Blood Brothers Machine Company in World War Two
Allegan, MI
1914-1987

This page updated 10-15-2023.

In September 2022, I was at the Wheels of Liberation collection of military vehicles in Gettysburg, PA photographing this Four Wheel Drive Auto Company's HAR-1.  It had just returned from the bead blaster and had not yet been reassembled.  This allowed me to photograph parts of the truck and many of its components to which one does not normally have access.  Author's photo.

While photographing this portion of the drivetrain, I noticed a tag with some writing on the universal joint.  Author's photo.

The information on the universal joint says it was made by the Blood Brothers Machine Company of Allegan, MI, which is a company name I had not seen before.  All of the universal joints on the HAR-1 were provided by the Blood Brothers.  Author's photo. 

At the turn of the 20th Century, the Blood Brothers began making bicycles in Kalamazoo, MI.  In 1914, the brothers purchased a factory in Allegan, MI, and began making race cars with their own unique chain drive.  The Cornelian race car was driven by Louis Chevrolet in the 1915 Indianapolis 500.  Mr. Chevrolet had to drop out due to engine valve failure but did place 20th in the event. 

As I began to investigate the Blood Brothers Machine Company in earnest at the Allegan Area Chamber of Commerce website, I noted that the Chamber was selling Blood Brothers Christmas ornaments.  While the Rockwell International plant that was its descendent had closed thirty years earlier, the Chamber still remembered the Blood Brothers Machine Company by selling Christmas ornaments.  This told me that the former company had a large impact on the town.  

In 1900, Maurice, Clarence, and Charles Blood began producing bicycles in Kalamazoo, MI.  In 1914, the brothers purchased this former glass factory in Allegan, MI in which to build their cars.  Production of the Cornelian automobile as a non-race car began in 1914 and ended in September 1915 when only 100 were sold.  At this point, the company began manufacturing universal joints for the automobile and farm implement industries. 

In 1936, due to financial difficulties, the Blood Brothers Machine Company became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Standard Steel Spring Company of Coraopolis, PA.  Then in 1975 the ownership of the company became the property of Rockwell International, a large conglomerate of the era.

By 1979, the facility had expanded to the plant size shown here that totaled 343,000 square feet of floor space on 31 acres.  The operation employed 750 workers.  But it would not last.  Rockwell's share of the drivetrain business began to fall off, and in 1987, it closed the plant.  This occurred after another Rockwell facility in Iowa was chosen to carry on with the production from both plants, when the union in Iowa voted to take wage concessions and the State of Iowa gave Rockwell a $1.4 million grant.  However, to get the grant, the State of Iowa stipulated that Rockwell had to close other plants making the same product.  Therefore, in 1987, the plant shown here was closed.

This was a disaster for Allegan, MI.  Currently, Allegan, MI has a population of just over 5,200 persons.  To lose a factory that provided jobs for over 10% of the population of the town was severe and traumatic for the workers, their families, and the citizens of the area.  It is no wonder that 40 years later the Chamber of Commerce produced a Blood Brothers Machine Company Christmas Ornament.  The company started by the Blood Brothers in 1914 had become a mainstay of Allegan, MI.

Now for the kicker in the rest of the story.  The Iowa plant only lasted about ten years.  Rockwell took the State of Iowa's money and then also closed that plant.

This shows the layout of the facility in the mid-1970s.  

I see this all too often.  Where a factory once stood is now empty space.  However, the former drive shaft final assembly plant has been repurposed with a new occupant.  Image courtesy of Google Maps. 

 Image courtesy of Google Maps. 

This 1926 Acme Model 125 five-ton truck is on display at the National Auto and Truck Museum in Auburn, IN.  The information placard in front of the truck notes that it came equipped with Blood Brothers universal joints.  Author's photo. 

 I had looked at this truck and read the information on it several times during past visits.  However, on my December 2022 trip to the museum, the name Blood Brothers now meant something to me.  I had to see if it still had Blood Brothers universal joints installed.  Therefore, for the next few minutes I was underneath the truck photographing universal joints.  Author's photo. 

