willow run bomber plant employees

Charles Sorensen boasted that Ford would produce B-24s at the rate of one each hour. The Yankee Air Museum resides on the airport grounds, occupying as of April 2013 a 47,000-square-foot (4,400m2) hangar and other properties. Willow Run Lodge, Housing for Willow Run Bomber Plant Workers, 1945 Women represented approximately one third of the workers at Ford Motor Company's Willow Run plant during World War II. WWII riveters return one last time to bomber plant - USA Today Ford recruited workers throughout the Midwest and South. How Ford's Willow Run Assembly Plant Helped Win World War II Because of the many structural changes required to accommodate the nose turret, the first B-24Hs were delivered slightly behind schedule, with the first machines rolling off the production lines at Ford in late June 1943. By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. When Ford declined to purchase the facility after the war, Kaiser-Frazer Corporation gained ownership, and in 1953 Ford's rival General Motors took ownership and operated the factory as Willow Run Transmission until 2010. No one had ever manufactured airplanes on such a scale before. Watch on. Sorensen and his team carefully planned the new facility to the last detail. They lived in tents, with a mess hall and a chapel on-site, and sold their produce from a roadside stand built by Ford. >> the willow run plant is in the process now of being demolished. Numbers climbed steadily throughout the year. PEGATRON CORPORATION Company Profile | Taipei City, Taiwan That was the schedule six days a week. A documentary about the Ypsilanti Willow Run airport's legendary B-24 bomber plant will air Sunday on PBS . The B-17 had a six-year history of design, development, testing and limited production. You can select the language displayed on our website. Public bus lines offered 35 daily trips from Detroit, while private carriers offered 130. When Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, only 7,400 employees remained on the Willow Run payroll. Unlike menacing B-24 Liberators that took off from the same spot, these silent vehicles are on a mission to save lives and prevent destruction. Willow Run, also known as Air Force Plant 31, was a manufacturing complex in Michigan, United States, located between Ypsilanti Township and Belleville, built by the Ford Motor Company to manufacture aircraft, especially the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. The massive plant turned out 8,645 Liberators vs. 9,808 manufactured by four factories of Consolidated, Douglas Aircraft, and North American Aviation. Willow Run Wartime Problems - Michigan Technological University The copper wiring and electrical fixturesthe veins and arteries of the plantare the first to be stripped away. [46] The campaign attracted national, and even international, attention from media outlets that include many major news dailies in the US as well as National Public Radio, The History Channel magazine, National Geographic TV, The Guardian and the Daily Mail, the latter two of the UK. In only one month, Ford had hired 2,900 workers but had lost 3,100. "It was a like a town of its own," said Rancour, 88 . From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Willow Run - B24 Liberator - Military History of the Upper Great Lakes "[12], Henry and Clara Bryant Ford dedicated a series of churches, the chapels of Martha and Mary as a perpetual tribute to their mothers, Mary Ford and Martha Bryant. Many fled after their first day, traumatized by the smell, constant clanging and motion of machinery, and overpowering size of the place. Browse our Buyers Guide to find suppliers of all types of assembly technology, machines and systems, service providers and trade organizations. [1] Construction of the Willow Run Bomber Plant began in 1940 [2] and was completed in 1942. [17], Architect Albert Kahn designed the main structure of the Willow Run bomber plant, which had 3,500,000 square feet (330,000m2) of factory space, and an aircraft assembly line over a mile (1600m) long. Ford built 37 planes in January, 70 in February, 96 in March, and 146 in April. [6] In April 2013, a redevelopment manager for the RACER Trust said unused portions of the powertrain plant would likely be razed as a step toward redeveloping the property. Early example of Lean. The iconic Rosie the Riveter may seem to be simply a fiction from the past but she has a name - and an important history. The 1st CC was responsible for completing the organization and equipment of tactical and combat bombardment squadrons prior to their deployment to the overseas combat theaters. [48], By the May 1, 2014, deadline, the Yankee Air Museum had raised over $7 million of its original $8 million fundraising goal, which was enough to enable the building's owners to move forward with signing a Purchase Agreement with Yankee, with the actual purchase expected to be finalized in late summer or fall of 2014. The automaker had . Because of the urgent need for shelter, the Federal Public Housing Administration took action and built temporary housing. In the process, the boys were to learn self-discipline and the values of hard work, and benefit from the fresh air of the country.