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  
   

Other Lansing Companies that contributed to winning World War Two
Centrifugal Fusing in World War Two
Recognizing a Company from my Hometown that contributed to winning World War Two
1932-1937 Muskegon, MI as part of Campbell, Wyant & Cannon Foundry Company
1937- 1984 Lansing, MI
1984-Current as Motor Wheel in Chattanooga, TN

This page added 11-28-2021.


When the Enola Gay landed on Tinian Island on August 6, 1945, after completing its historic mission that changed the world, it was stopped by brake drums cast at the Centrifugal Fusing foundry on McKinley Street on the north side of Lansing, MI.  Every other B-29 that landed during World War Two and after the war came to a stop with brake drums cast by Centrifugal Fusing.  Author's photo.


Each B-29 was equipped with two brake drums per wheel or eight per aircraft.  Inside the Enola Gays' wheels are eight brake drums cast using the centrifugal casting method at Centrifugal Fusing in Lansing.  Author's photo.

The road to Centrifugal Fusing providing brake drums for the most advanced combat aircraft of World War Two began in Muskegon, MI in 1932, when Charles W. Dake developed the new centrifugal casting method for the Campbell, Wyant & Cannon Foundry Company.  Mr. Dake then patented the process with the patent assigned to the Campbell, Wyant & Cannon Foundry Company.  The patent for the method was approved on December 11,1934, under patent number 1983839.

The first two paragraphs of the patent are:  "This invention relates to brake drums, such as are used extensively on motor vehicles or similar vehicles, and to a novel method of producing the same.  Particularly the invention relates to the braking ring or flange portion a brake drum and a novel method of producing the same by centrifugal casting.  The objects of this invention are to cast centrifugally the braking ring or flange of a brake drum of a metal alloy such that the brake flange will have the desirable soft positive braking characteristics inherent in cast iron.  It is a further object to produce a brake drum flange or ring that will have the required strength against braking or fracture from sudden shock without at the same time necessitating the use of too great an amount and weight of metal.

Further objects of the invention are to produce the brake drum ring or flange with a non-porous braking surface and free from pitting or other defects, and one in which the braking ring or flange produced may readily have a supporting back of rolled, pressed or drum metal readily attached thereto."

From the first two paragraphs of the patent number 1983839 it appears that there may have been performance issues with other type brake drums cast by other methods at the time, and the new method was seen as a way to cast a more robust brake drum. 
The entire patent can be seen at:  Patent US1983839 

Motor Wheel Corporation in Lansing must have seen the advantages of the centrifugal casting method as it became the exclusive user of these type castings in the brake drums it manufactured.  From 1932 until 1937, the castings were produced by the Campbell, Wyant & Cannon Foundry Company.  In 1937 Motor Wheel built a foundry on McKinley Street in Lansing, north of its Plant Two and leased it to the newly formed Centrifugal Fusing Company.  Centrifugal Fusing was formed for the sole purpose of supplying centrifugally cast brake drums to Motor Wheel.  The new Centrifugal Fusing Company produced the castings under license from the  Campbell, Wyant & Cannon Foundry Company for the duration of the patent.  In August 1937, production began in the new foundry owned by the Motor Wheel Corporation and leased to Centrifugal Fusing under a long term contract.  The new foundry had a capacity of 30,000 tons of iron per year for brake drums.  Between 1937 and 1948 Centrifugal Fusing cast 48,000,000 brake drums, many of which were used in World War Two.

The centrifugal casting method used by the Centrifugal Fusing Company currently continues in Chattanooga, TN at the present day Motor Wheel.  The company makes several lines of truck brake drums utilizing centrifugal casting.  This company is a combination of the casting process and the former Motor Wheel Corporation of Lansing, MI brake machining operations.

Centrifugal Fusing in World War Two:  Because Centrifugal Fusing supplied brake castings exclusively to the  Motor Wheel Corporation, its production of brake drums was dependent on how well Motor Wheel could market and sell its brake drums.  This held true for World War Two, when Motor Wheel produced brake drums for the GMC CCKW truck series and for the B-17, B-24, B-29, and P-47 aircraft. 

Motor Wheel was one of two suppliers that supplied brake drums for the GMC CCKW series of trucks.  It all depended on which of type axle was used in the vehicle.  Timken-Detroit Axle Company was the primary supplier of axles for the CCKW.  These were known as split axles due to the type of differential it used.  Motor Wheel supplied the rear brake drums and hub assemblies for this type of rear axle.  Timken-Detroit supplied the front drums on this type of axle.  However, the Timken-Detroit Axle Company was not able to supply all of the axles required. Chevrolet also supplied axles for the CCKW series trucks.  These were known as banjo axles, again due to the type of differential manufactured by Chevrolet.  These axles did not use Motor Wheel brake drums.

