War Production Board
The War Production Board (WPB) was an American government agency established during World War II to oversee and coordinate industrial production for the war effort. Headed initially by Donald Nelson, a former executive from Sears, Roebuck, the WPB operated through a network of twelve regional offices and 120 field offices. Its primary mission involved monitoring the construction of factories that produced essential war materials, including airplanes, ships, tanks, and munitions. Throughout its operation, the WPB faced challenges in balancing the needs of private industry with military demands, particularly in defining its broad mission. As the war progressed, the board gradually lifted production restrictions, reflecting the changing needs of the wartime economy. The WPB played a significant role in directing wartime production, totaling approximately $185 billion, and contributed to the efficiency of postwar economic reconversion. It was officially dissolved on November 3, 1945, with its functions absorbed by the Civilian Production Administration.
War Production Board
Identification Federal agency charged with converting American industry to wartime production during World War II
Date Established on January 16, 1942
Under the supervision of the Office of War Mobilization, the War Production Board (WPB) was responsible for procuring materials for the war effort, regulating industrial output, allocating resources to government agencies, prohibiting production of nonessential products, regulating wages and prices, and prioritizing and allocating scarce materials.
First headed by former Sears, Roebuck executive Donald Nelson, the WPB coordinated industrial production for the war effort through twelve regional offices and 120 field offices. Nelson and his successor, Julius Krug, struggled to define the WPB’s broad mission while balancing the demands of private industry and the military. The WPB monitored the construction of factories that churned out airplanes, ships, tanks, and munitions. It lifted most of its production restrictions during the last months of the war. On November 3, 1945, the WPB dissolved, and the Civilian Production Administration absorbed its remaining functions and programs.
Impact
The WPB directed the production of armaments and supplies totaling $185 billion. It streamlined wartime production of American industry and created networks among manufacturers that made the postwar economic and industrial reconversion much more efficient.
Bibliography
Civilian Production Administration. Program and Administration. Vol. 1 in Industrial Mobilization for War: History of the War Production Board and Predecessor Agencies. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1947.
Kennedy, David M. Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Koistinen, Paul A. C. Arsenal of World War II: The Political Economy of American Warfare, 1940-1945. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2004.
Nelson, Donald M. Arsenal of Democracy: The Story of American War Production. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1946.