Originally Posted by
Sixty Fiver
One will find that during wartime, companies that made high precision parts for non military applications would often re-tool for military production because they had the type of workforce to handle these demands.
Off the top of my head:
Singer Sewing Machine and Union Switch & Signal built M1911 handguns. (Singer's were limited production, and go for 10's of thousands of dollars on the collector market).
Westinghouse built Mosin-Nagant rifles for the Russians.
IBM, Saginaw Steering Gear, Standard Products, Rock-Ola, Underwood, National Postal Meter, Quality Hardware, and Inland (division of GM) built M1 carbines.
International Harvester built M1 Garands.
The Big Three auto manufacturers did trucks, tanks, and other assorted stuff.
Kaiser Steel built transport ships.
Some guy named Higgins (down in Louisiana?) developed the Higgins Boat that pretty much revolutionized getting an assault force landed on the beach.