An estimated 50% of the CCKW series trucks were assembled with Timken-Detroit axles. Centrifugal Fusing supplied an estimated 1,097,044 rear brake drums for the vehicle.


This is a pristine GMC CCKW-353 airborne cargo-dump.  All airborne cargo-dumps were equipped with front winches and Timken-Detroit split axles and Centrifugal Fusing brake drum castings.  Author's photo


The Timken-Detroit split differential axle with Centrifugal brake drum castings.  Author's photo.


This image shows the brake drum assembly with the Centrifugal Fusing cast brake drum for the CCKW series trucks with Timken-Detroit axles. 


This GMC CCKW tanker truck has the Timken-Detroit spilt axle with Centrifugal Fusing cast brake drums.  Author's photo.


Author's photo.


This is the Studebaker US6 2-1/2-ton 6x6 truck which was provided to foreign countries either through direct purchase or Lend-Lease.  In 1941, Motor Wheel, using Centrifugal Fusing castings, supplied brake drums and hubs for 5,714 US6 trucks destined for Great Britain when the normal supplier could not furnish these parts.  Author's photo.


For the White M3A1 scout car, Motor Wheel was one of two suppliers of the right and left front axle hub assemblies with brake drums.  Both sides were Motor Wheel part number 82382.  These came with Centrifugal Fusing Company brake drums.  Motor Wheel also supplied optional front axle wheel hubs part number 82382.  This was optional to the White front wheel hub. 


This is the B-17F Memphis Belle on May 17, 2018, 50 years to the day that she completed 25 combat missions over Europe.  This photo was taken several hours after the dedication of the Memphis Belle at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.  The Memphis Belle, which is one of the most famous aircraft of World War Two, came equipped with Centrifugal Fusing cast brake drums.  Author's photo.


The front page of the November 1, 1942, issue of the Motor Wheel News had a photo of three P-47s in flight.  The caption underneath the photo noted that the P-47s were equipped with parts produced by Motor Wheel.  Most likely, the parts were brake drums with Centrifugal Fusing castings similar to the ones the company built for the B-17.  Author's photo.


The "Motor Wheel News" notes that the company made parts that were on the B-24.  It has to be assumed these were brake drums with Centrifugal Fusing castings.  The B-24 was the most widely produced American heavy bomber of World War Two with 18,493 built.  Author's photo.


The B-29 Bockscar at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, OH is one of 3,763 B-29s built by four different companies during World War Two.  Author's photo.


Centrifugal Fusing made brake drum castings for the B-29 bomber.  This is the outside port wheel and tire for Bockscar.  The ridges on the outer diameter of the brake drum can actually be seen from the 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock position.  The drawings below show the ridges in more detail.  Author's photo.   

 Centrifugal Fusing was most likely the exclusive supplier for the B-29 brake drum castings.  While this is not specifically stated in the historical record, when Centrifugal Fusing workers went on strike in 1945, brake production for the B-29 came to a halt.  It was only after the U.S. Army made plans to take over the plant and restart production that the workers returned to work.  Based on this, Centrifugal Fusing would have produced a minimum of 30,104 brake drums plus spares.  Each B-29 had two sets of brakes on its four main wheels.   Brake drums on the B-29 were a high maintenance item and there would need to be a constant flow of spare parts for replacement.  


This image shows that the brake drums were actually made of two pieces.  It also shows the ridges in the outer diameter.  These may have been to give the brakes more surface area to assist in their cooling off.


This image shows the two sets of brakes on the B-29 main landing gear.

The Centrifugal Fusing Foundry at 737 McKinley Street in Lansing, MI:


Centrifugal Fusing Company located on the north side of McKinley Street used centrifugal casting to make truck and aircraft brake castings for Motor Wheel during World War Two.  In 1937, Motor Wheel built the two plants and then leased them to Centrifugal Fusing in order to have its supply of brake castings next to the Motor Wheel complex.  Directly to the west of Centrifugal Fusing is a Motor Wheel plant. 


This Google Maps satellite view shows that the original Centrifugal Fusing Company foundry building still exists.  The middle building appears to be a replacement. 


This Sanborn map shows that the Centrifugal Fusing foundry was across McKinley Street from the Motor Wheel Plant 2.   

 

 

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