John Deere (Deere and Company) in World War Two
Moline, IL
Waterloo, IA (Iowa Transmission Company, Division of John Deere)
1837-Present

This page updated 7-1-2019.

John Deere is the brand name for Deere and Company, which had its beginnings in 1837 in Grand Detour, IL.  The company originally produced plows.  Today, its iconic green and yellow equipment is seen everywhere in the United States.  It has become an American icon. 

John Deere started by making plows with steel rather than cast iron blades.  This kept the rich black, moist soil of the Midwest from sticking to the blades.  This is one of the many displays at the John Deere Pavilion in Moline, IL.  Author's photo added 7-1-2019.

Authors note:  This is the oldest company listed on this website.  What a long and successful run for this company!  DDJ 8-27-2018

Also at the John Deere Pavilion is this 1917 four-wheel drive tractor, one of 90 built, and the most complete one still in existence.  This was John Deere's first tractor.  Author's photo added 7-1-2019.

 John Deere equipment with its distinctive green with yellow trim.  Author's photo.

I live in a farming area of Indiana and see many green and yellow John Deere tractors and combines in the fields during the planting and harvesting seasons.  They are easy to identify versus other farm equipment from other equipment manufacturers that have changed paint colors over the years through mergers and new ownerships.  I have also found that farmers owning John Deere equipment are extremely loyal to the brand.  Much of this is due to something that happened 90 years ago;  The Great Depression.  Many farmers were not able to make payments on their John Deere tractors due to the hard times the Depression brought.  John Deere worked with the farmers by extending financing or allowing partial or delayed payments.  The farmers and their decedents who continued to work the farms remembered this.  Today John Deere brand loyalty still runs deep in many farming families.

The Iowa Transmission Company, John Deere Company Plant at Waterloo, IA won the Army-Navy "E" award five times during WWII. The first award was in July 1942 for the timely delivery of M3 and M4 tank transmissions.

John Deere World War Two Production Statistics:  (2,190) High Speed 7-ton M2 Tractors, (5,270) Armored M8 Trailers, (22,000) transmissions and final drive assemblies for M3 and M4 medium tanks, ammunition ( Most likely shells or shell casings.), mobile laundry units and aircraft parts.  John Deere had over 1,000 military contracts during the war, so there is no doubt additional statistics.

Author's Note:  Below the first and second photos from the John Deere Tractor and Engine museum show that the company made ammunition during World War Two.  I have noted above that most likely this was a component of the ammunition, either the shell or the shell casing, as were made by other vehicle manufacturers during the war.  Making the actual ammunition would include assembly of the shell, shell casing, primer, and powder.  This was done exclusively at ammunition arsenals located in remote areas, due to the possibility of an accidental explosion.  Ammunition arsenals encompassed large secure restricted areas.  Therefore, I believe the term ammunition is incorrect in this case.  No doubt, John Deere stamped out or machined ammunition components that were then shipped to an arsenal for the more dangerous final assembly.

Most likely the John Deere ammunition components were being shipped to the nearby Ankeny, IA Ordnance Plant built in 1941, and managed by the U.S. Rubber Company.  The plant made billions of rounds of .30 caliber and .50 caliber machine gun ammunition during World War Two.  In 1947 John Deere bought the industrial portion of the Ankeny Ordnance plant.  Today it is the John Deere Des Moines Works. 

Author's Note and Disclaimer:  The Detroit Office of Ordnance of the U.S. Army was the primary purchasing entity for vehicles for the U.S. Army during WWII.  It also purchased vehicles for the USMC, US Navy, and for Lend-Lease.  However, there were other organizations that also purchased vehicles including the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army Air Force, U.S. Army Signal Corps, Navy Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, and foreign countries making direct purchases.

The Cleveland Tractor Company designed the 7-ton M2 High-Speed tractor for the U.S. Army to be used as an artillery prime mover.  However, the "Cletrac" as it came to be known, was used extensively by the USAAF to move aircraft at unprepared airstrips.  Between John Deere and the Cleveland Tractor Company a total of 8,510 were built.  John Deere's production of 2,190 was 26% of the total units produced.  Pictured here is a Cleveland Tractor built M2 on display at the Museum of the United States Air Force.  Author's photo.

Author's photo.

John Deere was the only producer of the M8 Armored Trailer.

John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum, Waterloo, IA World War Two Display:  My early attempts to find information on John Deere produced virtually nothing.  Then in July of 2018, my son made a business trip to one of the John Deere plants in Waterloo, IA.  Afterwards, he went to the museum which had the World War Two display shown below.  With this and some other new information I had just recently obtained, I have been able to assemble this page on John Deere in World War Two. 

 

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Photo courtesy of David D. Jackson, Jr.

Photo courtesy of David D. Jackson, Jr.

