World War II Production
1941-1945
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The process of Shell Casing Production
 These rough forgings arrived at Acklin via New York Central Railroad from a variety of sources. It was Acklin's job to turn these into finished shell casings. |
 Then, the centers of the shell casings were hollowed out. |
 Then the shells were turned on a lathe. |
 A hole was then bored into the nose of each shell. |
 And then the nose of each shell was tapped. |
 The open end of each shell was then shaped into a point. |
 The open end of each shell was then polished. |
 Then the face end of each shell was polished. |
 A base was then welded to the face end of each shell. |
 Each nearly completed shell casing was then turned on a lathe a final time. Notice the women along the back working alongside the men. |
 The shell casings were then subjected to rigorous testing. Here the shells are being tested for hardness using the Brinell Hardness Test. |
 In this picture the shells are being undergoing a number of tests in a laboratory. |
 After testing the shells were heat treated for protection |
 The shell casings were then painted. |
 After coming off the paint line the shells were then packed in cardboard and shipped. |
 Very few parts were wasted in shell production. This photo shows Acklin employees salvaging scrap metal. |
 In this photo Acklin employees are sharpening their tools. |
 Sometimes the stacks of shells got pretty large! |
 Women worked alongside the men at Acklin during the War Effort, as shown in this photo of an unidentified woman working on a lathe. |
 More women than men worked at Acklin during the war. Here three women are unloading the finished shells preparing them for packing. |
 Eye protection was mandatory for most jobs on the shell line. Here a man stands placing shells on a conveyor. |