Show They Beat Plowshares Into Swords Swords' Workers Swords Workers j i. i In a Farm Implement Factory F Are Turning Out One of Greatest Fighting Machines of the War By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ATSON V Released by Western Newspaper Union Ui lon KEN the completed his his- history history history WHEN tory of our struggle with Japan finally is written consid consid- considerable considerable considerable erable attention should be given the story of how an agricultural implement parts manufacturer whose products are used every day in every rural section of America developed one of the most spectacular fighter vehicles of the war The company is Ingersoll Steel Disc division of Warner Borg-Warner cor cor- corpor por tion The war weapon its en en- engineers engineers designed and that one of its factories manufactures is the Beach- Beach Buster 3 the very latest de development de- de development development in amphibian invasion tanks The Buster Beach-Buster made its com com- combat combat combat bat debut at Okinawa Its perform perform- performance ance met with favor from high navy and marine officers officers so so much so that space in the history books of the future might as well be reserved now so its story may be told To the Japs the amphibian tanks that have equipped our invasion the forces-the 1 1 the 2 the 4 and now the Buster Beach-Buster have proved a lethal headache So while the record of their wartime usefulness cannot be completed until final victory a sidelight on their development de- de development and manufacture is in or or- order order order der now It is a recital of which every American and particularly every farmer can be proud As early as 1933 the problem of designing an amphibian tractor ca ca- capable capable ca- ca capable pable of taking relief deep into the mangrove swamps of the Florida Everglades was assigned to Donald Roebling a year-around year resident of Clearwater by his father Young Roebling sprang from a aline aline aline line of inventors his grandfather Col Washington Roebling being the designer of the famous Brooklyn bridge And he and his father had seen with their own eyes the devas devas- devastation devastation devastation tation human misery and helpless helpless- helplessness ness that had been left in the wake of the 1933 Florida hurricane Roebling knew that only a vehicle that operated equally well on land and water could do the job that was needed For six years he experimented experimented experimented at Clearwater with models He designed and tested hulls and tractor treads power plants and gear ratios And finally the first Roebling amphibian the 1 or Alligator rolled from his machine shop at Clearwater That vehicle later was demon demon- demonstrated demonstrated demonstrated to the navy off the Virginia coast at a time when our military forces were occupied in peacetime war maneuvers British military of of- officials officials officials eyed the performance of the 1 with keen interest for they were already at war Early in the fall falI of 1941 C. C S. S Davis president and Roy C. C Ingersoll Inger Inger- Ingersoll Ingersoll soll vice president of Warner Borg-Warner were called by the navy to Washing Washing- ton They agreed to study design and suggest improvements of the Roebling amphibian tank for even then we were close to war The result of that agreement was typically American Not a marine expert but an automotive engineer Ben A. A was charged with responsibility in the job He began experiments and design in the Borg- Borg Warner laboratories at Rockford Ill m. An Ingersoll factory at Kala Kala- Kalamazoo Kalamazoo mazoo Mich contracted to build 50 of the Alligators for the navy And folks along historic Rock river which winds through downtown Rockford Rockford began to stay awake nights because of that fellow Swen- Swen ness strange on goings-on While W le ye S es was applying auto auto- automotive automotive automotive motive principles to a sea-going sea job and as he e himself himsel now admits in incorporating incorporating unorthodox designs that i r H T W Y q i 0 r ti t 7 Hitting the beach at Okinawa these United States marines are un un- unloading unloading un- un unloading loading machine guns and equipment from a Beach no marine engineer would waste time with the Ingersoll company began and completed its first am track contract Meanwhile such agricultural necessities as heat- heat treated spring teeth for harrows cultivators cul cul- cultivators cultivators and rakes contin contin- continued continued continued in production Later Ingersoll received a contract ct to manufacture manufacture ture the 2 VT L on a design supplied by the navy navy- Hundreds of were manufactured before the often- often accelerated contract was completed ahead of schedule Meanwhile Meanwhile had put to to- together together together gether an amphibian tank that today to to- today today day as the Buster Beach is reputed to incorporate a greater amount of automotive design than any marine craft that floats It worked But before it was presented to the navys navy's bureau of ships watching tests in Florida was seized with an inspiration Returning hurriedly to Rockford he worked for 48 uninterrupted hours emerging with the design for fora a ramp gate which can be raised and lowered at the rear of the am lIam track This single feature is cred cred- credited credited credited with saving hundreds hundreds' of lives Using it our invasion forces unload men equipment