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   Haynes Stellite Company   Hercules Body Company   Horton Manufacturing Company   Howe Fire Apparatus   J.D. Adams Company   Kokomo Spring Company   Magnavox  
Muncie Gear Works   Pierce Governor Company   Portland Forge and Foundry   Reliance Manufacturing Company   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   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   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   Gibson Guitar   Gibson Refrigerator Company   Goodyear   Hall-Scott   Hanson Clutch and Machinery Company   Harley-Davidson   Harris-Seybold-Potter   Herreshoff Manufacturing Company   Higgins Industries    Highway Trailer   Hill Diesel Company   Holland Hitch Company   Homelite Company   Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation   Huffman Manufacturing   Indian Motorcycle   Ingersoll Steel and Disk   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   Queen City Manufacturing Company   R.G. LeTourneau   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   Youngstown Steel Door Company  
   

 Continental Steel Corporation During World War Two
Kokomo, IN

1901-1986
1901-1927 as Kokomo Steel and Wire Company
1927-1986 as
Continental Steel Corporation

This page added 3-2-2023.

The Continental Steel Corporation was created on June 21, 1927, through the merger of the Kokomo Steel and Wire Company (founded in Kokomo, Indiana in 1901) with the Superior Sheet Steel Company of Canton, Ohio, and the Chapman Price Steel Company of Indianapolis. John E. Fredrick, who had been an organizer of the Kokomo Fence Machine Company in 1896 and had served on the board of directors of the Kokomo Steel and Wire Company,  served as first Chairman of the Board of Continental Steel, whose headquarters were established in Kokomo. The Kokomo operations of this corporation, however, continued to employ the Kokomo Steel and Wire name until 1944.

During the Second World War Continental produced large tonnages of barbed wire, nails, and sheet steel for military use.  It also provided material for products manufactured by defense industries. These included aerial bombs and fuel containers.

Not only did it make different materials, but it would take scrap metal and reprocess it for new items. One example of this is taking old World War One era tanks and reclaiming the steel for use in new products during World War Two.

In 1946 and 1947, Continental Steel sold off its Canton, Ohio and Indianapolis sheet mill facilities, having decided to focus on the manufacture of finished products at Kokomo. In 1968, the Penn-Dixie Company took over the company.  Then after many challenges and setbacks for Continental Steel and for the American steel industry as a whole, the company was dissolved in 1986, due to bankruptcy.

 Continental Steel Corporation World War Two Products:  Kokomo, IN mill of the Continental Steel Corporation had $6,670,000 in major contracts during World War Two.  Products included in the contracts were steel, steel sheets, wire, barbed wire, steel billets, galvanized steel, galvanized roof steel, galvanized wire, nails, and fencing wire.


This is one of 950 M1917 light tanks that was built after the end of World War One.  The M1917 was based on the French Renault FT tank.  After World War One the U.S. Army also acquired 200 of the French FT tanks.  As noted above in the introduction, Continental Steel recycled World War One era tanks during World War Two.  These were the M1917 and FT tanks.  Due to the recycling of these tanks, there are only twenty M1917s and six FT tanks left in the United States.  Author's photo.


This magnificent former residence is known as the Seiberling Mansion in Kokomo, IN.  Located on West Sycamore Street in Kokomo, this building now serves as the location for the Howard County Historical Society's Museum.  This museum is what I call a "golden nugget" museum.  I was unaware of this museum until I visited it on a bright, sunny, Sunday afternoon in February.  I had just learned of this museum while I was researching the Kingston Products Company.  I was pleasantly surprised to find not only World War Two information on Kingston, but several other companies I was unaware of that contributed to the winning of World War Two.  Author's photo.

The Howard County Historical Society also has archives in an office building adjacent to the museum.  I visited this several days later, and Mr. Randy Smith spent several hours with me providing World War Two information on four different Kokomo companies.  It is from this information that I am able to publish this page on the Continental Steel Company.

I highly recommend the Howard County Historical Society Museum shown above, and the nearby Elwood Haynes Museum on South Webster Street in Kokomo.  Both have excellent historical information on Kokomo, and they complement each other with different displays and information.

A Wartime Report to the Men and Women of Continental Steel Corporation

The Wartime Report was published by Continental Steel in Kokomo, IN in May 1944.  Primary source documents like the Wartime Report are some of the best sources of information for what companies produced during World War Two.  They are also very rare.  I want to thank Mr. Randy Smith of the Howard County Historical Society for allowing me to copy this document in order to tell the story of how Continental Steel Company helped win World War Two.

For the most part, the Wartime Report is self explanatory.  However, in several cases I have added some information for further explanation.


I recognized the Delco-Remy data plate on the side of the starter motor, as this was where I worked.  The steel that Continental supplied for the armature laminations was what is known as electrical steel.  It has silicon added to it that increases the steel's magnetic properties.  Delco-Remy was located in Anderson, IN, 50 miles southeast of Kokomo.  


This is what was known during World War Two as a Lifekraft, produced by the Globe American Corporation of Kokomo.  These were all metal craft that were purchased by the U.S. Maritime Commission for use on American Liberty and Victory cargo ships. 

 


The life-boats shown on this page were all steel lifeboats also produced by Globe American Corporation in Kokomo for the U.S. Maritime Commission. 


The Delco Radio Division of General Motors was located in Kokomo and was one of many companies in the area that helped win World War Two. 

The location of the former Continental Steel Corporation in Kokomo, IN:


This 1916 Sanborn Map shows the extent of the facility when it was still the Kokomo Steel and Wire Company.  This layout compares favorability with the photo above.


The facility was razed and replaced with a solar farm.  Image courtesy of Google Maps. 

 

 

 

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