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   Haynes Stellite Company   Hercules Body Company   Horton Manufacturing Company   Howe Fire Apparatus   J.D. Adams Company   Kokomo Spring Company   Magnavox  
Muncie Gear Works   Pierce Governor Company   Portland Forge and Foundry   Reliance Manufacturing Company   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   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   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   Gibson Guitar   Gibson Refrigerator Company   Goodyear   Hall-Scott   Hanson Clutch and Machinery Company   Harley-Davidson   Harris-Seybold-Potter   Herreshoff Manufacturing Company   Higgins Industries    Highway Trailer   Hill Diesel Company   Holland Hitch Company   Homelite Company   Horace E. Dodge Boat and Plane Corporation   Huffman Manufacturing   Indian Motorcycle   Ingersoll Steel and Disk   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   Queen City Manufacturing Company   R.G. LeTourneau   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   Youngstown Steel Door Company  
   

Warner Gear In World War Two
Muncie, IN
1901-2009
A Division of Borg-Warner after 1928

This page added 10-28-2021.


The Jeep is the most famous and recognizable vehicle of World War Two.  This 1/4-ton 4x4 truck was ubiquitous for its service in the war.  It was so well-designed and utilitarian that vehicles with the Jeep name are still being made today.  Many of them still closely resemble the ones built during World War Two.  All 631,927 Jeeps that were built during World War Two by the Ford Motor Company and Willys-Overland had Warner Gear transmissions in them.  This Willys-Overland-built Jeep was produced in Toledo, OH in June 1944 with a Warner Gear transmission model number AS2-T-84-J.  Willys-Overland Jeeps were designated MB.  Author's photo.


  The Ford-built Jeep in this photo displays the markings of the United States Marine Corps.  It is one of  281,578 that Ford built with Warner Gear transmissions.  Ford-built Jeeps were designated at GP and GPWs.  Author's photo.


This Ford-built GPW  was delivered May 1943 with a Warner Gear AS2-T-84-J transmission.  Not only did American forces use the Jeep on a world-wide basis during World War Two, but other countries used the Jeep in their military services.  This one is shown as a British Long Range Desert Group vehicle.  Author's photo.


 The Warner Gear transmission model number AS2-T-84-J.


This is an exploded view of the Warner Gear AS2-T-84-J.

The Warner Gear Company was established in 1901 by brothers Tom and Harry Warner in Muncie, IN.  They started manufacturing a transmission of their design with a differential gear that allowed the wheels on a vehicle to turn at different speeds when the vehicle turned. 


R.E. Olds was so impressed with the Warner brothers' transmission that he purchased 4,000 of them for the Curved Dash Oldsmobile.  Author's photo.


During the first World War, Warner Gear had orders for 4,000 transmissions, 4,000 clutches, 6,000 controls, and 2,000 steering gears for the Class B, Standard Motor Truck.  This was more commonly known as the Liberty Truck.  Document courtesy of Warren Richardson.


This World War One Class B Liberty Truck has been restored to operating condition by the First Division Museum in Wheaton, IL.  Author's photo.

In 1919, Warner Gear developed and began marketing a standard automotive transmission, the T-64.  This transmission was used in many vehicles of the era, as it was mass produced and the most cost effective transmission on the market.  In 1920 and 192,9 Warner Gear built plants in the near southeast side of Muncie in the area of South Hackley and East Seymour Streets.   In 1928 Warner Gear became a division of Borg Warner that was formed from Warner Gear and several other companies.   In 1930 a new plant was built on the west side of Muncie.  This half mile long site would later become the company's main manufacturing plant.  In 1940 the company was the first to manufacture a transfer case for a four-wheel drive vehicle.  The company reached peak employment in the early 1950s with 6,100 employees.  Warner Gear was the first company to build the T-10 manual transmission for the new Chevrolet Corvette.  After a general decline over the post-World War Two years, Warner Gear shut down its operations on April 24, 2009.

