Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company: From Electric Motors and Equipment to the Depth Bomb

During World War One, many Missouri companies supported the war effort by manufacturing weapons. One such company was Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company. Located in Wellston, Missouri, near St. Louis, Wagner was established in 1891 by H.A. Wagner and Ferdinand Schwedtmann. Prior to the War, Wagner manufactured electric motors and equipment. Before the United States' entered the War, Wagner supported the Allies by creating war materials for Britain and Russia. Once the United States entered the war, Wagner was one of the first companies to receive United States Government contracts for weapons. The booklet, War Activities Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company St. Louis, provides a very detailed description of these weapons. This booklet, as well as Wagner's large photograph collection, is located at the Missouri History Museum. Selected images from the photograph collection have been digitized by Over There project staff and will be available on our website next year.

Below is a sampling of the digitized images.




Wagner's Workforce

    

 



Like many companies during the war, Wagner hired women and African American men to supplement their workforce. In fact, by 1918, women made up one quarter of Wagner's workforce. Women played an integral role in the company and wanted to be compensated accordingly. That's why in March of 1918, they helped lead a strike against the company for better wages and a shorter work day.

Weapons Manufactured by Wagner
Wagner manufactured the following weapons for the United States Government:

For the Navy:

• The Depth Charge
• Four Inch Naval Guns
• Three Inch Gun Mounts
• One Pounder Guns
• Dummy Naval Shells.

For the Army:

• Artillery Wheel Hubs and Rim Parts
• Eight Inch Howitzer Shells
• 155 M.M. Howitzer Shells
• Mark 111 French Type Detonator Fuses
• 155 M.M. Adapters

                           

According to the booklet, War Activities Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company St. Louis, out of all of the weapons Wagner manufactured, it believed that the depth charger was its "most notable participation in winning the war." The depth bomb (pictured above) was more successful than any other weapon at destroying German submarines.  Below are images of the depth bomb in action.

 

After the War, Wagner stopped manufacturing weapons but quickly resumed making them during WWII. In 1967, the company merged with Studebaker and in 1981 it closed its Wellston, Missouri, plant.

Sources:

Corbett, Katharine T. In Her Place: A Guide to St. Louis Women's History. St. Louis: Missouri Historical Society, 1999. Print.

Feurer, Rosemary. "Radical Unionism Ch 1 Section 3: WWI." Radical Unionism Ch 1 Section 3: WWI. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 July 2014.

"The History of Wagner Electric." The Wellston Loop RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 July 2014. "Lehman Brothers Collection." Wagner Electric Corporation -. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 July 2014.

"StudebakerHistory.com Timeline." StudebakerHistory.com Timeline. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 July 2014.

The Wagner Electric Company Collection, Missouri History Museum, St. Louis, Missouri.

War Activities Wagner Electric Manufacturing Company St. Louis. St. Louis: Wagner Electric, 1919. Print.