Battles & Wars › World War II › Arsenal of Democracy: US war production
Chrysler's Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant (M4 Sherman)
opened 1941; 22,234 tanks in WWII· Arms maker, factory or program· Arms makers & war industry
Well documentedSolid records, physical evidence or scientific consensus.
A government-owned tank factory near Detroit, run by Chrysler, that built 22,234 tanks in World War II.
See it on the Battles & Wars map →What happened
In 1940 the Army asked Chrysler, a carmaker that had never built a tank, to run a new plant. Architect Albert Kahn designed it on farmland in Warren, Michigan, and the first M3 tank rolled out in April 1941. M4 Shermans followed in huge numbers. The Army owned the plant and Chrysler ran it, a model called government-owned, contractor-operated. Later it built Cold War tanks and the M1 Abrams, under General Dynamics from 1982, until tank work ended in 1996.
Why it matters
It proved Detroit's car industry could become an arsenal, the heart of Roosevelt's 'arsenal of democracy,' and the Army still uses the site for vehicle research.
Think of it like
Like a hotel owned by an investor but run by a management company under contract: the Army held title, Chrysler ran operations.
How we know
Army and Chrysler production records, Albert Kahn's plans, wartime photographs, and the site itself, still the US Army's Detroit Arsenal in Warren.
Connections (2)
▸Chrysler's Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant (M4 Sherman) built about a quarter of America's wartime TankMostly agreed
The connection
Starting with the M3 Lee in 1941, Chrysler's arsenal applied car-industry assembly methods to tanks, then turned out M4 Shermans in huge numbers. Its 22,234 tanks were roughly a quarter of the 88,000 or so the US built in the war, many shipped to Britain and the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease.
When and how
Warren, Michigan, 1941–1945; Chrysler managers under company president K.T. Keller, working with the Army's Ordnance Department.
How sure are we?
Army ordnance production records and Chrysler's wartime reports; national totals differ slightly by source and by what counts as a tank.
Debates and open questions
The Sherman's armor and fire risk are still debated: critics call it outclassed, defenders cite its reliability, numbers and ease of repair.
▸Chrysler's Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant (M4 Sherman) later built M1 Abrams tanks used in the Desert Storm ground war and the Battle of 73 EastingWell documented
The connection
After World War II the plant built Cold War tanks such as the M48 and M60. From the early 1980s, under General Dynamics, it also built the M1 Abrams. Abrams tanks led the 1991 ground war, destroying Iraqi armor while very few were knocked out by enemy fire.
When and how
Warren, Michigan, M1 production from about 1982 alongside the Lima, Ohio, tank plant; Desert Storm, February 24–28, 1991.
How we know
Army production records, General Dynamics histories, and Army reports on Abrams performance in the Gulf War.
Debates and open questions
How many Desert Storm Abrams came from Detroit versus Lima is not easily traced; most Abrams losses came from friendly fire, not Iraqi guns.