DATA: Cost of Manufacturing WWII Weopons

Modeling Subjects Armor
1

I got this from an e-mail from some of the guys in my restored vehicles club, so I cant vouch for accuracy. Some pretty cool figures though. Just goes to show you how expensive war is; this is WWII currency too!

$13. Luger P08 9mm pistol.
$15. M1911 .45cal pistol. This is a WWI price.
$24. MP40 SMG.
$26. MP44 assault rifle. This is a late war price when production costs were lower.
$26. M1917 Enfield rifle. WWI price.
$28. 7.92mm Mauser 98k rifle.
$31. 7.92mm wz.29 bolt action rifle (Poland).
$70. Thompson SMG. Spring 1942 price.
$83. M1 Garand rifle. Price is for July 1942 Winchester.
$100. MG42 machinegun. Late war price.
$105. M14 rifle. 1960 price.
$131. MG34 machinegun. The tripod costs an additional $160.
$270. 7.92mm wz.28 BAR (Poland).
$396. 7.92mm wz.30 HMG (Poland).

Anti Tank Guns.
$2,292. 3.7cm/45 Pak36.
$4,240. 5cm/60 Pak38
$4,800. 7.5cm/48 Pak40.

AA Guns.
$2,400. 2cm Flak38 (single barrel).
$13,440. 8.8cm Flak18.

Field Artillery.
$32. 105mm howitzer shell.
$14,400. Sd.Kfz.7 half track prime mover.
$324. 8cm mortar Gr.W.34.
$480. 12cm mortar Gr.W.42.
$6,560. 10.5cm leFH18 howitzer.
$15,400. 15cm sFH howitzer.

Armored Vehicles. These prices include weapons and other normally installed equipment.
$9,024. Sd.Kfz.7 medium half track (3 ton / infantry squad).
$20,000. Panzer MkIIC tank. 10 tons. 20mm autocannon. 15mm armor.
$34,181. 7TP light tank. 10 tons. 37mm main gun. 17mm armor.
$37,096. R35 light tank. 10 tons. 37mm main gun. 43mm armor.
$40,000. Panzer MkIIIG (and later) tank. 50mm main gun. 30mm armor.
$46,000. M4 (Sherman) tank. 35 tons. 75mm main gun.
$46,387. Panzer MkIVG (and later) tank. 75mm main gun. 50mm armor.
$60,000. Panzer MkV (Panther) tank. 75mm/70 main gun. 80mm armor.
$119,920. Panzer MkVIE (Tiger) tank. 88mm main gun. 100mm armor.

$30,943. T-34/76 tank. 164,000 rubles. Official exchange rate. Real USD price is roughly twice this amount.

Aircraft.
$23,000 P-36 fighter.
$50,000. F6F Hellcat fighter.

price data for 1941 for some German aircraft types, via Olaf Groehlers GdLK, 1910-1980:
Without engine / with engine, in Reichsmarks (RM)
Bf 109E : 58 000 / 85 970
Bf 110C : 155 800 / 210 140
He 111H : 203 900 / 265 650
Ju 88A : 245 200 / 306 950
Ju 87B : 100 300 / 131 175
Ju 52 : 125 800 / 163 000
Do 17 : 185 500 / 235 00

Type VII U boat. 2.5 million marks.
Lancaster heavy bomber. 42,000 pounds sterling. 1943 price. This price is not verified.

1940 Man hours required to build airframe.
4,000. Me-109 fighter.
10,300. Hurricane fighter.
15,200. Spitfire fighter. Another source states 13,000 man hours.
20,000. Ju-88 medium bomber.

1942 Man hours required to build airframe.
3,500. Me-109 fighter.
5,400. Fw-190 fighter.
12,000. P-51A fighter / dive bomber.
30,000. He-219 night fighter.

Aircraft Engine Prices.
$25,000 Packard built RR Merlin engine.
$19,000 Allison V-1710 engine.
$16,500 Wright R-2600 engine.
$ 11,188 DB601 engine. (27,970 marks)
$10,000 Wright R-1820 engine.
45,000 to 65,000 marks for a BMW801 engine during 1942.

$2,765,000 for a Gato class submarine.
$2 million for a Libety ship.
$10,800 for a DUKW
$12,500 for a LCVP.
2.5 million marks for a Type VII U boat.
48 million Yen for an Agano class CL.

