Warren Tutors Come To You

Warren, one of the largest suburbs outside of Detroit, has long been a participant in the boom and bust cycles of Motor City’s famous industries—particularly steel production and manufacturing. Warren’s productivity has been chief contributor to its steady increase in population, drawing thousands to contribute at one of its most famous facilities: the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant.

The Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant (DATP) was the first manufacturing plant ever built for the mass production of Sherman tanks in the United States. Established in 1940 by Chrysler, the plant was owned by the U.S. government for several decades after the war, and was designed by architect Albert Kahn. The building was formulated initially as a dual production facility, so that it could make armaments and be turned into peaceful production at war’s end. Understanding that the need to mass produce tanks would not last indefinitely, the government took care to preserve some features of the plant so that Chrysler could operate the factory for its original purpose, which was to produce cars—typical of the Detroit economy from the beginning stages of the automobile’s invention. However, the plant was also constructed to withstand bombardment, with three-foot thick walls of reinforced concrete and special roofing materials to deflect blasts away from vents and ducts.

Chrysler’s construction effort at the plant in 1941 was one of the fastest for its time. In fact, the first tanks rumbled out of the plant before its construction was even finished. With the United States preparing to enter the European theater, tank production was of the utmost importance. Citizens—especially women—from Warren and the surrounding communities flocked to work at the plant and do their part to contribute to the war effort.

During World War II, the Detroit Arsenal Tank Plant produced approximately 25% of the almost ninety thousand tanks made in the U.S. The Korean War then boosted manufacturing again since World War II had ended a decade prior, but ultimately, the government would suspend tank production after each war. In May 1952, Chrysler resumed control from the army, which had been unable to ramp up production after the end of the Korean war. As a result, the area did not see a loss of jobs, and many workers made the transition from tanks to automobile manufacturing relatively easily.

Chrysler retained operational control of the production facility until March 1982, when the company sold its Chrysler Defense division to General Dynamics Land Systems. General Dynamics then produced the M1 Abrams tank at the facility until 1996, when the plant was closed and tank assembly and maintenance operations were consolidated elsewhere.

The work tutors do with struggling student does not nearly rival the importance of the work once done at the tank production facility in Warren. They do, however, call for dedication, discipline, and persistence, just the way the plant did for its thousands of workers in decades past. Tutors in Warren are invested in the success of their clients, just as the DATP was invested in the United States’ efforts to win global conflicts.