“A-C Workers Help Sink Subs”

We of Allis-Chalmers – Vol. III, No. 4, July 1943, Pg 2.

How would you like to help sink a Nazi sub?

The greatest obstacle today to American victory in the war is the deadly Nazi sub fleet. These murderous underwater craft travel the sea lanes in wolf packs. They torpedo merchant  ships without warning. They machine gun weaponless seamen as they struggle to get away from their sinking ships. They violate every rule of fairness and humanity. They are, in fact, a continuous threat to the safe passage of our American soldiers on their way to war zones.

The Nazis have often boasted that their submarines would break the offensive power of the United Nations. With their subs, they expect to send to the ocean’s bottom most of the military aid of America hopes to deliver to our allies.

That’s where WE who work at Allis-Chalmers come into the story. And a thrilling story it is . . .

*  *  *

For – if you work on main or auxiliary d-c generating sets . . . if you help in the construction of main ship propulsion d-c motors . . . if you share in making propulsion or auxiliary electric control equipment . . . if you have a part in making motors for auxiliary drives, pumps for various ship uses, condensers for steam-driven ships, etc. . . . if you play any part in this vast program at Allis-Chalmers – you are helping sink Nazi subs!

Allis-Chalmers is one of the country’s largest suppliers of equipment for the new U.S. Destroyer Escort fleet.

And, although Hitler is staking everything on his all-out submarine campaign, devoting all available shipbuilding facilities in Germany for U-boat construction, it is now confidently believed that we have the answer to this Nazi challenge in the new Destroyer-Escort ships.

These ships are literally submarine killers, built with this one though in mind. The Destroyer-Escort is fast, streamlined, seaworthy, and filled to the bulwarks with armament designed to kill subs.

“It’s smaller than today’s destroyer, it’s steel, and it carries weapons against aircraft and submarines,” is the official description of the escort.

Actually, the escort ship is a shepherd to merchant ships in convoy, relieving heavier naval units for battle duties. Offensively – and the escort ship is strictly designed for attack – it can maneuver swiftly and can more than match the submarine’s best underwater speed. It has guns heavy enough to shoot it out with submarines on the surface. It has anti-aircraft guns of various calibre, depth charges for anti-sub work, and torpedo tubes for offensive action against surface raiders.

Around 300 feet long and 35 feet in the beam, the Destroyer-Escort goes anywhere over the high seas – on the busy ship lanes to England, Russia, North Africa, the Middle East, and the South Pacific.

While it is estimated that Hitler is building submarines approximately twice as fast as we have been able to sink them under previous anti-sub measures, we are now able to turn out escort ships with such rapidity as to promise a definite solution to the Nazi sub threat.

But, of course, no escort ships can take up their duties on the high seas without the type of equipment we make – propulsion and auxiliary generators and motors, pumps, electrical control equipment, condensers, and many other Allis-Chalmers items.

That’s why the work we do at Allis-Chalmers is so vitally important to the war effort. For the equipment we make is urgently needed – today!

Naval authorities have stated repeatedly that every minute counts is getting equipment into their hands . . . for this may be the minute an American ship is sunk by a Nazi submarine . . . a ship that would have been saved if the Navy had the equipment WE of Allis-Chalmers make.

Let’s be proud of our share in the job of equipping these new Destroyer-Escorts . . . proud that WE of Allis-Chalmers are able to take part in killing subs.