WARREN, Mich. – Local 4 News is getting out of the studio and hitting the road to be In Your Neighborhood! We’re showcasing what makes our communities great!
The city of Warren is known for many things -- Eminem, its ability to transcend a rocky past, Mitch Ryder -- but it also had a massive impact on World War II and the creation of the “Arsenal of Democracy.”
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During World War II, the industrial and manufacturing centers of the United States stepped up to contribute to the war effort. We all know about how Willow Run was built to manufacture bombers, but it’s not the only piece of Michigan’s contributions in the fight against fascism.
In the early days of World War II, the United States Army partnered with Chrysler to create the country’s very first government-owned, contractor-operated manufacturing facility. It literally helped establish the blueprint for how these types of agreements worked moving forward. That’s not its only first. The Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant was the first manufacturing facility ever built for the mass production of tanks.
It was, and still is, a pivotal piece in the history of U.S. Army engineering.
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Located off 11 Mile Road, just east of Mound Road, the plant was designed by “The Architect of Detroit,” Albert Kahn, who designed some of the most iconic buildings across the state. It was made to survive bombardment with reinforced concrete walls that were three feet thick. The Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant produced M3 Lee tanks and M4 Sherman tanks during World War II. Tanks were rolling off its assembly line months before the building finished construction in late 1941.
The plant is responsible for nearly 30% of all tanks made in the United States during World War II. In 1952, Chrysler was the largest tankmaker in the country.
The government would suspend production between wars, but the facility continued to make tanks for more than 50 years. In 1996, tank manufacturing was consolidated to a plant in Ohio, and the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant was shut down. At the time, it was producing M1 Abrams tanks.
Over the course of several years, the plant and parts of the property were transferred to the City of Warren. The part of the property that was not sold to the city, now known as Detroit Arsenal, is still an active Army facility. It is currently the headquarters of the United States Army CCDC Ground Vehicle Systems Center.
Its legacy is honored with a Michigan Historic Site plaque.
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