Playford became a wartime Premier in 1939 when Australia, as part of the British Empire, entered World War II.
Later in the war, cut off from traditional suppliers of manufactures, the country was forced to create its own.
Armaments and munitions factories needed to be created to supply the war effort, and Playford was vociferous in advocating South Australia as the perfect location for these.
It was far from the battlegrounds and had the most efficient labour force in the nation.
British Tube Mills opened a mill in the inner-northern suburbs.
Ammunition factories were built in the northern and western suburbs of Adelaide, as well as in some smaller installations in regional centres, and construction on a shipyard began in Whyalla.
Having strenuously opposed a construction of a pipeline to pump water from Morgan in the River Murray to Whyalla for the steelworks and blast furnace there before his ascension to the premiership, Playford oversaw approval of the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline in 1940 and its completion in 1944.
He also reversed his previous opposition to Butler's pine plantation and sawmill program, authorising an expansion of the program in the state's southeast.

Salisbury, then a dormitory town to the north of Adelaide, became a defence centre; the shipyards at Whyalla began launching corvettes in 1941 just as Japan entered the war.
All of these developments were done under Playford's watch, with most of the factories being built by the Department of Manpower and the South Australian Housing Trust.
In Woodville in western Adelaide, a large plant for Actil cotton was built.
The explosives factory at Salisbury was converted into an aerospace research facility after the war, as various companies worked on matters related to rocket testing at Woomera in the state's far north; the Salisbury complex became the second largest employer of South Australians for a period after the war.
The munitions factory in the western suburb of Hendon was later converted into a plant for the electrical appliance firm Philips and at its peak employed more than three thousand people.

In order for these developments to occur, Playford personally had to attend to the bureaucracy that stood in the way.
He confronted public service workers, and successfully negotiated with the heads of private companies.
But it was negotiations with the Federal Government that were to prove the hardest.
In his time as Premier, Playford was to confront seven different Prime Ministers: Lyons, Page, Menzies, Fadden, Curtin, Forde and Chifley.
Strangely, he enjoyed best relations with the Laborite Chifley, and had a poor rapport with his fellow conservative, Menzies.
During the wartime years, Menzies' reluctance to meet with Playford initially hampered industrial efforts, but Playford's other federal colleagues made sure that deals could be made.

To Playford's advantage there was usually a disproportionate number of South Australians in federal cabinets, both Liberal and Labor.
This clout, combined with his own intensive and unconventional negotiating tactics, made sure that South Australia regularly received more federal funds than it would have been allocated otherwise.
This was to Robert Menzies' chagrin, who said: "Tom [Playford] wouldn't know intellectual honesty if he met it on the end of a pitch fork but he does it all for South Australia, not for himself, so I forgive him."
By the time of his departure from power, Playford gained the reputation of being "a good South Australian but a very bad Australian", and for using "threats to bully recalcitrant Prime Ministers".
For his part, Playford remained unrepentant, claiming that federal authorities had infringed the constitution of Australia and had consistent exercised powers over the states that were not rightfully theirs.
Playford accused the High Court of Australia of helping the federal parliament under Curtin to legislate to give itself a monopoly on the acquisition of income tax, which he claimed was contrary to the intention of the constitution to prevent excessive centralisation of power in the feder
Playford became a wartime Premier in 1939 when Australia, as part of the British Empire, entered World War II. Later in the war, cut off from traditional suppliers of manufactures, the country was forced to create its own. Armaments and munitions factories needed to be created to supply the war effort, and Playford was vociferous in advocating South Australia as the perfect location for these. It was far from the battlegrounds and had the most efficient labour force in the nation. British Tube Mills opened a mill in the inner-northern suburbs. Ammunition factories were built in the northern and western suburbs of Adelaide, as well as in some smaller installations in regional centres, and construction on a shipyard began in Whyalla. Having strenuously opposed a construction of a pipeline to pump water from Morgan in the River Murray to Whyalla for the steelworks and blast furnace there before his ascension to the premiership, Playford oversaw approval of the Morgan-Whyalla pipeline in 1940 and its completion in 1944. He also reversed his previous opposition to Butler's pine plantation and sawmill program, authorising an expansion of the program in the state's southeast.
Salisbury, then a dormitory town to the north of Adelaide, became a defence centre; the shipyards at Whyalla began launching corvettes in 1941 just as Japan entered the war. All of these developments were done under Playford's watch, with most of the factories being built by the Department of Manpower and the South Australian Housing Trust. In Woodville in western Adelaide, a large plant for Actil cotton was built. The explosives factory at Salisbury was converted into an aerospace research facility after the war, as various companies worked on matters related to rocket testing at Woomera in the state's far north; the Salisbury complex became the second largest employer of South Australians for a period after the war. The munitions factory in the western suburb of Hendon was later converted into a plant for the electrical appliance firm Philips and at its peak employed more than three thousand people.
In order for these developments to occur, Playford personally had to attend to the bureaucracy that stood in the way. He confronted public service workers, and successfully negotiated with the heads of private companies. But it was negotiations with the Federal Government that were to prove the hardest. In his time as Premier, Playford was to confront seven different Prime Ministers: Lyons, Page, Menzies, Fadden, Curtin, Forde and Chifley. Strangely, he enjoyed best relations with the Laborite Chifley, and had a poor rapport with his fellow conservative, Menzies. During the wartime years, Menzies' reluctance to meet with Playford initially hampered industrial efforts, but Playford's other federal colleagues made sure that deals could be made.
To Playford's advantage there was usually a disproportionate number of South Australians in federal cabinets, both Liberal and Labor. This clout, combined with his own intensive and unconventional negotiating tactics, made sure that South Australia regularly received more federal funds than it would have been allocated otherwise. This was to Robert Menzies' chagrin, who said: "Tom [Playford] wouldn't know intellectual honesty if he met it on the end of a pitch fork but he does it all for South Australia, not for himself, so I forgive him." By the time of his departure from power, Playford gained the reputation of being "a good South Australian but a very bad Australian", and for using "threats to bully recalcitrant Prime Ministers". For his part, Playford remained unrepentant, claiming that federal authorities had infringed the constitution of Australia and had consistent exercised powers over the states that were not rightfully theirs. Playford accused the High Court of Australia of helping the federal parliament under Curtin to legislate to give itself a monopoly on the acquisition of income tax, which he claimed was contrary to the intention of the constitution to prevent excessive centralisation of power in the feder
Thomas Playford IV