Sherman Register - Foundry Symbols and Trademarks

Foundry Symbols and Trademarks

by Kurt Laughlin

It has been said that "amateur soldiers talk strategy while professionals talk logistics". In maintaining a truly global army such as that fielded by the United States during World War II (and today), it is essential that every supply item be tracked, coded, and cataloged. To do this, every item is assigned a "part number" that is used as the primary identifier of that item in lieu of a name. On parts of any size, these part numbers are stamped or formed into the piece itself allowing more or less permanent identification of that item, even after assembly into a airplane, tank, or ship. These numbers are very useful in determining whether two similar but not identical pieces are different designs or merely the normal variations between different manufacturers.

Armor steel castings receive a further level of identification. To perform properly, they must not only be of the correct size and shape but also of the correct chemical composition and processing sequence. This information is included along with the part number. Even today, the military specification governing armor steel castings states "To provide positive traceability and identification, the individual castings shall be marked with the following:

(a) Foundry's name or trademark
(b) MIL-C-24707
(c) Pattern or part number
(d) Heat number [identifies what batch of steel is used]
(e) Final heat treat lot number or equivalent traceable code" [identifies what sort of processing was done]

The foundry marks that appear on Sherman parts have long been a mystery to enthusiasts as they generally bore no relation to the final manufacturer of the tank. Through my experience working with foundries, I knew that either the Government or a trade association must have kept a listing of these symbols to allow identification and to avoid duplication. Searches of Government data were fruitless, so I turned to Our Friend The Internet. A search turned up the Steel Founder's Society of America, a casting trade group that was founded in 1902. An email to their researcher earned me a copy of their 1944 "Directory of Steel Foundries in the United Stares and Canada". With this document I was able to identify the foundries responsible for many of the parts on the Sherman from their symbols or company name.

The following table shows the symbols already found on various Sherman parts as well as all foundries listed in the 1944 directory as producing “Army”, “Ordnance”, or “War” castings. Trademarks from these later groups may not have appeared on any Sherman part. In addition, I have included some symbols and information from the 1937 and 1946 editions of the directory.

Foundries sometimes used the initials of the company name as their identification when the part size would not allow their trademark to be cast clearly.

A Note on Drawing Numbers: There has been confusion in the past due to the appearance of a circled letter appearing before a known part number (figure 1). Although this appears to be a foundry symbol, the fact is a little more mundane.

Steve Zaloga passed on to me some copies of Ordnance Department drawings for Sherman parts. I noticed that several had a large circle around the leading characters of the part numbers on the drawings, an unusual drafting practice (figure 2). While doing some research recently, I came across a Military Specification from 1950 that contained the following text:
3.6.1 Ordnance part numbers. – Unless otherwise specified, each finished component shall be clearly and legibly marked by a permanent Ordnance part number. [. . .] The part number will be shown on the part drawing after the name of the part and with the first letter or figure encircled in a 0.45-inch circle. The 0.45-inch circle identifies but is not part of the part number and shall not be included in the marking.

So, it appears that the circled letter sometimes seen was simply a case of the foundry following an instruction to “mark with the part number shown on the drawing” a little too literally. Also, it seems that this mistake was quite common – common enough for the Ordnance Department to specifically warn against it!

A Note on Multiple Symbols: Frequently two symbols that are identifiable as belonging to distinct foundries may be seen on the same part (figure 3). It was not uncommon for a company, when pressed to complete orders, to subcontract some of their work to another company in order to deliver on schedule. Evidence suggests that the requirements in effect at the time led to the inclusion of both company’s trademarks or symbols to be placed on the part.

