Chrysler Revisits its Involvement in World War II (W/Video)

A video posted on FCA’s YouTube page recounts Chrysler’s involvement in World War II, when the U.S. government commissioned the automaker to contribute to the war effort by building military vehicles. As part of a short documentary called “Automakers and the Arsenal of Democracy,” FCA looks back in time and takes a look at Chrysler’s wartime activities. Narrator and FCA US historian Brandt Rosenbusch explains that the U.S. government initially approached Chrysler with a tank and asked if the corporation could build it in mass production, which it eventually did after winning a contract.

The factory where the tanks were being manufactured, called Detroit Arsenal, was located in Warren, Mich., and was government-owned, but was operated by Chrysler engineers and manufacturing specialists who helped jump-start the mass production of military vehicles. Production of tanks began even before the factory was fully finished, meaning that war machines were already rolling off the assembly line while the rest of the building was being completed. One of the first tanks produced in the Detroit Arsenal facility was the M3 Grant, which was used by the United States, Great Britain, and Australia during the early years of World War II. Following the M3 Grant was the M4 Sherman, a tank with thicker armor, a turret that was able to turn 360 degrees, and a larger engine.

In addition to tanks, Chrysler also mass-produced the Bofors gun, a 40-mm anti-aircraft cannon that was also made in Great Britain and Sweden. Half- and three-quarter ton military trucks were also made for the war effort, with the latter eventually becoming the Dodge Power Wagon, a truck that stayed in production from 1945 to 1981 when it was replaced by the Dodge Ram. Throughout World War II, Chrysler was also involved in the production of aircraft and their engines, watercraft, weaponry, and air raid sirens for the Allied countries, which included the U.S. and Great Britain.

In total, the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant manufactured a quarter of the 89,568 tanks built in the U.S. during World War II and matched the tank production in Great Britain and Germany. Chrysler continued to produce tanks in the plant after World War II and up to 1982 when it sold the facility to General Dynamics, which continued the manufacturing of tanks there until 1987. Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant was eventually closed in 1996 and its ownership was transferred to the city of Warren.

Check out the video below.

Source: FCA

 

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