| Sumario: | During the Second World War, the federal government of the United States cooperated with multiple corporations in the joint construction of two War Emergency Pipelines – known as the 'Big Inch' and 'Little Big Inch' – that ran from Texas to New York and Philadelphia, with final stations in Linden, New Jersey, and Chester Junction, Pennsylvania. These two pipelines were essential in sustaining wartime petroleum supplies and extending oil assistance overseas. Although scholars have shown considerable interest in wartime resource supply, especially oil, they have devoted far less attention to methods of transport. This article examines the construction and operation of War Emergency Pipelines, showing how latent contradictions in the pre‐war energy structure intensified and resolved during the war. This article also explores how the pipelines' wartime operational model provided the US government with valuable experience for engaging in overseas energy affairs, and examines how its private operations after the war reshaped America's energy structure. By adopting a long‐term perspective on the pipelines, this article offers new insights into American oil policy before and after the Second World War while broadening our understanding of twentieth‐century US energy history.
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