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  
   

 MacKenzie Muffler Company During World War Two
Youngstown, OH
~1938 - ~1960

This page updated 2-26-2023.

The MacKenzie Muffler Company's major contribution to the winning of World War Two was the high volume production of aircraft disposable fuel tanks used by United States Army Air Forces and the U.S. Navy.  Historical records show that the company built 100 gallon, 165 gallon, and 175 gallon drop tanks for the war effort.  Drop tanks provided by MacKenzie Muffler extended the range of P-38s, P-47s, P-51s, F6Fs, and F4Us in all theaters of operation.  Disposable fuel tanks allowed P-47s, P-38s, and P-51s to escort B-17s and B-24s on their bombing missions into Europe.  In the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations, drop tanks were a necessary requirement for the P-38s that had to fly long distances over the Pacific Ocean to reach their targets.

I have estimated that MacKenzie Muffler Company produced approximately 174,000 drop tanks for both the USAAF and the U.S. Navy. 


This 165 gallon drop tank is on display at the National Museum of WWII Aviation in Colorado Springs, CO.  In the later parts of World War Two, MacKenzie Muffler Company was manufacturing the 165 gallon drop tank for $95 per unit.  Author's photo.

Mr. Roy MacKenzie moved to Youngstown, OH in the late 1930s and began making automotive mufflers for the American automobile industry.  Previously, he was owner and President of Buffalo Pressed Steel Company and the Buffalo Body Corporation of Buffalo, NY.  Both of these companies were then folded into the new MacKenzie Muffler Company that Mr. MacKenzie created when he moved to Youngstown, OH in on or around 1938.  His new company employed 300 persons making automotive mufflers for not only the auto industry, but for International Harvester trucks as well.  During World War Two, International Harvester continued to utilize mufflers supplied by the MacKenzie Muffler Company on several of the trucks it produced to help win World War Two.  During World War Two, MacKenzie Muffler Company expanded into eleven factories in the Youngstown area and employed 3,000 workers making aircraft drop tanks and automotive mufflers.

MacKenzie Muffler Company World War Two Products:  Table 1 shows that during World War Two, the company had $23,098,000 in major contracts.  $21,786,000 of these contracts, or 94.3%, were for aircraft drop tanks.  Table 1 also shows the company had fulfilled its last contract for drop tanks with the USAAF by the end of 1944.  It also produced canister body components for the U.S. Army Signal Corps and shell fin assemblies for Army Ordnance for the remainder of the conflict.

MacKenzie Muffler also had $2,257,000 in drop tank contracts with the U.S. Navy.  These contracts were also for 165 gallon tanks that were used to extend the range of the Grumman F6F Hellcat and Vought F4U Corsair fighters that saw service in the Pacific Theater of Operations. 

Table 1 - MacKenzie Muffler 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 Date Completion Date
Tanks Fuel - USAAF $110,000 9-1942 10-1942
  Braces Sway - USAAF $101,000 10-1942 3-1943
  Tanks Fuel - USAAF $692,000 10-1942 4-1943
  Tanks Fuel - USAAF $1,410,000 11-1942 1-1943
  Tank Assemblies - USAAF $13,089,000 12-1942 7-1944
  Droppable Fuel Tanks - Navy $918,000 8-1943 5-1944
Droppable Steel Tanks - USAAF $425,000 9-1943 1-1944
Droppable Fuel Tanks - Navy $479,000 2-1944 8-1944
Droppable Fuel Tanks - Navy $860,000 4-1944 9-1944
Fuel Tanks - USAAF $3,803,000 5-1944 12-1944
Canister Bodies Disks - Army Chemical Corps $763,000 5-1944 7-1945
Shell Fin Assemblies - Army Ordnance $58,000 11-1944 3-1945
Canister Bodies - Army Chemical Corps $390,000 2-1945 6-1945
Total $23,098,000    

 

Table 2 - MacKenzie Muffler Company's Major World War Two Product Categories
Product Contract Amount Percentage
Droppable Fuel Tanks $21,786,000 94.3%
Braces Sway $101,000 0.4%
Canister Bodies Disks and Canister Bodies $58,000 0.3%
Shell Fin Assemblies $1,153,000 5%
Total $23,098,000 100%

 

Table 3 - MacKenzie Muffler Company's Drop Tanks by Military Service
Service Model Value Percentage
USAAF 155-A (165 Gallon), 300 (175 Gallon), 110-A (100) Gallon) $19,529,000 91%
Navy 165-A (165 Gallon) $2,257,000 9%
Total   $21,786,000  

Tables 1 and 4 allows for calculation of estimated quantities for the number of sway braces and drop tanks produced.  These estimates are shown in Table 4.

  • Using the higher cost of $30 for the sway braces and dividing that into $101,000 gives a quantity of 3,367 units built.

