body Company   Horton Manufacturing Company   Howe Fire Apparatus   International Machine Tool Company   J.D. Adams Company   Kokomo Spring Company   Magnavox   Muncie Gear Works   Pierce Governor Company   Portland Forge and Foundry   Reliance Manufacturing Company-Kokomo Plant   Reliance Manufacturing Company-Washington Plant   Republic Aviation Corporation - Indiana Division   Ross Gear and Tool Company   S.F. Bowser & Co.   Sherrill Research Corporation   Tokheim Oil Tank and Pump Company   Warner Gear   Wayne Pump Company   Wayne Works

Commercial Truck and Fire Apparatus Manufacturers:  American LaFrance   Autocar   Biederman Motors Corporation   Brockway Motor Company   Detroit General   Diamond T   Duplex Truck Company   Federal Motor Truck   Four Wheel Drive Auto Company(FWD)   International Harvester   John Bean   Mack Truck   Marmon-Herrington Company   Michigan Power Shovel Company   Oshkosh Motor Truck Corporation   Pacific Car and Foundry   "Quick-Way" Truck Shovel Company  Reo Motor Car Company  Seagrave Fire Apparatus   Sterling Motor Truck Company    Ward LaFrance Truck Corporation   White Motor Company

Aviation Companies:  Abrams Instrument Corporation    Frankfort Sailplane Company   Hughes Aircraft Company   Kellett Aviation Corporation   Laister-Kauffman Aircraft Corporation   Naval Aircraft Factory   P-V Engineering Forum, Inc.    Rudolf Wurlitzer Company-DeKalb Division  Schweizer Aircraft Corporation   Sikorsky Division of United Aircraft Corporation   St. Louis Aircraft Corporation   Timm Aircraft Corporation

Other World War Two Manufacturers:  Air King Products   Allis-Chalmers   American Car and Foundry   American Locomotive   American Stove Company   Annapolis Yacht Yard   Andover Motors Company   B.F. Goodrich   Baker War Industries   Baldwin Locomotive Works   Blood Brothers Machine Company   Boyertown Auto Body Works   Briggs & Stratton   Burke Electric Company   Caterpillar   Cheney Bigelow Wire Works   Centrifugal Fusing   Chris-Craft   Clark Equipment Company   Cleaver-Brooks Company   Cleveland Tractor Company   Continental Motors   Cushman Motor Works   Crocker-Wheeler   Dail Steel Products   Detroit Wax Paper Company   Detrola   Engineering & Research Corporation   Farrand Optical Company   Federal Telephone and Radio Corp.   Firestone Tire and Rubber Company   Fruehauf Trailer Company   Fuller Manufacturing   Galvin Manufacturing   Gemmer Manufacturing Company   General Railway Signal Company   Gerstenslager Company   Gibson Guitar   Gibson Refrigerator Company   Goodyear   Hall-Scott   Hanson Clutch and Machinery Company   Harley-Davidson   Harris-Seybold-Potter   Herreshoff Manufacturing Company   Higgins Industries    Highway Traile    Hill Diesel Company   Holland Hitch Company   Homelite Company   Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation   Huffman Manufacturing   Indian Motorcycle   Ingersoll Steel and Disk   Iron Fireman Manufacturing Company   John Deere   Johnson Automatics Manufacturing Company   Kimberly-Clark   Kohler Company   Kold-Hold Company   Landers, Frary & Clark  Lima Locomotive Works   Lundberg Screw Products   MacKenzie Muffler Company   Massey-Harris   Matthews Company   McCord Radiator & Mfg. Company   Metal Mouldings Corporation   Miller Printing Machinery Company   Morse Instrument Company   Motor Products Corporation   Motor Wheel Corporation   National Cash Resgister Company   Novo Engine Company   O'Keefe & Merritt Company   Olofsson Tool and Die Company   Oneida Ltd   Otis Elevator   Owens Yacht   Pressed Steel Car Company   Pressed Steel Tank Company   Queen City Manufacturing Company   R.G. LeTourneau   Richardson Boat Company   R.L. Drake Company   St. Clair Rubber Company   Samson United Corporation   Shakespeare Company   Sight Feed Generator Company   Simplex Manufacturing Company   Steel Products Engineering Company   St. Louis Car Company   Twin Disc Company   Victor Adding Machine Company   Vilter Manufacturing Company   Wells-Gardner   W.L. Maxson Corporation   W.W. Boes Company   Westfield Manufacturing Company   York-Hoover Body Company   York-Shipley, Inc.   Youngstown Steel Door Company  
   

B.F. Goodrich in World War Two
Akron, OH
1870-Present (Now Goodrich based in Charlotte, NC)

This page updated 9-20-2021.

Goodrich started business in 1870 when founded by Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich in Akron, OH.  In the beginning, its main product line was rubber hoses for fire departments.  In 1903 Henry Ford chose B.F. Goodrich to supply tires for its Model T Ford.  In 1965 B.F. Goodrich invented the radial tire, but 23 years later ended up selling its tire making business to Michelin.  Today Goodrich is an aerospace company.


A period postcard rendering of the former B.F. Goodrich complex in downtown Akron, OH. 


B.F. Goodrich's Akron, OH Plant won the Army-Navy "E" Award two times during World War Two.
B.F. Goodrich's Los Angeles, CA Plant won the Army-Navy "E" Award two times during World War Two.
B.F. Goodrich's Niagara Falls, NY Plant won the Army-Navy "E" Award five times during World War Two.
B.F. Goodrich's Oaks, PA Plant won the Army-Navy "E" Award three times during World War Two.
B.F. Goodrich's Clarksville, TN Plant won the Army-Navy "E" Award five times during World War Two.