Both universal joints on this truck were made by the Blood Brothers of Allegan, MI.  Author's photo. 

This photo of the underside of the rear universal most plainly shows the company's name and location.  Other end caps on the two universal joints were more heavily painted and the name was not as clear.  Author's photo.

Blood Brothers Machine Company World War Two Products:  The company produced universal joints and propeller shafts for several different military vehicles during the war.  Table 1 shows information obtained from several pre-World War Two newspaper articles on War Department (U.S. Army) contracts the company was awarded.  After the attack on Pearl Harbor, military contracts were normal business and no longer mentioned in the newspapers.  All of the information I have been able to acquire on the company shows that it produced universal joints and propeller shafts for various military vehicles.

However, there was one news article dated October 30, 1942, in the Detroit Free Press that named the Blood Brothers as furnishing components to two Michigan ship building companies.  Great Lakes Engineering Works in River Rouge, MI, and the Lyons Construction Company of Whitehall, MI were reported as being two shipyards that were producing ships for the war effort.  Great Lakes Engineering Works produced at least 20 ore carriers during the war along with other types of cargo ships.  The cargo ships had a need for some applications for universal joints manufactured by the Blood Brothers Machine Company of Allegan, MI.  Blood Brothers may have also been a supplier for other undocumented wartime applications.

Also, one historical document notes that 900 workers were employed at the Blood Brothers' plant making Jeep components.  The 1945 edition of the Ordnance Supply Catalog for the Ford GPW and Willys-Overland MB does not show the Blood Brothers as being a supplier.  However, it may have been making the parts under subcontract to another company or was a supplier early in the war.  Suppliers may have changed for the Jeep as the war progressed.  What this does tell me is that there is more to the story that I have yet to uncover.  However, I have found and presented a sufficient amount of information to show that the Blood Brothers Machine Company of Allegan, MI was, like many other small companies in the United States, instrumental in helping to win World War Two.

Table 2 shows that the Blood Brothers Machine Company furnished universal joints and propeller shafts for a variety of trucks and for the M4/M4A1 Sherman tanks.  The M4/M4A1 Sherman tanks were powered by a Continental radial aircraft engine.  There were several types of Sherman tanks produced during World War Two with different engines.  However, the M4/M4A1 series was the type utilized by the United States Army for the entire conflict.  They were used in North Africa and Italy, landed with American forces at Normandy in June 1944, and served until V-E Day.  One of the attributes of the Sherman tank was its reliable drivetrain, of which the Blood Brothers universal joints and propeller shafts were an important component.  The Blood Brothers Machine Company was instrumental in helping to win World War Two.

Trucks:

Four Wheel Drive Auto Company HAR-1:

Blood Brothers' universal joints were used in several locations on the HAR-1.  This is the universal joint at the parking brake.  The transfer case is behind the parking brake.  Author's photo.

This image shows the bottom side of the transfer case with the output shafts.  Blood Brothers universal joints are used on each output shaft.  Author's photo.

A Blood Brothers universal joint is at the front differential.  Author's photo.

  Author's photo.

The universal joint at the rear axle was also made by the Blood Brothers Machine Company.  The Four Wheel Drive Auto Company produced 7,000 HAR-1 trucks with Blood Brothers universal joints installed.  Author's photo.

This and the following image are from the Ordnance Supply Catalog for the HAR-1.  BM designates a Blood Brothers Machine Company component. 

Four Wheel Drive Auto Company SU-COE:

Image added 10-15-2023. 

This page from the FWD SU-COE Operation and Maintenance Manual shows that the vehicle used both the Blood Brothers Model 6N and 5N universal joints.  Image added 10-15-2023.

M1 and M1A1 Wreckers 6x6:  Ward LaFrance and Kenworth built 5,765 M1 and M1A1 wreckers equipped with Blood Brothers propeller shafts and universal joints. 

