Sixty-seven years ago on, June 6, 1944, Operation Overlord started, and became the largest amphibious landing in world history with 160,000 troops landing on Omaha Beach.  D-Day was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany and gave the allies a solid foothold in France from which they would start the push to Germany.

During D-Day, one of the key points in the invasion was the Duplex Drive Tanks (aka Donald Duck tanks) that were made at the Detroit Army Tank Plant that was owned and operated by Chrysler. The tanks were a variation of the 75mm M4 Sherman Tanks used by the US Army for the duration of WWII. These tanks were a key factor in taking Juno beach. Due to the very inclement weather at Omaha Beach the Tanks were unable to ford the turbulent seas, which unfortunately led to many casualties, as a lack of firepower and armor left the soldiers vulnerable to enemy fire.

The M4 Shermans were very useful for maneuvering and tactical deployments due to their size, speed, and maneuverability. The Sherman was created with the purpose of being a do-it-all tank the with its intended uses to be fighting tank to tank, supporting infantry, and to be used as part of the lead striking echelons. In the end, it performed all of those functions but struggled in tank to tank combat causing new doctrines to be developed to combat the German tanks.

Half jokingly and half realistically, it was said that it took five Shermans to take down a Panzer, but for every five needed Detroit made six. The Detroit Army Tank Plant produced 22,392 tanks by itself which was one fourth of the total tank production by the U.S. This was part of the titanic effort that caused President Roosevelt to dub Detroit the “Arsenal of Democracy”.
Carlocate.com wishes to salute the patriotic efforts of the Americans who worked in these factories and the men and women who stormed the beach on D-Day 67 years ago.  Thank you to all past and present veterans of the US Armed Forces!