World War II

World War II. ALCO Goes To War. , Shortly after the outbreak of world war two in 1940, the U. S. Government invited ALCO and nine other industrial companies to prepare for the possible involvement of the United States in the war by manufacturing heavy armor for the U.S. Army. Within months, operations at the Schenectady plant went into overdrive, with three shifts a day and employment doubling from 2400 to 5000 by mid-1941. Plant facilities at Schenectady were also increased. Several giant assembly buildings were added to ALCO's infrastructure., The government's first order was for 685 M3 General Grant tanks. ALCO delivered the order on August 19, 1941. The Government also directed the production of a secret weapon at ALCO's Schenectady plant - the M7 motorized howitzer, nicknamed "Priest.” This weapon proved highly effective in 1942 at the Second Battle of El Alamein, where 1000 M7s contributed to the Allies' stunning victory over the Germans under General Irwin Rommel. By the battle's end on November 1942, 36 German tanks remained operational out of the 249 originally deployed. Italian tank divisions suffered even heavier losses., To improve its tanks, the Army ordered ALCO to produce more M4 Sherman tanks. It delivered the first 1000 M4s in August 1943 and another 1000 over the next three months. Output reached an apex by the end of 1943 and employment at ALCO hit a high of 15,000 workers by the war's end. , ALCO's production proved crucial in helping the Allies win the war. Over five years of war, it had built 7,362 M3 and M4 tanks, 3,314 M7 howitzers, 2,574 gun carriages, 2.3 million shells, 410,000 bombs, 1036 steam and 157 diesel locomotives as well as marine boilers and turret rollers for the Navy's ships., (Above) ALCO's Schenectady assembly line., (Right) The M7 howitzer in action. ALCO, Credits: The Schenectady County Historical Society