A lot can happen during 75 years, and just by watching this video and seeing how the world looked back then, it’s easy to see that a lot really has happened during this time.
But forget about the technological advancement for one second, and focus on something a lot more organic. Something like memory. Yes, it’s entirely true that Chrysler was an integral part of the Allies’ war effort against the Axis, but nowadays Chrysler is pretty much under Fiat’s control. Which is an Italian company. Just like it was 75 years ago. And we all know where Italy’s alliances lied back in 1940.
You see, then, why this celebration is a bit odd given the current context. Of course that during the best part of these 75 years, everybody came to realize - even the Italians and the Germans - that the world would have been a much sinister place had the war ended with a different outcome, but still.
Well, old and new alliances aside, the FCA is announcing that precisely 75 years ago, on December 29, 1940, the US government started mobilizing local carmakers to begin production of wartime equipment in support of the country’s allies in Europe. Among those automakers, Chrysler was one of the most active, having built new plants specifically for the growing demand of tanks, trucks, guns or munitions.
The video below offers a quick rundown of Chrysler’s involvement in the war, starting with the first ever tank produced there - the M3 Grant - or the most successful one - the M4 Sherman - and ending with the endless design and engineering contributions that the men and women working for Chrysler had throughout those years of great turmoil.
To get an idea of how fast things were moving, only 13 months had passed from the initial contract to the moment the first tank rolled out of the assembly line. As historian Brandt Rosenbusch, the narrator of this clip, says, the tanks were being built at the same time the building housing the operation was receiving its final touches. There was no time to waste for “the Arsenal of Democracy” and there was definitely no time to waste for those fighting the Axis in Europe.
As for the scale of the operation, that’s equally impressive. Chrysler built 25,000 tanks throughout the duration of the war, which is over 25% percent of the entire US production and 5,000 tanks more than the total built by Germany during the same time frame. Of course, numbers don’t tell the whole story, but that’s still quite a lot.
Watch the clip below for more opportunities to feel a proud American.
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