Henkels & McCoy Timeline: 1943


1943
The US economy is on a wartime footing. Defense work for Henkels & McCoy this year includes contracts for Electrical Distribution work at the Pomona Naval Air Station in New Jersey and bituminous paving work at the Armor Plate Plant in Philadelphia. H&M also completes Electrical Distribution work at the Naval Training Station in Bainbridge, Maryland... In 1943 H&M also constructs a high line crossing over the Susquehanna River. One tower is on an artificial island in the river. Because no heavy equipment could cross the river, the tower on the island is constructed by hand. The project is dangerous, but Henkels & McCoy completes the job with few problems and no accidents... H&M helps to create a seven- acre dike in Barnegat Inlet, New Jersey for the US Engineering District... Also this year, Andrew L. Lewis joins the company (left, in a 1945 photo). Andy will rise to President of Henkels & McCoy and serve in that capacity from 1962-1972.
World War II rages on, but now Hitler’s grip on North Africa, Europe and Russia is beginning to erode. The Soviet Red Army will hand the Nazis their first major defeat, at Stalingrad, and begin to recover their western territories, putting Germany on the defensive for the first time in the war. In North Africa, US and British forces will drive the Wehrmacht's Afrika Korps out. Regrouping in Italy, the Germans will retreat after Allied invasions in Sicily and Naples. Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator, will be deposed and Italy will join the Allies. In the Pacific, US and Allied forces begin to drive the Japanese from strategic islands, launching a series of successful invasions. Guadalcanal, Tarawa, New Guinea, Bouganville and the Solomon and Gilbert Islands will become household words as war news is broadcast at home. General Douglas MacArthur continually surprises Congress with his low losses.	US paratroopers training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Photo: Library of Congress
January 6 US Army Air Force B-17s and B-24s make a daylight bombing raid on Rabaul, in New Guinea, a major Japanese naval and air base for the projected Japanese invasion of Australia. January 15 Construction of the Pentagon is completed in Arlington, Virginia by John McShain, a Philadelphia builder. It is the world's largest office building. January 23 British take Tripoli, Libya. Rommel’s Afrika Korps is in full retreat. February 2 Soviets defeat Nazis at Stalingrad. February 8 The United States takes Guadalcanal from the Japanese. March The ultra-Top-Secret Manhattan Project begins in earnest. The goal is for the Allies to create and refine an atomic superweapon before the Nazis can create theirs. German scientists have been secretly working on remote delivery systems (guided missiles) for years. They will begin falling on London shortly. Time is of the essence. May 12 German resistance in North Africa is over. Hundreds of thousands are taken prisoner. June 19 The Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers receive permission from the NFL to merge teams for one season. The team, known officially as Phil-Pitt, is nicknamed the "Steagles" by fans. June 25 Mussolini is arrested on the order of King Victor Emmanuel; on June 26th Marshal Badoglio is appointed prime minister. The new government immediately enters secret negotiations with the Allies for an armistice. July 10 Allies land on Sicily. September 3 Allies invade southern Italy. Italy surrenders unconditionally to the Allies. German armies retreat and take up defensive positions in the northern two-thirds of the peninsula. Mussolini will be rescued from prison by German commandos and installed as head of a puppet government in northern Italy. Mass executions of dissenting Italian civilians by Nazis near Rome underscore the fact that the war is far from over for Italy. October 13 Italy declares war on Germany. November 28 Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin open Tehran conference; agree on final plans to defeat Germany. December 31 Frank "The Voice" Sinatra (right) plays the Paramount Theatre in New York City. Thousands of teenaged bobbysoxers playing hooky from high school swoon as he croons through the matinees. Also in 1943: Teflon is invented by DuPont scientists. Eggs will continue to stick to frying pans until the product is aggressively marketed in the 1970s. Hollywood Goes to War Casablanca wins the Best Picture Oscar for 1943. Paul Lukas wins the Best Actor award for his portrayal of a German anti-Nazi underground leader who flees the country, only to be hurled back into danger when suspected by Nazi agents operating in America, in Watch on the Rhine. Other war-theme films up for Academy Awards in 1943 include In Which We Serve, a story of a ship told in flashbacks as survivors of a U-boat attack cling to a life raft. Written-directed-produced by -- and starring Noel Coward, the film receives a special award for Outstanding Production Achievement. Also nominated is Gary Cooper, Ingrid Bergman and others for their work in For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway’s saga of doomed love in the Spanish Civil War Back to Main Calendar Previous Year \| Following Year