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  
   

 M36 Tank Destroyer Photos
Built on either a Fisher Body Grand Blanc Tank Arsenal or Ford Highland Park M10A1 Hull.

This page updated 11-20-2019.


The M36 is defined by having a Ford GAA V-8 500 hp engine. 
 

To see tables of M10, M10A1, M37, M36B1 and M36B2 serial numbers and production dates, go to my M10-36 Serial Number page.

Below are three tables showing M36s that have been identified in some manner by original M10A1 serial numbers or their M36 serial numbers.

 

Surviving M36s with the known original M10A1 Manufacturer and Serial Number (Ford or Fisher Body)
Table 1
In some cases, but not all, the M36 serial number is known.
Dark gray rows indicate the author has visited the vehicle personally and photographed it.

Original M10A1 Manufacturer M10A1Serial Number Date Built M10A1 Registration  Number M36 Serial Number M36 Registration Number Location Rebuilder Rebuild Date
Ford 1888 Apr 43  40406596 1498 ? Museum of American Armor, New Bethpage, LI, NY Alco Dec 1944
Ford 2274 May  43 4046982 ? ? Fort Riley, KS ?  
Ford 2400 May 1943 4047108 ? ? Larry Monge Collection, Topeka, KS ?  
Ford 2741 Aug 1943 4047449 1166 40191465 Private Owner, Gettysburg, PA Alco Nov 1944
Ford 2747 Aug 43 4047455 1147 40191446 Muzeum Obrněné Techniky, Smržovka (Czech Republic) Alco Nov 1944
Fisher 8014  Oct 43 40112410 421 40177749 Park of Military History, Pivka (Slovenia) Massey-Harris Aug 1944
Fisher  8351  Nov 43 40112747 1095 40191394 Fort Bliss Museum, Fort Bliss, TX Alco Nov 1944
Fisher 8624  Jan 44 40113020 ? ? Arpaise, Italy ?  

 

Surviving M36s with M36 Serial Numbers but without M10A1 Serial Numbers (Ford or Fisher Body)
Table 2
Dark gray rows indicate the author has visited the vehicle personally and photographed it.

The first group of M36 vehicles were 300 Fisher Body Grand Blanc built M10A1s that were built without a turret.  They were then converted to the M36 configuration by Fisher Grand Blanc.  We know that the M10A1 hulls were built by Fisher and originally carried Serial Numbers 7984 - 8358.  Currently only the M36 Serial Numbers are known.  They ran from 1-300.
Original M10A1 Manufacturer M10A1Serial Number Date Built M10A1 Registration  Number M36 Serial Number M36 registration Number Location Rebuilder Rebuild date
Fisher ? Jan 1944 ? 34 40177360 Memorijalni centar Domovinskog rata, Vukovar (Croatia) Fisher May 1944
Fisher ? Jan 1944 ? 47 40177375 – Private collection, Southern Netherlands Fisher May 1944
Fisher ? Jan 1944 ? 68 40177396 World War II Military Vehicle Federation Museum, Florala, AL (USA) Fisher May 1944
Fisher ? Jan 1944 ? 76 40177404 U.S. Army Center for Military History Storage Facility Anniston, AL (USA) Fisher May 1944
Fisher ? Jan 1944 ? 108 40177436 Gambatesa, Italy Fisher May 1944
Fisher ? Jan 1944 ? 117 40177445 WW2 armor collection, FL (USA Fisher May 1944
Fisher ? Jan 1944 ? 227 40177555 France private collection Fisher Jun 1944
Fisher ? Jan 1944 ? 300 40177628 UK private collection Fisher Jul 1944
 
The M36 vehicles below could either be a Ford or Fisher Body converted M10A1.  Ford built 1,038 M10A1s and Fisher 375, so there should be 3 times as many Fords in the group below than Fishers. 
? ?   ? 394 40177722 Veterans Memorial Museum, Huntsville. AL Massy-Harris Jul 1944
? ?   ? 475 40177803 National Armor and Cavalry Museum Massy-Harris Aug 1944
? ?   ? 562 40190084 Muzejska Zbirka Naoružanja Domovinskog Rata, Kralovac (Croatia) Massy-Harris Nov 1944
? ?   ? 578 40190100 Army Technical Museum, Lesany (Czech Republic) Massy-Harris Nov 1944
? ?   ? 804 40191108 Army Technical Museum, Lesany (Czech Republic) Massy-Harris Nov 1944
?     ? 869 40191168, Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles, Nokesville, VA Massy-Harris Dec 1944
? ?   ? 1098 40191397 Royal Jordanian Tank Museum (Jordan) Alco Nov 1944
Ford ? ?   ? 1389 40191688 UK private collection Alco Jun 1944

 

Surviving M36B1s with Serial Numbers
Table 3

Date built M36B1 Serial Number M36B1 registration Number

Location

11-1944 657 40190956 11 Armored Cavalry Division military base, Żagań (Poland)
11-1944 690 40190989 Museum of American Armor, Old Bethpage, NY (USA)
12-1944 772 40191071 4th Infantry Division Museum, Ft. Hood, TX (USA)
12-1944 785 40191084 Memorijalni centar Domovinskog rata, Vukovar (Croatia)
? ?   Military base, Bubanj Potok (Serbia)
? ?   Shiraz, Fars Province (Iran) Two at this location

M36 Serial Number:  117
M36 US Registration Number:  40177445
M10A1 Serial Number: 
M10A1 US Registration Number: 
Date Built:  October to December 1944
Location:  WW2 Armor, Osteen, FL
Date of Photo:  3-15-2019
Comments: 
This was one of 300 M10A1s built by the Fisher Body Grand Blanc, MI Tank Arsenal that were constructed without turrets for direct build into M36 tank destroyers.  Fisher Body then converted the interior of the hulls for 90mm ammunition storage and installed the new turrets.

