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  
   

 Ward LaFrance Truck Corporation in World War Two
Elmira Heights, NY

1916-1979
Rest in Peace!

This page updated 8-1-2021.

Ward LaFrance is named after Addison Ward LaFrance, who initially worked for his father as an engineer at American LaFrance.  He designed a spring raising aerial ladder for fire trucks.  As a reward for successfully completing this project, his father awarded Addison with a car dealership.  In 1916 Addison then expanded the dealership into the manufacture of trucks which he named the LaFrance Truck Manufacturing Company.  Due to the similarity of the name to his father's company, American LaFrance, he renamed it the Ward LaFrance Truck Company. 

Today Ward LaFrance is most well-known by fire apparatus enthusiasts for its P-80 Ambassador Pumper which was produced during the 1970s.  The most famous of the P-80s started in the 1970's TV show "Emergency" as Engine 51.  Ward LaFrance also built over-the-road trucks, vans for UPS, dump trucks, cement trucks and chassis for busses and trolleys.  During World War Two it produced 5,526 trucks.  In 1953-65 Ward LaFrance produced another 1,072 M1A1 wreckers.  Other post-World War Two vehicles produced for the US military included a 6-ton 6x6 Bridge Erection Vehicle, (662) CW750 fire trucks, and (139) MB-5 Crash Trucks for the US Navy. 

Ward LaFrance World War Two Production Statistics:  5,526 trucks of various types for the U.S. Army and Great Britain as shown below in Tables 1 and 2. 

Table 1 - Ward LaFrance World War Two Trucks 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 Ward LaFrance Model 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 Total
4-ton 6x6 Cargo SWB w/w 106 4           4
4-ton 6x6 Cargo SWB wo/w 106 4           4
6-ton 6x6 Chassis w/w for bridge erecting ?         157 432 589
10-ton 6x6 Heavy Wrecker M1, M1A1 1000   82 1,033 1,454 1,488 868 4,925
10-ton 6x4 Tractor 204 3 1         4
Total   11 83 1,033 1,454 1,645 1,300 5,526

Author's Note and Disclaimer:  The Detroit Office of Ordnance of the U.S. Army was the primary purchasing entity for vehicles for the U.S. Army during WWII.  It also purchased vehicles for the USMC, US Navy, and for Lend-Lease.  However, there were other organizations that also purchased vehicles including the Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Army Air Force, U.S. Army Signal Corps, Navy Bureau of Ordnance, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, and foreign countries making direct purchases. 

Table 2 - Ward LaFrance World War Two M1 and M1A1 Serial and Registration Numbers
 
All Ward LaFrance M1 and M1A1s are Model 1000
The information in this table comes from the Ordnance Supply Catalog for the "Truck, Heavy Wrecking, M1 and M1A1" for both the Ward LaFrance and Kenworth versions of the vehicle. 
Table added 8-1-2021.
Military Designation Series Number built Ward LaFrance Serial Number  U.S. Registration Numbers Year Built Comments
M1 1 69 411000-411068 W-001087-W001152 1941  
1 W-001154-W001155  
1 W-001603  
2 1 411073 W-000153  
2 139 or 136 412000-422138 W-004864-W-004999 1941-1942 The Ward LaFrance serial numbers give 10,139 units.  The U.S. registration numbers give 136 units.
2 3 or 6 422142-422144 008423-008428 1942 The Ward LaFrance serial numbers gives 3 units.  The U.S. registration numbers give 6 units.
2 53 422162-422214 0010945-0011005  
2 2 422219-422220  
2 4 422222-422225  
2 2 422230-422231  
2 15 422147-422161 008429-008443  
2 300 422215-422218 0011006-0011305  
2 422221  
2 422226-422229  
2 422232-422275  
2 422277-422523  
2 149 or 150 422575-422723 0015111-0015260 The Ward LaFrance serial numbers give 149 units.  The U.S. registration numbers give 150 units.
2 51 422524-422574 005086  
2 005089-005091  
2 005093-005139  
3 365 423000-423364 N/A These were Lend-Lease for the British and were painted in Coronado Tan.
4 400 434000-434399 0027968-0028367 1943  
M1A1 5 3,363 or 3,362 (Calculated) 534400-546911 0023868-0029232 1943-1945 There were 12,512 serial numbers assigned by Ward LaFrance for the M1A1  Numbers = 12,512 units.  There were 5,365 U.S. registration numbers on this line.  Production stopped before they were all used.
0076878-0077174   297 U.S. registration numbers.
0081171-008246 ?   008346 is missing a digit.  Not able to make a computation.
Equals Total Accepted from Table 1 4,925        

2019 MVPA National Convention, York, PA:  The three Ward LaFrance M1 and M1A1 heavy wreckers shown next were at the convention.  This was the first time I have seen an M1 version with the hardtop cab.  Two other M1A1s were also there in another location, but have been photographed by me previously at World War II Weekend in Reading, PA.


This is a Series 4 Ward LaFrance M1.  Ward LaFrance manufactured the only M1's with a curved boom.  There were 400 built with serial numbers 434000-434399 and registration numbers 0027968-0028367, both inclusive.  Author's photo added 8-13-2019.


  Author's photo added 8-13-2019.


This is a Ward LaFrance Series 2 M1 heavy wrecker.  Author's photo added 8-13-2019.


Author's photo added 8-13-2019.


  Author's photo added 8-13-2019.


  This is an M1A1 Ward LaFrance heavy wrecker.  Author's photo added 8-13-2019.


Author's photo added 8-13-2019.


Author's photo added 8-13-2019.


This Ward LaFrance M1A1 6x6 heavy wrecker was photographed at the 2018 WWII Weekend at Reading, PA.  Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


The data plate indicates this is an M1, but it is actually an M1A1.  Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


This is a Ward LaFrance M1A1 wrecker owned by the Virginia Museum of Military Vehicles at Nokesville, VA.  This was photographed by the author at the Museum's annual open house in September 2016.


This Ward LaFrance Series 5 M1A1 was delivered to Army Ordnance on February 8, 1945.  The ID tag looks original, as opposed to many reproduction ID tags seen on World War Two vehicles.  This was Ward LaFrance serial number 55771.


Another interesting aspect of this vehicle is the Ward LaFrance nametag on the hood.  The Army Ordnance Department did not allow company names on vehicles purchased after 1942.  This would therefore appear to be a post war addition. 


This Ward LaFrance 6x6 six-ton M1A1 wrecker was photographed at the 2016 WWII Weekend in Reading, PA.


The Ward LaFrance wrecker returned for the 2017 World War Two Weekend and towed a GMC 2-1/2-ton truck during the show.  Author's photo added 6-12-2017.


It was also on display with its boom extended.  Author's photo added 6-12-2017.

Ward LaFrance Fire Apparatus:  Both pieces of Ward LaFrance fire apparatus shown below are at the Nassau County Fire Museum on Long Island, NY.  I have visited quite a few fire museums over the past several years, and these are the only two Ward LaFrance pieces of equipment I have found.  Ward LaFrance is a rare commodity among fire museums.  The Nassau County Fire Museum has several excellent pieces of historic fire apparatus on display.


This rare 1952 Ward LaFrance light truck is on display at the Nassau County Fire Museum on Long Island, NY.  This unit served with the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department through the 1970's.  It was restored by the Museum in 2007.  Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Also on display at the Nassau Country Fire Museum is this 1952 Ward LaFrance pumper.  Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.


Author's photo added 6-5-2018.

 

 

 

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