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In a Flattering Light: 1942
... 1942. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Lee Tank An M3 "Lee" Medium ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 6:32pm -

Tank commander, Fort Knox. June 1942. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Lee TankAn M3 "Lee" Medium Tank. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Patriotic, WW2)
Primary Colors: 1942
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 2:03pm -

February 1942. B.F. Goodrich plant. "Not only as nurses behind the battle lines, but as workers in the factories producing important war goods, women are doing much to win this war and to spare the lives of the men doing the actual fighting. These girls are preparing a metal fuel tank to receive a bullet-sealing cover, an important new safety development to military aviation." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
Wingman: 1942
... plane in existence." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. View full size. The Union ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 6:38pm -

July 1942. Fairfax bomber plant, Kansas City. "A wing brace for a B-25 bomber being prepared for the assembly line at North American Aviation. With plenty of speed, a 1,700-mile cruising range and a ceiling of 25,000 feet, the B-25 has performed as a medium bomber and as an escort plane. General Doolittle has called the ship the best military plane in existence." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. View full size. The UnionInteresting, that the worker wears two badges on his overalls. The #32, his employee number at North American Aviation. The other is his UAW, CIO union affiliation button. The United Auto Workers (UAW) evidently organized the workers at this plant and were part of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The unions were the bargaining agents for the workers there. During WWII the right to strike was forbidden by the government, the war effort was more important. Coming out of the depression, nobody wanted to lose their job or see their workplace nationalized. When the war ended, many industries were plagued by strikes, most of them settled so that the businesses could get back to making consumer goods that were not made during the war. DC-7My father held me by the hand when we went to see the unveiling of the DC-7 passenger plane. He worked for the CAA (later to become the FAA) and all of his buddies stood around laughing because "it's a great piece of engineering, but they'll never fill it with enough passengers to make it pay." He died before the Boeing 707 was introduced. AttractiveI'm going to have to say, this man's good-looking. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
TVA: 1942
... Dam. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 8:18pm -

June 1942. Tightening a nut on a guide vane servomotor in the Tennessee Valley Authority hydroelectric plant at the Watts Bar Dam. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Industry & Public Works)
Learning to Fly: 1942
... Field." View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency: Alfred Palmer. Yelling the Word CONTACT! (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 06/11/2008 - 9:31pm -

May 1942. Parris Island, South Carolina. "Marine lieutenant glider pilot in training at Page Field." View full size. 35mm Kodachrome transparency: Alfred Palmer. Yelling the WordCONTACT! (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
Republic Steel: 1941
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Industry & Public Works) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/10/2012 - 3:46pm -

November 1941. Eastern Bessemer converter at Republic Steel in Youngstown, Ohio. Molten iron is charged with air to change it into steel for war essentials. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Industry & Public Works)
Pajama Squadron: 1942
... Corps glider detachment training camp." From photos by Alfred Palmer and Pat Terry for the Office of War Information. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/27/2017 - 8:41pm -

May 1942. Parris Island, South Carolina. "Instructors at leisure after a full day at the U.S. Marine Corps glider detachment training camp." From photos by Alfred Palmer and Pat Terry for the Office of War Information. View full size. Young SailorsBoth are navy officers. The t-shirted officer is a Ltjg, as determined by the shoulder board on his jacket. The dark tie on the other officer is for the navy khaki uniform. Marines would have a khaki tie with their khaki or green uniforms. Rise and ShineBoth these men are officers, the one on the bed appears to be a Naval Lieutenant, the one with the unshined shoes is either a Marine 1st or 2d Lieutenant or Naval Lieutenant JG or Ensign. Based on the shoe condition, I would say both are in the Navy. Hair today, gone tomorrowQuite a bit of hair for Marines. I have a picture of my dad in Camp Pendleton in 1943, with his buddy. The note on the back says "Nick, after a short haircut" with my dad rubbing the top of Nick's head. It is not a short haircut by the standards of the time, and it is far far from a short haircut by today's Marine standard. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
Big Bird With All the Trimmings: 1942
... Wright Whirlwind engines." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. View full size. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 1:59pm -