Author's note:  For me, as a former Fisher Body employee, this is the "holy grail" of tank destroyers, as it is a known Fisher Body built M36.  It is one of only nine surviving worldwide, and one of three in the United States.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


M36 Serial Number:  1498  This was converted from the original Ford built M10A1 with SN 1888 by Alco in December 1944 and given M36 Serial Number 1498.
M36 US Registration Number:  Unknown
M10A1 Serial Number:  1888
M10A1 US Registration Number:  40406596
Date Built:  February 1943
Location:  Museum of American Armor, New Bethpage, LI, NY
Date of Photo:  5-30-2018
This M36 was previously located at the Southern New England Military Museum, Danbury, CT  The museum went out of business in 2017, and the Museum of American Armor purchased the vehicle This M36 formerly served with the Yugoslav Army.  The Ford GAA V-8 engine has been replaced with a V-12 diesel engine from a T-55 tank.

There are two sets of photos for this M36.  Those directly below were taken at the Museum of American Armor in May 2018.  A second set below is from August 2018 when I was at the Southern New England Military Museum, and had to take photos of the vehicle from outside the locked fence of the bankrupt museum.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.

The photos below are the same M36 taken a year earlier in Danbury, CT.

M36 Serial Number:  1498
M36 US Registration Number:  Unknown
M10A1 Serial Number:  1888
M10A1 US Registration Number:  40406596
Date Built:  February 1943
Location:  Southern New England Military Museum, Danbury, CT
Date of Photo:  8-12-2017
I was unaware of the financial situation of the museum until I arrived at its location on Saturday, September 12, 2017, and found the museum locked and closed.  It was supposed to be open on Saturdays according to its website.  It was obvious from all of the shipping notices left on the museum's door that something wasn't right.  I commenced to take photos from outside the fence.  This was the first M36 I was able to visit, and was one of the main reason for stopping at the museum. 


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


M36 Serial Number:  Unknown
M36 US Registration Number: 
M10A1 Serial Number:  2274 This was built by Ford as an M10A1.
M10A1 US Registration Number:  4046980
Date Built:  April 1943
Location:  U.S. Cavalry Museum, Fort Riley, KS
Date of Photo:  9-18-2017


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


This four digit number is most likely the original Ford M10A1Serial Number.  The font is similar to the fonts on FordM4A3(75) Sherman tanks.  Author's photo.


M36 Serial Number:  869  This was converted by Massey-Harris December1944.
M36 US Registration Number:  40191168 
M10A1 Serial Number:  Unknown
M10A1 US Registration Number:  Unknown
Date Built:  Unknown
Location:  Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles, Nokesville, VA
Date of Photo:  9-24-2016
This M36 formerly served with the Yugoslav Army.  The Ford GAA V-8 engine has been replaced with a V-12 diesel engine from a T-55 tank.


The M36 can be identified from the Fisher Body M10 and Ford M10A1 by the 90mm main gun and the larger turret with the distinctive counterweight on the rear.  The chassis is an M10A1, built either by Fisher Body or Ford.  Author's photo.


The Ford built M10A1 Wolverine stayed in the United States for training purposes.  When the need for a tank destroyer with a more powerful 90mm main gun was needed, the Ford Wolverines were pulled in from training and converted to the M36 with a new turret and main gun.  Author's photo.


Fisher Body Division of General Motors fabricated 713 turrets for the M36 Jacksons.  Massey Harris, American Locomotive, and Montreal Locomotive Works did the conversions.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


 The two filler caps associated with a Ford M10A1 chassis are on the side deck next to the tow cable are.  Author's photo.


This is the view from the other side.  Author's photo.


The rear has been modified due to the installation of the V-12 diesel engine.  A news larger single exhaust port had been added in the lower left and an extension in the center.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


M36 Serial Number:  394  This was converted by Massey-Harris in July 1944.
M36 US Registration Number:  40177722
M10A1 Serial Number:  Unknown
M10A1 US Registration Number:  Unknown
Date Built:  Unknown
Location:  Veterans Memorial Museum, Huntsville, AL
Date of Photo:  3-13-2018


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


M36 Serial Number:  475  This was converted by Massey-Harris in August 1944.
M36 US Registration Number:  40177803
M10A1 Serial Number:  Unknown
M10A1 US Registration Number:  Unknown
Date Built:  Unknown
Location: 
U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection, Fort Benning, GA
Date of Photo:  9-18-2018
Comments: 
This is Massey-Harris SN 175. 


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Author's photo.


Massey-Harris Serial Number 175 and M36 Serial Number 475.   Author's photo.


40177803 is the M36 USA registration number given to this vehicle when it was converted from an M10A1 to M36.  Author's photo.


Also located on the vehicle were these numbers that have been rotated 180 degrees.  The A3252 number is similar to Axxxx numbers that Fisher Body applied to the driver side armor on its M4A3 series Sherman tanks.  Author's photo.

 

 

 

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