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   Sullivan Machinery Company   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   Badger Meter Manufacturing 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 Trailer Corporation  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   Le Roi Company  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  
   

 Holland Hitch Company During World War Two
Holland, MI
1910 - 1920 as Safety Release Clevis Company, Corsica, South Dakota
1920 - 2006 as Holland Hitch Company, Holland, MI
2006 - Current as SAF Holland

This page updated 8-29-2023.


This showcase is part of the World War Two display at the Michigan History Center in Lansing, MI.  While I grew up 1.3 miles directly south of this museum, and still visit Lansing frequently, a trip to this museum in early January 2023 was only the second time I have visited this very facility.  It does an excellent job of showing Michigan's history and is also one of the few state historical museums that has a section devoted to World War Two.  Author's photo.

Of special interest to me was was an item on the top shelf of the display case, second from the left.  This shelf contained a pintle hook and a World War Two era document from the Holland Hitch Company of Holland, MI.  This company, like many thousands of others, supplied important but unrecognized products that were assembled with many others to make a final product.  In this case, the final products were trucks and armored vehicles, and the Holland Hitch Company furnished at least 1,113,792 pintle hooks for these vehicles.  The use of Holland Hitch-manufactured pintle hooks allowed American trucks, scout cars, and half-tracks to pull trailers with extra ammunition, food, medical, and other required supplies.

In 1910, three Dutch immigrants, Gerrit Den Besten, Albert Hulsebos, and Henry Kete, created the Safety Release Clevis Company in Corsica, South Dakota.  The new company began to manufacture a new farm plow hitch that automatically released when the plow hit a hard object.  This feature kept the plow from being damaged and the draft animal from being injured.  In 1920, the company moved to Holland, MI for two reasons.  Firstly, it had a large number of Dutch residents, and secondly, Holland, MI was close to the growing American automobile industry in Michigan.  A year later, the company changed its name to the Holland Hitch Company.  The company also began producing truck fifth wheels and trailer equipment in addition to its product line of pintle hooks.  In 2006, it merged with SAF to become SAF Holland.

Holland Hitch Company World War Two Products:  The company built $6,972,000 worth of trailers for the Army Corps of Engineers and produced at least 1,113,792 pintle hooks for U.S. Army and USMC vehicles.  The company also produced landing gear for trailers and fifth wheels for military tractor trailers.

Table 1 - Holland Hitch 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 Number Contract Amount Contract Awarded Date Completion Date
Trailers - Army Corp of Engineers 1131-ENG-458 $6,972,000 10-1942 12-1943
Total   $6,972,000    

 

Table 2 - Known Holland Hitch Company World War Two Military Pintle Hook Applications
Holland Pintle Hook Model Vehicle Manufacturer Vehicle Application Number of Vehicles Built
1/4-Ton Trucks      
HLH-T-60B American Bantam  4x4 Command Car 2,642
HLH-T-60B Willys-Overland  4x4 Command Car 350,349
HLH-T-60B Ford Motor Car Company  4x4 Command Car 282,354
HLH-T-60B Ford Motor Car Company  4x4 Amphibian 12,782
       
1/2-Ton Trucks      
HLH-375 International Harvester M-1-4 1,123
HLH-375 Dodge WC- 21 Pickup, Express and Weapons Carrier 14,287
HLH-375 Dodge WC- 22 Pickup 1,900
HLH-375 Dodge WC- 23 Command Reconnaissance and Radio Car 2,637
HLH-375 Dodge WC- 24 Command Reconnaissance and Radio Car 1,412
HLH-375 Dodge WC- 25 Radio 1,630
HLH-375 Dodge WC- 27 Ambulance 2,579
HLH-375 Dodge WC- 40 Pickup 275
HLH-375 Dodge WC- 41 No Body 306
       
3/4-Ton Trucks      
HLH-360 Dodge WC-51 Weapons Carrier 123,541
HLH-360 Dodge WC-52 Weapons Carrier 59,114
HLH-360 Dodge WC-54 Ambulance 26,002
HLH-360 Dodge WC-55 M-6 Gun Motor Carriage 5,380
HLH-360 Dodge WC-56 Command Car 21,156
  Dodge WC-57 Command Car 6,010
HLH-360 Dodge WC-60 Telephone Maintenance and Installation 300
HLH-360 Dodge WC-64 Ambulance 3,500
       
1-Ton Trucks      
HLH-375 International Harvester M-2-4 9,094
       
2-1/2-Ton Trucks      
HLH-110A GMC DUKW 21,147
HLH-110 International Harvester  M-5-6 2-1/2 ton 6x6 and Low Silhouette 38,528
       
4-Ton Trucks      
HLH-110 FWD HAR-1 4x4 Cargo 7,000
HLH-110D Diamond T 968A 6x6 Cargo 9,699
HLH-110D Diamond T 969A 6x6 Wrecker 6,420
HLH-110D Diamond T 970A 6x6 Pontoon 721
HLH-110D Diamond T 972 6x6 Dump 9,922
       
