War Supplies Limited

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Doug Knight

According to the Dept of Munitions and Supply history, Canada manufactured 75-mm shells for the Americans following the Lend-Lease agreement. War Supplies Limited, a Crown Corporation whose function was to sell Cdn supplies to the US,

This 1943 publication notes: "War Supplies Ltd was formed in May 1941 to negotiate and receive orders from the US Government for war supplies to be manufactured in Canada."

Were they not involved in supplying some 5,714 Universal Carriers to the USSR? And since War Supplies was located in the USA, this led to the rumour the US built Universal Carriers?

Hanno

[Doug Knight]

Hanno

War Supplies was an ammunition group hq in Montreal.

See http://www.lac-bac.gc.ca/pam_archive...()&&back_url=()

This is the text from the link.

The Allied War Supplies Corporation was a Crown Corporation authorized under the Munitions and Supply Act, 1939 (3 George IV Ch.4), to facilitate the production of explosives and chemicals in Canada during the Second World War. The corporation was incorporated on 23 July 1940, a time when the allied forces were in desperate need for all forms of munitions. To meet this objective Allied War Supplies Corporation administered, directed and supervised the construction of plants producing a range of chemicals and explosives required for the war effort.

The corporation was situated in Montreal where it worked in conjunction with the Chemical and Explosives Branch of the Department of Munitions and Supply. Once a requirement had been identified for the production of a particular chemical, the corporation moved to identify contractors for the design and building of the plant. There were a number of cases where the corporation oversaw the expansion of existing privately owned plants for wartime production. However, in the majority of cases the plants constructed for Allied War Supplies were government owned. The siting of plants was conducted in conjunction with the Canadian National Railway, whose property offices carried out appropriation or expropriation of property on behalf of the crown. The actual construction work was done by private companies, most often Defence Industries Limited, a special wartime subsidiary of Canadian Industries Limited, (C.I.L.). By the end of the war Allied War Supplies Corporation had directed the construction or expansion of 48 plants, producing a range of explosives, chemicals and chemical warfare agents.

The Allied War Supplies Corporation final activities involved the closing down and decommissioning of the 40 plants which were under its direct control. In April 1946 the records of the corporation were transferred to the Department of Reconstruction and Supply, and with a resolution of the corporation's Board of Directors on 10 April 1946, the Allied War Supplies Corporation ceased operations.

So I think another agency must have been involved with the carriers.

Doug

[Roger Lucy]

War Supplies Ltd (WSL) was the agent through which a Lend-Lease order for 1300 M4A5s (Ram IIs) was placed with Montreal Locomotive Ltd. in early 1942. The first 300, at least, of the British Sextons were also ordered in 1943 from WSL (see AHQ report 38 para 25
http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-...qga/ahq038.pdf)
Roger Lucy

[servicepub (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

This 1943 publication notes: "War Supplies Ltd was formed in May 1941 to negotiate and receive orders from the US Government for war supplies to be manufactured in Canada."

Were they not involved in supplying some 5,714 Universal Carriers to the USSR? And since War Supplies was located in the USA, this led to the rumour the US built Universal Carriers?

Hanno

I believe that you may be thinking of the Mutual Aid program which was Canada's equivalent to the US Lend-Lease.
Clive