Chris-Craft:1942 to 1946 The War Years

From ClassicBoatWiki

Jump to: navigation, search

Chris-Craft was not the first pleasure boat manufacturer involved in war-time production. The company followed the lead of others, such as Gar Wood Industries and Higgins, in their pursuit of lucrative government contracts. Gar Wood had been building target boats for the U.S. Army since the late 1930s, and it was to Higgins that Chris-Craft lost their first bid in building government sanctioned, 30-foot landing craft. Higgins went on to build these craft, but Chris-Craft gained valuable experience dealing with the U.S. Government. The company went on to win their first government contract in February of 1941, this time as a supplier of marine engines to other builders.

Chris-Craft's second government contract was an order for 27 22-foot U22 Utilities. These boats were used by the U.S. Army Air Corps, as rescue boats to retrieve downed airmen. An order for three modified standardized cruisers followed.

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Chris-Craft's pleasure boat manufacturing ceased after depletion of 1942 model year inventory. Chris-Craft then set their sights towards on war-time manufacturing in fulfillment of its first large government contract.

During World War II, Chris-Craft's experience in assembly line manufacturing methods, allowed them to quickly retool for the fist of several ambitious contracts; building 36-foot landing craft, 36-foot [U.S. Navy] picket boats, 27-foot Army target boats, 42-foot command boats and 60-foot quartermaster boats.

By 1945, Chris-Craft had built over 10,000 landing craft for the government, earning the Company the coveted Army-Navy Award for Excellence at each plant on more than one occasion.

Chris-Craft also learned valuable lessons in dealing with the government. The Company streamlined its design process, and was able to bring models into production much quicker. Chris-Craft also gained valuable experience working with new materials, such as plywood, and modern adhesives such as Thiokol™, a polysulfide rubber adhesive sealant. The transition to these new materials was significant, as it marked the first time the company strayed from traditional plank on frame construction. The new construction methods were invaluable in establishing new Chris-Craft Divisions after WW II—the Kit Boat Division and the Cavalier Division—both of which focused on extensive use of plywood.

Chris-Craft reentered pleasure craft production starting with the 1946 model year.

[edit] References

Retrieved from "http://www.chris-craft.org/wiki/index.php/Chris-Craft:1942_to_1946_The_War_Years"