From what I understand the US had more or less a command economy for war production during WWII. There are lots of questions here, but I guess I’m curious about the way a small to medium size company would experience these changes.

First of all there is the practical question of how production was managed. From what I understand there were quotas for various types of products. So how did the war production board find all the manufacturers of eg lathes in the US and define the types and numbers of products that had to be made?

Then, I wonder about what the reaction was in terms of the government imposing control over production. I imagine this differed a great deal between large companies such as the auto manufacturers and smaller companies that generally would have had a greater amount of autonomy. Did anyone rebel against orders from the government, and if so what was the result?

The final question is about what the after effects were. There is of course the famous Eisenhower speech about the military industrial complex, but what about companies that weren’t directly in the MIC per se, ones that made products used by the military but not military in nature, such as tools? Was there a change in how such businesses operated from pre-war to post-war? Did any collapse as a result of falling demand? Or did any fail to adapt to the peacetime economy? Was there any connection between the war and the trend of consolidation and deindustrialization starting in the 60s?

Any input on any of these questions is welcome. Thanks!