As alluded to in this movie, Tire Rationing Boards in WW II issued certificates for people to obtain tires or have old ones recapped. New tires could only be obtained for vehicles used in essential services such as public health and safety, food and fuel deliveries, and public transport.
Three-fourths of the rubber the U.S. used by the start of World War II went into tires. The other quarter went into boots, gloves, raincoats, baby pants, hot water bottles, hoses, toys and all other products.
Tires and rubber were the first things to be rationed during World War II, beginning in the U.S. on Jan. 5, 1942. By that spring, the Japanese had taken the South Pacific countries that provided 90 percent of the rubber supply.
Although synthetic rubber had been produced by the DuPont Company since 1931, it was just a portion of what was used and needed in rubber manufacturing by the 1940s.
In June of 1942, the U.S. had a nationwide rubber drive. People donated excess tires and all kinds of used rubber items. They were paid one cent per pound. The drive collected 900 million pounds, but the recycled rubber wasn't very suitable for most military uses.
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