On this day in 1941: The first tank from Detroit's Arsenal of Democracy rolled off the assembly line at Chrysler. The 30-ton M3 tank was rapidly produced and tested in Warren, Michigan. Historians note Detroit's high production rates significantly impacted World War II. The M3 Grant model was used by the British army in North Africa. Detroit's arsenal produced over 22,000 tanks during the war.
TRANSCRIPT
On April 24th1941, the very first tank from the Arsenal of Democracy, aka Detroit, for its industrial efforts during World War 2,rolled off the assembly line at Chrysler. Detroit’s newest and largest defense plant cranked out the 30-ton M3 tank at a rapid pace. Officials from Chrysler and theUSMilitary gathered in Warren Michigan to watch the field test of the tank where it fired its weapons, crashed through telephonepolesand destroyed a house. Many Historiansdemonstratedthat the course of the war and its outcome were affected by the high production rates of equipment coming out of Detroit.The M-3 Grant model was also used by the British army to fight Germans and Italians in North Africa.Whenall was over, the Detroit arsenal produced more than 22 thousand tanks.