General Motors Aeroproducts Division Plant Blueprints Collection
Scope and Contents
This collection contains 75 blueprints of the Aeroproducts Division of General Motors, located in Vandalia, Ohio, arranged in two series:
Series I: Early Blueprints contains 58 blueprints dating between 1940 and 1941. These are alphabetically grouped by building. The drawings include the Garage, Gate House, Factory Building, Manufacturing Building, New Test Building, and the Office & Manufacturing Building.
Series II: Later Blueprints contains 17 blueprints dating between 1957 and 1992, arranged chronologically, and reflect the changing names of the plant from Aeroproducts, Allison Division, to Inland Division, to Delco Products. These blueprints include plumbing, sewer, parking lot, and loading dock drawings.
Dates
- Creation: 1940 - 1992
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1940 - 1941
Creator
- General Motors Corporation. Inland Manufacturing Division (Organization)
- General Motors Corporation. Delco Products Division (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on accessing material in this collection.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright restrictions may apply. Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
In 1935, W. J. Blanchard and Charles MacNeil founded the company Engineering Products, Inc., in Vandalia, Ohio. In 1940, the company was acquired by General Motors Corporation and became GM’s Aeroproducts Division. Many of the plans in this collection reflect the period from 1940 to 1941 when GM created many construction and development plans for this newly acquired division. In March 1941, Aeroproducts Division moved into its new factory in Vandalia, Ohio.
The Aeroproducts Division produced Aeroprop aircraft propellers. The Aeroprop propellers were made in two-, three-, and four-blade designs, as well as a six-blade contra-rotating version, and were used on the P-39, P-51, P-63, B-26, and B-24 aircraft. In addition to the Vandalia location, particularly during the height of WWII, GM also produced propellers at the Frigidaire Plant Four in Moraine. Following WWII, Aeroproducts produced parts for other GM divisions, in addition to propellers.
The Vandalia plant was later part of the GM Allison Division, GM Inland Division, Delco Products, and later Delphi Chassis.
Extent
2.6 linear feet (4 oversize folders, 75 total blueprints)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
The collection consists of large blueprints of structures and systems at the General Motors Aeroproducts Division plant located in Vandalia, Ohio. The majority of the blueprints date to 1940-1941, but later blueprints reflect the plant’s subsequent iterations as GM Allison Division, Inland Division, and Delco Products.
Arrangement
The blueprints are arranged in two series: Series I: Early Blueprints, 1940-1941; Series II: Later Blueprints, 1957-1992
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The collection was donated to Special Collections and Archives by Edward A. Council on October 27, 2015.
Condition Description
Masking tape around edges of each blueprint needs to be removed. It is dried out, brittle shedding dust.
Processing Information
Finding aid written according to DACS standards by Sarah Allison, November 2015; updated and revised by Lisa Rickey, October 2017.
Subject
- General Motors Corporation. Aeroproducts Division (Organization)
- General Motors Corporation. Inland Manufacturing Division (Organization)
- General Motors Corporation. Delco Products Division (Organization)
- Title
- Guide to the General Motors Aeroproducts Division Plant Blueprints Collection (MS-506)
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Lisa Rickey
- Date
- 2017 Oct 11
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
Wright State University Libraries
Special Collections and Archives
3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy
Dayton OH 45435-0001 USA
937-775-2092
library-archives@wright.edu
