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Oneida Ltd. During World War Two
Canastota Division
Canastota, NY
1941- 1952
This page added 2-12-2023.
The story of the Canastota Division of Oneida
Ltd. began with another trip to my favorite place to visit, The National
Museum of the United States Air Force in Riverside, OH. This
museum has provided many photos of aviation related items for this
website since its conception in 2013. Many times I have walked by
the M5 bomb trailer that is underneath the starboard engine nacelle of
the Martin B-26 Marauder. However, I had not further investigated
the M5 trailer because the company name on the data plate was Oneida
Ltd. I was under the impression from the term Ltd. that this was a
Canadian firm that produced the M5 bomb trailer. After a visit in
early February 2023, I decided to look up Oneida Ltd in the
"Alphabetical Listing of Major War Supply Contracts" to verify it was a
Canadian company. To my surprise, it was an American company
located in New York.
Table 1 shows that Oneida Ltd. had three
locations with major World War Two contracts. However,
while the Canastota, NY plant produced trailers, the other two locations
produced, for the most part, products related to surgical instruments
and silverware. Further investigation found that going into World
War Two, Oneida, Ltd. was the largest manufacturer of silverware and
tableware products in the United States. The question then arises
as to how it ended up making bomb trailers to help win World War Two.
It turns out that the Oneida Ltd. Division in
Canastota, NY was really the location of the former Rex Body
Corporation, a manufacturer of school bus bodies that filed for
re-organization in June 1941. At this time Rex Body had already
been contracted to produce photographic labs for the Army Air Forces.
Oneida Ltd. stepped in and took over the operation of the Rex Body facility
and the photographic lab contract was then awarded to Oneida in October
1941. The former Rex Body plant then became the Canastota Division
of Oneida Ltd. for the remainder of World War Two. After the war,
Oneida Ltd. continued to operate the plant until it was sold in 1952
to Strong, Carlisle & Hammond Co.
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Table 1 - Oneida Ltd. Major
Contract Totals by Plant Location |
|
Plant Location |
Products |
Total Contract Values |
|
Canastota, NY |
VariousTrailers and Semi-Trailers |
$9,739,000 |
|
Oneida, NY |
Surgical Instruments, Tableware, Silverware, Bayonets,
Chemical Bombs, Airplane Hardware, Parachute Harness Parts,
.30 Rifle Parts, Release Assemblies, and Bomb Parts |
$12,208,000 |
|
Sherrill, NY |
Forceps, Tableware, Bomb Shackle Assemblies, .30 Rifle
Parts, Bayonets, Table Knives, Spoons, Forks, and Bomb
Casing Assemblies |
$17,595,000 |
| |
Total |
$39,542,000 |
Canastota Division of Oneida Ltd World War
Two Products: Table 2 shows
that the Canastota Division had $9,739,000 in major contracts during
World War Two. The division had contracts from the United States
Army Air Forces, U.S. Navy, Army Ordnance, and the Army Corps of
Engineers.
Table 2 - Oneida Ltd.'s
Major World War Two Contracts
- Canastota
Division
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 Number |
Contract Amount |
Contract Awarded
Date |
Completion
Date |
|
Photographic Lab - USAAF |
|
$791,000 |
10-1941 |
8-1942 |
|
Laboratories Trailer - Navy |
|
$102,000 |
4-1942 |
6-1942 |
|
Container Assemblies - USAAF |
|
$311,000 |
11-1942 |
12-1943 |
|
Photographic Equipment - Navy |
|
$635,000 |
1-1943 |
10-1943 |
|
Trailers Bomb - Army Ordnance |
740-ORD-3592 |
$2,257,000 |
5-1943 |
2-1944 |
|
Semi Trailers - Army Ordnance |
30115-ORD-360 |
$1,563,000 |
10-1943 |
9-1944 |
|
Trailers - Army Ordnance |
30115-ORD-1021 |
$1,749,000 |
4-1944 |
1-1945 |
|
Wing Bomb Rack Kits - USAAF |
|
$182,000 |
4-1944 |
11-1944 |
|
Amm Trailers M21 - Army Ordnance |
30115-ORD-1820 |
$254,000 |
12-1944 |
8-1945 |
|
Truck Chassis - Army Corps of Engineers |
|
$1,416,000 |
1-1945 |
3-1946 |
|
Aerial Del Containers - USAAF |
|
$479,000 |
3-1945 |
12-1945 |
|
Total |
|
$9,739,000 |
|
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Table 3 -
Oneida Ltd. Vehicles Canastota Division
Accepted by Detroit Ordnance, US Army
The information below comes from "Summary Report of
Acceptances, Tank-Automotive Material, 1940-1945."
Published by Army Services Forces, Office, Chief of
Ordnance-Detroit, Production Division, Requirements and Progress
Branch January 21, 1946. |
|
Type |
Contract Number |
1943 |
1944 |
1945 |
Total |
| Trailer, 4-ton
2W, Ammunition M21 |
30-115-1021 |
|
300 |
446 |
746 |
| Trailer, 4-ton
2W, Ammunition M21 |
30-115-1021 |
|
600 |
129 |
129 |
| Trailer, 4-ton
2W, Ammunition M21 |
30-115-1820 |
|
|
116 |
116 |
| |
|
|
300 |
691 |
991 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Trailer, Bomb, M5 |
740-3592 |
1,625 |
758 |
|
2,383 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Semi-Trailer,
10-ton, 2W, Stake & Platform |
30-115-360 |
|
600 |
|
600 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
| Totals |
|
1,625 |
1,658 |
691 |
3,974 |
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Table 4 - Oneida Ltd. Canastota Division Trailer Costs |
|
Type |
Contract Number |
Quantity |
Contract Amount |
Unit Cost |
| Trailer, 4-ton
2W, Ammunition M21 |
30-115-1021 |
875 |
$1,749,000 |
$1,999 |
| Trailer, 4-ton
2W, Ammunition M21 |
30-115-1820 |
116 |
$254,000 |
$2,190 |
| Trailer, Bomb, M5 |
740-3592 |
2,383 |
$2,257,000 |
$947 |
| Semi-Trailer,
10-ton, 2W, Stake & Platform |
30-115-360 |
600 |
$1,563,000 |
$2,605 |
This photo of the Martin B-26 was taken in
2013. At that time, the M5 bomb trailer was not yet on display at
the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Author's
photo.
This photo was taken in early February 2023.
The M5 bomb trailer was added to the display at some time during the
past
ten years. Author's photo.
Author's photo.
Oneida built M5 trailers at a cost of $947
each.
Author's photo.
Author's photo.
Author's photo.
The Canastota Division of Oneida Ltd. built
600 10-ton, 2-wheel semi-trailers, similar to this one at a cost of
$2,605 each. Author's photo.
Author's photo.
Author's photo.
The M21 ammunition trailer was designed to
carry either 102 rounds of 4.5 inch gun shells or 72 rounds of 155mm
howitzer shells. It could also carry the powder charges, primers,
and fuzes required to fire each type of shell.
.
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