Jobs before ww2

Blacksmith

During WWII, many of the parts required to repair equipment and machinery were still manufactured by blacksmiths. They would handcraft metal tools and components in coal or coke forges. They also created shoes for some of the tens of thousands of horses and mules used in battle.

Cutter of Meat

It does exactly what it says on the label: it slices meat. These men were in charge of preparing full carcasses of beef and lamb for delivery to different units all across the globe.

Horsebreaker

Horsebreakers would train horses and mules for use in mounted forces. They were also taught how to carry packs and be harnessed to wagons and carts.

Although they were not deployed as extensively in World War II as they were in World War I, armies nevertheless depended on horses and mules to traverse terrain inaccessible to motorized formations. For example, the 5332nd Brigade, a long-range patrol force formed for action in Burma's Himalayas, was essentially self-sufficient thanks to the 3,000 mules allocated to it, all of which were imported from the United States.

Artist and Illustrator

A captioned image of four soldiers dressed in World War II military outfits. Three are filthy, tired, and bearded, while the fourth is clean-shaven and furious. "That can't be no combat guy," the caption says. He's looking for a brawl."

Today's military employs professional multimedia illustrators, but during WWII, military painters and animation artists made paintings, graphics, films, charts, and maps all by hand. Bill Maudlin, who created Willie and Joe, prototypes for infantrymen on the front lines, and Bill Keane, who went on to develop Family Circus after his military duty finished, were both successful artists who served in WWII.

During WWII, the military's animation artists were kept quite busy. For the course of the war, the Army stationed troops at Walt Disney Studios to create patriotic films for the general audience and instructional or training films for military personnel.

Grinder of Crystals

During WWII, many radios still needed crystals, generally galena, to function. These crystals would be ground and calibrated by crystal grinders to pick up precise frequencies.

Personal radios were prohibited on the front lines, but since crystal radio sets required external power sources, the enemy couldn't detect them. As a result, soldiers often created crystal radios out of a variety of objects, including pencils and razor blades, to listen to music and news. These illegal radios were termed "foxhole radios."

Cooper

Coopers were soldiers who made and maintained the wooden buckets, barrels, casks, and kegs that were used to load, store, and convey supplies and equipment. Hand tools were employed to repair holes and rescue broken barrels.

Wood was used to package a broad variety of items for shipment up to World War II, but advances in metal and cardboard packing technologies signaled the beginning of the end for hardwood barrels and boxes.

Designer of Models

Military modelers were tasked with making scale models of military equipment, geography, and other elements for use in films, training aids, and operations planning. These soldiers' models were used in Operation Fortitude, which was perhaps one of the finest instances of warfare deceit.

The goal of Operation Fortitude was to persuade the Germans that Allied forces on route to France for the D-Day assault would land in Pas de Calais in July rather than Normandy in June. Model builders made dummy buildings, planes, and landing craft and placed them outside Dover, England, in a camp erected for the fake First US Army Group. Hitler maintained soldiers in reserve for two weeks after D-Day because he felt another invasion was on its way across the Dover Strait.

Pigeoneer

Pigeoneers were in charge of every element of their birds' existence. They would produce, train, and care for pigeons used for message delivery. Some birds would be particularly taught for night flight, while others would learn that food might be found in one place and water in another. According to the United States Army Communications Electronics Museum, pigeons successfully delivered more than 90% of communications.

Sound Recorder for Field Artillery

These soldiers had the most sickly beats. Sound range was one of the most successful methods of locating enemy artillery, mortars, and rockets prior to the discovery of radar. The method was invented during World War I and was employed in battle until the Korean War.

A field artillery sound recorder would monitor an oscillograph and recorder attached to many microphones from a front operating station. When the sound of an enemy gun reached a microphone, it was captured on sound film, and the data from many microphones was evaluated to pinpoint the hostile gun. Many nations still employ the technology, which is commonly used in conjunction with radar.

Airplane Carpenter

Although wood had been mostly phased out in aircraft building in favor of tubular steel by the time World War II began, there was still a need for airplane woodworkers to repair and maintain existing aircraft, particularly gliders and certain training planes.

Wooden gliders, such as the Waco CG-4A, the most extensively used American troop/cargo military glider during WWII, played important roles in the battle. In July 1943, the CG-4A was employed for the first time in the invasion of Sicily. They were most notable for flying airborne soldiers into action during the D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944, and Operation Market Garden in September 1944. They were also utilized in the Theater of China-Burma-India.