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J.D.
Adams Manufacturing Company in World War Two
Indianapolis, IN
1885-1955
1955-1984 as the Adams Division of LeTourneau-Westinghouse
This page updated 8-21-2023.
In 1885 Joseph D. Adams started to manufacture
his invention of the leaning pull-grader in Indianapolis, IN.
During the company's existence, it also produced motorized graders, elevating
graders, sheepsfoot rollers, and scrapers. The company introduced
the No. 10 leaning wheel motor grader in 1928. In 1935 J.D. Adams introduced a
motor grader with a blade that could slide sideways for trimming road
banks and shoulders. The company became a division of LeTourneau-Westinghouse
in 1955.
The J.D. Adams Manufacturing Company won the
Army-Navy "E" Award three times during World War Two.
The first award was presented to the company on August 13, 1943.
Image added 1-24-2022.
A Local Connection to J.D. Adams:
It is funny how one can routinely drive by something not two miles from
one's house and not realize the historical significance of
the item until another event triggers the recognition. In this
case, it wasn't until I did this page on J.D. Adams in World War Two
that I realized there might be a J.D. Adams horse-drawn leaning
pull-grader in front of the nearby IUOE Local 103 Training Center in
Chesterfield, IN. A quick drive to the location one morning
revealed that I had been driving by a vintage
J.D. Adams pull-grader for many years.
Author's photo added 9-13-2020.
Note that there are two seats on the front
of the grader. I would think only one person was needed to control
the horses or mules. The cast iron seats probably made for a long
and uncomfortable work day. Author's photo added 9-13-2020.
Author's photo added 9-13-2020.
Author's photo added 9-13-2020.
Author's photo added 9-13-2020.
Author's photo added 9-13-2020.
J.D. Adams No. 12 Grader at the west-bound
I-74 rest stop west of Danville, IL: It was a picture perfect
day on August 15, 2021, to take photos of this historical piece of
equipment. The U.S. Navy had at least one $59,000 contract for the No. 12
Grader issued in July 1942. There may have been other
contracts from both the Navy and Army which are not as clearly defined
as the July 1942 contract.
Author's photo added 8-17-2021.
Author's photo added 8-17-2021.
Author's photo added 8-17-2021.
Author's photo added 8-17-2021.
Author's photo added 8-17-2021.
Author's photo added 8-17-2021.
J.D. Adams No. 12 Grader at the east-bound
I-74 Farmland, IL rest stop: It was another picture perfect
day on May 20, 2023, to take photos of another historical piece of
equipment. It turns out that Illinois has several J.D. Adams
graders on display in its rest areas. This one is not restored
like the one above.
Author's photo added 5-28-2023.
Author's photo added 5-28-2023.
Author's photo added 5-28-2023.
Author's photo added 5-28-2023.
J.D. Adams No. 8 Grader at the west-bound
I-74 Farmland, IL rest stop: The other two J.D. Adams graders
at the IL rest stops are No.12s. It is good to see that the IL
State Highway Department understands history and has these out for
display.
Author's photo added 8-21-2023.
Author's photo added 8-21-2023.
Author's photo added 8-21-2023.
Author's photo added 8-21-2023.
J.D. Adams Model 22 in the Big Horn
National Forest, Wyoming:
The following three photos were taken by V.C. Wald while standing on
USFS Road 159 (Willow Creek) in the Big Horn National Forest, Wyoming.
These photos show that J.D. Adams leaning wheel graders were purchased
and used by the National Forest Service to service its roads within the
national forests. I thank V.C. Wald for contacting me and allowing
me to use the photos on this website.
After many years of useful service, the
Model 22 now sits abandoned in the forest. Photo used by permission
of V.C. Wald added 10-18-2022.
Photo used by permission of V.C. Wald added
10-18-2022.
The grader still has the painted letters on
it showing it belongs to the United States Forest Service. Photo
used by permission of V.C. Wald added 10-18-2022.
J.D. Adams World War Two Products:
World War Two information on J.D. Adams is limited as to how many
total pieces of road equipment it built for the military. However,
some information has been found in regard to equipment provided to U.S.
Army aviation engineering units. J.D. Adams provided 533 11-S
leaning wheel pull-graders, 185 10-S sheepsfoot rollers, and 274 L slip
scrapers. This does not include the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S.
Navy Construction Battalions, or the U.S. Treasury.
Table 1 below may have an error in it. The contract issued
November 1943
for "Gun Recoil Mfchs M5" seems exceptionally high compared to all of
the other contracts the company received during the war. These
appear to be recoil mechanism or components for the M5 3-inch anti-tank
gun. Also, it is not part of the normal product line of the
company and is 58.5% of the total dollar value of all contracts.
Normally, the contracting officers issued several contracts to a company,
as is shown by the other contracts the company received. According
to Table 1, J.D. Adams produced more in dollar value for M5 recoil
mechanisms than it did road equipment during World War Two. I
believe the clerk that transcribed the information into the database
erred and added three zeros by mistake, and the value of the
contract should have been $16,000. Also, Rock Island Arsenal was
the main producer of the recoil mechanisms for the M5 3-inch anti-tank
gun. J.D. Adams may have been contracted to make a subassembly for
the Arsenal.