[11]. The ungainly aircraft flew faster (300 mph) than the sleeker B-17, carried heavier payloads (four tons of bombs, later increased to six tons), and had greater range (3,000 miles). Factory golf and bowling leagues provided additional opportunities for relaxation. At its peak, Willow Run employed more than 15,000 women -- some 35 percent of its total staff. Women represented approximately one third of the workers at Ford Motor Company's Willow Run plant during World War II. Adjacent to the factory complex, Ford constructed a 1,484-acre airport with six runways and three aircraft hangars. The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was taking over the long-range bombing role in the Pacific Theater and no new B-24 units were programmed for deployment in the other combat theaters of Europe, the Mediterranean or in the CBI. [1][35], After their manufacture, the next step in the process was the delivery of the aircraft to the operational squadrons. Willow Run Lodge[19] was a series of dormitories for single people and was built on the land north of Michigan Avenue and south of Geddes Road. Sadly, one of the people most responsible for Willow Run's success did not live to see it. A technological marvel for a new age of aerial warfare, the B-24 was now obsolete. Those who stayed hunkered down in tarpaper shacks, tents, garages, and beat-up trailers and jalopies. [48] On October 26, 2013, RACER Trust and the Yankee Air Museum again reached a third, and final, deadline extension agreement that gave Yankee until May 1, 2014, to raise the $8 million estimated as necessary to secure, enclose and preserve a portion of the original Willow Run plant for the Yankee Air Museum. [7] Indeed, the majority of the plant was demolished in late 2013 and early 2014. The Willow Run Plant had many initial startup problems, due primarily to the fact that Ford employees were used to automobile mass production and found it difficult to adapt these techniques to aircraft . The influx of workers for the massive war . With global headquarters located in the Neihu Science Park in Taipei City, LITEON Technology looks toward sustainable and profitable growth as it expanses business in the high-tech industry. Changeovers required onerous delays and costly retooling. [21], In addition to the Willow Run Lodge and Village housing projects, another community named Parkridge Homes was also built in 1943 to house African-American Willow Run employees. It was an attempt to reverse the trend toward ever-increasing weight of the Liberator as more and more armament, equipment, and armor had been added, with no corresponding increase in engine power. To their dismay they discovered that engineering drawings for the big bomber were uselessincomplete and filled with discrepancies and unfamiliar signs and symbols. By mid-1944, the Willow Run assembly plant was producing one B-24 per houraccounting for half of all B-24s assembled that year. The first Ford-built Liberator rolled off the Willow Run line in September 1942; the first series of Willow Run Liberators was the B-24E. Willow Run ran two nine-hour shifts. Employees Assembling Bomber at Willow Run Plant, March 1943 Sorensen stayed up all night formulating a B-24 assembly process on the backs of Coronado Hotel placemats. Rugged and versatile, Liberators served in every theater of the war with 15 Allied air forces, stalking and destroying German U-boats in Atlantic shipping lanes, flying The Hump from India over the Himalayas to bring critical fuel and supplies to the besieged Chinese army, and dropping special agents into France and the Low Countries to organize sabotage operations against Nazi occupiers. * Carr, Lowell J., and Stermer, James Edison. Enjoy the latest news from The Henry Ford, special offers, and more. The President and First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, visited Willow Run on September 18, 1942, where they joined Henry Ford, Edsel Ford and Charles Sorensen on a tour of the complex. By the end of the war, Ford had pushed 8,865 B-24 heavy bombers out the Willow Run doors for the Army . By visiting this website, certain cookies have already been set, which you may delete and block. Sorensen blamed delays on doing business with the government, treading through a maze of conflicting priorities and regulations, rancorous labor relations and wildcat strikes, housing shortages and erratic delivery of essential materials. Thursday May 4th, 2023. The remaining four hours were used to restock parts and change tooling. The plant initially built components. Architect Albert Kahn boasted that the Willow Run plant would be the More than 3,200 feet long and 1,279 feet across at its widest point, the plants 80-acre interior exceeded the Empire State Buildings floor space by 20 percent. Frank B. Woodford, 'Willow Run Poses Problems,' New York Times, 19 April 1942, E10; Glenn H. Cummings, 'Biggest War Plant,' Wall Street Journal, 26 May 1942, 1; 'Ford Stand Stirs War Housing Issue,' New York Times, 28 June 1942, 25; Agnes E. Meyer, 'Detroit's Willow Run