Des Moines ordnance plant Ankeny, Iowa, on the home front during World War II

The Des Moines Ordnance Plant (DMOP) operated during World War II and produced nearly four billion .30 and .50 caliber bullets from January 1942 through July 1945. The Des Moines Ordnance Plant was located near the small, rural Iowa community of Ankeny, which was located approximately 8 miles north of Des Moines, the state's capital and most populated city. Beginning with United States involvement with the Allied countries in 1940 with the Lend Lease Act, this thesis details the activities that occurred from conception to reconversion of the plant to civilian use in 1947. The United States industrial complex prepared for a war footing for the United States and increased ordnance production was necessitated by this action. The Des Moines Ordnance Plant was one of twelve throughout the Midwest that were converted to ordnance production or newly constructed for the same purpose. Numerous industrial home front issues are encountered during the life of the plant such as; growth of federal authority, industrial and community infrastructure needs, government land acquisition, civilian displacement, the effects of a large industrial complex in rural United States, labor issues involving both the construction and production process, material attainment, and finally reconversion of the facility following the war. Imbedded in these discussions is the impact that the newly constructed ordnance plant that at its peak employed nearly 19,000 people had upon the predominantly rural setting in an around Ankeny, Iowa.