It is time for us at Aces High to take another look at the history of World War II, and today that look will be focused on shipbuilding during the war years.
At the outset of the war, the United States was woefully unprepared for war. Our aircraft numbers were down, our ship numbers were down, and President Roosevelt was well-aware of those numbers. He immediately set about correcting those deficiencies. One such move was to designate a new government program, the Maritime Commission, with contracting out to have emergency ships built. The original order in 1941 was for 200 ships similar to those already being used by the British for keeping supply lines open in Europe.
At the time of this commission, there were only two major shipbuilding yards supplying ships, the largest of which was Bethlehem Steel Corporation in Baltimore, Maryland. As the war progressed, this became known as the Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyard, and shipyards were built in Quincy, Massachusetts, Staten Island, New York, and Sparrows Point, Maryland. Others soon followed in Wilmington, North Carolina, Newport, Virginia, Mobile, Alabama, New Orleans, Houston, Toledo, Los Angeles, and Portland, Oregon.
The one in Newport was known as the Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company and became the largest supplier of combatant ships during World War2.
The original ships that were designed were too slow, so production began on new turbine engines, but production facilities were few in number; companies like General Electric and Westinghouse could not keep up with demand. It was finally decided to concentrate on only one type of ship, which was called the Liberty Ship. The first of these was the SS Patrick Henry which was launched on September 27, 1941.
By May, 1942, the Declaration of Unlimited National Emergency was signed by Presiden Roosevelt, and building hit a third wave. 500 ships were ordered for 1942 and an additional 700 for 1943. As has been mentioned in earlier posts, once the industrial might of the United States was in full swing, the outcome of the war was not in doubt. By the middle of 1943 it was obvious that the United States could out-produce any nation on Earth.
We hope you like these features about the war effort. We just believe that if our combat flight simulator is going to remain the best on the market, then we need to do everything possible to make sure it is historically accurate.
Aces High, the number one flight sim game and getting better all the time!
Have you used your free two week trial yet? Why not? We are giving you Aces High for free; we are allowing you to play the best combat flight simulator on the market for no money! Why in the world wouldn’t you take advantage of this great offering? We don’t even ask for a credit card!
Take part in special events like the Sunday European Campaign (SEC), the FSO (Friday Squad Operation) or the Saturday King of the Hill. Once you do there will be no turning back. You will be hooked and you will then find out what it’s like playing the best flight sim players in the world.
So here comes winter in the Northern Hemisphere! Oh, of course, Fall is first, but it won’t take long and winter will be kicking butt and taking names, and then the weather will be horrible and we’ll be looking for something to do.
Well look no further! Aces High has come to the rescue and we are flying the skies each and every day, taking on other flight sim gamers from around the world in aerial combat.
If what you want is excitement, challenge, and competition, then sign up for the free two week trial and download of Aces High to find out why this game is considered the best combat flight simulator on the market.
Here we are, the last week of September, 2012, and we are winding down our Special Events calendar for the month. Only two more events will be held and they are:
- 25th AHXARL, or Aces High XTreme Air Racing League
- 26th Snapshot….final frame.
If you remember the childhood game of King of the Hill then you will have some idea of our Aces High version. Only the strong survive while strapped into their cockpits. As for the Snapshot….well, you will just have to sign up and play along. It is a scenario that is guaranteed to keep you challenged.
Strap on your helmet and fly the skies with Aces High, the best World War 2 flight simulator on the market.
Today at Aces High we thought we would discuss a subject that rarely gets discussed. While aircraft are the “sexy” thing to talk about with regards to World War II, the tank is the blood and guts of the weaponry, the down and dirty part of armament that rarely gets its due. So today, tanks, this one is for you.
Prior to World War 2 the number of tanks produced by the U.S. was incredibly small. In fact, the “armored” divisions would practice maneuvers walking as if they were in tanks because there just were no tanks. That all changed after Pearl Harbor. General Motors and Chrysler adapted their car manufacturing plants to produce tanks, and the first of these new tanks were produced in the first half of 1942; in fact, 1,500 tanks came off of the production lines in the May of 9142 alone, and the U.S. was ready for business.
The first tanks to see battle were the M3’s, light tanks known as “General Stuarts.” They were very flawed but matched up against the German counterparts quite well. The U.S. 2st Armored Division used the M3 in Africa with limited success. It also saw action in Italy and as part of the Normandy Invasion.
This was followed by the M4, the second-most produced tank in the war. This was the mainstay of most of the Allied tank forces, used by Americans, Canadians, British and French. It was the equal of the German Panzer III and Panzer IV. It was reliable and easy to maintain, but was outgunned by the German tanks, so basically it was a standoff in battles with the Germans.
In the end, it was the massive production capabilities of the Americans that won out. By sheer numbers the United States was able to control the ground war; although the German tanks were superior by the end of the war, they could in no way match the U.S. for total numbers of armament.
And that could be said for all armaments in the war. From aircraft to ships, tanks to rifles, the U.S. industrial production far outnumbered that of Japan and Germany and in the end that was the difference in the war.
Why do we study this stuff? Simply because if we expect our combat flight simulator to be the best, then we need to understand everything about World War II. Our Aces High is the best flight sim on the market because it more closely resembles actual combat.