Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - a close up of something in the museum or our collection for you to guess what it is in the comments!![]()
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What is it?! We are looking for what it might be part of within the museum and, for more of a challenge, what the exact part is and what it does!![]()
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Thanks to everyone who played last week… the answer for September 25 was the “squirrel cage” guard in the turret of the M60A1… see the previous post for the full details!![]()
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Good luck on this week’s challenge! ![]()
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#americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma
The answer to the “What is it? Wednesday” question of September 25th is the “Squirrel Cage” guard in the turret of the M60A1 main battle tank in the Gulf War Gallery. Spent shell casings would be ejected from the gun and hit an asbestos pad suspended from the turret roof and backed up by this ‘cage’ to force casings to the floor. The ‘cage’ also kept items stored in the turret bustle and oddiment tray from falling to the turret floor when bouncing across rough terrain. Several of you got this right… were you tankers in an M60? If so, sound off!![]()
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Stay tuned for the next “What is it? Wednesday” later today!![]()
#americanheritagemuseum #whatisitwednesday
The legendary L-4 Grasshopper "Rosie The Rocketer" has come down from display for its annual inspection. This iconic reconnaissance, artillery spotting, - and tank destroying - aircraft flown by Major Charles Carpenter will participate in the October 12th & 13th WWII Re-enactment. For more information on this plane see: www.americanheritagemuseum.org/aircrafts/piper-l4-grasshopper-rosie-the-rocketer/
We are looking for WWII veterans to participate in our Veteran's roundtable discussion during our WWII Re-enactment Weekend - October 12th & 13th. Contact Hunter Chaney @ hchaney@collingsfoundation.org or call 978-562-9182 for details.
Here is this week’s challenge for “What is it Wednesday?” - a close up of something in the museum or our collection for you to guess what it is in the comments!![]()
![]()
What is it?! We are looking for what it might be part of within the museum and, for more of a challenge, what the exact part is and what it does!![]()
![]()
Thanks to everyone who played last week… the answer for September 18 was the landing gear retraction and rotation mechanism for the Curtiss P-40B Tomahawk… see the previous post for the full details!![]()
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Good luck on this week’s challenge! ![]()
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#americanheritagemuseum #historymuseum #visitma
Arsenal of Democracy
M4A1 Sherman (Grizzly) – USA | TANK
Sherman Turret Trainer – USA | TURRET TRAINER
1942 Buick Super (Front) – USA | CIVILIAN AUTOMOBILE
During the Second World War, “Arsenal of Democracy” was the slogan used by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in a radio broadcast delivered on December 29th, 1940 to signal that the then still neutral United States would use all its immense industrial capacity to build the weapons of war needed by the last struggling democracies to save themselves, and the idea of democracy itself, from the threat of conquest by fascism and militarism in Europe and Asia.
Immediately after the United States entered WWII, our entire industrial infrastructure changed exclusively to support the war effort. All companies, large and small changed their production. A good example is the automobile industry. Ford focused a lot of their production on aircraft, primarily the B-24 Liberators – that became the most massed produced aircraft in American History. Cadillac made many components and engines for tanks and armored vehicles. Buick stopped all civilian car production and switched to making engines for the Liberators as well as armored vehicles, and tanks. Buick went on to make over 74,000 radial engines for the B-24, 2,000 M18 Hellcat tank destroyers, 600 M-39 tanks, over 19,000 M4, M10 and M26 power trains, over 2 million cartridge cases and more.
By the end of the war, U.S. industry was by itself out producing all the Axis countries combined. American trucks, tanks and aircraft were also supplied to Allied nations, from Canada to Britain to the Red Army of the Soviet Union. The Arsenal of Democracy exhibit highlights the phenomenal American industrial effort throughout WWII.
