Howe Fire Apparatus iin World War Two

Howe Fire Apparatus Company in World War Two
Anderson, IN
1872-1978

This page updated 8-25-2024.

Howe Fire Apparatus Company was located in Anderson, IN from 1872 to 1978. When I arrived in Anderson in the early 1970s, I was aware that Howe was building fire trucks on the north side of Anderson on North Madison Ave. I would drive by it from time-to-time.

I was unaware that Howe had only moved into the Madison Ave. plant in 1970. It had been located at 1402 22nd Street on the west side of Anderson for many years. This all came to my attention as I was researching another company that built fire equipment during World War Two. I found a couple of references to Howe's contribution to winning World War Two. I also found several photos of Howe-built equipment from the era. Coincidentally, I had an appointment the next morning on the south-west section of Anderson. So, on the way home, I stopped by the two former Howe plants for a photo shoot. These combined events led to this webpage.

This 1922 Howe fire truck on a Ford Model T chassis was on display at the former Kokomo, IN Automotive Museum. Author's photo added 12-26-2021.

The pump is powered by a chain drive power takeoff from the drive train. Author's photo added 12-26-2021.

Author's photo added 12-26-2021.

This 1935 Howe fire truck is owned by the East Madison Fire Territory Department in Chesterfield, IN. This is my fire department. It was previously known as the Union Township/Chesterfield Fire Department. On May 30, 2024, I drove by the fire department and saw this vehicle sitting in one of the back bays. I stopped in and the firefighers on duty let me take photos of this Howe-built apparatus. This was purchased by the Chesterfield Fire Department in 1935. After serving many years with the department, it was sold to a local resident. Then it was re-purchased by the department, restored to operating condition, and is now used at local events and for the annual Fourth of July Parade through downtown Chesterfield. Author's photo added 8-25-2024.

Author's photo added 8-25-2024.

Currently, the East Madison Fire Territory has more modern fire apparatus. Image courtesy of Cameron Collins.

Howe Fire Apparatus in World War Two: Table 1 below indicates that Howe Fire Apparatus had $886,000 in major war contracts. This does not include sub-contracting to other companies for the installation of fire apparatus onto truck chassis.

Table 1 - Howe Fire Apparatus 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. Table added 3-29-2022.
Product	Contract Amount	Contract Awarded	Completion Date
Pumps Fire	$76,000	2-1942	11-1942
Pumping Units	$753,000	6-1942	10-1942
Fire Trucks	$57,000	10-1944	11-1944
Total	$886,000

Other information on Howe in the war is limited and, in my opinion, inaccurate. Two sources indicate that Howe built 979 pumpers for the U.S. Army during World War Two. Another source states Howe built almost 1,000 fire trucks and 2,000 Civil Defense trailers with pumps for both the U.S. and Britain. I find it hard to believe that Howe could have built 979 pumpers and 2,000 trailers during World War Two. Table 1 shows that the company only received $57,000 in contracts for the building of fire truck in late 1944. This is not nearly enough money for 979 pumpers. The brief time span for the contract also would not provide enough lead time for that number of fire trucks. Below are other reasons these numbers seem quite large for Howe to have manufactured during the war.

This is a 1942 Howe fire trailer. The photo comes from the "The History of Howe - 1872 to 1972" which was published by Howe Fire Apparatus Company in 1972. The attached photo caption states: "Howe Fire Trailer built originally in 1942 for the Office of Civilian Defense with steel wheels and plywood body. Later models had rubber tires and steel bodies. More than 2,000 were manufactured during World War II. Trailers were used during German air blitz in London."

Table 1 verifies that Howe had two contracts for fire trailers starting in February 1942 and ending in October 1942. It is unknown how many fire trailers Howe could have built from the $829,000 of the two contracts. The London Blitz was from 9-7-1940 to 5-11-1941. If Howe didn't start making them until February 1942, they were a year too late for that battle. The caption just says trailers were used during the Blitz, not Howe trailers. Also, it notes that 2,000 trailers were manufactured during World War Two, not that Howe made 2,000 of them.

Howe was a job shop, like many fire apparatus companies were at the time, and still are. To build that number of units, Howe would have had to have an assembly-line operation. After visiting its former plant on West 22nd Street in Anderson, IN, I don't think the plant was big enough to build nearly 3,000 units in four years.
Two World War Two period photos of Howe fire trucks show them on Sterling chassis. My previous research into the Sterling Motor Truck Company found no references to the company providing chassis to Howe, nor any other fire apparatus company during the war. If Sterling had provided a significant number of chassis to Howe, I would think it would have been documented. Sterling did provide some chassis, as shown in the photos below.
Labor was tight. Men were being drafted into the war, and General Motors had the Guide Lamp and Delco-Remy Divisions in Anderson. Chevrolet also had a plant in Anderson later in the war. The GM plants would have paid higher wages than what Howe would have been able to afford.
The website "Fire Trucks at War" is the best resource for fire apparatus during World War Two. It shows that Howe, at a minimum built Class 500 fire trucks on Ford chassis and Class 750 units on Sterling chassis. "Fire Trucks at War" names seven companies that built the apparatus for both the Class 500 and Class 750 fire trucks on chassis by various truck companies. Howe is not named although there are a couple of photos of Howe apparatus on the website.
Before the U.S. became involved in World War Two, and then especially after the country entered the conflict in December 1942, the U.S. Army opened new bases that needed fire trucks immediately. So, it contracted with multiple fire apparatus companies to provide them in an expeditious manner. It could not wait for Howe to build the necessary quantities.
Howe was also building civilian fire trucks during World War Two.