July 1942. "Wiring a junction box on the firewall for the right engine of a B-25 bomber at the North American Aviation plant in Inglewood, California. Forward of this wall will be mounted one of two 1,700-horsepower Wright Whirlwind engines." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. View full size. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
New River: 1942
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. Dog tags Is it possible to blow up ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/24/2012 - 9:37pm -

May 1942. Marine transport driver at New River, North Carolina. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. Dog tagsIs it possible to blow up the dog tags on the Marine on the left enough to get a name or serial number off of them? [Not much to see. - Dave] (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Cars, Trucks, Buses, WW2)
Victory Corps: 1942
... the school's basement." Large format acetate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Re: Very ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 02/25/2013 - 2:09pm -

August 1942. "Training in marksmanship helps girls at Roosevelt High School in Los Angeles develop into responsible women. Part of Victory Corps activities there, rifle practice encourages girls to be accurate in handling firearms. Practicing on the rifle range in the school's basement." Large format acetate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Re: Very BraveNo eye or ear protection because they didn't concern themselves with things like that during the war. These guns were only .22 rifles; with minimal chance of a gun blowback and no loud retort. The local gun club I belong to has a tremendous youth/junior shooter program; the protective gear we require the competitors to wear, is mostly due to what we've learned over the last 70+ years since this photo was taken. "Attention students"The track team is needed in the basement for short sprints. Tough SchoolCover me while I make a dash for math class! Your papers are not in order!Hall Pass enforcement was rather stringent back then. It Came From The Home-Ec RoomThis picture lacks only cheerleaders and vampires. Or zombies. Very BraveNo hearing protection, no eye protection. At least it was bolt action so hot brass didn't end up somewhere very uncomfortable. M2 SpringfieldThat's a M2 Springfield .22 caliber "training rifle", manufactured by the U.S. Government at Springfield Arsenal. It was designed as a miniature version of the M1903 .30 caliber Springfield, which was used a combat rifle in both World Wars. The M2 was and is a beautifully made rifle, superbly accurate, and often fetching well north of $1000 apiece in today's market. More here. Enduring Hair StylesMom, who is a contemporary of these young ladies, continued to wear variants of these two hairstyles up until the early 1980s. I should also mention how photos like these impacted her. She realized that there were new roles for women, and she hoped to be a fighter pilot. (She loved airplanes, and she still has a lot of drawings she did at the time.) While that particular dream did not materialize, it was at least a dream she was allowed to have, unlike my grandmothers' contemporaries. Still no eye or ear protection affordedAt Scout Camp in the mid-50's, even the pallets look the same! Sure had no lockers like that in my parents' basementBut otherwise the shooting range my Dad set up for me when I was ten or so served a similar purpose. Our house had a 90-foot long basement so my Stevens pump action rifle and the .22 short rounds he restricted me to worked OK. At the far end was a thick block of wood, probably two feet square and eight inches thick, backed by a steel plate angled down from the top with the bottom of the plate far to the rear. This was to deflect rounds downward if necessary. Well, eventually I shot the center of the block out and one day wondered what else would make a nice target in the basement. Over to my right was my Mom's pantry, loaded with shelves of canned goods. Even a .22 short can go all the way through a can of beans if you're close enough. What I viewed as a relatively small number of punctured cans marked the parental closing of my personal shooting range. My time wasn't all lost; not too many years later the shooting skill that basement helped me begin to develop got me an Expert Marksman medal in my army basic training at Ft. Knox. The beans' sacrifice was not in vain. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Los Angeles, WW2)
North American Aviation: 1942
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 12:03pm -

October 1942. Bomb bay gasoline tanks for long-range flights by B-25 bombers await installation at the North American Aviation plant in Inglewood, California. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
Just Getting Warmed Up: 1941
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 4:42pm -

November 1941. Youngstown, Ohio. "Slag runoff from open-hearth furnace. Republic Steel Corporation." View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, WW2)
Etna: 1941
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Elizabeth Furnaces This sure ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/01/2012 - 1:33pm -

