Can you remember the wartime speed limit and the rationing of motor fuels in World War 2?

Question

No, I'm not a student too lazy to do his own research to write a term paper. I'm a writer with an interest in the war years and would like to hear your stories. Do you have some memories to share?

Was the speed limit 35 mph nationwide?

Did you have metal (there was no plastic) shields over your headlights to block all the light from shining out except through a little narrow slit?

Was your home blacked out at night with no interior lights visible from outside the house?

Did you have paper tape pasted over your windows to prevent the glass from shattering?

Did you carry your food ration coupons with you at all times, or did you store them "safely" somewhere in the house?

Which foods were rationed, and what was your weekly ration?

How many gallons of gas did you get per week?

Did anyone in that era have more than one car?

Were there restrictions on travel in trains and streetcars?

Was your use of the telephone rationed?

Do you remember military traffic speeding?

Answer 1

YES!
I remember the Sunday that we returned from a ride in the country in our car and seeing all the adults in our neighborhood out on their lawns, crying. I remember thinking....'grownups don't cry...what could be wrong?......It was Sunday; Dec. 7, 1941! I was 4 yrs. old........
I don't remember speed limits, but I do remember ration stamps for nearly everything, especially meat, butter, gas, tires, and even nylon stockings. Ration stamps were carried with you just like money.
The car headlights had shields over the top part, our houses had 'blackout curtains' and shades and there was an air raid warden on every block who checked that everyone had their shades down when it got dark.
I was in one real air raid, [I was 4 or 5], which turned out to be a 'false alarm'....it was one of our planes which was experiencing radio problems.... We all had air raid shelters in our basements, but I was so scared when the sirens went off I crawled under my bed and they couldn't get me out!
Any one in the military had first choice on any bus, or train. [There was little air flight for civilians at the time unless you worked for someone special].]
We had no paper tape on our windows that I remember, but there are many who don't realize and aren't taught that our U.S. west coast was attacked at least 3 times by Japan. Two times were bombs, the third was a sub.
The first bomb was a suicide mission from a small plane that took off from a sub and flew just east of Brookings, Oregon. He then dropped an incendiary bomb in our forest...but it was too wet to do any damage, and went out. It was in the winter and we have lots of rain. Later, after the war the pilot, [he had survived and been picked up by the sub], presented the city of Brookings his Samurai Sword as an apology. When the gentleman passed away, a group from Brookings went to Japan and gave the sword back to his family....
The second bomb was by balloon and was a UXB [unexploded bomb]. A family who went on a picnic accidentally found it and some of the children and adults were killed.
The last was a sub which ran aground in one of the 'broiler bays' along the Washington coast.
Most of us had one car, or took the bus. Our telephone service was fine locally, but we had to call the 'long distance operator' to make a call out of our local area. I can't remember the restrictions, if any.
I remember long military convoys of trucks on our major highways, [which weren't 'freeways' then, just two lanes], as well as large groups of bombers flying low over us on their way from Boeing to the Pacific theater of operations.
Almost every family had a 'victory garden' planted where ever we could put one, and when a little older I would be part of a group of kids who would go around with small wagons and have paper, and can drives for the war effort, as well as buying victory stamps at school. [When you filled a book you got a victory bond], which matured at a certain age.
I also remember wearing dog tags with our name, address, and blood type on them.
Both my parents were in the Army, [my Dad fought in New Guinea and my Mom was in the Medical Corp. stationed at an Army Hospital. My Nana took care of me and also worked in a shipyard in the cafeteria. I, too, joined the Army at 18 and served 3 yrs.
What I remember MOST was .....'we' were all working together, for the most part...[but then I was young]........

