William Knudsen and WW II

[feddoc]

Bill Knudsen’s Business Skills Saved the U.S. at the Dawn of World War II

Can the presidency use a businessman’s skills? Historian Arthur Herman cites the example of Bill Knudsen and World War II.

www.thedailybeast.com

(except for the BS about Romney) there is a lot of truth in this article.

Knudsen and his dollar-a-year men faced a hailstorm of criticism from an isolationist Congress, from hostile union officials, and from the Washington media. Yet the whole time, America’s factories were soon converting themselves into the “arsenal of democracy,” Knudsen called it (a phrase FDR borrowed and used in his famous December 1940 fireside chat).

The results were as staggering. From a standing start, by the time of Pearl Harbor, America’s war production effort was approaching that of Hitler’s Germany. By the end of 1943 it was bigger than that of Germany, Britain, and the Soviet Union combined. By the end of the war, 70 percent of everything the Allies used to win World War II was made in an American factory.

National GDP nearly doubled; unemployment plunged to barely 1 percent; half a million new businesses sprang up. The productive power Knudsen and his colleagues unleashed triggered a postwar boom that lasted nearly 30 years–the greatest expansion of the American standard of living in history.

 

[feddoc]

The Titans that Built America; S1, E3. Good stuff regarding factory involvement in the very early stages of WW II.

 

[DeerHunter53]

The Greatest Generation coming up on June 6th Day d anniversary. Last week on Memorial Day I watched Midway which is still one of my favorite movies of old. I am such a World War ll Nut that I don't miss too many movies that have that content.

 

[Bluehair]

It’s nice to have a manufacturing base when you need a war machine.

Just look at all the folks who made 45’s.

It’s a good thing for us that wars are starting to be fought with tech. We would lose the manufacturing war for sure.

 

[feddoc]

The Greatest Generation coming up on June 6th Day d anniversary. Last week on Memorial Day I watched Midway which is still one of my favorite movies of old. I am such a World War ll Nut that I don't miss too many movies that have that content.

The Battle on of Midway began on 04 June 1942, nearly 80 years ago today.

 

[DeerHunter53]

The Battle on of Midway began on 04 June 1942, nearly 80 years ago today.

The History channel says June 5th are we both wrong?

 

[OutdoorWriter]

It’s nice to have a manufacturing base when you need a war machine.

Just look at all the folks who made 45’s.

It’s a good thing for us that wars are starting to be fought with tech. We would lose the manufacturing war for sure.

And don't forget the M1 .30 carbine...

Inland Mfg. Division of General Motors made 2,362,097. Winchester made 828,059, followed by Underwood Elliott-Fisher at 545,616, Saginaw Steering Gear 517,212, IBM at 346,500, Standard Products at 247,000, Rock-Ola (yes, the juke box maker), with 228,500, Quality Hardware at 359,666, National Postal Meter at 413,017 and Irwin-Pedersen made a few thousand but had trouble.

 

[OutdoorWriter]

The History channel says June 5th are we both wrong?

June 6, 1944.

 

[DeerHunter53]

June 6, 1944.

That's what I thought it was going by my first post....

 

[BeanMan]

June 3 is the day a PBY based at Midway first spotted the Japanese invasion fleet. June 4 is the day that the Japanese bombed Midway and we destroyed 4 Japanese carriers. June 6 is the day we sank the battlecruiser Mikuma And Yorktown was torpedoed by a submarine along with the destroyer Hamman ( she was first damaged by aircraft on June 4). Yorktown sunk on June 7.

 

[OutdoorWriter]

That's what I thought it was going by my first post....

The June 6th date is used because D-Day is normally associated with the allies' landing at Normandy and the subsequent defeat of the German army in Europe. If I recall my history, 'D-Day' was actually the code name used for the shore landing.

 

[BeanMan]

The June 6th date is used because D-Day is normally associated with the allies' landing at Normandy and the subsequent defeat of the German army in Europe. If I recall my history, 'D-Day' was actually the code name used for the shore landing.

D-day simply means the first day of an invasion.
Overlord was the code name.

 

[OutdoorWriter]

D-day simply means the first day of an invasion.
Overlord was the code name.

Yup. I knew that. Just shows how bad my memory has lapsed over 60+ years. Thanks for the refresher.

 

[feddoc]

US Navy says today.

Battle of Midway

The Navy will commemorate the Battle of Midway this year from 3 JUNE to 7 JUNE. Please use our Commemoration Toolkit for messaging, graphics and additional resources.

www.history.navy.mil

From the link:
Battle of Midway
4–7 June 1942

Best Defense Foundation​

4h ·

Today, 79 years ago, a very important battle began. One that would hugely impact the United States, and allied nations war efforts in the Pacific. On June 4, 1942, the Battle of Midway, fought between American and Japanese fleets in the Pacific Ocean, began.
Midway Island is a fairly isolated atoll, so named because it is midway between North America and Asia in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway was an incredibly strategic location; the Imperial Japanese Navy planned to use it to secure their sphere of influence in the Pacific theater of the war. The Japanese had not lost a naval battle in more than 50 years, and had nearly destroyed the American fleet just six months earlier in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. (Pearl Harbor is about 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles) east of Midway.) American military and intelligence forces worked together to defeat the Japanese. Code-breakers were able to decipher Japanese naval code, allowing American leaders to anticipate Japanese maneuvers. The U.S. Navy was then able to launch a surprise attack on the larger Japanese fleet in the area. By June 6th the US Navy has decisively met victory in not only the sea and air battle of Midway, but also the successful defense of objectives in the area.
The Battle of Midway turned the tide of the war, and most definitely the defense of the pacific. Japanese and American naval powers were roughly equalized, though the outcome was nothing short of wholehearted victory for the allied forces. Many men lost their lives amongst the ships and islands of Midway. The war ended three years later, and today the battle is known as one of the key battles within WW2.