In the information below I have included
values that represent the contract value of $16,000,000 followed by
values in parenthesis that represent a contract value of $16,000.
I will let the reader decide which value he chooses to believe.
The company had 48 major war contracts from
the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Treasury totaling $27,317,000
($11,3333,000). The U.S. Navy had 17 contracts for $1,842,000 or
6.7% (16.25%) of the total. The U.S. Treasury had three contracts
for $178,000 or 0.65% (1.6%) of the total. The U.S. Army had the
remaining 18 contracts totaling $25,297,000 ($9,313,000) or 92.6%
(82.2%) of the total.
The important take away from Table 1 is that
J.D. Adams was a very important supplier of road graders and other
construction equipment for both the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy during World
War Two. Army engineers and Navy Seabees used J.D. Adams equipment
all over the world to build roads and airfields.
Table 1 - J.D. Adams
Manufacturing 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 5-28-2022. |
|
Product |
Contract Amount |
Contract Awarded
|
Completion
Date |
| Graders -
Army |
$65,000 |
1-1942 |
3-1942 |
| Road
Machinery Parts - Treasury |
$66,000 |
2-1942 |
6-1942 |
| Graders Road
- Navy |
$62,000 |
3-1942 |
3-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Treasury |
$54,000 |
3-1942 |
3-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Treasury |
$58,000 |
3-1942 |
7-1942 |
| Graders -
Army |
$271,000 |
4-1942 |
5-1942 |
| Graders -
Army |
$89,000 |
4-1942 |
9-1942 |
| Graders Road
- Navy |
$64,000 |
5-1942 |
7-1942 |
| Patrols Motor
12 - Army |
$59,000 |
7-1942 |
7-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Navy |
$69,000 |
8-1942 |
10-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$52,000 |
8-1942 |
10-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$134,000 |
8-1942 |
10-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$93,000 |
8-1942 |
1-1943 |
| Graders -
Road - Army |
$70,000 |
9-1942 |
11-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$73,000 |
9-1942 |
12-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$52,000 |
9-1942 |
11-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$79,000 |
10-1942 |
12-1942 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$952,000 |
10-1942 |
6-1943 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$125,000 |
10-1942 |
4-1943 |
| Machinery
Road - Navy |
$192,000 |
11-1942 |
2-1943 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$101,000 |
1-1943 |
12-1943 |
| Machinery
Road - Navy |
$192,000 |
2-1943 |
4-1943 |
| Machinery
Road - Navy |
$148,000 |
2-1943 |
10-1943 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$228,000 |
2-1943 |
10-1943 |
| Road
Machinery Parts - Army |
$885,000 |
2-1943 |
12-1943 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$133,000 |
2-1943 |
4-1943 |
| Graders Road
Towed - Army |
$1,508,000 |
5-1943 |
6-1944 |
| Motor Graders
- Navy |
$84,000 |
5-1943 |
10-1943 |
| Constrn
Machry Parts - Navy |
$77,000 |
6-1943 |
11-1943 |
| Machinery
Road - Army |
$260,000 |
6-1943 |
6-1944 |
| Graders -
Army |
$545,000 |
6-1943 |
6-1944 |
| Graders -
Army |
$778,000 |
7-1943 |
9-1944 |
| Road
Machinery - Army |
$71,000 |
9-1943 |
6-1944 |
| Road Graders
- Army |
$188,000 |
9-1943 |
7-1944 |
| Graders -
Navy |
$178,000 |
9-1943 |
11-1944 |
| Road Graders
- Navy |
$61,000 |
10-1943 |
1-1944 |
| Axle
Assemblies - Navy |
$54,000 |
11-1943 |
4-1944 |
|
Gun Recoil Mfchs M5 - Army |
$16,000,000 ($16,000) |
11-1943 |
12-1944 |
| Road Graders
- Army |
$83,000 |
1-1944 |
9-1944 |
| Motor Graders
- Navy |
$121,000 |
1-1944 |
2-1944 |
| Road Graders
- Navy |
$61,000 |
1-1944 |
5-1945 |
| Road Graders
- Army |
$429,000 |
4-1944 |
1-1945 |
|
Road Machinery Parts - Army |
$263,000 |
8-1944 |
6-1945 |
| Road Graders
- Army |
$414,000 |
9-1944 |
12-1945 |
| Road Graders
- Navy |
$120,000 |
10-1944 |
6-1945 |
| Graders -
Navy |
$113,000 |
12-1944 |
8-1945 |
| Road Graders
- Navy |
$132,000 |
1-1945 |
5-1946 |
| Road Graders
- Army |
$442,000 |
3-1945 |
7-1946 |
| Road Graders
- Army |
$332,000 |
3-1945 |
12-1945 |
| Road Graders
- Navy |
$116,000 |
6-1945 |
4-1946 |
| Road Graders
- Army |
$521,000 |
7-1945 |
12-1945 |
|
Total |
$27,317,000 ($11,333,000) |
|
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This is one of 2,500 M5 3-inch anti-tank
guns that were built between 1942-1944. Author's photo added
5-28-2022.