B.F. Goodrich World War Two Products:  858,000 half-track bogie wheels, 122,720 half-track steel rope and rubber tracks.   The company was the first to develop synthetic rubber and operated one synthetic rubber plant in Akron, OH during the war.  It also manufactured military truck tires, aircraft tires, gas masks, aircraft de-icing boots, self-sealing fuel tanks, armored vehicle tracks, and landing craft bearings, and Navy rubber cargo rafts.  It had over 50 aviation products for use in the B-17, B-24, B-25, B-26, B-29, P-61, and TBM which all had B.F. Goodrich equipment.

B.F. Goodrich was 67th in dollar value of World War Two production contracts.

B.F. Goodrich and the B-29 Enola Gay:


B.F. Goodrich supplied the auxiliary long range bomb bay 640 gallon fuel tanks for the B-29s that were built by Martin Aircraft in Omaha, NE.  Author's photo.


The B-29 Enola Gay was built by Martin in Omaha, NE.  B.F. Goodrich was also one of the suppliers for the six tires on the B-29.  Author's photo.


Item 604 is called out as B.F. Goodrich auxiliary fuel tanks. 


640 gallon bomb bay auxiliary fuel tank.

Half-Track Bogie Wheels and Tracks:  B.F. Goodrich was the supplier of all of the rubber tires for the bogie wheels on the 53,625 half-tracks built by Autocar, Diamond T, International Harvester, and the White Motor Company during World War Two.  There were sixteen bogie wheels on each half-track resulting in B.F. Goodrich producing 858,000 units. 

B.F. Goodrich was one of three rubber companies that supplied the 12-inch wide rubber over coated steel band tracks for the half-track.  These were known as band block rubber tracks.  Of the 167,594 tracks produced during World War Two, B.F. Goodrich manufactured 122,730 of them.  This was 74% of the total. 

B.F. Goodrich World War Two Half-Track Tracks 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.

Type  Same as 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total
Tracks, 12-inch, 58 pitch band Firestone, Goodyear Tire and Rubber   6,389 21,508 41,724 34,389 18,720 122,730


This Autocar M16 half-track is one of 53,625 built with B.F. Goodrich bogie wheels.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021. 


There are four sets of two bogie wheels on each side of the half-track.  These are also officially known as bogie assembly rollers in the Army Ordnance Supply Manual for the half-track.  This also shows the band block rubber track like B.F. Goodrich manufactured.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021. 


This photo shows the three different main assemblies of the bogie wheel:  the rubber wheel, the wheel the rubber tire has been vulcanized to, and then the hub and bearing assembly that is mounted to the wheel with six bolts and nuts.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021. 


This view shows that there are two wheels side-by-side on the bogie.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021. 


Shown here are new tracks that can be purchased to replace worn tracks on restored half-tracks.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


This photo shows the two continuous steel ropes that are joined together with steel brackets and fasteners.  B.F. Goodrich most likely sub-contracted the assembly of the steel rope and other components into a sub-assembly and then over coated it with the rubber.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


B.F. Goodrich also manufactured the band block rubber tracks for the Cleveland Tractor Company's M2 high speed tractor.  There were 6,320 M2s built during World War Two.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


This 1942 M2 "Cletrac" is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH.   Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


B.F. Goodrich was also a supplier of the rubber tires on the M2 Cletrac.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


Author's photo added 9-20-2021.

Armored Vehicle Rubber Tires:


This Fisher Body-built M4A3E8 Sherman tank has B.F. Goodrich rubber tires on the road wheels.  Author's photo. 


Author's photo.


B.F. Goodrich  supplied a number of rubber tires for the road wheels on LVTs.  This LVT-4 has B.F. Goodrich rubber tires on it.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


 B.F. Goodrich brand can be seen on the middle tire in this photo.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.

Gas Masks:


The next four photos are of a World War Two gas mask.  It is unused and in brand new condition.  Author's photo from the 2017 South Carolina National Guard Air and Ground Expo. 


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


This gas mask is from Lot A15-3.  Author's photo.


The "Mae West" type life vest was produced by B.F. Goodrich on July 19,1943.  Author's photo added 6-20-2019.


 Author's photo added 6-20-2019.


 Author's photo added 6-20-2019.


 Author's photo added 6-20-2019.

Vehicle Tires, Tracks, and Wheels:


B.F. Goodrich produced tires for the M25 Tank Transporter "Dragon Wagon."  This photo shows a M26A1 tractor and a M15A2 trailer with a M5A1 Stuart light tank on it.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


Goodrich manufactured tires for the GMC DUKW.  Author's photo.

Aviation Products:


The Northrop P-61 Black Widow had B.F. Goodrich de-icing boots on it.   Author's photo.


B-24s like this one were equipped with B.F. Goodrich fuel tanks, tires, and de-icing boots.   Author's photo.


B.F. Goodrich also made B-17 de-icing boots and tires for the aircraft.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


 B.F. Goodrich furnished components for the B-25 during World War Two.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


 B.F. Goodrich furnished components for the TBM torpedo bomber which was built by the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors during World War Two.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.


 B.F. Goodrich furnished components for the B-26 during World War Two.  Author's photo added 9-20-2021.

 

 

 

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