Patton Tank at Chrysler Plant
Photo courtesy of Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware
Patton Tank Struts Its Stuff
Photo courtesy of Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware
Joseph Frederick's first two employees were his nephew Bud Frederick and Joe Kaminski. Business picked up during the early 1950s as many people began to focus on having families and improving the comfort of their homes after the war years.
Chrysler Corporation was incorporated in Delaware on June 6, 1925, as a successor to the Maxwell Motor Car. Walter Chrysler became chairman of the board and president.
By 1929, Chrysler had grown to become one of the three leading automotive manufacturers. The company endured the Great Depression of the 1930s through cost-cutting measures, but never cut back on research and development. That decision paid off in 1933 when Chrysler became the only automotive company that surpassed its record 1929 sales year.
In the 1940s, the American industry turned from consumer to defense production. Chrysler participated in many defense projects, most notably production of the 32-ton Sherman M4 tank. Chrysler produced 18,000 Sherman tanks, the main combat vehicle of the U.S. and its Allies in World War II. Approximately 500,000 Dodge trucks were also produced for the war. By 1945, Chrysler supplied more than $3.4 billion in military equipment to the Allied forces.
After the war, Chrysler responded to the need for increased car and truck production by building or buying 11 plants between 1947 and 1950, including the plant in Newark, Del. In the 1940s, Chrysler introduced the Town & Country sedans and convertibles and began limited production of its first hardtop convertible in 1946. In 1951, Chrysler introduced the first production of power-steering vehicles. Their first key-operated ignition and safety-cushioned dash were some of Chrysler's other innovations of the early 1950s, as well as the Torsion-Aire suspension system in 1957.
During the 1950s, with the onset of the Korean War, workers at the Chrysler plant in Newark engineered and built Patton tanks. At that time, the model in use was the M48. The M48 has been continually upgraded over the years with the M48A1 featuring a larger driver's hatch, fully enclosed commander's cupola, fender dust shields, and a T-type blast deflector. Work on the M48A2 was done by Alco Products Incorporated and the Chrysler Delaware Tank Plant. The M48A2 featured a new fuel-injection system, larger fuel tanks, improved engine deck to minimize infrared signature, a constant-pressure turret control system, modified commander's cupola, and suspension modifications.
Throughout the 1950s, Chrysler also supplied military trucks and air-raid sirens. By the end of the Korean War, Chrysler had participated in 31 government projects worth more than $1.1 billion.