I believe, Howe built a small portion of the 979 units mentioned above. It should be noted there is no known primary source for this number. Production numbers for fire apparatus purchased by the U.S. military during World War Two are almost non-existent. Howe undoubtedly built a portion of the 2,000 trailers noted above. But the immediate need for equipment during the war would have kept a small company like Howe from building all of them.

Editor's note: Information I obtained in August 2021 indicates that starting in 1942, Howe built 103 Chevrolet COE 1-1/2-ton 4x4 fire trucks for the U.S. Navy. It is unknown how long it took Howe to complete the work. However, the 103 units do give a start on the 979 fire trucks it has been reported it built during World War Two.

At the same time, I found out that the company built a number of Class 500 pumpers on Ford 4x2 chassis. It is unknown how many were built by Howe. It shared the production of this unit with twelve other fire apparatus manufacturers.
DDJ 8-23-2021

In 1942 Howe built 103 crash trucks for the U.S. Navy on Chevrolet COE 1-1/2-ton 4x4 chassis. The U.S. Navy crash trucks were built under contract 95703 and were equipped with a 300-gallon water tank. This contract does not show up in Table 1, indicating Chevrolet may have been issued the contract, and Howe was subcontracted to install the fire apparatus. Image added 8-23-2021.

This is the listing of the suppliers for the Chevrolet 1-1/2-ton 4x4 truck series of World War Two. The Howe Fire Apparatus Company of Anderson, IN is listed because it built the bodies for the 103 Navy crash trucks. Image added 8-23-2021.

Below are the Howe components that were used in the construction of 103 crash trucks for the U.S. Navy on Chevrolet COE 1-1/2-ton 4x4 chassis.

Image added 8-23-2021.

This is a 1942 Sterling/Howe Class 750 pumper with USA number 502012. This photo was taken in Anderson, but the truck served at Lewiston, MT Army Air Field during World War Two. Howe always took a photo of each unit it built. An estimated 25 of these were built by Howe for the Army Air Forces. Photo courtesy of Ted Heinbuch via Warren Richardson.

This is another Sterling/Howe pumper on duty in the Aleutian Islands. It is USA number 502023. Assuming that Sterling had consecutive USA numbers between 502012 and 502023 for this series of chassis, it could have furnished at least twelve chassis to Howe. Photo courtesy of "Fire Trucks at War."

The only known surviving Howe fire truck from World War Two is owned by Jason Cleary of New Hampshire. It is a 1941 Ford-Howe Class 500 that served at Camp Langdon, NH during World War Two. It is USA number 501020. Photo courtesy of "Fire Trucks at War."

The Howe Plants:

This is an artist's rendering of the 22nd Street Plant that it occupied from 1936 to 1970. I would have thought that there would have been more cars and fewer horse-drawn wagons on the road in 1936.

This Sanborn fire map shows the Howe plant in 1954. Note that the yellow building marked "W HO" is missing in the satellite view below. However, the outline of where it once stood is visible. Image added 3-29-2022.

The former Howe plant at 1402 West 22nd still exists. Note that three of the buildings have green roofs and one has a black one. Image courtesy of Google Maps.

This is a Google Earth image of the former Howe Fire Apparatus plant on 22nd Street. Image added 8-25-2024.

Currently, the facility is owned by a local wrecker service and is being used as a vehicle storage yard. This photo is looking east. The smallest of the three buildings can plainly be seen. The building to the right or south of it that has the vehicles parked along the side of it is not obvious. It is a lean-to type building and is the one with the black roof in the Google Maps image. The outline of the foundation of the "W HO" building can be seen in the middle of the photo. Author's photo.

The buildings with the green roofs are steel. One of the subsequent owners spent the money to reroof these buildings. This would imply that there were or are items of value inside that need(ed) protection from the elements. Author's photo.

Author's photo.

The new Howe plant in 1970.

The former Howe plant on North Madison Ave. in Anderson, IN. This photo looks like the one above from 50 years ago except there are some new trees out in front. Author's photo.

It has been 42 years since Howe left this facility. I cannot remember whether the steel building in the back was there in the 1970s. It appears to have been added since then. Author's photo.

Author's photo.

This is a Google Earth image of the former Howe Fire Apparatus plant on North Madison Avenue. Image added 8-25-2024.

Howe Defender:

I have only ever found one Howe Fire Truck. This post-World War Two Howe Defender was on display in 2014 at the former McClain Military Museum in Anderson, IN. Author's photo.

The McClain Military Museum closed in 2016 for nonpayment of its property taxes. It had to auction off the museum collection to pay the back taxes. Unfortunately, no collector wanted the Howe Defender. In August 2018, I found it at Vic's Antiques in Edinburgh, IN, along with three other items from the museum. This was still there in March 2020. Hopefully, a collector will purchase this Howe Defender and get it out of the elements. Author's photo.

Author's photo.

It is always good to stop back by Vic's Antiques periodically to see if he has anything new of significance. In stopping by in late August 2024, I found this Ford 750 chassis with a Howe-built fire apparatus. Author's photo added 8-25-2024.

Author's photo added 8-25-2024.

Jefferson and Craig are joint fire-fighting townships that are located in Vevay, IN in Switzerland County along the Ohio River. Author's photo added 8-25-2024.

This unit as installed on June 19, 1954. Author's photo added 8-25-2024.

Author's photo added 8-25-2024.