Wartime Cutting
A glimpse into mid-century manufacturing and flame-cutting technology during the final months of World War II.
June 1945
A worker at DeBourgh Manufacturing Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, cuts sheet metal with a flame cutting machine. In addition to manufacturing lockers and security mechanisms, DeBourgh was a defense contractor in the 1940s that also made aircraft parts for the war effort. Cutting speeds with the unit pictured here were said to be as high as 45 inches per second.
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