As noted above, the Iowa Transmission Division of John Deere in Waterloo, IA was the prime transmission and final drive assembly contractor for the M3 medium tank.  5,958 M3 medium tanks were produced in 1941-1942.  The display above also references the M4 Sherman medium tank which started production in 1942, replacing the M3 on the assembly lines.  The 22,000 transmissions and final drive assemblies produced at Waterloo were spread over the two types of tanks and one type of tank destroyer, the M10 Wolverine.  The transmissions and final drive assemblies were interchangeable between the two tanks and the M10.  John Deere and its Iowa Company Transmission plant had combined total contracts for transmissions and final drive assemblies worth $6,139,050 in World War Two.  Photo courtesy of David D. Jackson, Jr.

The top section of the display shows that John Deere also made aircraft parts for several very important and famous American military aircraft.  The right portion of the photo correctly implies that Waterloo purchased the final drive armor casting and only did the machining.  Other companies made the castings.  The left display in the photo implies that some of work for the transmissions and final drive assemblies was done in its plants in Moline, IL.    Photo courtesy of David D. Jackson, Jr.

The tank in the photo is a M4A1 Sherman tank with a 75mm main gun.  Photo courtesy of David D. Jackson, Jr.

John Deere Pavilion, Moline, IL:  I was able to find out more information at the John Deere Pavilion in June 2019.  There were several new pieces of information found here.

In 1943 the John Deere Harvester Works in East Moline, IL was making aircraft parts.

Mobile laundries were built at John Deere Wagon Works in Moline, IL.

Workers are assembling a M2 High Speed Tractor at the Moline War Assembly Plant in 1943.

This M3 Medium tank has the original three-piece casting for the final drive assembly.  As the war progressed, it was replaced with the one-piece casting shown in the photo below.  Author's photo.

This Fisher Body built M4A2(76) was one of 49,234 M4 series tanks built during World War Two.  This has the more modern one-piece casting for the final drive assembly.  Author's photo.

This is a cutaway of a M4A2 Sherman tank at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, ONT.  It allows an in-depth look at the transmissions and final drive assemblies that John Deere manufactured.  The engine was in the rear of the tank, and a drive shaft came through the crew compartment to the rear of the transmission.  From there, the power was transmitted to the tracks by the final drive assembly.  The front axle assembly can be seen here.  Author's photo.


The driveshaft from the engine can be seen in the lower left.  The internal gears that John Deere manufactured can be seen assembled into the transmission.  Author's photo.

Here the gearing can be seen in the final drive assembly.  Author's photo.

The driver side disk brakes for the Sherman tank can be seen in the back of the photo.  Author's photo.

The M10 Wolverine used the same transmission and final drive assembly as the M3 and M4 tanks.   Author's photo.

Aircraft Components:  As noted in the John Deere Tractor and Engine Museum display shown above, John Deere made aircraft parts for the Grumman TBM Avenger, Grumman F4F/FM-2 Wildcat, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Curtiss C-46 Commando, Douglas C-54 Skymaster, and the Douglas A-26 Invader.  This is a very impressive list of American World War Two aircraft, for which John Deere manufactured parts.

While the type and number of parts are unknown, below are photos of the types of aircraft with which John Deere was involved.

Grumman TBM Avenger.  The TBM was designed by Grumman but the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors built the aircraft.  The TBM was the American Navy's main torpedo bomber during World War Two.  Author's photo.

Grumman FM-2 Wildcat.  The Wildcat was designed by Grumman, but the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors built the FM-2 version of the aircraft like this one.  Author's photo.


Grumman F6F Hellcat.  Grumman was the exclusive builder for the F6F.  John Deere parts in the F6F Hellcat helped it destroy more Japanese aircraft than any other plane during the war.  The Grumman Hellcat shot down 5,160 Japanese warplanes.  Author's photo.

The Republic P-47.  Republic built the P-47 in both Farmingdale, NY and Evansville, IN.  It was the biggest and most heavily armed American fighters of World War Two.  Author's photo.


The Curtiss C-46 Commando.  This was the largest twin engine transport of World War Two.  Author's photo.

The Douglas C-54 Skymaster was the only American four-engine transport during World War Two.  Author's photo.

The Douglas A-26 Invader arrived late in the war and saw limited service.  The John Deere components in the aircraft helped the A-26 fly later in both the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.  Author's photo.

Current Military Products:

This John Deere front end loader was seen at the 2019 MCAS Beaufort, SC airshow.  It appears to be one of 300 front end loaders built for the USMC and designated at 624J TRAM.  TRAM is a military acronym for tractor, rubber-tired, articulated-steering, multi-purpose vehicle.  Author's photo added 7-1-2019.

Author's photo added 7-1-2019.