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Delco-Remy in WWII
DR WWII Aircraft Products
DR WWII Vehicle Products
DR and LST-393
DR WWII Kings Mills Plant
DR WWII Anitoch Foundry
Delco-Remy in
World War Two
World War Two
Products and Product Applications
Marine Equipment for
Boats, Ships and Landing Craft
This page updated
3-29-2018.
Delco-Remy Marine Equipment in World War
Two: Thirty-eight models of
generators, 11 models of regulars, 61 models of starting motors, 8
models of ignition distributors, 7 models of ignition coils,
supercharger blower rotors for marine diesels, pistons for marine
diesels with diameter of pistons ranging from 4 to 17 inches in
diameter, diesel engine intake air pre-heaters, diesel engine fuel
pre-heaters, diesel engine governor castings, and propeller pitch
controls for sub-chasers and some landing craft.
P-T Boats: Delco-Remy supplied 2,235 starters,
generators and generator regulators for the three each Packard engines
that powered 745 PT boats built during WWII. The PT boats were
used in all parts of the military theaters during the conflict.
Higgins Industries of New Orleans, LA built
201 PT boats during WWII, including PT-305 that served in the
Mediterranean Theater of Operations. PT-205 participated in 77
combat missions, sank three boats, and supported the Allied landings at
Elba and Southern France. The location of PT-305's boat house on
Lake Pontchartrain on the north side of New Orleans is four miles from
where she was manufactured in 1943.
Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
This is the starboard Packard 4M2500 engine in
PT-305. The Delco-Remy cranking motor and DC generator are plainly
visible from the deck. Author's photo added 3-31-2018. The
handle protruding from the rear of the engine is the transmission shift
lever. The transmission had three positions: forward,
neutral, and reverse. Each engine had to be manually shifted by
the mechanic in the engine room while the engine rpms were controlled by
the helmsmen. Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
The DR DC generator on the starboard engine.
Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
Visitors are not allowed in the engine room.
This photo and the following photo were taken with a tele-photo lens in
an attempt to read the model and serial numbers on the cranking motor.
Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
The name Delco-Remy can be read, but not the
rest of the information. The rectangular data plate most likely
indicates this was built at the DR WWII motor plant in Kings Mill, OH.
Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
The DC generator can just be seen under the
exhaust pipe on the port engine. Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
The first display a visitor encounters
when entering John E. Kushner Restoration Pavilion at the National WWII
Museum in New Orleans, LA is this cutaway of a Packard 4m2500 marine
engine. The Delco-Remy cranking motor on the engine is prominently
visible from the entrance of the building. In September 2017 the
National WWII Museum was ranked the Number 2 museum in both the USA and
the world by TripAdvisor Traveler's Choice. Visitors from around
the world see the Packard cutaway with its prominently displayed DR
cranking motor. Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
All the visitors that view the engine at one
of the world's most visited museums will see the Delco-Remy naval
starter and its distinctive oval DR tag. Author's photo added
3-29-2018.
The starter is model 824 and has serial number
8904. Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
This
Delco-Remy DC generator is located on the opposite side of the Packard
engine. While not as easy to see, the DR tag is still
identifiable. Author's photo added 3-29-2018.
One can actually see the Delco-Remy DC
generator on the Packard engine through the window. With all of
the reflections from the glass the generator is somewhat obscured, but
it and the DR tag are identifiable as such. Author's photo added
3-29-2018.
This Packard Marine Engine still has its
Delco-Remy starter and generator installed. Author's photo
from the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, TX.
Author's
photo.
The DR Tag from the DC generator.
Author's photo.
Delco-Remy starters
came on each of the 2,235 Packard marine engines installed in PT boats
during WWII. Author's photo.
Author's photo.
Author's photo.
