Copy cats, machines and such.

[GrauGeist]

Its not even the Netherlands. (its complicated)

Ok...so it must be near where the Pennsylvania Dutch live, then...

 

[Marcel]

Ok...so it must be near where the Pennsylvania Dutch live, then...

It is. Pennsylvania is only 6000 km from where I live.

 

[pbehn]

The British are best because we are Anglo Saxons and we invent games for others to beat us at.

 

[at6]

The article discusses machine tools up to 1930 and Germans buying US machine tools. Were German rockets, unmanned pulse jets, axial jet engines and all the other gubbins the US took out of Germany in 1945 made with US machine tools?

Maybe and maybe not. They had the capability of designing their own tools. and followed an even bigger one.

 

[GrauGeist]

Maybe and maybe not. They had the capability of designing their own tools. and followed an even bigger one.

To be honest, the U.S. industry in the 1930's was a leading manufacturer of precision equipment and they looked to foreign markets in order to stay solvent because the depression at home was still in full effect.
So there is some merit in the OP about German purchases and there is no doubt that there would have been Russian, Japanese and other nations that had American equipment or tooling in use by the time WWII broke out in the late 30's.
Interestingly enough, in the Tank discussion, one thing that wasn't brought up, was that when Germany started ramping up tank production, the two companies in Germany that could have helped greatly; Ford and Opel (GM) were excluded from the bidding process - the two companies that were experienced in rapid tooling and mass production.
Another example of American influence in foreign markets, the Japanese purchased Douglas DC-3s and licensing in the 30's and this became the L2D "Tabby" manufactured by Nakajima and Showa, complete with the Ha-33 radial engines, which were licensed P&W R-1690 radials.
Going full-circle with the P&W R-1690, it was also manufactured as the BMW132, which powered well over a dozen Luftwaffe aircraft.
Of course, the Soviet's DC-3 (Li-2) was powered by the ASh-62, a licensed Wright R-1820...

 

[XBe02Drvr]

To be honest, the U.S. industry in the 1930's was a leading manufacturer of precision equipment

The area around Springfield, VT, generally known as "Precision Valley" had a worldwide reputation as a center for ultraprecision machine tools until the 1960s. At the 1964 World's Fair one of the companies thought they would awe the planet by drilling a hole in a human hair, which they did. A representative of a German company asked to inspect the drill bit, wheeled a portable rig up to the American booth, and handed the drill bit back ten minutes later with a hole drilled through it! Springfield is now a ghost town with drug, alcohol, and mental health problems.

 

[pbehn]

The area around Springfield, VT, generally known as "Precision Valley" had a worldwide reputation as a center for ultraprecision machine tools until the 1960s. At the 1964 World's Fair one of the companies thought they would awe the planet by drilling a hole in a human hair, which they did. A representative of a German company asked to inspect the drill bit, wheeled a portable rig up to the American booth, and handed the drill bit back ten minutes later with a hole drilled through it! Springfield is now a ghost town with drug, alcohol, and mental health problems.

The place I worked at in Germany had three CNC band saws, incredible kit.

 

[Greg Boeser]

Well the Germans had the best optical equipment.

 

[XBe02Drvr]

Well the Germans had the best optical equipment.

Until supercomputer refraction algorithms leveled the playing field.
Cheers,
Wes

 

[special ed]

O-2 driver, Your story about the drill bit happened to us at Kodak as well. In the mid 80s we were about to introduce our blood analyzer to Germany. As two very small orifices had to be kept clean, we were supplied with two very small drill bits to be twisted in our fingers to clean out the openings. The project head sent some along in case they couldn't find any in Germany. In two weeks the smaller of the two ( smaller than a hair) was returned with a note to examine with a microscope. There were two small holes 90 degrees apart drilled through the drill bit. Photos were taken and hung on the class room wall.

 

[special ed]

The story about Ford and Opel reminded me of another Ford incident. In 1920 Russia wanted to catch up with the world in farm equipment and contracted with Ford to build a truck plant. The Ford trucks would be for farming as well as the military. Ford sent people to design the plant and set up the assembly line. Upon completion, the Americans were arrested for espionage and sent to Siberia as spies because they knew of the new military truck plant. There was a TV program which featured the grand daughter of one of the Americans never heard from again. When you see WW2 videos of the Russian front, that is why the Russian trucks look like a Ford model C.