Traveling Tuesday:
Connecticut During WWII
With a production volume worth over $8 billion, Connecticut manufactured 4.1% of the United States’ military armaments and associated items during World War II, ranking ninth among the forty-eight states. The state also provided more than 300,000 men to the armed forces with 4,500 making the ultimate sacrifice. Another one thousand died from disease or accidents.
From one end of the state to the other factories converted from commercial products to war materiél. Founded in 1925 by Frederick B. Rentschlar, creator of the air-cooled radial engine design, Pratt & Whitney manufactured more than 300,000 engines. Pioneer Parachutes, a division of The Cheney Brothers silk manufacturer, sewed parachutes, and Electric Boat built submarines. Hamilton Propellers made, well, propellers. Waterbury Clock constructed a new plant to manufacture mechanical time fuses and other equipment. E. Ingraham Company also converted from clocks to time fuses as well as anti-aircraft artillery. Producer of hand tools and household goods, New Britain company turned to making uniforms, guns, and equipment. North & Judd manufactured uniform buckles, clasps, and other fasteners. Many of these companies earned the coveted Army-Navy E award for excellence in manufacturing.
In addition to manufacturing, Connecticut had six air bases, the Coast Guard Academy, and severalnaval stations, including one submarine base. Bradley Army Air Force Base in Windsor Locks was also home to a POW camp when hundreds of German prisoners arrived in October 1944. According to multiple sources, the prisoners were enlisted men and many “reportedly preferred being anywhere, even snowy Connecticut, to being shot at.” Whether it was because they were well-guarded or well-cared for, none of the prisoners ever attempt an escape.
Connecticuters served in every theater of the war, with approximately 4,500 making the ultimate sacrifice. Everett Rossen of West Hartford found himself in the Philippines during its surrender, being forced into the Bataan Death March. He remained a POW for four years until the end of the war, then remained in the military for another two decades before retiring. Ward Chamberlin was an ambulance driver with the American Field Service and served in North Africa, Italy, and India. Artist Deane Keller was a Monuments Man “rescuing Italian masterworks from the threat of combat and looting,” and was “part of the team that returned the Florentine Museum treasures to the city in 1945.”
Even colleges contributed to the war effort. Assigned to the Manhattan Project, Yale University Physics department, led by physicist Ernest O. Lawrence, worked on the development of the magnetic separation process which “allowed for the extraction and purification of Uranium-235 from natural uranium.” The chemistry department was led by chemical engineer John H. Reilly and “focused on the production of heavy water which was used as a neutron moderator in nuclear reactors.”
Last but certainly not least is Norwich native and attorney, Thomas Joseph Dodd, who served on the US prosecutorial team at the Nuremburg trials during which he was the second-ranking lawyer. In addition to shaping strategies and polices, he prepared indictments, presented evidence, and cross-examined defendants.
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The American World War II Home Front in 29 Objects:
Unlike Europe the American mainland escaped physical devastation during World War II as it was not subjected to full-scale invasions. However, that didn’t mean the United States wasn’t impacted by the war. The ramifications of large economic, cultural, and societal changes forced Americans to reconsider entrenched beliefs and traditions.
Artifacts collected from across the nation tell the stories of the American people whose lives were shaped by this second “war to end all wars,” World War II.
Pre-order Link: https://books2read.com/u/47pLxR
Sources:
https://www.ctmq.org/pow-camp/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Connecticut
https://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/world-war-ii/
https://yankeeinstitute.org/2024/05/24/connecticut-and-the-second-world-war/
https://centerprode.com/ojsh/ojsh0602/coas.ojsh.0602.03057m.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_World_War_II_Army_Airfields
https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-war/waterbury
Photo Credits:
Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major Engine: Courtesy Air Force Museum
POWs: Courtesy Hartford History Center
Thomas Dodd: By http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=D000390, Public Domain.
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