1941 Defense experts realized that vast amounts of aluminum would be needed to build the 500,000-plane air force that President Roosevelt demanded. The largest aluminum plant in the world, Alcoa, was located not far from TVA headquarters in Knoxville. TVA supplied the power that Alcoa needed to ramp up production to meet the wartime demand. A writer for Fortune magazine summed up the importance of Alcoa’s contribution in 1946 when he stated that it was air power that had won the war, based on “aluminum and Alcoa.” Read TVA Goes to War.
1942 Posters at TVA dam construction sites helped workers understand their contribution to the war effort and motivated them to do their part for the defense of the nation.