Cummins Engine Company in World War Two

Cummins Engine Company in World War Two
Columbus, IN
1919-Present

This page updated 11-3-2020.

Cummins Engine Company was founded in 1919 by Clessie Cummins in Columbus, IN to produce diesel engines. This makes Cummins one of the earliest, if not the earliest, companies to start working on diesels in the United States. Today, Cummins is a major producer of diesel engines. It is, and has been, the largest employer in the Columbus, IN area.

The Army-Navy "E" Award:

Cummins Engine Company was awarded the Army-Navy "E" Award three times.
The first award was presented on 1-28-1943. Mr. C.L. Cummins accepted the award.
The second award was announced on 3-10-1944.
The third and last award was announced on 7-17-1945.

Mr. C.L. Cummins receives the first "E" flag on 1-28-1943. Photo courtesy of Cummins Inc.

All of the employees were invited to the presentation. This was standard procedure as the award program was focused on getting the employees involved in increasing production for the war effort. Photo courtesy of Cummins Inc.

Photo courtesy of Cummins Inc.

Cummins Engine Company World War Two Products: Diesel engines for naval ships' electrical service generators, HB600 diesel engines for a 4,346 heavy duty trucks, and diesel engines stationary land-based generators.

Author's Note: I have had wanted to add a Cummins WWII page for several years. Cummins is an Indiana company that participated in the war effort. As evidence, the company won the Army-Navy "E" award three times during the war. However, I was unable to find any information on its diesel engine types or applications produced for the military. I visited the Columbus IN Library and researched its local history section. I read "The Engine that Could: Seventy-Five Years of Values-Driven Change at Cummins Engine Company" by Jeffrey L. Cruikshank and David B. Sicilia. I searched the web and a web-based library search function. Nothing was found.

Then in early March 2018, as part of an impromptu "cabin fever" trip, I revisited the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum at the Columbus, IN airport. I had not been there in several years; and wanted to see if it had any information on Cummins Engine in WWII. To my surprise, the Cummins engine shown below was newly on display. It is a six-cylinder Cummins diesel engine attached to a Burke Electric 120V DC generator. It was built in 1944 for supplying ship's electrical service.

More information was provided in June 2018, when Mr. Tommy Harris, a World War Two heavy truck collector in Virginia, contacted me to let me know that both the Federal 604 and Reo 28-XS were produced with Cummins HB600 diesel engines. In the same time frame, I purchased several World War Two Army Ordnance documents at the 2018 MVPA National Convention in Louisville, KY. They informed me that the Cummins HB600 was also used in the White Model 1064.

In April 2019 Ms. Holly Laurel Kissel sent me some photos and information on a Cummins PE-245-A World War Two power unit that had been operating on her family's farm for the past 70 years. The PE-245-A was powered by a Cummins six-cylinder 672 cu. in. HI-6 diesel engine which produced 90 hp at. 1200 rpm. The generator was produced by Rogers Diesel and Aircraft Corporation. This unit was purchased by Mike Schrieber during the summer of 2019.

In November 2019, Mr. Dion Anglin, Director Defense Marketing, Cummins Inc. contacted me. This was in regard to work he was doing on the company's contribution to the nation's defense. This produced information on the K-25 engine used in YMS minesweepers in World War Two.

Slowly, but surely, the pieces are coming together, regarding Cummins Engine Company's contribution to winning World War Two.

DDJ 4-12-2019

PE-245-A Power Unit with Cummins HI-6 Update: The power unit previously owned by Ms. Holly Laurel Kissel was purchased by Mike Schrieber during the summer of 2019 and is now part of his collection in Winfield, IN. The article from "Diesel World" magazine gives some great detail on this very rare Cummins generator set.

In November I was able to visit Mike and see his World War Two Cummins Model HI 600 engine start up and run. Author's photo added 11-3-2020.

Author's photo added 11-3-2020.

Mike Schrieber also has in this collection this 1945 Cummins HB150. Author's photo added 11-3-2020.

This Cummins engine was not used to power a generator and has a power takeoff attached to it. The HB150 has a Delco-Remy DC generator and regulator as part of the engine accessories, indicating that electrical power was going to be needed for some application. The Cummins HI 600 in the PE-245 generator set that Mike owns only has a Delco-Remy cranking motor. Delco-Remy was located in Anderson, IN and was a supplier of electrical components to Cummins during World War Two. Author's photo added 11-3-2020.

Author's photo added 11-3-2020.

This shows the power takeoff. It is unknown what it was going to power. Author's photo added 11-3-2020.

Author's photo added 11-3-2020.

Model A Diesel Engine:

This engine is the only known World War Two Cummins Diesel to be on display in a museum. It can be seen at the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum at the Columbus, IN airport where it is one of many fine items on display. The engine is now on permanent loan to the museum from Cummins after sitting in a storage area at the company for many years. Author's photo.

The information label is not specific on the actual application of the generator set. The museum is correct about its use in small vessels, as larger ships primarily used engines from both the Detroit Diesel and Cleveland Diesel Divisions of GM during WWII. Author's photo.

The A series was started in 1937. By 1944 42,644 units had been produced. Author's photo.