Warner Gear World War Two Production:  The company built 901,397 transmissions to help win World War Two as noted in Table 1.  It also built at least 12,314 transfer cases for the war effort.  Warner Gear also built 241,067 parkng brakes, gear sets for light tanks, 37 types of aircraft gears, truck brake hangars, bearing retainers, de-clutching units, brake drums, output shafts, axle gears, cylinder sleeves, aircraft turret elevating shafts, and super charger shafts.

 Table 1 - World War Two Vehicles Accepted by Detroit Ordnance, US Army with Warner Gear Transmissions
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.
Warner Gear Model Number Type 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total
AS2-T-84-J Willys-Overland Truck, 1/4-ton, 4x4, Command (Jeep) 9,129 83,739 91,955 108,806 56,720 350,349
AS2-T-84-J Ford Truck, 1/4-ton, 4x4, Command (Jeep) 3,700 88,987 80,721 73,262 34,908 281,578
T93 with Cleveland U-joint flange
AS1-T93 without U-joint flange
Studebaker US6 2-1/2-ton, 6x6 Cargo Truck 3,912 20,642 31,440 41,965 30,162 128,121
T93 with Cleveland U-joint flange
AS1-T93 without U-joint flange
Studebaker US6 2-1/2-ton, 6x4 Cargo Truck   18,166 22,068 33,256 17,252 90,742
T93 with Cleveland U-joint flange
AS1-T93 without U-joint flange
Reo-built US6 2-1/2-ton, 6x6 Cargo Truck       13,004 9,200 22,204
T-95 Ford M8 6x6 Armored Car     4,299 3,383 841 8,523
T-95 Ford M20 6x6 Armored Car     1,624 1,337 830 3,791
Total Wheeled Vehicles   16,741 211,534 232,107 275,013 149,913 885,308
               
T-84-J Studebaker Carrier, Cargo, Light, M28 (T15)   306 460     766
T-84-J Studebaker Cargo, Carrier, Light, M29 (T24)     1,525 2,951   4,476
T-84-J Studebaker Cargo, Carrier, Light, M29C (T24)       4,401 6,446 10,847
Total Tracked Vehicles     306 1,985 7,352 6,446 16,089
Grand Total Vehicles and Transmissions   16,741 211,840 234,092 282,365 156,359 901,397

The historical record indicates that Warner Gear built a total of 1.6 million transmissions for the war effort.  As Table 1 indicates, only 901,397 have been identified.  While the Ordnance Supplier Catalogs for the CCKW series trucks only lists the Clark Equipment 204-VO series 5-speed transmission for use in the vehicle, the CCKW Maintenance Manual also lists the Warner Gear AS1-T93 transmission for use.  With only 549,977 CCKW series trucks built, and two companies sharing the supply of transmissions, this still does not account for all of the uses of Warner Gear transmissions in World War Two.  

 Table 2 - World War Two Vehicles Accepted by Detroit Ordnance, US Army with Warner Gear Transfer Cases
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.
Warner Gear Model Number Type 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total
AS1-J5 Ford M8 6x6 Armored Car     4,299 3,383 841 8,523
AS1-J5 Ford M20 6x6 Armored Car     1,624 1,337 830 3,791
Grand Total Vehicles and Transfer Cases       5,923 4,720 1,671 12,314

 

 Table 3 - World War Two Vehicles Accepted by Detroit Ordnance, US Army with Warner Gear Parking Brakes
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.
Warner Gear Model Number Type 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total
1AA28-12 Studebaker US6 2-1/2-ton, 6x6 Cargo Truck 3,912 20,642 31,440 41,965 30,162 128,121
1AA28-12 Studebaker US6 2-1/2-ton, 6x4 Cargo Truck   18,166 22,068 33,256 17,252 90,742
1AA28-12 Reo-built US6 2-1/2-ton, 6x6 Cargo Truck       13,004 9,200 22,204
Grand Total Parking Brakes   3,912 38,808 53,508 88,225 56,617 241,067


Warner Gear supplied 241,067 T93 series transmissions and parking brakes for the US6 2-1/2-ton 6x6 and 6x4 trucks built by Studebaker and the Reo Motor Car Company.  Author's photo.


