Military production during World War II

Military production during World War II was a critical component to military performance during World War II. Over the course of the war, the Allied countries outproduced the Axis countries in most categories of weapons.

Gross domestic product (GDP)
This table shows the relationships in Gross domestic product (GDP), between a selection of Allied and Axis countries, from 1938 to 1945, counted in billion international dollars and 1990 prices.

Notes on the table (remember that the distribution values are rough estimates):
 * 1) France-Axis distribution: 1940: 56%, 1941-43: 100%, 1944: 58%.
 * 2) Italy distribution: 1938-1943: 100% Axis, 1944-1945: 100% Allies
 * 3) Japanese values are included in Axis totals for all years in order to illustrate potential contribution
 * 4) Soviet Union-Allies distribution: 1939: Only 67% due to the pact with Germany, but none to Axis. During 1940 Soviet Union is not counted at all. 1941: 44% is distributed to the Allies (after Operation Barbarossa), 1942-1945: 100%.
 * 5) US values are included in Allied totals for all years in order to illustrate potential contribution & Lend-Lease
 * 6) The Allied total is not the immediate sum of the table values; see the distribution rules used above.
 * 7) The Axis total is not the immediate sum of the table values; see the distribution rules used above.
 * 8) Allied/Axis GDP: This row shows the relation in GDP between the Allies and the Axis; i.e. 2.00 means the Allied production was 2 times larger than the Axis. Only a selection of countries are included in the table. The distribution of values into alliances is described in the previous notes.

Table data source: Harrison, Mark, "The Economics of World War II: Six Great Powers in International Comparison", Cambridge University Press (1998).

Summary of production
Most Battleships and Cruisers were produced before the war and many served through its entirety.