A Short History of the Iron Foundry in America: The World at War Again

The iron foundry has been an important part of human history for 5,000 years.  In peacetime, its castings can make important tools to improve the quality of life.  In wartime, its castings help protect that quality of life.

Europe was a mess.  Twenty years earlier they had said, “Never again.”  They had stood in the smoking ruins of over a thousand years of European history, shell-shocked and bewildered.  They had lashed out at the losers, but they were all responsible for the horrors that had ravished the continent for four years.

The 1930s were filled with capitulation and inept diplomacy.  This was mostly due to the war-weariness felt by all of Europe.  While the populace desired Germany to pay for its collective trauma, most people were not willing to take up arms again to make Germany stand down.  Now the thunder of artillery was again echoing through the countryside.  Before they finished the entire world would be set on fire…again.

In the United States, military leaders and industrialists had looked on with growing concern during the last half of the 1930s.  Europe was sliding uncontrolled into war.  It was only a matter of time.  Chamberlain and the other European leaders tried to put a good face on it, but everyone feared that nothing would satisfy Hitler.  Once war erupted in Europe, it would only be a matter of time before it reached America.

What was worse, Japan was growing more powerful and more aggressive with each passing day.  The death of the Japanese emperor and the crowning of his son inaugurated what was called the “Showa Restoration”.  Nationalism had followed the economic failures of the former regime, fueling military aggression throughout the region.  The Pacific was getting more dangerous.  How long would it be before the Asian empire would set its sights on our territories or our allies?

Iron foundries all over the United States were put to work helping create munition, artillery, vehicles, airplanes, and naval ships to defend the nation.  After the difficulties and dangers of World War I, the US military was in no humor to bring a knife to another gunfight, metaphorically speaking.

The military was still in a transitional period.  Newer technologies had been transformative as the world approached the first world war.  Tanks and other combustion engine vehicles had replaced the cavalry.   The rough boxes of WWI had now graduated to tougher and more powerful versions of themselves.  The German Panzer, the American Sherman, the British Grant, and the Russian T-34 tanks transformed the battlefields of Europe.

There were many tanks that were used and each of them went through its own evolution.  Updated trucks could haul more and do it more quickly.  In addition to these motorized cavalry examples, there is the intrepid Jeep.  Jeeps made up around 18% of the total wheeled military vehicle pool, cementing their position as the most famous American-made vehicle in history.

Hand-to-hand combat had long ago been affected by the advent of gunpowder.  But the 20th century had brought with it increasingly accurate guns.  Muskets had given way to shotguns, shotguns to rifles, and now there were machine guns.  Initially, machine guns were limited to the mounted variety.  But by the end of the Great War, there was a limited supply of portable versions.  During the period between the world wars, those portable versions had become lighter and better built.  Death now didn’t even require a reload.

As with the hand-held weapons, American artillery was ready for the fight.  American iron foundries produced more artillery in the years before the US joined the second world war than ever before.  That production continued unabated until the end of the war.

Although the US troops had only old French guns that were obsolete in their capabilities and were still horse-drawn.  Even with those guns, the US field artillery corps was remarkably effective.  But soon the US military supplied them with the M1918 155mm Howitzer.  Soon after the updated M1, M2, and M12 howitzers were put into service.  Combined with the well-trained field artillery corps, these guns made the Americans a formidable foe for the Germans.

As we will see in the next installment, the infantry wasn’t the only area where there was innovation.  There were upgrades in store for the navies of World War II, as well as for an entirely new military corps.  As the weapons became more sophisticated, so did the iron foundry methods and tooling.  The latest war challenged the potential of every industry involved, and the foundries were hard-pressed to keep up with the demand.

The foundry  at Cedar Grove was there to help produce the metal needed to protect shore and soldier.  We dug in with determination to meet the demand and innovation to provide the best quality metal for the important work at hand.

That same determination is here for you, as well.  Contact us today to have one of our qualified engineers help you determine how we can help you deliver your best product to your customer!