5-Ton Trucks      
HLH-110 International Harvester M425/M426 COE 5 ton 4x2 6,678
HLH-110 Marmon Herrington M425/M426 COE 5 ton 4x2 3,200
HLH-110 Kenworth M425/M426 COE 5 ton 4x2 1,100
HLH-110 International Harvester KR-11 5 ton 4x2 3,410
       
6-Ton Trucks      
       
HLH-110 Brockway 6-ton 6x6 Chassis for Bridge Erection 1,166
HLH-110 Four Wheel Drive 6-ton 6x6 Chassis for Bridge Erection 168
HLH-110 Ward LaFrance 6-ton 6x6 Chassis for Bridge Erection 589
HLH-110 White 6-ton 6x6 Chassis for Bridge Erection 1,152
Total Trucks     1,039,273
       
Scout Cars      
HLH-110 White M3A1 20,894
       
Half-Tracks      
HLH-110 Autocar All Types 12,168
HLH-110 Diamond T All Types 12,421
HLH-110 International Harvester All Types 13,622
HLH-110 White All Types 15,414
Total Half-Tracks     53,625
Total Vehicles     1,113,792


This World War Two era newspaper advertisement shows some of the company's military products and the vehicles onto which they were installed.  This is part of the display at the Michigan History Center. Author's photo.


This very rare Autocar C90T tractor truck is part of the collection of trucks at the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, WY.  Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


The C90T has a Holland Hitch fifth wheel.  Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


The Holland name can be seen cast into the top of the fifth wheel.  Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


This Autocar U7144 tractor truck is also part of the collection at the National Museum of Military Vehicles and has a Holland Hitch fifth wheel as part of its equipment.  Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


Autocar produced 11,104 of the U7144Ts during World War Two with Holland Hitch fifth wheels.  Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


The Holland name has been cast into the fifth wheel.  Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


How cool is this?  The Michigan History Center has this Holland Hitch Company pintle hook serving as the main feature in its display case.  This is very cool because the pintle hook, while very important in its function for a truck to pull a trailer, is an item mounted at the rear of the vehicle and hidden in plain sight.  The Michigan History Center should be commended for this featured display of a Michigan company's product that helped win World War Two.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


This and the next five photos show close-up sections of the newspaper advertisement, which was published in the May 16, 1942, edition of the Holland, MI "Evening Sentinel."  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


The Holland model 110 was used in all trucks with 2-1/2 ton capacities or larger.  It was also used in scout cars and half-tracks.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.

1/4-Ton Trucks:  The 1/4-ton Jeep was manufactured by American Bantam, Ford, and Willys-Overland.  All 635,345 Jeeps were equipped with a Holland Hitch Company model T-60B.


The Holland Hitch Company Model HLH-T-60B can be seen on this 1/4-ton Bantam-built jeep.  This vehicle is on display at the Atterbury-Bakalar Air Museum at the Columbus, IN airport.  Holland produced 2,642 pintle hooks for the Bantam-built jeeps.  Author's photo.   


The Holland pintle hook on this early model Ford-built jeep is one of 282,354 mounted to Ford jeeps.  Author's photo. 


This Willys MA 1/4-ton truck is one of 350,349 that were equipped with Holland-produced hitches.  This jeep is one of several in an excellent display of several rare jeeps at the U.S. Veterans Memorial Museum in Huntsville, AL.  Author's photo.  


This diorama shows a 1/2-ton trailer attached to a jeep with a Holland pintle hook.  Author's photo.


The Ford Motor Company also produced 12,782 amphibious versions of the jeep.  Author's photo.


It also came equipped with a Holland pintle hook.  Author's photo.

1/2-Ton Trucks:  Below are several examples of the several types of Dodge 1/2-ton trucks that utilized the Holland model HLH-375.


This Dodge closed cab WC-21 was part of the collection at the now closed Ropkey Armor Museum in Crawfordsville, IN.  Author's photo.


In this display, a tool bucket has been attached to the Holland pintle hook.  Author's photo.


This WC-22 1/2-ton Pickup was built in December 1941 and is one of 1,900 manufactured.  Author's photo.


The WC-22 was designed to pull an M3 37mm anti-tank gun, crew, and ammunition.  The Holland Hitch Company model HLH-375 was a key component in the WC-22's ability to pull the anti-tank gun.  Author's photo.

3/4-Ton Trucks:  Below are several examples of the several types of Dodge 3/4-ton trucks that utilized the Holland model HLH-350.


This nicely restored 1942 Dodge 3/4-ton WC-51 is one of 123,541 built.  It is identical to the WD-52 which also has a front winch.  There were 59,112 built.  Author's photo.


