On June 6, 1944, Allied forces clamored over the sides of large troop ships into 4126 landing craft, many of those LCVPs (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel), and prepared to storm several beaches of northern France in Operation Overlord, better known as D-Day. Preparation for this day started in the early 1942 as companies throughout the United States converted their factories from peacetime to wartime production. In Michigan, all three Chris-Craft Corporation plants quickly converted from pleasure boat building to building boats for the war effort full time. Together, the three plants would become part of the America’s arsenal of democracy from 1941-1945 producing more than 12,000 landing craft for D-Day and other invasions.
Learn more about the Chris-Craft Corporation’s role in winning the war in the July/August 2019 Michigan History magazine available in many Michigan bookstores and from The Historical Society of Michigan.