The table below summarizes the number of WWII
landing craft built with Detroit Diesel Division of GM
engines. The 43,060 diesel powered landing craft were equipped
with a total of 57,189 6-71 engines, each
using a Remy starter, generator, and voltage regulator. Plant 5
also cast pistons for Detroit Diesel, and they were used in the landing
craft engines.
|
Detroit Diesel
Engine World War Two Landing Craft Applications |
|
Type Landing Craft |
Number built |
Type Engine |
Engines per Landing Craft |
Landing Craft using Detroit Diesel Engines for propulsion |
Number of Detroit Diesel Engines for propulsion |
Number of 6-71 for ship's power |
6-71 Engines Usage |
Comments |
| LCP(L) |
2,193 |
Various including
Gray Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 |
1 |
1,097 |
1,097 |
|
1,097 |
Assumes 50% Gray
Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 as that was the preferred
engine. |
| LCP(R) |
2,572 |
Various including
Gray Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 |
1 |
1,286 |
1,286 |
|
1,286
|
Assumes 50% Gray
Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 as that was the preferred
engine. |
| LCV |
2,366 |
Various including
Gray Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 |
1 |
1,183 |
1,183 |
|
1,183
|
Assumes 50% Gray
Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 as that was the preferred
engine. |
| LCVP |
23,353 |
Gray Marine
64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 or Hudson built Hall-Scott 210 hp
gasoline powered Invader |
1 |
19,353 |
19,353 |
|
19,353 |
Some LCVPs
received the Hudson built Hall-Scott 210 hp gasoline powered
Invader engines due to the fact Detroit Diesel could not supply
all of the engines the military was requesting. Hudson built
4,000 of these so I have used that number to subtract from
23,353. |
| LCM(3) |
8,631 |
Gray Marine
64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 or
Kermanth 100 hp six cylinder gasoline engines |
2 |
4,223 |
8,446 |
|
8,446 |
Assumes 50% Gray
Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 as that was the preferred
engine. |
| LCM(4) |
2,718 |
Gray Marine
64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 or
Kermanth 100 hp six cylinder gasoline engines |
2 |
2,039 |
4,078 |
|
4,078 |
Assumes 75% Gray
Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 as that was the preferred
engine. |
| LCM(6) |
2513 |
Gray Marine
64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 or
Kermanth 100 hp six cylinder gasoline engines |
2 |
1,885 |
3,770 |
|
3,770 |
Assumes 75% Gray
Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 as that was the preferred
engine. |
| LCT(5) |
470 |
Gray Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71 |
3 |
470 |
1,410 |
|
1,410 |
|
| LCT(6)
|
960 |
Gray Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel
6-71 |
3 |
960 |
2,880 |
|
2,880 |
|
| LCI |
923 |
Detroit Quad
Diesels (6051) |
2 |
923 |
1,846 |
1,846 |
9,230 |
The 6051 was the
designation for four 6-71s tied together. The ship's power on
the LCI was provided by two 6-71 engines driving 60KW
generators. |
| LCS(L) |
130 |
Detroit Quad
Diesels (6051) |
2 |
130 |
260 |
260 |
1,300 |
The ship's power
on the LCS(L) was provided by two 6-71 engines driving 60KW
generators. There is still on LCS(L) in existence at Mare
Island in San Francisco, CA. See the links page for more
information. |
| LST |
1,052 |
Detroit Diesel
6-71 |
3 |
1,052 |
0 |
3,156 |
3,156 |
The ship/s power
on the LST was provided by three 6-71 engines driving 100KW
generators. |
| Totals |
47,881 |
|
|
34,601 |
45,609 |
5,316 |
57,189 |
This does not
include any spares. Also, this is almost a year's production
for Detroit Diesel during the WWII. |
|
Type Landing Craft |
Number built |
Type Engine |
Engines per Landing Craft |
Landing Craft using Detroit Diesel Engines |
Number of Detroit Diesel Engines |
Number of 6-71 for ship's power |
6-71 Engines Usage |
Comments |
23,353 LCVPs were built in the United States
during WWII by Higgins Industries, Chris-Craft and Owens Yacht. This
LCVP, constructed by Owens Yacht, is owned by the Roberts Armory, a
private museum, in Rochelle, IL. It is one of 2,000 built by Owens
Yacht. Of the 23,353 originally built, it is one of only eighteen
still in existence. What makes this LCVP significant is that it
was one of the 19,353 that came equipped with a Detroit Diesel 6-71
engine. Charles Roberts, owner of Roberts Armory, has done a remarkable job
of restoring this all wooden vessel to the way it looked when it was
built in 1945. Author's
photo.
