Help from the homefront: Scrap drives, rationing vital to WWII victory

Celebrities were relied upon to get out the scrap message during wartime. Here, actress Rita Hayworth smiles while pointing to a sign affixed to her Lincoln Continental that reads, “Please Drive Carefully, My Bumpers Are On The Scrap Heap.” Photo by Office of War Information/Interim Archives/Getty Images)

One statistic alone defines the importance of our country’s scrap drives during World War II. During U.S. involvement in World War I (1917-’18), each American soldier required an average of 90 lbs. of steel used in equipment and ammunition, according to the Conservation Division of the War Production Board. That average ballooned to 4,900 lbs. during World War II (1941-’45).

During the almost five-year span comprising WWII, our nation underwent monumental changes, both in manufacturing and daily life. Unfortunately, this upheaval followed on the heels of the punishing aftereffects of the stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression.

With car production halted in early 1942, automobile dealerships relied on their maintenance departments to generate revenue during the war. This June 14, 1943, Life magazine ad from Chevrolet reminded motorists of all makes of cars and trucks that it was their responsibility to get their vehicles serviced regularly to make them last. Courtesy of Ron Kawalke

The day following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially declared the United States’ entry into World War II. This set into motion an almost overnight transition of our nation’s manufacturing industry. In large part, this involved automakers shifting from building cars and trucks to producing war-critical equipment.

Also due to U.S. entry into the war, several government-enacted policies affecting the homefront were quickly established to better serve the war effort. Civilian automobile production was halted on Feb. 10, 1942. One example of the impact of that mandate had Ford building fewer than 160,000 cars in ’42 after producing 691,455 cars in ’41.

Published by the American Industries Salvage Committee in September 1942, Scrap and how to collect it… explained the how and why of collecting scrap to aid the defense industry. Its main message was, “Remember, it is the patriotic duty of every American citizen to see to it that all scrap gets into the fight.” Courtesy of Ron Kawalke

With no more new automobile production, the U.S. government stockpiled all unsold 1942 model cars, to be rationed until war’s end. Those eligible to acquire these rationed cars were deemed “essential” individuals, including doctors, clergy, police, firefighters, farmers and war plant workers.

Early in 1942, the federal government also enacted the “Salvage for Victory” campaign throughout the nation. Celebrities Bing Crosby and Mickey Mouse spearheaded the movement, whereby U.S. households were tasked with donating their scrap metal, rubber, rags, paper and cooking fats (used in producing explosives) to be repurposed for defense use.

Many neighborhoods established designated “Salvage for Victory” scrap drop-off/collection sites. Among these sites, contests were held with communities trying to outdo each other in amounts of scrap materials collected weekly/monthly/annually. Among the methods used to motivate residents to donate scrap included one community creating a life-size dummy of Nazi Germany leader Adolph Hitler, which became the target of hurled scrap donations.

This 1942 Jalopy Junking Round-Up booklet offered suggestions to homefront volunteers on how to search for and report scrappable vehicles, as part of a “Jalopy Census.” The booklet emphasized, “A car is either transportation or a junker.” Courtesy of Ron Kowalke

Part of the follow-through upon discovery of a potential scrap vehicle was the filling out of an Auto Salvage Report ticket, which tracked the progress — or lack thereof — of every vehicle deemed a junker. Courtesy of Ron Kowalke

According to the Conservation Division of the War Production Board, repurposed household scrap metal could provide large amounts of war-critical items. This included one shovel equaling four hand grenades, one bucket producing three bayonets and one copper kettle equaling almost 100 rounds of rifle ammunition.

In May 1942, a 35-mph “Victory Speed” limit was enforced nationwide to help conserve gasoline and preserve tires, both of which were strictly rationed. Each vehicle owner was limited to keeping five tires, four in use and a spare. All tires over the five-each limit had to be turned in for redistribution or scrap.

The aforementioned gasoline rationing was managed through a series of stickers affixed to vehicle windshields. According to the National World War II Museum of New Orleans, each 3 x 2-1/2-inch square sticker contained a block letter that defined a driver’s allowed gasoline consumption. A sticker with a black “X” on a white background or a white “C” with red backing allowed drivers unlimited gas usage. These two stickers were allocated to politicians, traveling salespersons or VIPs (all “X” category personnel) or the aforementioned “war-critical/essential” individuals (“C” category).

Russell Lee, of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) photographic documentation project begun during the Great Depression, captured these scrapped automobiles and other metals in a scrap and salvage depot in Butte, Mont., during October 1942. Russell Lee/Getty Images

Drivers with white “B” and green backing stickers were allowed only eight gallons of fuel weekly. Even stingier was the four-gallons-weekly allowed to sticker owners having a white “A” on a black background. For those drivers with either restrictive “B” or “A” stickers, other means of getting around, such as bus ridership or walking, became a necessity.

By mid 1942, the War Production Board (WPB) had designated “auto graveyards” as a prime source of scrap metal. At that time, each scrapped automobile produced approximately 2,000 pounds of metal. According to the American Industries Salvage Committee booklet, Scrap and how to collect it…, “Every auto graveyard is required by [the] WPB to scrap as many cars within 60 days as it buys, shipping out the scrap iron, brass, copper, lead and rubber, and keeping only the usable parts [for resale].” In June 1942, the nation’s 20,000 salvage yards produced 450,000 tons of scrap metal.

Courtesy of Ron Kowalke

These images depict vehicles stacked in a California salvage yard in 1953. The scrapping here was to aid the U.S. defense industry during the Korean War (1950-’53). It’s reminiscent of scrapping vehicles during the 1941-’45 duration of World War II. Courtesy of Ron Kowalke

To emphasize salvage yards’ importance as a source for scrap metal for the war effort, Lenox Motor Co. of Maryland provided the reality check for neglecting WPB requirements. In May 1942, the yard’s owner refused to sell his scrap vehicles for the then-established junker rate of $20 per gross ton of top-grade steel. Soon after, U.S. Marshals and county police raided the property and seized its contents.

Whether donating to World War II scrap drives was accomplished voluntarily or by heavy-hand, it was an essential part of aiding the war effort. But the war years of rationing and sacrifice also took a toll on the homefront. At the late-1941 U.S. entry into war, 88 percent of our nation’s households owned a car. By war’s end in August 1945, that number dropped to 73 percent. It would take another decade of recovery to regain that prewar percentage of U.S. household car ownership.

Studebaker Corp.’s 1943 Annual Report focused not on car production, which was non-existent, but rather on its wartime equipment output. This included 100,000 multiple-drive, heavy-duty military trucks and 30,000 Wright Cyclone engines used in the Boeing Flying Fortress planes. Courtesy of Ron Kawalke

“Salvage for Victory” was the homefront campaign for World War II scrap drives across the country. There was an immense need for scrap metal, rubber, paper, rags and even discarded cooking fats (used to produce explosives) for the 1941-’45 duration of the war. The campaign enlisted everyone’s help, including youngsters who were referred to as Junior Commandos. Courtesy of Ron Kawalke

A group of boys posing on a heap of scrap metal during a victory drive in support of the U.S. homefront effort during World War II. Three boys hold American flags as the others display pieces of metal. They wear “Junior Corps” caps. Note a few car parts that went into their pile. Courtesy of Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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