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  
   

 The National Museum of Military Vehicles
Dubois, WY

An American Automobile Industry in World War Two Special Report

This page added 8-24-2023.

Two things motivated me to author this special report on the National Museum of Military Vehicles.  Firstly, it has the largest collection of World War Two military vehicles built by American automobile and truck manufacturers that I have documented on other pages of this website.  This is an excellent museum to see these vehicles all in one place.  Secondly, the sheer size for the museum and its fully equipped restoration shop sets it apart from any other military vehicle museum in the United States.

There are vehicles built to help win World War Two by the American automobile companies, including American Bantam Car Company, Buick Division of General Motors, Chevrolet Division of General Motors, Chrysler Corporation, Dodge Truck, Fisher Body Division of General Motors, Ford Motor Car Company, GMC Division of General Motors, GM of Canada, Studebaker, and Willys-Overland.  Beyond these automotive vehicle manufacturers, the museum also has vehicles produced by farm implement, locomotive, truck, and trailer manufacturers, including Allis-Chalmers, American Car and Foundry, American LaFrance, Autocar, Baldwin Locomotive Works, Brockway Motor Company, Caterpillar Tractor Company, Cleaver-Brooks Company, Converto Manufacturing Company, Corbitt Company, Diamond T Motor Car Company,  J.I. Case Company, International Harvester Corporation, Hercules Body Company, Hyde Corporation, Mack Truck, Marmon-Herrington Company, Oshkosh Motor Truck Corporation, Pacific Car and Foundry Company, Pressed Steel Car Company, Ward-LaFrance Truck Corporation, and White Motor Company.

There are also several LVT-4s in the museum's collection.  There are no data plates on these vehicles to identify which of the following companies produced them.  Those companies were: Food Machinery Corporation, Graham-Paige Motors Corporation, and St. Louis Car Company.


This is the main entrance to the museum.


From the area of the main gate, this image shows the main museum building. 


The Veterans Pavilion is west of the main building. 


The Poolaw Building contains a cafe and meeting rooms.  The cafe is an excellent idea, as the museum is twelve miles from town.  For those who are at the museum at lunch time, it is just a short walk over to the cafe.

The building is named after Pascal C. Poolaw, Sr., a member of the Kiowa Tribe, who served in World War Two, Korea, and Vietnam.  He was awarded 42 medals and citations during his service, making him the most decorated Native American in United States military history.


If there is a power failure at the museum, it has two Cummins-built standby generators to keep the lights on and the museum operating.  This is impressive and shows some of the extensive preplanning that went into the construction of the museum.

Inside the Museum:  Next are a few selected photos that give the essence of what the museum is all about.  With the large number of vehicles and displays in the museum, it is nearly impossible to show everything in an article like this.  The best thing to do is visit the museum and see all of it for one's self.


This is obviously not a military vehicle.  It is a U.S. Navy twin 40mm Bofors anti-aircraft gun that was used extensively aboard American ships during World War Two.  However, even more importantly, this weapon is in the Doris Miller Annex of the museum.  Doris Miller, pictured here, was awarded the Navy Cross for his bravery and duty during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  Cook Doris Miller was the first African-American awarded this medal in the history of the U.S. Navy.  While he is best known for manning a .50 caliber machine gun and possibly shooting down a Japanese Imperial Navy aircraft that was attacking his ship, he was also most instrumental in moving wounded sailors to safer areas on his ship, the USS West Virginia. 

While the museum is about vehicles, it has not forgotten the human side of the story. 


I have never seen a World War Two 40mm Bofors gun tub restored with such detail as this one at the National Museum of Military Vehicles.  This is an example of the thoroughness with which the museum makes each display as original as possible. 


All of the rubber hoses are installed and the brass fittings on the gun mount are not painted over, as they are on other museum displays.  This is just an outstanding restoration and display piece.  


This photo was taken at the entrance to the main World War Two armor exhibit.  The Sherman tank in the center is an M4A3(76) HVSS built by the Fisher Body tank plant in Grand Blanc, MI in October 1944.  It is serial number 62966.

To the left of it is a Sherman tank M4E9(75)VVSS built by the American Locomotive Company in April 1943.  It is serial number 1788.

To the right is a Pressed Steel Car Company-built M4A1(75)VVSS.  This was built for the war effort in October 1943.

Inside this main armor exhibition hall is a row of armored cars, light tanks, and scout cars.  There is also a section of anti-tank weapons, both motorized and towed.  Behind the tanks in center is a row of artillery pieces.  On the right side of the World War Two armor hall is a row of half-tracks. 

Note there are no roped barriers to interfere with taking photos or just looking at the vehicles.  The information placards and intrusion barriers are all mounted at foot level.  This is a really nice touch to have the best possible experience while visiting.


Within the armor exhibition hall is this impressive collection of World War Two artillery.  This section exhibits (from left to right) an 8-inch howitzer, a 155mm gun, a 155mm howitzer, a 105mm howitzer, and a 75mm pack howitzer.


Trucks were extremely important to the winning of World War Two.  These trucks are part of the museum's Red Ball Express display.  Included in this display are trucks manufactured by Autocar, Dodge Truck, GMC Division of General Motors,  Corbitt Company, Diamond T Motor Car Company, Mack Truck, Studebaker, and White Motor Company.