ammunition or supplies while facing the enemy An entire of materiel may be yanked out in a matter of moments The importance of this is more fully realized when it is known that the Buster Beach-Buster easily handles pounds of cargo or 50 men fully equipped Danger of stalling in the face of the enemy is avoided by the tanks tank's transmission which feels for the beach shifting auto auto- automatically automatically automatically to the required gear ratio without attention from the driver as soon as the tracks on which it runs encounter any obstacle Numerous battle reports have come back to Kalamazoo to the men and women who make the am tracks of the prowess of their product Tough landings they have made easier Almost impossible landings like Tarawa and most re re- recently recently re- re recently Iwo Jima they have made possible Rear Adm C. C H. H Wood Wood- Woodward Woodward Woodward ward told them last March when the navy returned for permanent ex ex- exhibit exhibit ex- ex exhibit hibit the pilot Model B amphibian tank that had designed at Rockford Other facts were revealed by Ad Ad- Admiral Admiral Admiral miral Woodward Tarawa proved the absolutely indispensable for successful amphibious attack that at the were stars of the show sliding over reefs hitting the beach with guns blazing plowing through the jungle and most ng that the made a surprise mile sweep in a flanking move move- movement movement movement ment around the southern horn of Leyte From Iwo Jima Maj Gen Keller t t. 3 wb 4 r k V i Japs Jap's eye view of a Buster Beach-Buster as it roars ashore in a landing attack E. E Rockey commanding the fifth marine division wrote to his friend Roland D D. D Doane Ingersoll sales manager Naturally the tail-gate tail jobs were much more useful but all of them really saved our ba ba- bacon bacon bacon con in the early days of the show because they were the only vehicle that could negotiate the sand hills leading from the waters water's edge to the fighting zone So the L carried the beans and bullets directly from the ships to the front line units and carried the wounded on the return trip and they did this for some five or six days before we could get our mo mo- motor motor mator tor transportation running Such reports heartened the Inger Inger- Ingersoll Ingersoll Ingersoll soll workers But production sched sched- schedules schedules schedules ules were upped again and again In the fall of 1944 additional em em- employees employees employees were sorely needed and In In- Ingersoll Ingersoll Ingersoll officials tried a novel ment Into such typical rural Michigan communities as Paw Paw Augusta Vicksburg Schoolcraft Decatur and Lawton Lawton Lawton-IO 10 towns all told within a mile 30 radius of Kalamazoo moved Kalamazoo moved a caravan in whose success the American people had a stake The The caravan was fashioned around a newly completed Beach Accompanying it were navy veter veter- veterans ve veterans er- er erans ans including a navy nurse just home from battle duties The vets told their stories And up follow-up crews received job applications the next day from those who wanted to join Ingersoll Many were from farmers who had harvested their crops The caravan idea rates as the spearhead that helped Beach- Beach Buster employment rise at Inger- Inger Ingersoll's Ingersoll's Ingersoll's soll's from a peacetime to more than 1800 persons National recognition of the production production production tion record of these workers fol foI- followed fol- fol followed lowed last March 26 when Vox Pop broadcast its regular weekly pro pro- program program program gram from Kalamazoo interviewed plant employees It came again on May 21 when the Navy Army-Navy E liE Ewas Ewas was awarded the Warner Borg-Warner faa fac tory Ingersoll inaugurated another nov nov- novelty novelty elty eIty with free rides on the amphibians ans as a reward to workers for su su- superior superior su- su superior attendance records The practice interfered not at all with routine as all tanks are battle test test- tested tested tested ed on land and one in every 50 is tested on water before they are placed in pairs on flat fiat cars and start start- started started started ed westward from Kalamazoo With the help of navy engineers constant tests are being conducted on the and refinements that are indicated by battle perform perform- performance ance added The headquarters of Ben has been moved to Kalamazoo and the results of his re re- research research re- re research search are proved daily on lake land and in swamp Co of all this activity is R. R S. S Bob Ingersoll son of Roy and grandson of the late S. S A. A In In- Ingersoll Ingersoll Ingersoll founder of the company His two uncles Harold G G. and Stephen L. L Ingersoll are directors of the Warner Borg-Warner organization Harold manages the Ingersoll plant at New NewCastle NewCastle NewCastle Castle Ind Stephen L. L L established the West Pullman works in 1929 When the emergency of World War II arose four Ingersoll plants plants- at Chicago Chicago Heights New NewCastle NewCastle Castle Ind and Kalamazoo Mich were in operation Those who knew him say that had S. S A. A Ingersoll been alive to participate participate pate he hc would woul have found abiding satisfaction in the promptness with which all four were converted from producing implements implements- of peace to instruments of war For here truly is a company that has beaten plow plow- plowshares plowshares plowshares shares into swords |