bigpigeon.us webpage World Wars > WW II Data, updated by RAC 25 Aug '19.
This webpage is in process. I intend it to describe the scope and organization of America's World War II effort.
During World War II, the War Department and the Navy Department were separate cabinet agencies during WW II; in 1947 they were merged into the new Department of Defense.
The War Department supported the United States Army, which consisted of three components, with a combined peak strength around 11.2 million:
The Navy Department supported the following:
The merchant marine was not part of the military, and was overseen by the War Shipping Administration during most of WW II. Civilian merchant mariners had a high death rate; 215,000 served, 8,600 died. In addition, many merchant marine ships carried Navy gun crews, where 145,000 served and 1,800 died.
United States Army Deaths (K denotes 1,000):
Army Ground Forces:
Army Air Forces:
During World War II, the War Department and the Navy Department were separate cabinet agencies during WW II; in 1947 they were merged into the new Department of Defense.
The War Department supported the United States Army, which consisted of three components, with a combined peak strength around 11.2 million:
- Army Ground Forces
- Army Air Forces, peak strength 2.4 million.
- Army Service Forces
The Navy Department supported the following:
- United States Navy, peak strength 4.2 million.
- United States Marine Corps, peak strength 660,000.
- United States Coast Guard (transferred from the Treasury Department during WW II).
The merchant marine was not part of the military, and was overseen by the War Shipping Administration during most of WW II. Civilian merchant mariners had a high death rate; 215,000 served, 8,600 died. In addition, many merchant marine ships carried Navy gun crews, where 145,000 served and 1,800 died.
United States Army Deaths (K denotes 1,000):
Army Ground Forces:
Army Air Forces:
- 88K died in service.
- 52K battle deaths, of which 46K were killed in action.
- 36K non-battle deaths, of which 26K were killed in aircraft accidents.
Sources for the WW II Data webpage
- The webpage header photo, "Mobile Data Processing", shows the inside of a 32nd Machine Records Unit truck. It is taken from an on-line book, http://www.ibiblio.org/cizewski/signalcorps/32mru/32mruhistory.pdf, courtesy of Donna Barolla, the niece of the book's late author, Otis F. Wollenberg. In the pre-computer era of World War II, the United States Army used a number of mobile data processing centers. Card punch machines were used to code data onto what were popularly called IBM Cards and massive decks of cards were then processed by different machines such as sorters and tabulators. Printers would then generate reports.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Air_Forces
- http://www.armed-guard.com