Seeing this was just about worth the trip out to Dubois, WY.  This is the only Brockway Motor Company bridge erecting truck I have ever seen.  My timing was right for my visit, as this was only put on display several months before my arrival. 


The museum also has more World War Two era vehicles located in battle themed displays.  This one shows both American and German vehicles used in the battle.


The museum is home the world's largest collection of Japanese World War Two artillery.  This is part of that display.


This is a Japanese 47mm anti-tank gun.  These were used with great effectiveness against American tanks, especially the Sherman.  Historical photos of the battles on Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, to name a few, in many cases show Sherman tanks with holes punched through the armor plate.  This was a very effective weapon.


This portion of the Korean War display shows this International Harvester M-5-6 6x6 2-1/2 ton truck at the Chosen Reservoir. 

The museum's Vietnam War display is the largest I have ever seen and is second to none.  Most museums treat the Vietnam War as an afterthought.  Not at the National Museum of Military Vehicles.  Its size and breadth rival the World War Two displays within the museum. 


All Vietnam displays include a Huey helicopter, as does the National Museum of Military Vehicles. 


If one was coming of age in the late 1960's, then one learned about the war on the CBS News with Walter Cronkite at 6:30 in the evening.  We had a 19-inch Motorola black and white table model that I watched the news on each evening.  I probably watched the episode showing on the TV set in this display.  No, we did not have shag carpet nor modernistic furniture in our house.


Truck convoys were used extensively to supply the troops in the field.  The museum has examples of typical vehicles used for this purpose.  In the foreground is a P170 mine detector.  This is the only one I have ever seen.  I was unaware that they existed until I visited this museum.


This is a Tet diorama.

Outside Displays:  Not all of the museum's vehicles are on display inside the main museum.  Many are on display at the outside pavilion. 


There are three M3 Stuart tanks along with a dozen half-tracks located on the west side of the pavilion.  Under the roof of the pavilion, there are another forty vehicles. 


Being the world's largest collection of military vehicles and continually growing means that some vehicles end up outside in the weather.  This very rare Autocar U8144T is only one of three known to exist in the United States.  It is the only one that is part of a museum and the only one I have ever seen in ten years of working on this project.  It would be hoped that this and many of the other vehicles located along the Wind River will be brought under cover in the future. 

This Autocar U8144T would fit well into the World War Two Red Ball display.  There are two Autocar U7144Ts on display in that section.  One could be exchanged for this vehicle after a restoration.


This and the next photo show the vehicles that are on outside display along the Wind River. 

The National Museum of Military Vehicle's Restoration Shop:  During my visit, I was able to visit the museum's restoration shop in downtown Dubois.  Just like the museum and its collection of vehicles, the restoration shop is in a league of its own.  Other military museums contract out their restorations.  Not the National Museum of Military Vehicles.  I am not sure whether I was more impressed with the museum or its restoration shop.  Both are first class operations.


This view is looking west at the facility.  The offices are on the far left.  Next, to the right, behind the first two garage doors are the machine and welding shops.  There are also two bays in this area for working on vehicles.  The high bay building in the center is where all of the heavy duty restoration of vehicles takes place.  The large building on the right end of the photo are the spare parts warehouse and paint shop.  The far door at the right end of the building is the entrance to the paint shop.


The high bay restoration portion of the building is equipped with a 20-ton overhead crane for engine and transmission pulls. 


This Fisher Body-built M4A2 is being completely torn down for restoration.  When complete, it will be one of the museum's road worthy vehicles used for parades in Dubois. 


This is the machine shop.


This is the weld shop. 


When I was told there was a warehouse attached to the restoration shop, I was not expecting something this large.  Once again, this shows the preplanning that went into the design of this building.


There is even a UH-60 in the warehouse. 


This image shows the restoration shop, warehouse, and paint shop early in the morning.  The town of Dubois, where it is located, is in a valley with the Wind River running through it. 


To the east of the restoration shop is this apartment building that is under construction.  Actually, this is being constructed by the owner of the museum after he determined there was not enough housing in Dubois. 

The main museum building east of Dubois, which encloses over 3.5 acres of inside display area, opened in August 2020.  Thus began the National Museum of Military Vehicles as an added tourist draw for the area.  In 2022, 46,000 persons visited the museum.  Many were on their way to other attractions in the area, such as Yellowstone National Park which is 105 miles northwest of town.  Others, like myself, came to Dubois specifically to visit the museum.  Many of the persons visiting the museum ate or stayed in Dubois on their trip, adding to the revenue of local businesses. 

The museum itself generated construction jobs between 2017 and 2022 when the museum was being built.  The museum itself employees local citizens in its normal day-to-day operations along with those employed in the Poolaw Building cafe and the restoration area in Dubois.  Museum management also noted the need for more affordable housing in the Dubois area and has initiated the construction of an apartment complex.  The museum is more than just a museum to the local residents and businesses.  It is an added source of economic growth in this scenic town in the Wyoming Rocky Mountains. 

 

 

 

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