November 1941. Iron ore piles and blast furnaces of the Carnegie-Illinois steel mill in Etna, Pennsylvania. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Elizabeth FurnacesThis sure brings back memories. I grew up three towns from Etna and this is a photo of the Elizabeth furnaces. It was due for closure, but after WWII started they kept it open. While a young lad, I passed it many a time when it was in operation but what I remember is the a huge empty field with a blast furnace in the middle. It has long been dismantled. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Industry & Public Works)
The Avengers: 1943
... the Axis, one rivet at a time. Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. View full size. Airless Pneumatics ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 01/09/2013 - 10:03pm -

February 1943. "Working on a 'Vengeance' dive bomber at Vultee Aircraft in Nashville, Tennessee." Gunning away at the Axis, one rivet at a time. Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer, Office of War Information. View full size. Airless PneumaticsThey worked so hard making these pieces that their pneumatic riveters didn't even require air lines to run! Sticking out of sheet metal like thornsThose are called CLECOS. They act as temporary rivets and can be removed prior to final assembly. Vultee A-35 VengeanceBuilt in the U.S.A. never used in combat by the U.S. many sold to Britain, Australia, India, France, Brazil, ended up as a target-tug. VulteeMy grandmother and grandfather worked there during the war. Grandma worked during the day as a secretary and Grandpa worked in the factory at night. This gave my mom plenty of time to sneak off with my father, riding on his old Indian Chief motorcycle for a few clandestine dates. Would love to see more pictures from Vultee. Is there a key ?On the lower left, something looks like a lock with a key inside. The key to the key discovered?I looked up the Vultee Vengeance on the line to get a bit of casual information on its history and immediately began to realize that the part shown simply did not fit... The same image turned up on a flickr site and this comment clarified things: "I believe this transparency must have migrated from another file - the part being assembled in the nose door for a Consolidated C-87 'Liberator Express,' probably taken at Consolidated's Fort Worth plant." The shape seems right for C-87...I suspect the "key" is perhaps the handle of a latch allowing the door to be opened below that little panel...or maybe an actual key on the hypotheticl latch...the AAF wouldn't want the natives to steal the spare tire! (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Factories, WW2)
On the Ground: 1942
... training camp at Parris Island, South Carolina." Photo by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Photographer ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/19/2013 - 5:16pm -

May 1942. "Running up a barrage balloon. Scene at the U.S. Marine Corps glider detachment training camp at Parris Island, South Carolina." Photo by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Photographer at 12 O'Clock HighLooks like the photographer was up in the lines and caught his own shadow in the picture. It appears to have been taken around noon. MysteriousTill I saw Perpster's comment I assumed the shadow at left center was a partially inflated balloon, and the upturned sacks surrounding the Marine handler were the ballast sandbags like you would use with a manned balloon. However, that shadow is definitely human-shaped on closer view, and that just makes the entire operation hard to understand. If the sacks are deflated balloons, where are the manifold and hoses for inflating them? The handler has his arms outstretched like he's signaling someone we can't see or about to pick up one of the sacks. This one could use comments from someone who has actually deployed barrage balloons -- I know what they look like when they are airborne, but they were way before my time. [The balloons were bigger than a breadbox. - Dave] (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, WW2)
Stacked: 1942
... to the Army. View full size. 5x7 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer. Akron Must've been cold that day. (The Gallery, Alfred ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 09/05/2012 - 2:59pm -

February 1942. Firestone factory at Akron, Ohio. War conversion of beverage containers. An oxygen cylinder for high altitude flying, manufactured by the metal division of a large Eastern rubber factory, placed on a huge stack ready for shipment to the Army. View full size. 5x7 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer. AkronMust've been cold that day. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, Factories, WW2)
Making Tracks: 1941
... section." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer. Stelllaaaaa! The real-life Stanley Kowalski, at last i've found ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/24/2008 - 1:17am -

