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  
   

 General Railway Signal Company (GRS) in World War Two
Rochester, NY
1904-1998

This page added 11-9-2022.

In 1904, the General Railway Signal Company (GRS) was formed by the merger of the Pneumatic Signal Company of Rochester, NY; Taylor Signal Company of Buffalo, NY; and the Standard Railroad Signal Company of Arlington, NJ.  The company's headquarters and main production facility was located at 801 West Avenue in Rochester, NY.  At the turn of the 20th Century, railroads were the primary means of travel within the United States.  The Interstate System and commercial air travel would not replace the railways for travel within the country until after World War Two.  The General Railway Signal Company was an important contributor to travel safety of the trains.  The company supplied the signal equipment along the tracks that notified the train engineers that the tracks were safe to use.  For this era, General Railway Signal company was "high tech."  Its signal equipment used the latest electrical technology of lighting, relays, and batteries to keep the trains running on time and in a safe manner.  This "high tech" image of the company would allow it 38 years later during World War Two to manufacture some of the most sophisticated equipment to help win World War Two.  


This image from the 1910 City of Rochester plat map shows the location of the General Railway Signal Company's factory at 810 West Avenue.  The company was at this location until 1993 when operations moved to Brighton, NY, and West Henrietta, NY.    


This image shows the plant on a blustery Christmas Eve Day in 1915.  During World War One this plant turned out artillery shells for the Allied effort.  The company would again make artillery shells when World War Two began. 

In 1998, GRS was purchased by Alstom SA, which discontinued the General Railway Signal Company name on its products. 


The original plant and additions are still in current use by other companies. 

General Railway Signal Company World War Two Products: 

Table 1 - General Railway Signal Company'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 Amount Contract Awarded Completion Date
Ammunition Components - Army Ordnance $4,375,000 11-1940 2-1942
Shells - Army Ordnance $4,738,000 8-1941 6-1942
Shells - Army Ordnance $4,335,000 12-1941 2-1942
Shells - Army Ordnance $536,000 1-1942 11-1942
Shells - Army Ordnance $7,232,000 2-1942 5-1943
Shells - Army Ordnance $442,000 2-1942 11-1942
Shells - Army Ordnance $2,365,000 3-1942 2-1943
Shells - Army Ordnance $867,000 4-1942 12-1942
Fire Control Equipment  - USAAF $83,193,000 8-1942 4-1944
Shell Assemblies HE M8 - Army Ordnance $4,552,000 7-1943 12-1943
Shells 75mm HE - Army Ordnance $368,000 8-1943 10-1943
Signal Equipment - Treasury $4,089,000 8-1943 2-1944
Shells 105mm HE - Army Ordnance $9,049,000 9-1943 12-1944
Fire Control Equipment  - USAAF $48,688,000 1-1944 6-1945
Rocket Shells HE M8A1 - Army Ordnance $3,430,000 1-1944 1-1945
Railroad Signal Equipment - Treasury $96,000 6-1944 8-1944
Shells 105mm HE M1- Army Ordnance $8,399,000 8-1944 5-1945
Airplane Controls - USAAF $294,000 12-1944 4-1945
Shells 105mm HE M1- Army Ordnance $5,192,000 12-1944 4-1946
Fire Control Equipment  - USAAF $35,926,000 2-1945 2-1946
Total $228,166,000    

Table 1 shows that the company's first eight contracts starting in November 1940 through April 1942 totaled $24,890,000 shells for the U.S. Army.  Its next contract was for a whopping $83,193,000 for fire control equipment for the United States Army Air Forces.  In my research, I have never seen a company awarded such a large first-time contract for a new product.  Normally, the company gets a series of smaller contracts as it ramps up production.  What was so important to the winning of World War Two for the United States Army Air Forces that they would award an $83,193,000 contract to a company that had only previously made artillery shells? 


