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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Warren in Macomb County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
 

Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant

 
 
Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Baker
1. Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker
Inscription. In 1940 the U.S. Army and the Chrysler Corporation hired Detroit architect Albert Kahn to design a self-contained tank plant. Kahn specialized in factories. In 1941 he designed 20 million square feet of defense plants. The first tank rolled off the assembly line at the sprawling Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant on April 24th, 1941, amid cheering spectators. The December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor thrust the U.S. into the Second World War and tank plant workers into round-the-clock production. President Franklin Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, inspected the plant in September 1942. Two months later workers set the monthly record for all U. S. plants by producing 896 tanks. Tank manufacturing ceased here in 1997.

Just two decades after the end of World War I, Europe was again at war. Construction of the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant began in 1940, before the U.S. became directly involved in the conflict. The 1941 Lend-Lease Act committed the U.S. to supplying arms to its allies. During World War II the U.S. government contracted with automakers to make tanks, trucks and planes. William Knudson, president of the General Motors Corporation, led the government's defense production effort. Capitalizing on the auto industry's mass production capabilities, he called on Chrysler Corporation president K. T. Keller to build tanks. By the war's

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end the arsenal built 22,234 tanks, over one quarter of the tanks produced in the U.S.
 
Erected 2002 by Michigan Historical Commission-Michigan Historical Center. (Marker Number S674.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & CommerceWar, World II. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1940.
 
Location. 42° 30.002′ N, 83° 1.758′ W. Marker is in Warren, Michigan, in Macomb County. Marker can be reached from Van Dyke Avenue (State Highway 53) north of Tank Avenue, on the left when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 28201 Van Dyke Ave, Warren MI 48093, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Governor Alex J. Groesbeck (approx. 1.2 miles away); General Motors Technical Center (approx. 1.2 miles away); St. Clement Cemetery (approx. 1.4 miles away); Saint Clement Catholic Parish (approx. 1.4 miles away); VFW Post 6756 Veterans Memorial (approx. 1.4 miles away); The Claeys House (approx. 1.7 miles away); Red Run (approx. 1.7 miles away); Grist Mill (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Warren.
 
More about this marker. The marker was moved
Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Baker
2. Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker
about 500 feet north to the main entrance of the building from its original location in a grassy area near the southeast corner of the massive building along Tank Avenue (42° 29.951′ N, 83° 1.756′ W)
 
New location of the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Joel Seewald, November 18, 2020
3. New location of the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker
Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Baker
4. Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker
Original location of marker on Tank Avenue.
Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Michael Baker
5. Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant Marker
Marker at original location on Tank Avenue.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on December 21, 2020. It was originally submitted on March 16, 2017, by Michael Baker of Lima, Ohio. This page has been viewed 630 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on March 16, 2017, by Michael Baker of Lima, Ohio.   3. submitted on December 21, 2020, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.   4, 5. submitted on March 16, 2017, by Michael Baker of Lima, Ohio. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.

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Mar. 28, 2024