Western States continued to serve as a contract manufacturer to support the war effort as the decade dawned. The Roberts gear drive was adapted for use on Navy ships, and the plant also built the auxiliary engines used to turn submarines, along with 13-inch shell lathes that were used to fabricate ammunition for Russia. New products for defense uses included a device to keep ship propellers from over-speeding and a centrifugal for making war chemicals, which was the first centrifugal the company created for use outside of the sugar industry. The War Years right: War posters from the United States Office of Price Administration, Washington, D.C.