The answer is the B-29 Superfortress four-engine long range bomber was the most advanced aircraft of World War Two.  One of the main features of the B-29 was that the crew areas were pressurized.  The big advantage to the crew was that the interior could be climate controlled, and the air crew was not subject to having to wear heavy clothing and oxygen masks while being subject to -40 degree Fahrenheit temperatures like the B-17 and B-24 crews did in Europe. In order to do this, the B-29 had non-manned gun turrets which were operated by remote gun sights.  The General Railway Signal Company was a major, if not the largest supplier, of the B-29 gun sighting stations for all five locations on the aircraft.  Author's photo from the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ.   


This B-29 General Railway Signal Company B-29 tail gun sighting station is on display at the Indiana Military Museum in Vincennes, IN.  It is virtually identical to the other four sighting stations on the B-29.  Author's photo. 

The B-29 project was the most expensive American project of World War Two.  It was even more expensive than the Manhattan Project that produced the atomic bomb.  It was also a rushed project where all the new technology had to be tested and then produced in four plants dedicated to B-29 production.  Therefore, in August 1942, GRS was given an $83,193,000 contract to produce this highly technical product. 

Table 2 - General Railway Signal Company's Major World War Two Product Categories
Product Amount Percentage
Fire Control Equipment  - USAAF $167,807,000 74%
Artillery Shells and Rockets $55,880,000 24%
Railroad Signal Equipment - Treasury $4,185,000 1.9%
Airplane Controls - USAAF $294,000 .1%
Total $228,166,000 100%


This data plate shows this this sighting station is serial number 312750.  It should be noted that the company did not build this number of units.  As noted below, the Singer Manufacturing Company produced 20,794 computers for the B-29s remote gun control system.  Therefore, GRS most likely produced about the same amount of sighting stations.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


This is the tail gun position on the B-29.  Author's photo.


This is the interior view of the B-29's tail gun position. 


The New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT built a special display hangar to display its B-29 named "Jack's Hack."  Author's photo.


This cut-away model of a B-29 at the New England Air Museum will be used to explain the defensive gun control system on the aircraft.  Author's photo. 


This image shows the front of the aircraft.  The forward dorsal and ventral front turrets can be seen.  They are self-enclosed units with no place for a gunner in the turret.  The bombardier that sat at the front of the aircraft had primary control of these two turrets.  This allowed him to aim both turrets in the forward position to fire on a Japanese fighter making a head-on attack.  When the aircraft was not being attacked from the front, he could turn over control of the dorsal turret to the gunner in the top dorsal sighing position in the rear of the aircraft.  Control of the lower ventral turret could be turned to the port side waist sighting station gunners.  Author's photo. 


This B-29 front fuselage is on display at Fantasy of Flight in Polk City, FL.  The stairs to the nose section allows visitors to view the inside of the cockpit area and the bombardier's sight station.  Author's photo.


The sighting station is in the foreground.  Some of the parts are missing, such as the GE selsyn generators.  This unit could have been built by either GE or GRS.  The data plate was not visible for identification.  However, GRS did build sight stations for this location.  Author's photo.  


This photo of "Jack's Hack" shows the forward dorsal and ventral remote controlled turrets.  Author's photo.


This section of the cut-away shows the rear gunner's positions.  The gunner was located at the top of the fuselage sat in what was known as the "barber's chair."  He was the overall coordinator of the gunners and was the primary gunner for the rear dorsal turret.  If the aircraft was being attacked from above, he could use both the dorsal turrets if the bombardier did not have frontal attacks.  The gunners in the side blisters had primary control over the rear ventral turret which is not in this view.  In an attack from below, they could also control the front lower ventral turret if the bombardier was not using that turret.  The side blister gunners could also take control from the tail gunner of his turret if he was not under attack.  Author's photo.


This view shows the rear ventral and tail turrets.  The tail gunner had a primary control of the tail guns, but could turn control of the tail turret to the side blister gunners.  Author's photo.


