Commonwealth Miitary Production and deployment of resources

[Big Yehudah]

Hi everyone. How much materiel did Britain, Canadia, Australia, New Zealand, and any other commonwealth state produce? What is the percentage of production (not including the USSR) in total allied production? What divisions used Commonwealth instead of US equipment and where were they deployed at? What arms did the commonwealth produce, did they produce any copies of american equipment or only commonwealth equipment?

[RichTO90]

Hi everyone. How much materiel did Britain, Canadia, Australia, New Zealand, and any other commonwealth state produce? What is the percentage of production (not including the USSR) in total allied production? What divisions used Commonwealth instead of US equipment and where were they deployed at? What arms did the commonwealth produce, did they produce any copies of american equipment or only commonwealth equipment?

Gee, nothing like a nice narrowly-focused question.

Seriously, the answer is highly complex and could consume the entire website. You could start by looking for copies of:

Fighting With Figures
Postan's British War Production
Official Munitions Production of the United States (including Canadian Supplement)
Hall's North American Supply and Studies of Overseas Supply
The U.S. Army in World War II (the "Green Books") The Army and Economic Mobilization and the Chief of Military History study International aid statistics, World War II : a summary of War Department lend lease activities reported through 31 December 1945

Then take two aspirin and don't call me in the morning.

[Big Yehudah]

Lol thanks.

[RichTO90]

Lol thanks.

Sorry, but the question really is a bit like asking how high is up or how long is a piece of rope?

Cheers!

[Gary Kennedy]

Hi everyone. How much materiel did Britain, Canadia, Australia, New Zealand, and any other commonwealth state produce? What is the percentage of production (not including the USSR) in total allied production? What divisions used Commonwealth instead of US equipment and where were they deployed at? What arms did the commonwealth produce, did they produce any copies of american equipment or only commonwealth equipment?

When you say 'what Divs used CW instead of US eqpt', what type of eqpt are you thinking of? Br/CW Divs were equipped from Br/CW sources in 1939-40 and the advent of lend-lease didn't reverse that picture entirely. Principal differences were the arrival of US light and medium tanks and the Jeep, but Br/CW Divs still drove 15-cwt trucks and 3-ton lorries rather than 3/4-ton and 2.5-ton trucks as in US formations. Likewise Br/CW Divs were armed with largely British pattern weapons such as the .303-inch SMLE, Bren LMG (which was actually Czech of course) and Vickers MMG, Sten SMGs (while Australia designed the Owen), 2-inch, 3-inch, 4.2-inch mortars, 25-pr gun/howitzers, 3.7-inch heavy AA guns, 2-pr, 6-pr and 17-pr atk guns. Lots of US kit began to appear, such as 75-mm pack howitzers, M10 tank destroyers and certain heavy artillery types, but the majority of Br/CW kit was Br/CW pattern in 1944-45 still. Much of it was produced outside the UK, Canada playing a particularly important part. US supplies of M4 medium M3/M5 light tanks and armoured halftracks gave Br/CW Armoured Divs much of their armoured eqpt by 1944, but there were plenty of Br cruiser and infantry tanks around throughout.

Gary

Is that rope metric or imperial by the way?

[Rob Stuart]

The article at http://www.ceocouncil.ca/wp-content/upl ... y_2005.pdf may be of interest.

[Carl Schwamberger]

... or how long is a piece of rope?

Metric or Imperial the correct answer is: 'twice as long as half of it.'

[RichTO90]

Metric or Imperial the correct answer is: 'twice as long as half of it.'

Or, "long enough to hang you with"...

[amcl]

To add to Rich's post, the Australian Official History is available on the internet, both war economy volumes, here: http://www.awm.gov.au/histories/second_world_war/. The NZ war economy one is also up, at http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarl ... s-WH2.html.

The Indian and South African ones aren't, so far as I know. Nil desperandum! I have the SA Official History (Martin & Orpen, South Africa at War: Military and Industrial Organization ...). But I haven't read it in years, so I can probably answer specific questions a lot easier than general ones.

Cheers,

Angus

[LWD]

Even defining whether an object was produced by the Commonwealth or the US may not be trivial in some cases. The combination of the close cooperation between the US and Canada for instance meant that manufactured parts moved back and forth across the border so in some cases equipment existed that was to various degrees mutually produced. How do you define such equipment? The USSR is obviously not the Commonwealth but in some cases vehicles were shipped in pieces to them and assembled in the USSR, I wouldn't be surprised if the same was done with Commonwealth although I haven't read that it did. If so what catagory would such equipment fit in.

[gambadier]

The is a Volume of the UK Official History of the War devoted to war production stsatistics.

As rightly pointed out there was no such thing as a UK or Cwth formation with entirely US equipment (unless France was part of the Cwth for the duration). However, forces like the Poles ( a corps + armd div) were equipped the same as UK formations.

As regard artillery, UK UE for US guns was some 80 155mm Guns and about the same 75mm. However, I think 25-pr production (in at least 3 countries) exceeded US 105mm How production.

[Big Yehudah]

Thanks very much everyone. Thanks for the sources Angus.

I have to strongly recommend this book to the Axis History staff:
http://www.amazon.com/Britains-War-Mach ... 0199832676

It is a fairly comprehensive analysis of Commonwealth production and military capability as well as debunking myths like "Britain was military weak" or making the same argument Russia made during WW1 which wasn't true, being "shell shortage."

[amcl]

Thanks very much everyone. Thanks for the sources Angus.

I have to strongly recommend this book to the Axis History staff:
http://www.amazon.com/Britains-War-Mach ... 0199832676

It is a fairly comprehensive analysis of Commonwealth production and military capability as well as debunking myths like "Britain was military weak" or making the same argument Russia made during WW1 which wasn't true, being "shell shortage."

You're welcome !

I agree. Good old Professor Edgerton's book is a cracking good read, even if does stray into Britain's Wonderful Fighting Forces territory sometimes. If you get the chance to steal or borrow his England and the Aeroplane, don't hesitate. A super little book. But in case you think that third time is the charm, his Warfare State is very dull indeed.

Cheers,

Angus

[Rob Stuart]

The USSR is obviously not the Commonwealth but in some cases vehicles were shipped in pieces to them and assembled in the USSR, I wouldn't be surprised if the same was done with Commonwealth although I haven't read that it did. If so what catagory would such equipment fit

This may need a little clarification. In some cases materiel was entirely completed in a given country and then partially dissembled so that more of them could fit on each ship. This was done with, for example, Canadian trucks shipped to the UK. The place where they were put back together in the UK was therefore a re-assembly plant and not an assembly plant. This is quite different from, for example, a Ford assembly plant somewhere in Europe today, which presumably makes Fords from parts and sub-assemblies made in the US, in whatever country the plant is in and perhaps in other countries as well.

[Rob Stuart]

Seriously, the answer is highly complex and could consume the entire website. You could start by looking for copies of:

Fighting With Figures
Postan's British War Production
Official Munitions Production of the United States (including Canadian Supplement)
Hall's North American Supply and Studies of Overseas Supply
The U.S. Army in World War II (the "Green Books") The Army and Economic Mobilization and the Chief of Military History study International aid statistics, World War II : a summary of War Department lend lease activities reported through 31 December 1945

Postan's book is online at http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/UN/UK/index.html, which also lists the other relevant UK official histories.