Delco-Remy parts used in the Heinkel 111

[General Savage]

Back in 1996 I spoke to a German guy who told me an interesting story.
I would like to relate it here to see if further information can be found on the subject of American aircraft parts being sold to Germany right up until late 1941.

This guy said that he had been an engineer who was working at the time in Cairo. He and his mates and their wives were interested in marathon running and their small club would go out for a drive in the desert on weekends to train.
He said that one day they came across a crashed aircraft which on examination proved to be a Heinkel 111. Next to the aircraft were three graves with markers.
Only one of these could be read and it read Helmut Smit 1941.
When they examined the aircraft they found that the electrical parts had Delco-Remy on the name tags.

Would anyone care to comment?

[General Savage]

"Nazi Germany could not have invaded Poland and Russia with out General Motors".

Worth reading.

http://www.ranknfile-ue.org/uen_nastybiz.html

Delco-Remy is a GM subsidiary.

[Don Pearson]

Get a copy of "A Man Called Intrepid". There are details there on the German effort to sway American corporations to their favor.

Don

[General Savage]

OK, thanks Don. Henry Ford was evidently way ahead of them. I own two Fords just the same.

I wonder if you noticed this bit?
Shamelessly, after the war both GM and Ford demanded reparations from the U.S. government for damage to their German plants caused by Allied bombing. In 1967, GM was compensated with $33 million from the U.S. government for the American bombing of its Russelsheim plant.

Frank Savage

[ChrisS]

In 1940 British POW's saw Dunlop tyres on German vehicles, even as late as Normandy Dunlop tyres were still found on wrecks.....

[General Savage]

I guess with all the advantages in Hitler's favour in knowing when he was going to war, huge forward orders would have been placed for virtually everything he could get.
Natural rubber for instance ceased when war was declared following the blockade at sea and Germany went to war with synthetic rubber.
Thinking about rubber tires also makes me think of standardization. I mean German trucks probably had the same size rims as the allies and the British 8th army left tens of thousands of vehicles in France at the time of Dunkirk.
Taking all the tires would have been the order of the day.

[Don Pearson]

Dunlop apparently had a factory in Fulda which produced tires throughout the war...

Don

[General Savage]

Well here it all is for anyone interested. I have been reading through it. Take a look.

http://libcom.org/library/allied-mul...ny-world-war-2

Frank Savage