  • Assuming the first three USAAF contracts for fuel tanks totaling $2,212,000 were built at the original cost of $400 gives a quantity of 5,530 built.  A local undated newspaper article a explains that when the company began producing drop tanks, they were constructed of aluminum and plastic and cost upwards of $400 per piece.  MacKenzie developed an improved version of a thin gauge of steel produced by one of the many steel companies in the Youngtown area.  These were most likely 100 gallon tanks as the drop tanks kept getting larger as the war progressed. 

  • Adding the last three USAAF contracts awarded on 12-1942, 9-1943, and 5-1944 gives a total of $17,317,000.  One is not able to determine which contracts were for 165 gallon tanks and which ones were for 175 gallon drop tanks.  Therefore, I will use the average of the two costs for the two tanks.  This is $122.50.  Using the $122.50 unit cost yields 141,363 drop tanks.

  • MacKenzie also produced 165 gallon drop tanks for the U.S. Navy.  This was the company's model 165-A.  The three Navy contracts totaled $2,257,000.  Once again using the $95 unit cost yields 23,757 drop tanks for the U.S. Navy.

Table 4 - MacKenzie Muffler Company's Drop Tanks Information
The information in this was obtained from "Stock List - Dead Items Stock List"  published by the Army Air Forces  on May 19, 1946 and revised January 19, 1947.
Part Name Model Number Cost Estimated Number Built
 Brace -Sway 800-11 $25 3,300
 Brace -Sway 800-A12 $30
Strap Assy - Sway Brace 800-A4 $50 Unknown
Tank - 165 Gallon Metal Tank for P-38 and P-47 155-A $95
USAAF: 141,363
U.S. Navy: 23,757
Total: 165,120
Tank - 175 Gallon Steel Tank for P-39 300-A $150 Included with USAAF 165 gallon tanks
Tank - 100 Gallon Steel Tank for P-47 110-A $85 final inventory cost.  Calculated early WWII cost of $400. 5,530

Table 4 shows that MacKenzie Muffler Company produced several types of sway braces and at least three different sizes of aircraft fuel tanks.  An undated Youngstown, OH newspaper article published after World War Two notes that in 1944, the company was producing ten to fifteen boxcar loads of 165 gallon drop tanks per day.  The article also notes that the tanks cost around $100 each.  This matches up very well with the $95 cost shown in Table 4.   It was this design that became the Model 155A and cost $95. 

Table 1 shows that the company began producing fuel tanks in September 1942.  This date is significant because on August 7, 1942, the USMC invaded the island of Guadalcanal.  It was in the air battles that ensued over the island between American and Japanese over the next five months that the USAAF P-38 with drop tanks was introduced.  By April 1943, P-38s at Guadalcanal were normally using two 165 gallon drop tanks.

The most famous of all of the missions flown by P-38s was flown on April 18, 1943, when eighteen P-38s took off from Guadalcanal early in the morning to intercept and shoot down the Mitsubishi G4M carrying Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto.  In order to avoid detection on the inbound flight, the P-38s took a 600 mile over ocean route.  After the successful attack, the P-38s then had to make a 400 mile return trip to Guadalcanal.  For the mission, each P-38 had one 165 gallon drop tank and one 300 gallon drop tank especially flown in for the mission.  MacKenzie Muffler Company had four contracts to provide drop tanks to the USAAF that were awarded in September, October, November, and December 1942.  MacKenzie Muffler-built 165 gallon drop tanks may very well have been used on this historic mission.  However, it should be noted that five other companies also produced 165 gallon drop tanks for the USAAF during World War Two.

In any event, there is no doubt with as many 165 drop tanks the company produced that many of them were used in the day-to-day mission flown by Army Air Force P-38s in the Southwest Pacific Theater of Operations.  When P-47s and P-51s arrived in the area, they also would have used MacKenzie-built 165 gallon drop tanks. 


This Lockheed P-38L is on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Riverside, OH.  This P-38 is on display with two drop tanks.  Author's photo.


It is hard to determine the actual capacity of the drop tanks, as they are not marked.  This appears to be a 165 gallon tank but could also be a 150 gallon unit.  Author's photo.


Aviation fuel weighs six lbs. per gallon.  Each 165 gallon tank added 990 lbs.of take-off weight.  For the Yamamoto attack, each P-38 took off with 2,790 lbs. of added fuel in the 300 and 165 gallon tanks.  Author's photo.


This particular 165 gallon drop tank was produced by the Gibson Refrigerator Company of Greenville, MI.  This is one of 41,860 drop tanks the company made during World War Two.  This and the next three photos are being added to give several different views of a 165 gallon tank.  Note that the weld seam on this fuel tank is different than the one featured at the top of this page. 

This drop tank was produced at the end of the war and immediately became surplus.  This and a second drop tank were found in a barn.    Author's photo from the Fighting Falcon Museum.


  Author's photo from the Fighting Falcon Museum.


Author's photo from the Fighting Falcon Museum.