**Foundry Symbols and Trademarks**
Trademark	Foundry	Found on	Notes
D7XXXXXX or 7XXXXXX, for example 7054366 (Click here for picture)	All	All	Late and post-war Ordnance Department part number. “D” was the paper sheet sizes of the drawings for that part and was seen less often as time went on.
CXXXXX, DXXXXX, or EXXXX, for example C95129, D50878, or E1232	All	All	Pre- to Mid-war Ordnance Department part number. “C”, “D”, and “E” were the paper sheet sizes of the drawings for that part.
ARSS	American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation of Buffalo, New York	Small armor Bogies	Company initials 'ARSS' seem to be used in preference to trademark.
American Steel Newark.JPG	American Steel Castings Company, Newark, New Jersey	Small non-armor	Owned by American Steel Foundries, hence the octagon
	American Steel Foundries Alliance (Ohio) Works
	American Steel Foundries Cast Armor Plant, East Chicago, Indiana	Large armor
	American Steel Foundries East St. Louis ( Illinois) Works	Large armor
	American Steel Foundries Granite City (Illinois) Works	Large armor
American Steel Indiana.JPG	American Steel Foundries Indiana Harbor Works, East Chicago, Indiana	Bogies, small armor, small non-armor
	Auto Specialties Manufacturing Company, St. Joseph, Michigan
	Buckeye Steel Castings Company, Columbus, Ohio
	Columbia Steel Company, Pittsburg and Torrance, California	Large armor
	Continental Foundry & Machine Company, Coraopolis, Pennsylvania	Large armor Bogies	This plant was originally the Duquesne Steel Foundry, hence the “D”. Around 1945 the “D” was replaced with a “P” (Coraopolis is near Pittsburgh).
	Continental Foundry & Machine Company, East Chicago, Indiana	Large armor	This plant was originally the Hubbard Steel Foundry, hence the “H”. Around 1945 the “H” was replaced with a “C”.
	Continental Foundry & Machine Company, Wheeling, West Virginia	Large armor
	Eastern Malleable Iron Company, Wilmington, Delaware
	Enterprise Engine & Foundry Company, San Francisco, California
	Falk Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
	Farrell-Cheek Steel Company, Sandusky, Ohio	Small non-armor
FISHER	Fisher Tank Division of General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Michigan	Small armor
F	Fort Pitt Steel Casting Company, McKeesport, Pennsylvania
	General Steel Castings Corporation, Eddystone, Pennsylvania and Granite City, Illinois	Large armor
	Hanford Foundry Company, San Bernadino, California
	Hartford Electric Steel Corporation, Hartford, Connecticut
	Kincaid-Osburn Electric Steel Co., Inc., San Antonio, Texas
	Lakey Foundry & Machine Company, Muskegon, Michigan
	Lebanon Steel Foundry, Lebanon, Pennsylvania	Large armor
	Michigan Steel Casting Company, Detroit, Michigan	Sprocket hubs
	Mountain State Steel Foundries, Parkersburg, West Virginia
	National Malleable and Steel Castings Company, Cicero, Illinois	Bogies
	National Malleable and Steel Castings Company, Cleveland, Ohio
	National Malleable and Steel Castings Company, Melrose Park, Illinois	Bogies
	National Malleable and Steel Castings Company, Sharon, Pennsylvania	Bogies
	Ohio Steel Foundry Company, Lima, Ohio	Small non-armor
	Omaha Steel Works, Omaha, Nebraska
OSF	Ordnance Steel Foundry Company, Bettendorf, Iowa	Bogies
	Pittsburgh Steel Foundry Corporation, Glassport, Pennsylvania	Large armor	Also PSF
	Pratt & Letchworth Company, Inc., Buffalo, New York	Small armor
	Rogers Iron Works Company, Joplin, Missouri
	Roxbury Steel Casting Company, Boston, Massachusetts		A subsidiary of Hartford Electric Steel Corporation, may use same trademark
	Sivyer Steel Casting Company, Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Small armor
[Standard Steel.jpg]	Standard Steel Works Division of The Baldwin Locomotive Works, Burnham, Pennsylvania
	Symington-Gould Corporation, Depew, New York
	Symington-Gould Corporation, Rochester, New York	Large and small armor
	Texas Electric Steel Company, Houston Texas
	Union Steel Castings, A division of Blaw-Knox Company, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Large armor
	Unitcast Corporation, Toledo, Ohio	Small non-armor
	Western Alloyed Steel Casting Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Diamond A.jpg	Unknown	Bogies
	Unknown	Small non-armor
	Unknown	Bogies
CTC	The Travelcar Corporation, Detroit, Michigan	Large armor	In the style of monograms, the company’s initials are TCC, which was also the assigned Ordnance Department manufacturer’s symbol.
GAD	Unknown	Bogies
HYL	Unknown	Bogies
	Unknown	Bogies
LOL	Unknown	Small non-armor
MNMO	Unknown	Bogies - HVSS	Possibly designates a manganese molybdenum (Mn-Mo) steel casting
MT	Unknown	Bogies
OKM	Unknown	Small armor	Possibly a division of Inland Steel
	Unknown	Large armor
	Unknown	Large armor
	Unknown	Large armor
W Oval Bar.JPG	Unknown	Small non-armor
X Shield B297675.JPG	Unknown	Small armor Small non-armor
BU	N/A		Believed to be a mark indicating a particular type of heat treatment
HT (Click here for picture)	N/A		Almost certainly a mark indicating a particular type of heat treatment
LO	N/A		Believed to be a mark indicating a particular type of heat treatment
SER (Click here for picture)	N/A	Any armor	The number stamped on the adjacent pad is the serial number of the casting
	N/A	Any	This part has the “E” of the part number enclosed in a circle. This is not a foundry trademark but simply a part number variation. It appears on parts from several foundries. Note the Union Steel Castings trademark after the part number, the serial number of the casting, and the “BU” symbol.

Sources:

Directory of Steel Foundries in the United States and Canada. Barrington: Steel Founder's Society of America, 1944.

Note: this page is under continuing review.
Please contact me if you can add to and/or correct the information on this page.

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Page created: 28-03-2000
Last update: 26-07-2000

	A Note on Drawing Numbers: There has been confusion in the past due to the appearance of a circled letter appearing before a known part number (figure 1). Although this appears to be a foundry symbol, the fact is a little more mundane.
	Steve Zaloga passed on to me some copies of Ordnance Department drawings for Sherman parts. I noticed that several had a large circle around the leading characters of the part numbers on the drawings, an unusual drafting practice (figure 2). While doing some research recently, I came across a Military Specification from 1950 that contained the following text: 3.6.1 Ordnance part numbers. – Unless otherwise specified, each finished component shall be clearly and legibly marked by a permanent Ordnance part number. [. . .] The part number will be shown on the part drawing after the name of the part and with the first letter or figure encircled in a 0.45-inch circle. The 0.45-inch circle identifies but is not part of the part number and shall not be included in the marking.
	So, it appears that the circled letter sometimes seen was simply a case of the foundry following an instruction to “mark with the part number shown on the drawing” a little too literally. Also, it seems that this mistake was quite common – common enough for the Ordnance Department to specifically warn against it!
	A Note on Multiple Symbols: Frequently two symbols that are identifiable as belonging to distinct foundries may be seen on the same part (figure 3). It was not uncommon for a company, when pressed to complete orders, to subcontract some of their work to another company in order to deliver on schedule. Evidence suggests that the requirements in effect at the time led to the inclusion of both company’s trademarks or symbols to be placed on the part.