Editing Connecticut (section)

====World War II====

The advent of [[lend-lease]] in support of Britain helped lift Connecticut from the Great Depression,<ref>{{cite thesis |url=http://content.library.ccsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ccsutheses/id/1014 |last=Brandi |first=Anthony P. |type=Masters of Arts |title=Lend-lease: FDR's Most Unheralded Achievement and Connecticut's Unprecedented Response to it |publisher=Central Connecticut State University |date=May 2007 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518012251/http://content.library.ccsu.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ccsutheses/id/1014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> with the state a major production center for weaponry and supplies used in [[World War II|World War{{nbsp}}II]]. Connecticut manufactured 4.1% of total U.S. military armaments produced during the war, ranking ninth among the 48 states,<ref>{{cite book |author1-link = Whiz Kids (Department of Defense) |last1=Peck |first1=Merton J. |author2-link = Frederic M. Scherer |last2=Scherer |first2=Frederic M. |title=The Weapons Acquisition Process: An Economic Analysis |year=1962 |publisher=[[Harvard Business School]] |page = 111 }}</ref> with major factories including [[Colt's Manufacturing Company|Colt]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.courant.com/2012/08/19/colt-manufacturing-a-timeline-2/ |title=Colt Manufacturing: A Timeline |work=Hartford Courant |date=August 19, 2012 |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517225233/http://articles.courant.com/2012-08-19/business/hc-colt-timeline-20120817_1_colt-firearms-firearms-division-rampant-colt |url-status=live }}</ref> for firearms, [[Pratt & Whitney]] for aircraft engines, [[Vought|Chance Vought]] for fighter planes, [[Hamilton Standard]] for propellers,<ref>{{cite web |url = http://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/world-war-ii/ |title = World War II |website = Connecticut History |date = May 13, 2012 |access-date = May 17, 2014 |archive-date = July 3, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140703125946/http://connecticuthistory.org/topics-page/world-war-ii/ |url-status = live }}</ref> and [[General Dynamics Electric Boat|Electric Boat]] for submarines and PT boats.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gdeb.com/about/history/ |title=EB History |website=General Dynamics Electric Boat |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=October 19, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019070946/http://www.gdeb.com/about/history/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In Bridgeport, General Electric produced a significant new weapon to combat tanks: the [[bazooka]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://connecticuthistory.org/the-bazooka-changes-war/ |title=The Bazooka Changes War |website=Connecticut History |access-date=May 28, 2014 |archive-date=July 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727200928/http://connecticuthistory.org/the-bazooka-changes-war/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

On May 13, 1940, [[Igor Sikorsky]] made an untethered flight of the first practical [[helicopter]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/VS-300_Helicopter.php |title=VS-300 Helicopter |website=Sikorsky Archives |access-date=May 17, 2014 |archive-date=May 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518053613/http://www.sikorskyarchives.com/VS-300_Helicopter.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The helicopter saw limited use in World War II, but future military production made [[Sikorsky Aircraft]]'s [[Stratford, Connecticut|Stratford]] plant Connecticut's largest single manufacturing site by the start of the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sikorsky Aircraft Corp ~ Employer Information |website=Labor Market Information |publisher=Connecticut Department of Labor |url=http://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/EmpSearchDet.asp?intEmpID=144196 |date=March 17, 2015 |access-date=October 24, 2015 |archive-date=December 31, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151231223637/http://www1.ctdol.state.ct.us/lmi/EmpSearchDet.asp?intEmpID=144196 |url-status=live }}</ref>