Author's photo added 5-28-2022.
The several M5s that I have found have
recoil mechanisms built by the Rock Island Arsenal. J.D. Adams
appears to have been a subcontractor for components for the device.
However, I will keep looking to hopefully find a J.D. Adams recoil
mechanism for the weapon. Author's photo added 5-28-2022.
This J.D. Adams Model 11S was manufactured
on 11-18-1942 with serial number 1822. It is on outside display at
the Heartland Military Museum in Lexington, NE. Author's photo
added 8-21-2023.
Author's photo added 8-21-2023.
Author's photo added 8-21-2023.
Author's photo added 8-21-2023.
The photos below show one typical product the
company made that helped win World War Two. It produced a number of 124-3
pull-graders as shown below. The serial number on the 124-3 is
2288 indicating J.D. Adams built at least that many. The 1942 pull-grader shown below is
owned by the Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Association and was on display in the
construction equipment area of the 2020 Antique Gas Engine and Tractor
Show at the Portland, IN fairgrounds. All photos by the author.
The original J.D. Adams leaning wheel
pull-grader was pulled by horses. This one for the Corps of
Engineers was designed to be pulled by a crawler tractor or truck.
This historic vehicle was manufactured by
the J.D. Adams Manufacturing Company on 10-13-1942 and is serial number
2288. It is a model 124-3.
A month later, the J.D. Adams pull-grader was
on display at the 2019 Portland MVPA Military Show. This time it
was connected to an International Harvester TD-18 crawler tractor.
This display shows how the pull-grader was operated during World War Two.
Caterpillar or Allis-Chalmers tractors were also used to pull the
grader. Author's photo added 12-10-2020.
Author's photo added 12-10-2020.
This 1951 J.D. Adams Model 124-5 grader is
on display at the museum complex at Fort Leonard Wood, MO. It is
attached to a Caterpillar D7. Author's photo added 6-26-2023.
One of the obvious differences between the
Model 124-3 and the Model 124-S is that the 124-S has rubber tires.
The Model 124-3 has steel wheels without tires. Author's photo added 6-26-2023.
The data plate shows that the Army Corps of
Engineers accepted this Model 124-5 on June 26, 1951. This is
serial number 4572. Assuming the Model 124 series uses the same
serial number system, this would imply that 2284 were built between the
time serial number 2288, shown above in Portland, IN, was built on
October 13, 1942, and serial number 4572 on June 26, 1951. On the
left side of the data plate is the J.D. Adams stamp. On the right
side of the data plate is the U.S. Navy inspector's stamp. This is
rather interesting as this is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' data
plate. Author's photo added 6-26-2023.
J.D. Adams Graders at the National
Construction Equipment Association's 2022 National Convention:
The following three pieces of J.D. Adams equipment were taken at the
National Construction Equipment Association's 2022 National Convention
on September 23, 2022. The Convention was held at the
Association's Historical Construction Equipment Museum northwest of
Bowling Green, OH. This was the first time I was able to attend
this convention, which had a large collection of equipment to
photograph. The weather was warm and clear, and the early fall
sunlight really brought out the orange and yellow hues in the 1937 Model
road grader.
I have been looking for a J.D. Adams
motorized road grader ever since I began researching this Indianapolis,
IN company in 2020. It took two years, but I finally found this
immaculately restored 1937 Model 301 at the event. Author's photo
added 10-18-2022.
This is part of the Historical Construction
Equipment Museum's collection and was donated to the Museum in 2015.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
The grader is serial number 329.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
This is a 1920 Road Patrol. This was
brought to the convention by a private owner from Liberty Center, OH.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022
This unrestored J.D. Adams Square D Model 2C
was donated to the Museum in 2018. Author's photo added
10-18-2022.
Author's photo added 10-18-2022.
The J.D. Adams Plant: The company
was located at 217 South Belmont Avenue on the near west side of Indianapolis. The factory is still there but has new occupants. The
plant covered ten acres and employed 800 persons during World War Two.
This Sanborn map shows the J.D. Adams
factory in 1950. Image added 1-24-2022.
This current Google map shows the 1950 plant
is still all there. Image added 1-24-2022.
Post-World War Two Products: J.D.
Adams supplied many motorized graders for the military after the war.
The main reason that the LeTourneau-Westinghouse Company purchased J.D.
Adams was it needed a good grader to complement and fill out its product
line of earth moving equipment. One unusual vehicle J.D.
Adams built after the war was the Lighter, Amphibious Resupply, Cargo 5
Ton, more
commonly known as the LARC-V. This vehicle was designed by
Borg-Warner in Kalamazoo, MI. However, in 1960 LeTourneau-Westinghouse
won the contract to build the first 233 LARC-Vs. These were serial
numbers 9 through 241.
This LARC-V is on display at the South
Carolina Military Museum in Columbia, SC. Author's photo added 12-10-2020.
Author's photo added 12-10-2020.
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