December 1941. B.F. Goodrich factory at Akron. "Treads for Army halftracks, fresh from the curing press of a large Ohio tire plant. Grooves are buffed on the ends of the track section." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer. Stelllaaaaa!The real-life Stanley Kowalski, at last i've found you ... (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, WW2)
Now It Can Be Told: 1942
... Speed Victory! View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Is that a technical term? ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/01/2008 - 2:28am -

February 1942. Akron, Ohio. Another esoteric industrial process involving scary-looking thingamabobs essential to the war effort. Executive summary: Performing a painstakingly choreographed ballet of complicated tasks at precisely timed intervals, Joe Warworker here is doing his part to Speed Victory! View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Is that a technical term?"Scary looking thingamabobs"? LOL! Now I've just got to know what they really are. Fuel cylinders perhaps? [Aviation oxygen tanks. - Dave] In The Movie Adaptation......He would be played by William Bendix. Coded ChemicalsWhen I went to work at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Tennessee in the mid-sixties, some of the old timers were still referring to common compressed gases by their wartime code names. We still had a section in the plant called "Coded Chemicals." Atomic WeldingI'd guess "atomic [sic.] welding machine" should be "automatic welding machine" in this caption. [Atomic welding is correct. Short for atomic hydrogen welding. - Dave] Hydrostatic Testing of Oxygen BottlesThis looks like the setup to pressure test the oxygen bottles using water rather than a gas. Using a gas would create a bomb like effect if there was a defect present and the tank ruptured. Using water under pressure will do the same job but will not have the compressed and stored energy that a gas would have. You get a bang, a big crack and a spurt of water rather than a big bang that destroys the facilty and anyone in the way!!! Still a practice used today for testing pressurized gas containers like Scuba tanks, oxygen bottles , propane cylinders etc. These look like the "low" pressure bottles that were used for military aircraft - around 300 psi charge rather than the 1800 psi "high" pressure ones used today on aircraft. The reasoning was simple - a bullet or failure of a 300 psi bottle would cause much less damage than the same hit to a high pressure one. The ones I have seen were all painted a bright yellow - and I still have one somewhere in my parents stored junk out at the farm where we used it for a compressed air tank conected to a small air compressor. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, WW2)
Watts Bar Dam: 1942
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. scale model workers hmm.. these look just like scale model ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 6:35pm -

June 1942. Checking the alignment of a turbine shaft at the top of the guide bearing in the TVA hydroelectric plant at Watts Bar Dam, Tennessee. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. scale model workershmm.. these look just like scale model workers, you know the ones in scale model railways, toy cars etc.. i couldn't find any good photos through google, but kinda like these. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Industry & Public Works)
The Wood Bomber: 1942
... More here and here . Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size . "Hint: ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/28/2018 - 2:15pm -

October 1942. "Preparing a model of the B-25 bomber for the wind tunnel at North American Aviation's plant at Inglewood, Calif." More here and here. Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. "Hint: Safety"I too am in the "Protect the floor from scratches" camp mentioned in the comment by "Born40YearsTooLate" . Dave, could you please elaborate on your "Hint: Safety" addendum. [Shoes, hats and other potential projectiles are banned in wind tunnels lest they come off if the fan comes on. - Dave] Nice Memorial Day reference. Two comments/thoughts: 1) I grew up in the panhandle of Florida next to Eglin Air Force base as the son of a USAF civilian defense worker in weaponry. There are no less than six abandoned airfields in the general area which were used as satellite strips dating back to pre-WWII. One of them was used to train Doolittle's raiders in getting the Mitchell off the ground in 300' as training for their upcoming USS Hornet launch (which was only known to Doolittle at the time until they were under sea and ready to launch). The last I checked about 20 years ago, the white stripe marking 300' was still there on the old runway they used. I do not see it on Googlemap's satellite overhead now though. 2) There is a scratch built giant 1/3 scale (!) B-25 R/C model out there. It is incredible to watch. This looks to be about a 1/5 scale. Here's said 1/3 scale and you can tell the enormous size difference with this model based on the guy in the back and the twin tail separation distance with his shoulders for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QBASNFgCTo No shoes allowedI notice that the technician is in stocking feet, so I'm assuming that's to protect the floor of the tunnel from scratches that could throw off calibration or introduce drag. [That's not the reason. (Hint: safety) - Dave] Could it be possiblethat wooden mock-up model would have been saved to a museum?? (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
Take No Chances: 1941
... tough durable piece." View full size. 4x5 negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Still in use in 1980 I've seen ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 04/21/2008 - 10:05pm -