Studebaker was the designer of the truck and Reo built them under license.  Nearly all of the trucks were sent to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease where the word truck became synonymous with the name Studebaker.  Author's photo.


Another Studebaker product for which Warner Gear supplied transmissions during World War Two was the tracked cargo carrier.  The M28 version applied power to the tracks at the front of the vehicle.  The Warner Gear T-84-J transmission was connected to driver's controls via linkages.  The M28 only had room for the driver and a passenger behind him. 


The improved M29 version of the cargo carrier applied the power to the rear of the vehicle and could seat a total of four persons.  Author's photo.


The M29C version of the Studebaker cargo carrier was amphibious.  Author's photo.


 The 8,523 M8 armored cars were equipped with Warner Gear T-95 transmissions and AS1-J5 transfer cases.  The Author's photo.


This is an exploded view of the T-95.


The Warner Gear AS1-J5 transfer case as used on the M8 and M20 armored cars. 


The 3,791 M20 command armored cars also were equipped with the T-95 and AS1-J5.  Author's photo.


In the final stages of World War Two, General George Patton used an M20 command car equipped with a Warner Gear T-95 transmission.  This is a replica of what General Patton's M20 looked like.   Author's photo. 

The Plants:


In 1929 Warner Gear Plant Two was built at South Hackley and East Seymour Streets in Muncie.  The plant to the east may be the original Warner Gear Plant One.  During World War Two, this Warner Gear plant was the address listed as the headquarters for the company.  In working on this project, this was the first time I was aware of this former Warner Gear plants in Muncie.  While the scales of the two pages from the 1950 Sanborn maps don't quite match up, it shows that Warner Gear had a substantial facility at this location. 


This is the former Warner Gear Plant Two at the corner of South Hackley and East Seymour Streets in Muncie, IN.  The original plant had large windows that have been bricked over with a slightly different color of brick.  What an elegant looking factory in the late afternoon autumn sunlight.  Author's photo. 


This is the plant that is to the east of Plant Two and is at the corner of South Beacon and East Seymour Streets.  This building still has the windows in it.  This building may be 100 years old, but it is still in very good condition for its age.  It was built to last.  This was most likely the original Warner Gear Plant One in Muncie.  Author's photo.


The address given in World War Two U.S. Army documents shows 1108 Seymour Street as being the address of Warner Gear.  The current address 80 years later differs by only two numbers.  This entrance appears to be the main entrance, indicating this plant was the original plant and headquarters location for Warner Gear.  Most likely where it currently says, "Downtown Industrial Center" it previously said "Warner Gear."  Author's photo.


This is the Warner Gear plant I was familiar with.  It was located along State Road 32, or Kilgore Avenue as it is called as it comes into Muncie.  I live just a mile from State Road 32 and my total travel distance is eleven miles from this former plant.  The half mile long plant was on the south side of the road.  I have gone past this site hundreds of times over the years on my way to Muncie.  Photo courtesy of the Muncie Public Library. 

The end of Warner Gear and Plant Three:  The photos below were taken on a cold and gray overcast day in December 2017.  Just as dreary and cold as the day were the remains of Plant 3 as it was being dismantled for scrap.  The was the sad end for a great company that had for over 100 years been a part of Muncie and for all the workers it had employed.  In other words, this is a very depressing set of photos.


This photo is looking west from the east property line.  Author's photo. 


Scrappers always start tearing down plants in the back, away from the public eye.  In this photo the demolition has proceeded to the front of the plant along State Road 32.  Author's photo. 


A considerable amount of the front side of the plant was still standing in December 2017.  It is all razed now.  There are still piles of bricks remaining that don't appear to be worth salvaging.  Author's photo. 


This was the former main entrance along State Road 32.  Author's photo.


This photo is looking west from the same location of the previous photo.  Author's photo.   


This photo was taken from the southwest corner of the property and the view is back to the east.  There was still a considerable amount of the factory still standing.  Author's photo.

 

 

 

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