This display is also at the New England Air Museum.  The upper portion is a right waist gunner's sighting station.  This particular example was built by General Electric, but General Railway Signal Company also built them.  Author's photo. 


The item on the bottom is the computer for the tail gun turret.  The B-29 was the first aircraft which had a computer controlled defensive gun system.  Author's photo.


The B-29's gun turrets were all computer controlled and there were a total of five computers on board, one for each sighting station on the aircraft.  General Electric licensed production of the computers to the Singer Manufacturing Company which built a total 20,794.  Author's photo.

The computer was of the analog electrical type.  Each one was located under the floor near the gun station it controlled.  When in use, the gunner used his General Railway Signal Company-built sighting station to input the wingspan of the attacking aircraft and the motion of the enemy aircraft as the gunner tracked it across the sky.  The gunner also framed the target which gave the computer the distance to the enemy fighter.  The navigator was also responsible for providing needed information that the computer needed to operate properly.  These inputs were indicated air speed, pressure, outside air temperature, and altitude. The computer also knew the ballistics of the .50 caliber ammunition that the B-29s used.  The computer took in all these inputs, calculated, a firing solution and aimed the remote turret or turrets at the proper position to lead the enemy aircraft.


This image shows remote turrets, gun sight stations, and the location of the computers. 


This image shows the final result of the firing solution.  The computer also needs to calculate the parallax between the gunner's sight and the remote turret location.  The computer uses all of the inputs to determine the proper lead on the aircraft.  This was an extremely sophisticated system for the era.  The General Railway Signal Company-built sighting stations were the gunner's tool to provide the proper information to the computer to shoot down enemy aircraft and protect the bomber.

The effective range of the system was 900 yards, which was 50% better than on the manual systems for the B-17 and B-24.  Over the course of 31,000 sorties between August 1944 and August 1945, B-29 gunners were credited with shooting down 914 Japanese fighters.

Artillery Shells and Rockets:  Ordnance items were 24% of the company's business during World War Two.  The $55,880,000 worth of two sizes of shells and one type of rocket shell that GRS built was a significant amount for any company during the war.


This is an M8 4.5 inch rocket that was used by both U.S. Army air and ground forces during World War Two.


From the description of the contract stating the company built "Rocket Shells," it may be that GRS just manufactured the component labeled as "shell" in the diagram.  This was similar to the artillery shells the company was making.  A munitions plant would have been responsible for assembling all of the components and hazardous explosives. 


The best known use of the 4.5 inch rocket was launching them from Sherman tanks.  This is an actual combat photo as the Sherman tank crew has added sandbags to the exterior of the tank for added protection against German anti-tank weapons. 


Another launcher was the T27E1 4.5 inch rocket launcher used by ground troops.  This weapon is on display at the Rock Island Arsenal outside display area.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Of interest in the photo are the three tubes.  These make up a 4.5 inch rocket launcher used by the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War Two.  It is on display at the MAPS Air Museum at the Akron-Canton Airport, OH.  Author's photo.


This image shows the rocket launchers mounted to a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter.


This is a 75mm high explosive shell similar to what GRS manufactured.  Author's photo from the Museum of the Soldier in Portland, IN.


The shell would then be assembled into complete units similar to these by a munitions plant.  These are on display at the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, VA.  Author's photo.  


The most common use for the 75MM high explosive shell was in Sherman tanks when they were used in the infantry support role.  High explosive shells were used to destroy enemy bunkers and fortifications so that the infantry could advance beyond them.  About 75% of the 75mm shells carried in Sherman tanks were high explosive types.  This Chrysler-built M4A4(75)VVSS is on display at the Evansville Wartime Museum in Evansville, IN.  Author's photo.


The 105mm howitzer was the most utilized piece of artillery used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps during World War Two.  This 105mm howitzer was on display at the 2021 MVPA display at Findlay, OH.  Author's photo. 


General Railway Signal Company was an important supplier of the high explosive shell for the 105mm howitzer.  Author's photo.  

 

 

 

 

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