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For theOfficial IH'ers out there! "Kelp-Cutter"?
- Thread starter thoffman
- Start date
Help Support IH Cub Cadet Tractor Forum:
Well, here's a SWAG...
Since the articles were from 1945, and magazine deadlines are usually a few months ahead of publication times, I would guess it had to do with WWII.
Kelp is kind of a seaweed--type plant, which could mess up propellers, so it was something that IH developed and/or manufactured during the war, which was used by the Navy for getting the stuff out of the way of the props.
It was mounted on the bow or the keel of ships in harbors and other fairly shallow areas so they could manuever without having to constantly clear the props. Since kelp is also edible, it also gathered the cut kelp for a food source.
How far off am I?
Since the articles were from 1945, and magazine deadlines are usually a few months ahead of publication times, I would guess it had to do with WWII.
Kelp is kind of a seaweed--type plant, which could mess up propellers, so it was something that IH developed and/or manufactured during the war, which was used by the Navy for getting the stuff out of the way of the props.
It was mounted on the bow or the keel of ships in harbors and other fairly shallow areas so they could manuever without having to constantly clear the props. Since kelp is also edible, it also gathered the cut kelp for a food source.
How far off am I?
The Kelp Cutter was a torpedo that IH built for the Navy in World War II. IH constructed some of the first "clean rooms" to build them, with climate control that could maintain temperature within one degree of setpoint, maintain specific humidity, and filter the air of all particulates. Their machining was good to one millionth of an inch. They cost about $50,000 at that time, which was considered a good investment if one torpedo happened to sink a multi-million dollar Japanese warship and save many US ships from a similar fate.
jchamberlin
Well-known member
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- Jul 19, 2010
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- Jeremiah Chamberlin
Thanks for posting an answer to Tom's challenge, I hope Bruce gets to read it.
I visited the Wisconsin Historical Archive in February, and found information on the Kelp Cutter while looking for some other information. I also looked at a movie that IH made about their war effort, and it gave a lot of info on the Kelp Cutter. The booklet that was mentioned in the newspaper was a tri-color booklet about the torpedo, how, why, and where it was made. I may have written down the box and file for it, if anybody wants to order a copy from the WHA.
Yes, that website is a good resource. Folks with Cub Cadets can also post there. I encourage anybody to do so.
Yes, that website is a good resource. Folks with Cub Cadets can also post there. I encourage anybody to do so.