2

This got me thinking, do I want that porsche, or that Tiger tank?

3

Just $60k for a Panther? hehe. I’d definitely plunk down $100 for an MG-42. The cost of ammo would kill me. LOL

4

I think I’ll cash in my allowance for the mg-42.

Anyone know how much a mosin-nagant rifle would have cost to produce back in WWII? Because nowadays they’re only $100 or so here in the states.

I was hoping to someday purchase an mp-40… but its gonna be tough to spend 6-10k on one seeing as they only cost $24 to produce.

5

We had a lieutenant have his M1911A1 pistol stolen during REFORGER 88. He had gone into a gasthouse for dinner and left the pistol under the seat of his Jeep. When he returned it was gone. The monetary cost to him was $12 for the .45. It ended his career though.

Our M3 Grease Gun submachine guns, which came 2 per tank, were somewhere around $25 a piece.

6

Interesting figure$.

Priced out a plain M1911 Colt .45 ACP in Canadian dollars is 500$ +/-

Why change perfection? All the tricked out versions with fluted recoil compensator still are only as accurate as the shooter. When at the range that is the only gun I rent, the rest just do not compare.

7

The vast majority of the .45s we had in Germany were at least twice the age of the tanker using it. While it was once a great weapon, the old ratty things rattled when fired. We did have one brand new one and the commander took it. It was sweet to fire and extremely accurate. If you were used to your ratty .45 and knew where to point it, it was fairly dependable.

We switched to 9mm because of our European allies; they insisted on a standard 9mm ammo round.

8

The vast majority of the .45s we had in Germany were at least twice the age of the tanker using it. While it was once a great weapon, the old ratty things rattled when fired. We did have one brand new one and the commander took it. It was sweet to fire and extremely accurate. If you were used to your ratty .45 and knew where to point it, it was fairly dependable.

We switched to 9mm because of our European allies; they insisted on a standard 9mm ammo round.

9

The rental .45’s at the gun range would most likely be worn to the extreme, a newly tooled version would be sweet to shoot!

I always get looks mounting a shoot & see gopher target over the standard torso silhouette. That soon fades as the .45 blazes holes in the smaller rodent!

10

You mentioned a Hellcat. I remember a documentary where they talked about workers VOLUNTEERING to build a extra Hellcat, working extra hours off the books. I wonder whatever happened to that plane.

11

While I love the 1911 .45 the original design by John Moses Browning was far from perfect hence the reason for the models built today with the goal of making the gun more enjoyable to shoot. I have shot numerous WWII originals and find them merely utilitarian at best and downright dangerous at worst.

The biggest downfall was the full size hammer and lack of a beavertail grip safety. Invariably after the first mag I usually get a bad case of hammer bite signalled by the two lacerations 1/4" apart in the web of my strong hand. The original grip safety has no hump necessitating a low grip height causing excessive muzzle flip, although in Mr. Browning’s defense he felt there was no need for a grip safety whatsoever. Many times in battle fails to fire were reported and most of the cause was the shooter choking up on the grip thus not disengaging the grip safety. This kind of failure can easily get a person killed.

The combat sights are a joke and almost totally useless. Even in broad daylight the sights are hard to pick up as they rise barely 1/8" above the slide and most shooters agree they are far too narrow. In combat shooting situations I like to at least get the front sight on target. This is problematic at best with the original sights and in low light they might as well not even be on the gun.

Now I do agree that a fluted compensator as those found on full comp race guns is not necessary in everyday situations but as far as 1911s go, I’ll take mine with a humped beavertail grip safety, bobbed Comander style hammer and Tru Glow or Tritium adjustable sights. Oh yeah, and also make mine with a matched barrel and bushing.

Disclaimer: I have never been in combat nor have I ever been in the millitary but I have shot in competition on combat style courses although I did most of my work with a tricked out Ruger Security Six as back in the '70s the cost of making a 1911 run reliably and accurately at speed was way out of my price range.

Pat.

Edit: Just checked and you can get a nicely tricked out Taurus PT1911 that will run all day with just about any ammo you want to put through it for about $600 and change. My son has one and it’s a pure joy to shoot.