This is a Ward LaFrance Series 2 M1 heavy wrecker.  Author's photo.

This is an M1A1 Ward LaFrance heavy wrecker.  Author's photo.

Below are the pages from the Ordnance Supply Catalog, showing the Blood Brothers Machine Company components (BM) used on the M1/M1A1 series wreckers.

6-Ton 6x6 Chassis for Bridge Erector:  Brockway, Four Wheel Drive Auto Company, Ward LaFrance, and White built a total of 3,075 of these types of vehicles.  Blood Brothers supplied several components for the front winch on the vehicle. 

This image shows the front winch which consisted of some Blood Brothers parts.  Photo courtesy of Pierre-Olivier Baun. 

This is a listing of the Blood Brothers parts used in the front winch. 

6-Ton, 6x6 Prime Mover:  Corbitt and White built a combined total of 8,157 of this type of truck.  White also produced 1,870 vans on this chassis and 25 2,000 gallon tankers.  The Blood Brothers furnished components for the propeller shafts and universal joints.

This is a White-built six-ton 6x6 prime mover.  Author's photo.

This is the Corbitt version of the vehicle.  Author's photo.

M4(75)VVSS Sherman Tank:  The Sherman tank is the iconic American tank of World War Two.  It was known for the durability and reliability of its drivetrain.  Blood Brothers Machine Company supplied components for the propeller shafts and universal joints for the M4/M4A1 series of Sherman tanks that  were instrumental in keeping the vehicles running. 

This document and the one below show the Blood Brothers (BM) components used on the M4/M4A1 Sherman tank and the 105mm Gun Motor Carriages.  Note that there were several companies that supplied parts for these components. 

Six different companies built the M4 Sherman tank.  Photos representing four of the six manufacturers are shown below. 

This is one of 2,150 Alco-built M4 Sherman tanks and was built in April 1943.   Author's photo.

This Alco-built M4 was also built in April 1943, and is the oldest surviving Alco M4.  Author's photo.

This M4E9(75) was built by Pressed Steel and is on display at the USS Alabama in Mobile, AL.  Pressed Steel built 1,000 M4 Sherman tanks.  Author's photo.

Pullman Standard built 689 M4s like this one.  Author's photo.

Chrysler built 1,641 M4s with 105mm howitzers like this one.  It also built another 1,000 with a 75mm main gun.  Author's photo.

M4A1(75)VVSS Sherman Tank:  The M4A1 was different from the M4 in that it had a cast, rather than a welded hull.  However, the drivetrains were the same.

Of the 1,655 M4A1 Sherman tanks that Lima built, only nine are known to still exist.  This is one of three that are in the United States.  It is believed to be Serial Number 7321, which was built in February 1943.  It was converted to a flamethrower tank and is on display at the Fort Leonard, MO museum complex.  Author's photo.

Pacific Car and Foundry built 926 M4A1(75) VVSS Sherman tanks like this one on display at the Fort Leonard Wood, MO Museum outside tank park.  It is the only one in the United States, and one of six remaining in the world.  Production of the M4A1 started in May 1942 and finished in November 1943.  Author's photo added 6-11-2018.

This Pressed Steel-built small hatch M4A1(75) is serial number 192, built in July 1942.  It is USA number 3014948.  It is the oldest Pressed Steel M4A1(75) known to exist and is owned by the Virginia Military Museum of Military Vehicles.  Note that this tank has the direct vision ports for the driver and assistant driver.  Author's photo.

M7 105mm Gun Motor Carriage:  The M7 used the same chassis as the M4 and M4A1 Sherman tanks.  The Blood Brothers Machine Company provided components for the propeller shafts and universal joints for this type of vehicle.

  Alco built 3,314 M7s like this one built in November 1942.  The Federal Machine and Welder Company built another 176.

Clark Equipment Company Planeloader Forklift Truck:  An undetermined number of Planeloaders were built by Clark in nearby Battle Creek, MI.  The Blood Brothers Machine Company supplied universal joints and propeller shaft components.