The Detroit Diesel 6-71 engine with the cast
blower visible. The rotor for the blower was cast in Delco-Remy
Plant 5. Author's photo.
Here the Delco-Remy naval starter is visible. Photo courtesy of Chuck C. Roberts of the Roberts Armory.
Model 1108734. Photo courtesy of Chuck C. Roberts of the Roberts
Armory.
This LCVP was manufactured in 1944 by
Higgins during WWII, and was kept in a barn in Varna, IL until 2012 when
the Ohio Motorpool purchased it. It has not been restored but is
in the condition it was found. It is a true original example of
the famous "Higgins Boat." Author's photo from the 2017 MVPA
convention at the former Cleveland Tank Plant added 7-31-2017.
The Delco-Remy starter can be seen on the
engine. Author's photo from the 2017 MVPA convention at the former
Cleveland Tank Plant added 7-31-2017..
The DR Tag is still on the starter, but no
longer readable with the rust on it. Author's photo from the 2017 MVPA
convention at the former Cleveland Tank Plant added 7-31-2017.
Author's photo from the 2017 MVPA convention at the former Cleveland
Tank Plant added 7-31-2017.
A Hudson Invader marine engine comes off the
assembly line in Detroit during WWII. Delco-Remy supplied the
electrical equipment for the 4,004 engines built. The Remy
starting motor and solenoid are visible in this photo.
This contemporary photo of an Invader
engine was taken at the Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Museum. The starter,
solenoid and DR tag are obvious. Author's photo.
Author's photo.
The distributor is located on the left front
side of the engine. Author's photo.
The Delco-Remy distributor on the Invader
engine is a marine type, to protect the internal parts from salt
corrosion. Author's photo.
Delco-Remy distributor model 4242, serial
number 8204. Author's photo.
The Remy DC generator is located below the
distributor. Author's photo.
The USS Cod of the Gato Class submarines is on display along the Cleveland, OH waterfront.
It was one of over 200 US submarines in the Gar, Gato, Baleo, and Trench
class of submarines powered by diesel engines built by the
Cleveland Diesel Division of General Motors. Delco-Remy Plant 5
cast pistons for marine diesel engines. The pistons ranged in size
from 4 to 17 inches in diameter, and would have been used by Detroit
Diesel Division, Cleveland Diesel Division and Electro-Motive
Division engines. Author's photo.
The USS Cod had four Cleveland Diesel engines. Two of them are
visible in this photo. Author's photo.
Landing Ship, Tanks, or LSTs used three
Detroit Diesel 6-71 engines to provide for ship's power. The 1,051
LSTs built had Delco-Remy starters, generators and voltage
regulators on these engines. Pistons for the two Electro-Motive
Division of GM propulsion engines were cast in DR plant 5.
Author's photo.
Motor Torpedo Boat Engineer's Handbook: Below is a section of the Engineer's Handbook
on the PT boat. It contains several locations where the Navy
specified Delco-Remy components.
Delco-Remy supplied both 75 amp and 40 amp
28 volt DC generators for US Navy PT boats.
For the 75 amp generator Delco-Remy supplied
a vibrating finger type voltage regulator and for the 40 amp generator a
carbon pile type regulator. The Division also supplied the
cranking motor.
Delco-Remy
in WWII
DR WWII Aircraft Products
DR WWII Vehicle Products
DR and LST-393
DR WWII Kings Mills Plant
DR WWII Anitoch Foundry
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