December 1941. Goodrich plant at Akron, Ohio. "Rubber stock for track treads of scout cars and other Army halftrack vehicles is milled in one Ohio tire plant. All rubber firmly 'welded' to the steel parts is formed into one tough durable piece." View full size. 4x5 negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. Still in use in 1980I've seen almost identical machines in the late 1970's at the Firestone plant in Los Angeles. They mix the rubber compounds after they come out of the "Banburys" that do the initial mixing. The drums contain cold water run through them. After the worker peels up the rubber from the drum, he will put the batch in the top, where it will be squashed & blended. The friction & compression would heat the rubber up to smoking hot. There have been several guys pulled into the machine over the years. The overhead bars are for an emergency stop to shut off the machine. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Factories, WW2)
Army Smartness: 1941
... up to Army standards of smartness." 4x5 negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office for Emergency Management. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/06/2014 - 3:50pm -

December 1941. "White Motor Company, Cleveland. A halftrack scout car gets a touch-up job on the chassis assembly line. A durable finish protects the metal -- and helps to bring the vehicle up to Army standards of smartness." 4x5 negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office for Emergency Management. View full size. LeverageMy goodness, that's a lot of levers to operate! Drips and drabOlive drab isn't my idea of a smart color; but this picture is more than a decade older than I am and tastes change. Some say there is no accounting for it--taste that is. No need to be concerned about those drips. They will all be concealed down the line when the floorboard is finished. No points for neatnessAt least he's keeping the drips off himself. Good enough for government workI guess back then, "smart" was another word for "sloppy"! Bigger things to worry aboutApparently the White Motor Company produced 15,414 (more or less) half-tracks for the Department of War -- its name before eventually being rebaptised as the Department of Defense. Who knows what that particular chassis went through, but paint drips were no doubt the least of its worries. Optimistic meterAn eighty MPH speedometer in a half-track -- really? The finished productWow! Had to go back six years to see this. Outright Lying SpeedometerForty-five MPH was the manufacturer's claim for the M-3 half track's top speed, but that would be under the most favorable of conditions, on a dry, hard surface, and probably minus weaponry and most of the ancillary equipment normally carried into combat. I suspect that the rush to field much-needed systems meant that White used what they had on hand for such non-critical accessories as the speedometer. Presumably, they had previously manufactured at least one truck that, running downhill and unladen, might have approached 80 MPH ... just before the differential disassembled itself. Gear jammin' son of a gunI see a parking brake lever (goes with the shiny drive shaft brake disc), Gear selector lever, rear axle hi/lo selector, a lever to engage front wheel drive and one for ? The button below the steering column is a starter button. What I can’t figure out is what the small tank under the dash is for. Looking at the size of the clutch lever can you imagine what the clutch would have been like in this thing? LeversI'm trying to figure out what all the levers and such probably do. The tallest knob is obviously the gearshift. To its left is a lever with a pushbutton release, which I'd guess is the parking brake. Still farther left is a lever with knob which might be to engage the front axle. On the right side are two coupled levers, which I am guessing operate the PTO. This is all speculation - anyone know for sure? Tank under the dashCould the tank under the dashboard be for a gas fired heater? From left to rightAs they stick up in the air, the leftmost lever is for the PTO winch, and the lever being painted to its right (which bends around the parking brake) is the shifter for the 4 speed transmission. Next is the parking brake and on the other side of the transmission the lever to the left operates the High/Low transfer case which, when combined with the the 4 speed transmission, gave you 8 speeds forward and two in reverse. The last lever on the far right is to engage the front wheel drive. The starter button—hidden here by the steering wheel—is in-between the instrument cluster and the speedometer. The button on the floor below the steering column is the foot dimmer switch. The round canister under the dash is an early radio noise suppression filter installed on radio-equipped vehicles in order to cut down on interference from the engine's ignition. This means that this particular halftrack had a "-S" after the registration number on the hood to indicate "Suppressed." Built by White, Autocar, Diamond T, and later International Harvester, the halftracks came in more than 15 different configurations from the M2 to the M21. Speed DemonWhen I was in the 3rd Armored Brigade in Germany, our tank element had an old M-3 as a "mascot" vehicle used to lead convoys. It had no problem staying out ahead of the M-60 tanks. Maybe not 80, but I sure saw it hauling butt in Grafenwohr. New used partsInteresting that they covered the steering wheel center badge with paper to maybe protect it from getting scratched? The steering wheel looks well used but the odometer has no miles on it. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Cars, Trucks, Buses, Cleveland, WW2)
Untethered: 1942
... important locations from enemy aircraft." Photos by Alfred Palmer and Pat Terry for the Office of War Information. View full size. ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/28/2013 - 8:36am -