Area Is A Housing Nightmare ,' you can see the two big hangar doors behind me. workforce became a model of diversity for future The bomber plant adjacent to the airport produced the famed World War II bombers in a plant built by Henry Ford. The plant held the distinction of being the world's largest enclosed "room." The B-24 and the Willow Run Bomber Plant | Flickr Willow Run produced 739,000 cars as part of Kaiser-Frazer and Kaiser Motors, from 1947 through 1953, when after years of losses, the company (now called Kaiser Motors after Frazer's exit from the partnership) purchased Willys-Overland and began moving its production at Willow Run to the Willys plant in Toledo, Ohio. For Our Members-. Sorensen was shocked. [3][41], Ford had switched over to the single-tailed B-24N in May 1945, but the end of the war in Europe in the same month brought a rapid end to Liberator production; the contract with Ford was officially terminated on 31 May 1945 and orders for 5168 unbuilt B-24N-FO bombers were cancelled as well. approximately 4 out of every 10 employees were women. Although the jumping of an automotive company into aircraft production posed these quality problems, it also brought remarkable production rates. Visit our updated. They presented the plan to Consolidated President Reuben Fleet and George Mead, procurement director for the Advisory Council for National Defense, who countered with an offer to produce a thousand sets of wings. Willow Run and its workers met their goal. This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties, Sociological study on Willow Run housing crisis, Army Air Forces support and post-production activities, Liberator variants produced at Willow Run, Redevelopment efforts and the Yankee Air Museum. restore a piece of the building, about 175,000 square feet. Warren Avis, a decorated B-24 pilot in the 376th Bombardment Group, opened the nations first airport rental car service in the terminal and grew it into Avis Rent A Car Systems. "A Historical Perspective.". The two sides reached an accommodation during the first quarter of 1943. ft. building, which later became the GM Powertrain facility. The company resumed automobile production within a week. This made the farmers dislike the plant and its employees because the farmers viewed Willow Run and its employees as attempting to change the established community. The airfield passed into civilian hands after the war and is now controlled by Wayne County Airport Authority. Ford Motor Company had reinvented the concept with the Model T's moving assembly line. from 1959 to 1969. Deemed unfit for combat, they were assigned to training bases, reconnaissance patrols and transport duties. Named "Lily's Pad",[53] the break spot was equipped with posters that catered to the male fantasy, an air conditioning unit, rope lights, a TV and a list of restaurant takeout phone numbers. It sat 35 miles west of Detroit, at a site without existing highway or streetcar connections. Managing the utilities and slowly shutting them off has been Lewis' biggest challenge, as the building is hard-pressed to give up its secrets. [3][41], During June 1944, the Army determined that the San Diego and Willow Run plants would be capable of meeting all future requirements for Liberator production. Labor shortages made women essential to war industries, and the government actively recruited them to join the workforce. It seems like a production miracle that the people working at Willow Run bomber plant were able to produce the B-24 Liberator at such tremendous speed. Ford's Willow Run Factory - Warfare History Network Kaiser also built two C-123 Provider airframes at Willow Run, which were scrapped before delivery, as a procurement scandal involving the company put an end to any chance for future Air Force contracts. The B-24J incorporated a hydraulically driven tail turret and other defensive armament modifications in the nose of the aircraft. President Roosevelt stunned millions of listeners when he announced during a May 26, 1940, fireside chat that government must harness the efficient machinery of Americas manufacturers to produce 50,000 combat aircraft over the next 12 months to confront the approaching storm of global war. Willow Run Airport has remained active as a cargo and general aviation airfield. Workers at the Willow Run Bomber Plant take lunch on the fuselage, February 8, 1943. Overhead cranes would hoist completed sections onto the final assembly line for joining into a finished aircraft, the same way cars were put together, but on a grand scale in a massive new plant. Bill. It also required the installation of two turntables to turn airplane fuselages 90 degrees near the end of the assembly line. The plant produced both Kaiser and Frazer models, including the compact Henry J, which with minor differences was also sold through Sears-Roebuck as the Allstate. Employee training was a constant process at Willow Run. A parcel of land to the south of Powertrain was set aside for assembly operations that began in 1959, with a Fisher Body plant that built bodies for the Chevrolet models assembled there, including the Corvair and Nova.