Stuart Tank
Berwick, Columbia County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
During WWII, 9,135 American Car & Foundry workers from the surrounding region produced 15,224 tanks for American and Allied Forces. The first US tank fabricated on an assembly line, the Stuart was favored for its speed and mobility and saw action in theaters of war on all continents. A.C.F. became the nation's largest producer of armor plate and was unique in having its own ballistics testing range. The plant was located here.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
During World War II, more than nine thousand workers at Berwick's American Car & Foundry plant built over 15,000 Stuart tanks for American and Allied forces. Light, fast, and nimble, the Stuart was the first U.S. tank produced on a moving assembly line and saw combat on battlefronts around the globe. A.C.F. grew into the nation's largest maker of armor plate, with its own ballistics testing range.
Why it matters
Berwick's plant shows how a small Pennsylvania town became part of the vast "Arsenal of Democracy," where civilian industry retooled to out-produce the Axis.
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