Answer 2

I can not help you with most of the things you ask but there is a story. I was born at the beginning of 1942, less than two months after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. My family were farmers so we raised the crops. I lived on a large farm owned a very rich man who had in with the government. On his farm during the summer they had war prisoners, Italians. I was about two or little older I would escape my mother and she would find my with prisoners. I was treated as a king, I was give food that you could not buy. I had a younger brother so was pushed a way because my mother had to care for him. Now with the prisoners I got all the attention, most of them had children and cared for me like one of theirs. I don't know if this helps you or not but there it is.

Answer 3

You are asking people who would be 70-80 years old.
I can tell you what Mom told me. I have seen real ration stamps for gas, flour, lard, butter, coffee, tea, and she told us if a family had two cars they were expected to give one to the resource drive for rubber and metal to be recycled for military use. She live in a small farming community where bombing wasn't likely, so I never heard stories about the hooded lights on the cars, but she did tell us about blackout curtains, which had to be carefully drawn a dusk. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Go visit the waiting rooms of the VA Hospitals. Visit the VFW too. And the American Legion Halls.

Answer 5

Before even trying to answer any of the questions you raise in your (very interesting) topic, I have to get one vital point sorted out in my own mind. That is ... what country you are asking about?

The nature of your questions tells me that the choice is probably between USA and Britain. The answers to your questions will be VERY different between those two choices.

I am going to assume that you are asking about the USA. Why? Because you ask about "gallons of gas". Brits would talk about "gallons of petrol".

No chance of answering ALL of your questions in this single reply. Below, I will just address your question about gasoline rationing.

If that is a helpful answer, I suggest that you Email me (via Y!A) and I will try to dig out some more stuff along the same lines for some (but probably not all) of your questions. However, please note that I am traveling away from home at present, and won't be able to start on responding to any such Email until almost the end of July. Sorry!

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[1] "How many gallons of gas did you get per week?"

The gasoline ration was not fixed and stable throughout the entire war. It varied in line with the inventory of fuel in the USA; it varied by region, since the eastern US was not connected by pipeline to Texas in the early part of the war, and U-boats were sinking dozens of coastal tankers; and of course, it varied due to the ever-growing demands for gas from a fast expanding military. By 1944, the US military was using 25,000,000 gallons of gasoline a day.

Civilian gasoline rationing was primarily the responsibility of the OPA (Office of Price Administration). In Spring 1942, the OPA introduced gasoline rationing for civilian automobiles. To obtain ration coupons, civilians had to register their automobiles with the OPA. The basic "A-book ration" available for all registered autos was 3 or 4 gallons per week. No distinction was made on the basis of engine size / mpg, etc. But it was possible to register for an increased allowance based on the use of the automobile. For example, doctors received an increased ration; so too did cars used for car-pooling in which 3 passengers would ride to work with the driver; and persons with a long drive to work received a slightly greater ration. No fuel was supposed to be used for pleasure / leisure motoring. It was just to get people to and from work, where public transport could not provide the answer.

Gasoline rationing was greatly abused by a Black Market that developed almost immediately. Some (not all) gas stations would pump gas without ration coupons for customers willing to pay a hefty premium. But, to get a re-supply for their pumps, gas stations had to turn in used coupons matching the amount of fuel they wanted for re-supply. To do this, Black Market gas stations bought extra coupons from thieves who stole them from local OPA offices; or bought them from counterfeiters; or bribed local officials to supply them.

To give you some idea of the scale of the Black Market in gasoline: in June 1943 alone, between 31 million and 37 million gallons worth of gas coupons were stolen from local OPA boards and sold on to corrupt filling stations to cover the gas they had sold illegally. Forgers found it a lot easier to produce counterfeit coupons than currency bills: they charged between 8 and 15 cents for each counterfeit one-gallon coupon. It is estimated that by 1944, 2.5 million gallons of gas were being sold via the Black Market every single day.

The 3 or 4 gallons per week quota for "A-book" gasoline ration endured for about two years. The effect was to reduce civilian average annual mileage from 11,000 miles (in 1941) to approx 4,300 miles.

Answer 6

Extend the question! someones gotta answer it sometime