Delco Remy Division - Super Charging Blowers

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World War Two Product Documents
Supercharging Blowers

This page updated 12-4-2020.

The supercharger blower described in the document below was one of four products that were supplied to the Detroit Diesel Division of General Motors for use on its 6-71 six-cylinder 225hp diesel engine. The other three Delco-Remy products on the 6-71 were the starter, DC generator and voltage regulator. The 6-71 was the workhorse small diesel engine of World War Two and was used extensively on armored vehicles and various landing craft during World War Two. The Delco-Remy super charging blower was a high precision product that was instrumental part in keeping American armored vehicles and landing craft operating at top efficiency.

Plant 7, with the assistance of the Antioch Foundry in Yellow Springs, OH, were responsible for the cost effective casting of the two blowers that went into each supercharger. Interestingly enough, the Muncie Battery Plant was the point of final assembly of the blowers into the case and end pieces. As of July 1943, Delco-Remy was delivering 6,500 blowers per month to Detroit Diesel.

The next two tables show the variety of armor and landing craft in which the Delco-Remy supercharger blower was used. These numbers also apply to starters, DC generators and voltage regulators. From the data below, a minimum of 95,551 blowers were required for OEM shipments during World War Two.

Detroit Diesel Engine World War Two Tank Applications
Armored Vehicle	Number built	Type Engine	Engines per tank	Total Engines	6-71 Engines per tank	Total 6-71 Engines	Total Blowers Required	Comments
British and Canadian Valentine	3,981	6-71	1	3,981	1	3,981	3,981
British Valentine SP Anti-Tank with 17 pounder main gun	665	6-71	1	665	1	665	665
M3 Grant/Lee	913	6046	1	913	2	1,826	1,826	The 6046 was two 6-71 engine blocks working together as one power plant.
M4A2 Sherman Tank	10,968	6046	1	10,968	2	21,936	21,936	This was about 20% of the total M4 Sherman production in WWII. The US Army preferred gasoline powered tanks, since that was the fuel it normally used in its vehicles. The Detroit Diesel powered M4A2 Shermans served either with the USMC, which had access to US Navy diesel fuel, or were sent overseas as part of Lend Lease.
M10 Tank Destroyer	4,993	6046	1	4,993	2	9,986	9,986	The M10 Tank Destroyer was a US Automobile Industry product being built by the GM Fisher Body Division at Grand Blanc, MI.
Totals	21,520			21,520		38,392	38,392	This does not include any spares.

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	Total Blowers Required	2-71 Engine Usage	Comments
LCP(L)	2,193	Various including Gray Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71	1	1,097	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	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	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	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	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	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	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	1,410
LCT(6)	960	Gray Marine 64HN9/Detroit Diesel 6-71	3	960	2,880		2,880	2,880
LCI(L)	923	Detroit Quad Diesels (6051)	2	923	1,846	1,846	9,230	9,230	1,846	The 6051 was the designation for four 6-71s tied together. The ship's power on the LCI was provided by two 2-71 engines driving 20KW generators.
LCS(L)	130	Detroit Quad Diesels (6051)	2	130	260	260	1,300	1,300	260	The ship's power on the LCS(L) was provided by two 2-71 engines driving 20KW generators. There is still one 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	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	57,189	2,106	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	Total Blowers Required	2-71 Engines Usage	Comments

The engineering report below reveals that Delco-Remy was not only casting the rotors, but then assembling them into the final blower unit. The assembly operation was in the Muncie battery plant and as of July 1943, Delco-Remy was delivering 6,500 blowers per month to the Detroit Diesel Division of General Motors. 6,500 units per month may be a misprint as Detroit Diesel built an estimated 95,000 6-71 engines during World War Two. This production of 95,000 engines took place from 1941 to 1945. As popular as the 6-71 was during the war, Detroit Diesel had a difficult time keeping up with demand. If Delco-Remy was producing 6,500 units a month in July 1943, after a year it would have produced 78,000 blowers. It would be building more blowers than Detroit Diesel could use. This would have been wasted production capacity for Delco-Remy. D-R was also strapped to meet production during the war. All companies were. It could have used the this capacity for other products needed by the military. 650 units per month would be more reasonable. Delco-Remy production started in late 1941 or early 1942 on the blowers. Maybe the 6,500 units was total production over that time period. We will never know. It should be noted that from the "Supercharging Blowers" engineering report that D-R was not the only manufacturer of the blower. It was the largest, but there was other unit being made by other companies to provide Detroit Diesel with enough blowers to keep production running.