May 1942. "Parris Island, South Carolina. Tactical formations of barrage balloons prevent dive bombing and the strafing of important ground installations. The Leathernecks are developing an excellent technique in this method of protecting important locations from enemy aircraft." Photos by Alfred Palmer and Pat Terry for the Office of War Information. View full size. Not quite untetheredThe line running from the power winch in the foreground can just barely be seen, heading over to the landing spot then straight up to the balloon. WWI Technology in WWIIBalloon busting was an early sport of WWI fighter pilots, although a fairly dangerous one. In that war they were trying to bring down observation balloons. In WWII it was much easier to just machine-gun the balloon then attack the target. Barrage balloons were more effective over cities like London where they prevented bombers from low altitude precision bombing. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
Heavy Lifting: 1942
... Valley Authority." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the OWI. View full size. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/30/2012 - 4:44pm -

June 1942. "Construction at Douglas Dam, Tennessee Valley Authority." 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer for the OWI. View full size. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Industry & Public Works)
Etna: 1941
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. Steel mill Such a crisp clear pict it's really great, and the ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/08/2012 - 8:17pm -

November 1941. Blast furnace at Carnegie-Illinois steel mill at Etna, Pennsylvania. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. Steel millSuch a crisp clear pict it's really great, and the fine detail stands out against a realy beautiful blue sky. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Factories)
No Springs: 1942
... and Copper Company, Euclid, Ohio." 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Cast into ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 11/20/2011 - 5:20pm -

February 1942. "Conversion. Copper and brass processing. Weighing brass scrap. The war program calls for the use of such vast amounts of brass and copper, among other metals, that all available scrap must be utilized. Here a truckload of brass trimmings from a sheet mill is being weighed. From here it will go to the casting shop, where it will be remelted and cast again into billets. Chase Brass and Copper Company, Euclid, Ohio." 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Cast into billets?A "billet" is a letter or soldiers' quarters, neither of which are ordinarily made of copper and brass. Is there another definition for "billets?" Or is that a typo for "bullets?" [A billet is a metal slug. - Dave] Billet — A semifinished‚ cogged‚ hot-rolled or continuous-cast metal product of uniform section‚ usually rectangular with radiused corners. Billets are relatively larger than bars. Cool! Thanks for the info. Now I'll have to devise a way to casually work that into the dinner table conversation tonight. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, WW2)
Fledglings: 1942
... powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine." Photo by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Quite a ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 07/06/2013 - 10:53am -