This document contains a considerable amount of information.  At the top it shows that MacKenzie Muffler and nearby Youngstown Steel Door Company both produced 165 gallon drop tanks for the U.S. Navy.  While the "Airplane Used On" column shows that the MacKenzie tanks were used on the F5F and the Youngstown tanks on the F7F and F4U fighters, the drop tanks from both companies would have been used on both the F6F and F4U.  These were the main fighters used by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific.  The F7F did not see any combat during World War Two. 

The table at the bottom appears to be erroneously titled, as the six companies listed produced 165 gallon drop tanks for the USAAF, not the U.S. Navy.  Note that the MacKenzie Model 155-A could also be used by the U.S. Navy.

The information above comes from the Index of Army-Navy Aeronautical Equipment; Miscellaneous, T.O. No. 03-1-46, 10-July-1945.  The document shows that as of that date, only MacKenzie was still producing or approved to supply 165 gallon drop tanks to the USAAF.  It also shows that MacKenzie 165 gallon drop tanks were approved to be used on USAAF aircraft types P-38, P-47, and P-61.  It also shows that they could be used on U.S. Navy F4Us and PV-2s. 


This Northrop P-61 is also on display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.  This P-61 is on display with four 165 gallon drop tanks.  These may very well be MacKenzie-built units, as the P-61C model was a late World War Two aircraft.  As noted above, MacKenzie was the only producer of the 165 gallon tanks for the USAAF at the end of World War Two.  Author's photo.


The P-61 carried a drop tank both inboard and outboard of the engines.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


This P-61 is being restored to flying condition by the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA.  Author's photo.


This photo shows a 165 gallon drop tank under each wing.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Both MacKenzie Muffler Company models 155-A and 165-A were approved for use on U.S. Navy aircraft.  This Grumman F6F with drop tank is on display at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT.  Author's photo.


This F4U-5 is equipped with a drop tank.   Author's photo.


The Lockheed PV-2 Harpoon was a land based patrol bomber that could carry a MacKenzie-built 165 gallon drop tank under each wing.  Author's photo.


This PV-2 was on display at an aviation event in Topeka, KS in 2013.  It is painted in the late World War Two all navy blue paint scheme.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


This PV-2 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation at NAS Pensacola is painted in the early World War Two tri-color paint scheme.  The 165 gallon drop tanks have been painted in two of the colors.  Author's photo.

Mufflers:  Besides building drop tanks for both the U.S. Army Air Forces and the U.S. Navy, MacKenzie Muffler Company also produced its peacetime product of automotive mufflers for several types of International Harvester trucks used in World War Two. 


This and the next image show two pages from a patent the company received in 1941 for an improved muffler.  This shows the company was not only producing mufflers, but inventing and adding to the technology of the product. 


Pictured here is the International H-542-9, 5-ton 4x2 tractor owned by the Navistar Corporation and stored at its Melrose Park, IL plant.  The military designation for the H-542-9 was the M425.  International built 4,640 in 1944 and 1945.  International also built 6,678 H-542-15 with military designation M426.  They were nearly identical, except for larger tires and a heavier duty suspension which allowed it to pull larger loads.  These trucks used MacKenzie Model MKM 11145A mufflers.  Author's photo.


This image is from the supply manual for the M425 and M426 trucks.  This image shows the MacKenzie Model MKM 11145A.


This 1945 Marmon-Herrington-built M426 was seen at the World War II American Experience Museum in Gettysburg, PA.  It was on outside display for an open house at this excellent museum.  Marmon-Herrington and Kenworth also built the M426 under license from International Harvester.  Kenworth built 1,100 and Marmon-Herrington built 3,200.  Author's photo.


International also built 3,308 Model KR-11 5 ton 4x2s as dump trucks and another 102 as cargo trucks as shown here.  These trucks came equipped with MacKenzie Model MKM 12050 mufflers. 


This image from the KR-11 supply manual shows the MacKenzie Model MKM 12050 muffler. 


This image shows an International Harvester Model M-5H-6 2-1/2-ton 6x6 truck that went to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease and is currently on display in Russia. 


If this is the original muffler on the vehicle, it is a MacKenzie Model MKM11025.


The image below shows that the original tail pipe was longer than the one currently on the truck. 


The MacKenzie Model MKM11025.


This is a very rare International Harvester M-5H-6 2-1/2-ton 6x6 truck that the company built for the USMC.  This is the only one I have found and 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.


This vehicle came equipped from the factory with a MacKenzie Model MKM11025 muffler.  Author's photo added 2-26-2023.

The MacKenzie Muffler Company Plant:  


This is the Google Maps satellite view of the former MacKenzie Muffler Company factory location.


This is the Google Maps street view.

The company appears to have gone out of business in the mid-1960s and its former plant on North Meridian Road in Youngstown has been razed.  I see too much of this.  Companies that contributed so much to the winning of World War Two go out of business, their former plants are torn down, and the company forgotten.  But this is why I do what I do, so that some of these companies get the recognition they deserve.

 

 

 

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