The conversion of the huge American automotive industry to mass production of weapons was one of the key factors in the Allied victory against the Axis. Not only were the weapons of war turned out in massive quantities by American factories, but many of the original prewar designs were extensively modified to make them more suitable for mass production. A good representative example of this was the well-known Oerlikon 20mm cannon, originally a Swiss design that was produced under license by most of the belligerents. In American hands, the Oerlikon design was considerably simplified. This resulted in a weapon with the same excellent combat characteristics as the original, but that was easier and quicker to manufacture, and required fewer resources in terms of raw materials, machine tools, time, and money.
9 июл 2024