1942. "Final assembly at Vultee's Downey, California, plant of the BT-13A 'Valiant' basic trainer -- a fast, sturdy ship powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine." Photo by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Quite a progressionUsed after the war for building the first cruise missiles, then for constructing the Space Shuttle orbiters, and finally the site of a movie studio. The remaining buildings are now being torn down to build a shopping center. Much more here. NUTSPondering the meaning of the random writing on that plywood template. NamingsVultee, soon to join into the Consolidated Vultee partnership that will eventually become Convair. Vultee vibratoras they were known where I grew up. There was one at the airport when I was about 10. I would climb into it when no one was around and shoot down hundreds of German aircraft while in that hulk behind a deserted hangar in the hot Illinois sun. Later I discovered that the old plane was airworthy, and the fellow who owned it knew what I was up to but figured I couldn't do any real damage. Looks like Herigate HallIt looks like the line here was what was later (when I worked there) like Heritage Hall, where we had mementos of all the Shuttle and Apollo missions, in addition to the Navajo and hound Dog programs, that North American and Rockwell took on in that building after Vultee shut down at the site. Just like chaparral2fHere's my brother Jerry in a BT-13 in 1950 or so, looking for the Hun in the Sun, at a Tipton, Pa., airport known at the time as Stultz Field, named to honor Wilmer Stultz, the pilot who did the driving in 1928 when Amelia Earhart made her first transatlantic flight. The next time she did it all herself and all alone, in 1932. Not a basic trainerFor the Navy, at least, the Vibrator was an advanced trainer. Real basic training was done in the Stearman N2S Kaydet. Graduates moved on to the SNV (the Vibrator's Navy designation) and then the North American SNJ. One of my best memories as a kidwas helping a gentleman restore a BT-13 when I was in high school. This was in northern Illinois back in the mid-1970s. After it was finished in the blue and yellow paint scheme and he had it all inspected and certified, he took me up for a ride in it. I still remember sitting on my parachute with the canopy open as we took off. Then, once at altitude we did a lot of barrel rolls, Immemlmann turns, wing overs, loops and dives. Wow - what a thrill for an 18 year old kid. It was one of the most the most exciting things I've ever done and I'll never forget the thrill. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, Factories, WW2)
Fort Knox: 1942
... View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Patriotic, WW2) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/05/2012 - 6:35pm -

June 1942. Tank commander at Fort Knox, Kentucky. View full size. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Alfred Palmer. (The Gallery, Kodachromes, Alfred Palmer, Patriotic, WW2)
Fly Me to the Moon: 1942
... format nitrate negative from photos by by Pat Terry and Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Kinda basic ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 08/06/2014 - 12:34pm -

May 1942. Parris Island, South Carolina. "Marine Corps glider detachment training camp. A glider winch." Medium format nitrate negative from photos by by Pat Terry and Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. View full size. Kinda basicWell, - Engine - check! - Drive shaft - check! - Cable drum - check! - Power lever - can't see it, but I guess it will be a pedal - check! - Safety cage - a very strong must for a winch, those cables are like band saws if they get out of control - check! - Brake - can't see that, either, but I would guess another pedal - check! - Cable guillotine - can't see that either, but it is an indispensable safety item. Well, what is that steeringwheelgood for? My first guess would be a manual cable spooling guide. To reduce wear and tear and cable salad potential. And voila, you got a glider winch. More modern incarnations can be found galore under http://www.skylaunch.de/album/ Wrong WayUnless it pulls gliders from behind the guy's back, it's facing the wrong way. The gliders would be taking off downwind, making them uncontrollable. The cage keeps the end of the cable with a little parachute attached from falling on him. The glider releases it pretty much right overhead. [I suspect they know what they're doing. Below, two more views. - Dave] TiredThe wheel and hubcap are from a 1937 Ford V8 equipped vehicle, and the hood seems to be from a 1928 Chevrolet. Gliders in GermanyI had never seen gliders launched this way until I was serving in the Army in Giessen, Germany in 1965-1967. The website in the post by StefanJ, under the "G" tab, will get you to the Giessen glider club's website - they used winches to launch their gliders back then, and apparently still do. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, Aviation, WW2)
A Tight Spot: 1941
... Akron, Ohio." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, WW2) ... 
 
Posted by Dave - 05/13/2008 - 3:00pm -

December 1941. "Treads for Army halftracks, made of rubber firmly bonded to steel members, are cured under heat and pressure in molds which are first sprayed with a lubricant. Goodrich tire plant, Akron, Ohio." View full size. 4x5 nitrate negative by Alfred Palmer for the Office of War Information. (The Gallery, Alfred Palmer, WW2)
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