The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024.[1] The WPB replaced the Supply Priorities and Allocations Board and the Office of Production Management.[2]
The WPB directed conversion of companies engaged in activities relevant to war from peacetime work to war needs, allocated scarce materials, established priorities in the distribution of materials and services, and prohibited nonessential production.[3] It rationed such commodities as gasoline, heating oil, metals, rubber, paper,[4] and plastics. It was dissolved shortly after the defeat of Japan in 1945 and was replaced by the Civilian Production Administration in late 1945.
In 1942–1945, WPB supervised the production of $183 billion (equivalent to $2.46 trillion in 2023[5]) worth of weapons and supplies, about 40 percent of the world output of munitions. The UK, the USSR, and other allies produced an additional 30 percent, while the Axis produced only 30 percent. One fourth of the US output was warplanes; one fourth was warships. Meanwhile, the civilian standard of living was about level.[6]
^Executive Order 9024 – Establishing the War Production Board (January 16, 1942)
^Herman 2012, pp. 164–65.
^Herman 2012, pp. 164–65, 193–94, 197–99.
^Butler, Pierce, ed. (1945). "War and the book trade". Books and libraries in wartime. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 88–104. OCLC 1349001.
^Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
^Industrial Mobilization for War: History of the War Production Board and Predecessor Agencies: 1940–1945. United States Bureau of Demobilization, Civilian Production Administration. 1947. pp. 961–62. hdl:2027/uiug.30112041826683.
and 26 Related for: War Production Board information
Military production during World War II was the production or mobilization of arms, ammunition, personnel and financing by the belligerents of the war, from...
War Industries Board (WIB) was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies...
The Combined Production and Resources Board was a temporary World War II government agency that allocated the combined economic resources of the United...
rationing of World War II, they were criticized as a wasteful use of cloth, wool being rationed then. In 1942, the WarProductionBoard issued restrictions...
OWM supervised the OES, and also the WarProductionBoard and other agencies. It was re-titled the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion on October...
the WarProductionBoard Limitation Order No. 208 in autumn 1942 was a major impact on the production until the end of the war. US gold production greatly...
war's end." The creation of a handful of agencies helped funnel resources towards the war effort. One prominent agency was the WarProductionBoard (WPB)...
WPB may refer to: WarProductionBoard, a US government agency in WWII War Propaganda Bureau of Britain's Foreign Office in WWI Weekly Playboy, Japanese...
the United States Office of Production Management (1941–1942). In 1942 Nelson became chairman of the WarProductionBoard (1942–1944) when it replaced...
of War Mobilization and Reconversion under Chairmen Byrnes and Vinson, formed in May 1943 as the Office of War Mobilization. WarProductionBoard under...
of mathematics, Michigan State College, 1938–1941; statistician, WarProductionBoard, 1941–1944; mathematical physicist, National Defense Research Committee...
the United States formally entered World War II, the WarProductionBoard superseded the Office of Production Management in January 1942 and the office...
1972. From 1942 to 1945 he was on leave from Campbell's Soup to the WarProductionBoard. Prior to joining Campbell's Soup he was at the A.C. Nielsen Company...
engineer Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau. As a direct result of the war and the WarProductionBoard, by June 1945, over 646 billion units per year were being produced...
establishing the WarProductionBoard (WPB). The WarProductionBoard superseded the Supply Priorities and Allocations Board and the Office of Production Management...
painted black and silver instead. The WarProductionBoard controlled locomotive manufacturers during World War II and had turned down Southern Pacific's...
This article lists production figures for German armored fighting vehicles during the World War II era. Vehicles include tanks, self-propelled artillery...
electric fence controllers and external surface grinders to satisfy the WarProductionBoard. Simplicity built is first riding tractor in 1957 which was the model...
plants". They were initially developed during World War II by General Electric for the WarProductionBoard as a transportable large-scale power generation...
Minutes of the WarProductionBoard January 20, 1942 - October 9, 1945. Historical Reports on War Administration: WarProductionBoard. Documentary Publication...
position on the WarProductionBoard helped him to forge close personal relationships with many of America's top young businessmen. When the war ended, many...
World War II, Savage turned again to military production, making heavy munitions. Savage made most of the Thompson submachine guns used in World War II....
war, Winchester had borrowed heavily to finance its massive expansion. With the return of peace, the company attempted to use its surplus production capacity...
temporary priority for labor from the War Manpower Commission. In March 1944, both the WarProductionBoard and the War Manpower Commission gave the project...
October 7, 1964), an economist with the United States WarProductionBoard (WPB) during World War II, was the head of a large ring of Communist spies in...
Global Information