In spite of what the question on how many were being produced, this was still a significant product that Delco-Remy made for the winning of World War Two, as there was a blower on each 6-71 diesel engine it built. These were used in Sherman tanks, Wolverine tank destroyers and most of the landing craft during the war. It is hard to understand why there was not more emphasis on this product in "Our War Job" or the February 5, 1945 issue of the Clan. One reason the final assembly of the blowers is overlooked is that the final assembly was in Muncie, and the both 'Our War Job" and the Clan are Anderson centric. There is no mention on the number of batteries in the Clan that the Muncie battery plant provided for the war effort.

It is noted in the document that Delco-Remy was the largest supplier of the supercharging blowers to Detroit Diesel.

The document in this section is courtesy of the Madison County Historical Society in Anderson, IN.

From "Our War Job."

This and the following images are from a Gray Marine student manual used to train sailors, coastguardsmen and soldiers on how to maintain a Gray 64HN9 marine engine which was the main engine used on most of the 34-foot wooden landing craft of World War Two. It was the main engine used on these landing craft which included the Higgins boat. The Gray 64HN9 was a Detroit Diesel 6-71 engine that was modified for marine operation. The 64HN9 also had a Delco-Remy starter, generator and voltage regulator installed on it.

Yes, soldiers operated landing craft. The U.S. Army had its own fleet of landing craft that it operated during World War Two. The U.S. Coastguard provided most of the crews that manned and operated the U.S. Navy's small landing craft during World War Two.

There were 36 different parts that had to be assembled into the final unit.

The tolerances of the rotors was critical for the proper operation of the blower.

An M4A2 Sherman tank with a Delco-Remy blower on each of the two 6-71 engines in the tank. Photo courtesy of David Jackson, Jr.

This is a cut-away of an M4A2 Sherman tank on display at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa, ONT. Author's photo.

This is a cut-away of the Detroit Diesel 6046 engine which is two 6-71s married together. Author's photo.

This cut-away is unique in that it shows the Plant 7 cast internal rotors inside the assembled super charger blower assembled by Delco-Remy. Author's photo.

This Detroit Diesel 6-71 tank engine is on display at the Ontario Regiment Museum in Oshawa, Ontario. The Delco-Remy starter and solenoid can be seen in this photo. Author's photo added 12-4-2020.

Of more interest is this view into the output end of the blower. This shows some of the machined parts that were part of the unit. Author's photo added 12-4-2020.

The Fisher Body Tank Arsenal in Grand Blanc, MI built 5,368 M10 Wolverine tank destroyers with the Detroit Diesel 6046 engine. The M10 required 10,736 blowers. Author's photo from the Patton Museum.

This is one of 3,981 Valentine tanks built in both Canada and Great Britain that used a Detroit Diesel 6-71 engine. Author's Photo from the Canadian War Museum.

The Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel (LVCP) Author's photo.

The supercharger blower on the 6-71 engine can be seen in the photo. Author's photo.

Delco-Remy built-blowers were used on the Detroit Diesel engines that supplied ship's power to many of the LSTs built during the war. Author's photo.

Here is one of the three 6-71 ship's power engines on LST-325 in Evansville, IN. Part of the tank level deck has been cut open so visitors can look down to see the engines inside the auxiliary engine room. The hole is covered with Plexiglas for safety reasons, but also impairs clear photos the engines. The orientation is looking towards the front of the ship. The blower is underneath the two air cleaners. Author's photo.

A US Navy LCI(L) (Landing Ship, Infantry (Large)) underway during WWII with Delco-Remy equipped supercharger blowers.

The Landing Craft, Tank was powered by three Detroit Diesel engines equipped with Delco-Remy blowers.

This Landing Craft, Personnel (Large) (LCP(L)) built by Higgins Industries of New Orleans, LA is on display at the National World War Two Museum, also in New Orleans. Many of the LCP(L)s were powered by 6-71 engines with their Delco-Remy supercharger blowers. Author's photo.

Related information can be found on the Antioch Foundry Page.