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War Production Board
The War Production Board (WPB) was a U.S. government agency that between January 1942
and November 1945 oversaw the production and procurement of materials and equipment used
by the military in World War II. It took over almost all civilian operations and converted them to
war production. It controlled raw materials and components so that civilians could not use them
for their own purposes. It set schedules for operations all over the country to ensure that
production of war equipment proceeded at maximum efficiency. It also oversaw the transition
from a wartime economy to a peacetime one at the end of the war.
Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the U.S. declaration of
war, President Franklin D. Roosevelt called for vast military production, demanding 60,000 new
airplanes and 45,000 tanks in the first year alone. The nation was nowhere near ready industrially
to produce the items needed. Wartime production required that businesses give up their
peacetime practices of deliberation and production for the civilian market. They had to move
quickly and in a coordinated fashion so as to maximize efficiency. Of course, it took time to refit
factories to produce military equipment, and that also required a change in materials. There were
not sufficient supplies available to meet all industrial needs, and there were disputes over which
industries had a greater need for them. It soon became apparent that the nation needed one
authority to oversee industry and allocate scarce resources.
President Roosevelt established the WPB by Executive Order 9024 on January 16, 1942. It was
created as part of the Office for Emergency Management under the authority of the First War
Powers Act, which gave the president the power to reorganize departments and agencies. The
WPB's stated purpose was to direct the war procurement and production program, and to
determine policies and procedures of the federal departments and agencies that played a role in
war procurement and production. The WPB was headed by a chairman assisted by a chief of
operations, an executive officer, and several vice-chairmen, each of whom headed a department,
including smaller war plants, civilian requirements, programs, field operations, international
supply, labor production, manpower requirements, operations, and metals and minerals. Donald
M. Nelson was appointed chairman and held this office until 1944, when he was replaced by
Julius A. Krug. Despite the presence of the advisors, the chairman really controlled the WPB.
The WPB had regional offices in every state and became a pervading presence in the U.S.
consciousness. Citizens of all ages collected paper and metal to use in war production.
Conservation came to the fore. Most Americans reportedly were enthusiastic about rationing,
seeing it as a way that they could contribute to the war effort. Labor unions promised not to strike
during the war, although this was not always the case in practice.
The WPB had tremendous influence on the nation's economy. It decided which companies would
receive lucrative wartime contracts. Congress was willing to finance nearly any project that
seemed related to the war and appropriated tremendous sums for military spending. The WPB
authorized the manufacture of about $185 billion in military supplies between 1942 and 1945.
Predictably there were many criticisms leveled at the WPB from both the military and civilians.
The military complained that the management was weak and favored civilian needs over those of
the military. Civilian businessmen complained about the bureaucracy and the seemingly endless
investigations of their needs. Congress lamented the slow pace of military production.
Nevertheless, on the whole the WPB was very successful at transforming U.S. industry into a
streamlined military production operation.
One of the first actions by the WPB was to stop the production of automobiles in February 1942.
Automobile factories were retooled to produce military equipment, such as tanks, airplanes,
aircraft engines, diesel engines, trucks, and machine guns. The following month the WPB issued
an order regulating clothing production, and in May it ordered sewing machine factories to convert
their operations to producing military equipment. The Singer sewing company's factories began
producing airplane navigation equipment, gun turret castings, engine parts for airplanes, gun
sights, ammunition boxes, and various sewn items used in war operations. One sewing machine
factory was assigned to produce industrial sewing machines that could sew parachutes, tents,
and tarpaulins; some of these industrial sewing machines could survive a parachute drop and
were thus useful for repairs in the battle zone.
In December 1942 the WPB took responsibility for scheduling the production programs of the
various agencies participating in war production to ensure that schedules did not conflict, meshed
with the strategic requirements of the Chiefs of Staff, and maximized the productive possibilities
of the nation. In February 1943, the WPB took control over the placement of orders for the
components used in making important war items. At the time raw materials were readily available
but orders for components were often delayed, and WPB control of component production was
intended to solve this problem.
In September 1943 the WPB created a program that made it easier for businesses using small
amounts of materials to get them without being subject to the WPB's requirements. It also
decentralized some operations to regional offices. That October the WPB began concentrating on
production on the West Coast, plagued by a lack of labor.
As the war moved toward its conclusion in 1944, the WPB considered the best way to resume
civilian production as more resources became available and the military cut back on programs
and cancelled wartime contracts. In the summer of 1944, the WPB issued four reconversion
orders, allowing civilian enterprises to use aluminum, to purchase machine tools, to resume prewar production operations when facilities and manpower allowed, and once again to construct
experimental models. In September 1994, as it became apparent that the war in Europe would
soon be over, the WPB announced a policy that would end military control of all civilian
production once Germany was defeated.
Increased fighting in the winter of 1944–1945 forced the WPB to resume control of some
operations that had been returned to civilian operation. The production of civilian items was
reduced again. The WPB was abolished for good in November 1945. The Civilian Production
Administration replaced it and oversaw the conversion of military operations back to civilian
control.
Blackwell, Amy Hackney. "War Production Board: World War II." World at War: Understanding
Conflict and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 14 Dec. 2010.