The Harrison-Radiator Division of General Motor heat exchanger was built on 4-26-1944; indicating this engine was built sometime after that. Author's photo.

The heat exchanger has "Cummins Dependable Diesel" cast into the front of it. Author's photo.

The Cummins A series was a six cylinder engine. Each cylinder has two fuel lines running to it. The ones on the right are the high pressure input lines and the ones on the left are fuel return lines. Author's photo.

Author's photo.

Model K Diesel Engine:

There were 561 YMS minesweepers built by 35 small ship builders in the United States during World War Two. Two Cummins Model K engines of 75 hp each were standard equipment on these boats. Each Cummins engine drove an electric generator which produced magnetic pulses down two long buoyant electric cables pulled behind the ship. These were known as LL sweeps and were first introduced by the British in 1940. The magnetic pulses simulated a steel ship which would then set off any magnetic-triggered mines that the LL sweep encountered. As the war progressed and the magnetic mines became more complicated, the LL sweep continued to be the best method for dealing with them. After the United States entered World War Two, the U.S. Navy also used the LL sweep technology. YMS stood for Yard Minesweeper. It was 135 feet long of wood construction. Being of shallow draft, they were used around the world to clear landing beaches of any mines. Thirteen were sunk by mines and three by enemy shelling during the war. Of the 21 YMS minesweepers with the U.S. Navy at Normandy, three were sunk by mines. This was dangerous work for the small wooden boats. The Cummins Model K engine generator-set was part of an important weapon on the YMS to detect and sink mines.

The water color above showing two YMS class minesweepers on patrol comes from "100 Fighting Ships." This was published by Herreshoff of Bristol, RI at the end of the war to commemorate the ships it had built to help win the war. The photo above represents the two YMSs the company built.

Cummins HB600 World War Two Truck applications: (This section added 8-11-2018.) Cummins Diesel built 4,443 HB600 engines for three different medium/heavy-duty trucks shown below.

The six-cylinder, 672 cu. in. engine produced 150 bhp. An interesting aspect of this engine is that it relied on a "flame-thrower" in sub-freezing temperatures to pre-heat the intake air. This was accomplished by forcing air through an atomizer nozzle and across a continuous spark plug into the air stream.

Cummins HB600 Production for White 10-ton 6x4 Cargo Trucks, and Reo and Federal 20-ton 6x4 Tractors The production numbers below are for the trucks that utilized the Cummins HG600 engine. Cummins, being the only supplier for the engines for these vehicles, would have had similar schedules to meet the demand for the trucks. Not included in the numbers below are spare engines and parts. The monthly production acceptances for the trucks noted 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 and "Engineering of Transport Vehicles, published by the Chief or Ordnance - Detroit.
Truck Model	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	Total
White Model 1064 10-ton 6x4 Cargo			506	946	579	469	2,500
Reo Model 28-XS 20-ton 6x4 Tractor			700				700
Federal Model 604 20-ton 6x4 Tractor			843	130	480		1,443
Total Cummins H600 diesel engines built for trucks in World War Two			2,049	1,076	1,059	469	4,643

The Sterling HWS160H 6x4 truck was powered by a Cummins engine during World War Two.

1,443 Federal Model 604 trucks were produced with the Cummins HB600 engine. Here it is pulling a trailer with a 20-ton M24 light tank. Photo added 8-11-2018.

Reo built 700 28-XS 20-ton tractors powered by the Cummins HB600 diesel engine.

2,500 White 10-ton 6x4 cargo trucks were powered by the Cummins HB600. Photo added 8-11-2018.

The Sterling HWS160H 6x4 was powered by a Cummins Diesel HB engine and utilized by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Cummins H-6 Generator Sets:

Post-World War Two Military Products: Below are several military products that are powered by Cummins Diesel engines.

The M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles get around the battlefield in a big hurry, powered by several versions of the Cummins 903-T series engines. Author's photo added 11-4-2019.

This Cummins 903-T was built 1978 and is a pre-Bradley example of the engine. In 1981 Cummins began delivering 903-T 500 engines for installation in the M2 Bradley. This 903-T is on display at the AAF Tank Museum in Danville, VA. Author's photo added 11-4-2019.

Note the M2 Bradley in the background. Author's photo added 11-4-2019.

Author's photo added 11-4-2019.

Over 2,000 M1117 "Guardians" were produced, powered by Cummins 6CTA8.3 260 hp engines. The M1117 is used by MP units for various security and road convoy escort duties. This M1117 is on display inside the main gate at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. Author's photo added 8-11-2018.

Author's photo added 8-11-2018.

This Hough front-end loader is on display at Fort Polk, LA. It is powered by a Cummins diesel engine. Author's photo added 8-11-2018.

Author's photo added 8-11-2018.

The LARC-V (Lighter, Amphibious, Re-supply, Cargo - Five Ton) was a post-World War Two vehicle operated by the US Army. All 968 LARC-Vs were powered by Cummins V8-300 engines of 785 cu in, producing 300 hp. This LARK-V is on display at the South Carolina Military Museum in Columbia, SC. Author's photo added 8-11-2018.

Author's photo added 8-11-2018.