The Dodge series of 3/4-ton trucks had a Holland HLH-350 pintle hook mounted on the rear frame.  Author's photo.


This Dodge WC-54 ambulance is on display at the World War II American Experience in Gettysburg, PA.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


This WC-55 was designated as an M6 Gun Motor Carriage (GMC) by the US Army. With its 37mm cannon, it was an interim solution for a mobile anti-tank weapon until the more heavily armed half-tracks and M10 gun motor carriages were available.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.

1-Ton Trucks:


This is one of 9,094 International Harvester M-2-4 one-ton trucks built for the Navy and USMC during World War Two.  Author's photo.


The M-2-4 has a Holland model HLH-375 pintle hook mounted to the rear frame.  Author's photo.


All vehicles larger than and including 2-1/2 ton capacities that came equipped with a Holland Hitch Company pintle hook utilized a version of the model HLH-110, which is shown above. 

2-1/2-Ton Trucks:


This is a rare International Harvester M-5H-6 2-1/2-ton 6x6 truck that the company built for the USMC.  It is awaiting restoration at the World War II American Experience in Gettysburg, PA.  While the truck's data plate indicates that it was built for the USMC, this dump truck version of the vehicle was used by the Navy Seabees.  Author's photo added 2-26-2023.


This vehicle is serial number 31431 and was delivered in July 1945.  It is one of 40,087 that were built during World War Two.  Note that this was built for the USMC.  Author's photo added 2-26-2023.


The image in the lower right hand corner of the driver's door indicates that this was used not by the USMC, but by the Navy Seabees.  Author's photo added 2-26-2023.


The Seabees used the Holland Hitch Model HLH-110 pintle hook to pull trailers at the construction sites.  Author's photo added 2-26-2023. 


Author's photo added 2-26-2023. 


The 21,147 GMC DUKW amphibious trucks came equipped with Holland model HLH-110A pintle hooks.  Author's photo.

4-Ton Trucks:


This Four Wheel Drive Company 4-ton 4x4 HAR-1 cargo truck is owned by the Wheels of Liberation in Gettysburg, PA.  This photo shows the truck before it was bead blasted so that it could be repainted in its original olive-drab paint scheme.  Photo courtesy of Jeff Lakaszcyck.


This image gives a good view of the Holland model HLH-110 pintle hook after bead blasting.  Author's photo.


This Diamond T model 968 4-ton 6x6 truck is part of the excellent collection of World War Two vehicles at the World War II American Experience in Gettysburg, PA.  Author's photo.


The Diamond T series of 4-ton 6x6 trucks used the Holland model HLH-110D pintle hook.  Author's photo.

5-6-Ton Trucks:  These were an International Harvester design, but also manufactured under license by Kenworth and Marmon-Herrington. These were manufactured under the designations of both M425 and M426 tractors.


This example from the collection of the World War II American Experience was manufactured by Marmon-Herrington in Indianapolis, IN.  Author's photo.


Even though its primary use was as a tractor pulling semi-trailers with the use of the fifth wheel, the vehicle could also pull trailers with its Holland Hitch Company model 110.  Author's photo.

6-Ton Trucks:  Brockway, Four Wheel Drive, Ward-LaFrance, and White all built the 6-ton 6x6 chassis for the U.S. Army's bridge laying truck.  In total, 3,075 were built.  Below is an example that was photographed at the 2019 D-Day activities in Normandy, France.  The body of the truck was designed to carry bridging pontoons that could be backed up to a river to be crossed and then slide the pontoons into the water.  The truck could also inflate the pontoons on-site, allowing it to carry more of them to the crossing location.


This soft top version of the vehicle has its Daybrook Bridge Erector unit in the upright position.  As the unit started to rise, a pontoon located on it would slide into the water.  Photo is courtesy of Pierre-Olivier Buan.


The Holland-built pintle hook is located between the bumperettes on the rear of the vehicle.  Photo is courtesy of Pierre-Olivier Buan.


This enlargement of the previous photo gives a better view of the pintle hook.  Photo added 6-19-2019 and is courtesy of Pierre-Olivier Buan.

Scout Cars:


The White Motor Company built 20, 894 M3A1 scout cars during World War Two.  Author's photo.


All of the M3a1s were equipped with Holland model 110 pintle hooks.  Author's photo.

Half-Tracks:  Autocar, Diamond T, International Harvester, and White built a total of 53,625 half-tracks of various types during World War Two.  All types by all manufacturers had the Holland model 110 pintle hook mounted to the rear frame.  Below are several different examples of half-tracks showing the Holland Hitch Company pintle hooks. 


This International M5A1 half-track is also on display at the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, WY.  Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


On this vehicle, the sheet metal guard over the pintle hook assembly is missing, allowing for a full view of the Holland model 110 pintle hook.  Author's photo added 8-29-2023.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.

 

 

 

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