The first topic covered by our instructor, Julius Ballanco, was cast iron soil pipe. While discussing the various sizes and types, he mentioned a type known as "victory pipe." Victory pipe was produced during World War II when the need for iron and steel in military uses took precedence over their use in domestic applications. As a result, victory pipe had thinner walls than the cast iron pipe that been used up to that time. Curious to learn more about victory pipe, I contacted Bill LeVan, Executive Vice President of the Cast Iron Soil Pipe Institute.
"During World War II," LeVan noted, "all cast iron pipe, whether cast iron water main or cast iron soil pipe, was statically cast as compared to centrifugally cast today. In an effort to save resources at that time, both cast iron water main and cast iron soil pipe were produced to a federal specification which called for emergency weight for water main and victory weight for soil pipe. I don't know what the new thicknesses were, but I suspect they were still very adequate. I occasionally see victory weight soil pipe still in service, as identified by the letter "V" on the hub. A building that I pass regularly in downtown Chattanooga still has victory weight main leaders exposed. I suspect there are still many other buildings in service with this weight pipe. I suspect the same is true with the water main weight."