American war machine grows ever stronger

7th January 1943: President Roosevelt's State of the Union address strikes a confident tone as he reviews the progress made in 1942.

“In the Pacific area, our most important victory in 1942 was the air and naval battle off Midway Island. That action is historically important because it secured for our use communication lines stretching thousands of miles in every direction.” Half the aircraft on U.S. carriers were the SBD Dauntless in the first year of the war.

“I am not unmindful of other successful actions in the Pacific, in the air and on land and afloat, especially those on the Coral Sea and New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands. But these actions were essentially defensive. They were part of the delaying strategy that characterized this phase of the war.” The Japanese transport Kinugawa Maru beached and sunk on the Guadalcanal shore in November 1943. She had been sunk by U.S. aircraft on 15 November 1942 while attempting to deliver men and supplies to Japanese forces. The US fightback, launched by the US Marines on Guadalcanal in August 1942, had halted Japanese progress.

Just thirteen months after the USA entered the war, its military position had been transformed. Japanese and German hopes to land knockout blows by launching pre-emptive strikes had failed spectacularly. They both now faced long wars with no realistic prospect of holding out against the massive resources now ranged against them.

President Roosevelt had an extraordinary story to tell when he addressed the 78th Congress on 7th January¹. This was a message of hope for many millions of subjugated people worldwide. And it was a dire warning to the Germans and the Japanese.

The Axis powers knew that they must win the war in 1942—or eventually lose everything. I do not need to tell you that our enemies did not win the war in 1942.

“Few Americans realize the amazing growth of our air strength, though I am sure our enemy does.” The assembly plant of the Bell Aircraft Corporation at Wheatfield, New York (directly East of Niagara Falls, USA). The aircraft in the photo are Bell P-39 Airacobra fighters, and Bell P-63 Kingcobra fighters.

Bell P-39 Airacobra firing all weapons at night. The P-39 had an unusual layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller in the nose with a long shaft. The P-39 was used by the Soviet Air Force, and enabled individual Soviet pilots to collect the highest number of kills attributed to any U.S. fighter type flown by any air force in any conflict.

Any review of the year 1942 must emphasize the magnitude and the diversity of the military activities in which this nation has become engaged. As I speak to you, approximately one and a half million of our soldiers, sailors, marines, and fliers are in service outside of our continental limits, all through the world. Our merchant seamen, in addition, are carrying supplies to them and to our allies over every sea lane.

Few Americans realize the amazing growth of our air strength, though I am sure our enemy does. Day in and day out our forces are bombing the enemy and meeting him in combat on many different fronts in every part of the world. And for those who question the quality of our aircraft and the ability of our fliers, I point to the fact that, in Africa, we are shooting down two enemy planes to every one we lose, and in the Pacific and the Southwest Pacific we are shooting them down four to one.

…

We produced 48,000 military planes—more than the airplane production of Germany, Italy, and Japan put together. Last month, in December, we produced 5,500 military planes and the rate is rapidly rising. Furthermore, we must remember that as each month passes by, the averages of our types weigh more, take more man-hours to make, and have more striking power.

In tank production, we revised our schedule—and for good and sufficient reasons. As a result of hard experience in battle, we have diverted a portion of our tank-producing capacity to a stepped-up production of new, deadly field weapons, especially self-propelled artillery.

Here are some other production figures:

In 1942, we produced 56,000 combat vehicles, such as tanks and self-propelled artillery.

In 1942, we produced 670,000 machine guns, six times greater than our production in 1941 and three times greater than our total production during the year and a half of our participation in the first World War.

We produced 21,000 anti-tank guns, six times greater than our 1941 production.

We produced ten and a quarter billion rounds of small-arms ammunition, five times greater than our 1941 production and three times greater than our total production in the first World War.

We produced 181 million rounds of artillery ammunition, 12 times greater than our 1941 production and 10 times greater than our total production in the first World War.

I think the arsenal of democracy is making good.

“After months of secret planning and preparation in the utmost detail, an enormous amphibious expedition was embarked for French North Africa from the United States and the United Kingdom in literally hundreds of ships. It reached its objectives with very small losses, and has already produced an important effect upon the whole situation of the war. It has opened to attack what Mr. Churchill well described as "the underbelly of the Axis," “ An Allied convoy heads eastward across the Atlantic, bound for Casablanca, in November 1942

“As I speak to you, approximately one and a half million of our soldiers, sailors, marines, and fliers are in service outside of our continental limits, all through the world.” American troops on board a landing craft going in to land at Oran. November 1942.

“While we have been achieving this miracle of production, during the past year our armed forces have grown from a little over 2,000,000 to 7,000,000. In other words, we have withdrawn from the labor force and the farms some 5,000,000 of our younger workers.” Soldiers tackle part of an obstacle course at Camp Edwards, Massachusetts, 1942.

1. Read a transcript of the whole address at the Miller Center.