In 1941 the winds of war were approaching, and America’s military was ill prepared to fight if drawn into the conflict.

One of the militaries most glaring deficiencies was the time it took to build a single bomber: 30 days.

In 1941 the Pentagon sent generals to Detroit to meet with Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company. To see if it was possible to take the assembly line approach to aircraft construction. While the aviation industry scoffed at the idea, Ford said it could be done. But not on existing assembly lines for automobiles.

Ford said he would need to build a new factory from scratch to build a bomber. The Pentagon agreed, and Henry Ford set out to build a bomber factory.

Henry Ford’s Farm at Willow Run

He picked a farm he owned at Willow Run near Ypsilanti in Washtenaw County as the site of the plant. Since he already owned the land, there would be no problems purchasing land. The farm at Willow Run was an ideal location, about 35 miles west of Detroit connected by main roads and rail lines between Detroit and Ann Arbor.

At this time Ford Motor Company was under the direction of Henry Ford’s only son Edsel. Although officially retired, Henry Ford still had a say in the company’s affairs and refused government financing for Willow Run, preferring to have his company build the factory and sell it to the government, which would lease it back to the company for the duration of the war. Ford Motor was to have first option on the plant after war production ended.

It took six months to complete the factory, which was designed by Architect Albert Kahn. When completed it was the largest manufacturing plant in the world, with more that 3.5 million square feet. The plant began production in the summer of 1941, six month before Pearl Harbor.

At first the plant initially built components; Douglas Aircraft and the plane’s designer Consolidated Aircraft assembled the finished aircraft. Remote assembly proved problematic, however, and by October 1941 Ford received permission to produce complete B-24 Liberator bombers.

Willow Run Airport was built as part of the bomber plant, in next door Wayne County.

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 production. The plant at Willow Run was also beset with labor difficulties, high absentee rates, and rapid employee turnover. The factory was nearly an hour’s drive from Detroit, and the imposition of wartime gasoline and tire rationing had made the daily commute difficult.

But when these problems were resolved, the results were truly remarkable.

8,685 Bombers, One Every 59 Minutes!

Between 1942 and 1945, Willow Run produced 8,685 B-24 Liberators. At its peak, the plant employed more than 42,000 people and produced a B-24 every 59 minutes.

Many historians believe that Detroit’s ability to mass produce not just aircraft, but tanks and military hardware of all kinds, was a key to the Allied victory in World War II.

The aircraft manufacturing industry would never be the same.

Post War

Although Ford had an option to purchase the plant once it was no longer needed for war production, the company declined to exercise it, and ended its association with Willow Run. Eventually, the plant fell into the hands of the company’s archrival, General Motors.

Over the years, GM expanded the bomber plant by roughly half, to nearly 5 million square feet. The GM Powertrain factory and engineering center was there, and a parcel of land to the south of Powertrain was set aside for assembly operations that began in 1959, including a Fisher Body plant that built bodies for the Chevrolet models assembled there, including the Corvair and Nova.

In addition to making automatic transmissions, Willow Run Transmission also produced the M16A1 rifle and the M39A1 20mm autocannon for the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

Yankee Air Museum

In 1981, a group of aviation enthusiasts came together for the purpose of preserving objects related to the aviation history of the Detroit area. The result was the Yankee Air Museum.

Unfortunately, in 2004, the museum, housed in a historic World War II era hangar, was largely destroyed by fire; the fire destroyed the hangar and most of the collection of documents and objects.

Volunteers managed to save the restored B-17, C-47, and B-25 flyable aircraft.

The Yankee Air Museum immediately began rebuilding the collection. In 2009, after fund raising, they purchased a building on the Willow Run airport property and in 2010 opened The Yankee Air Museum Collections & Exhibits Building to the public.

Willow Run Plant Closes

In 2010 General Motors closed the Willow Run plant during the period the company was in bankruptcy. Title passed to the RACER Trust, which was created by GM to dispose of the company’s abandoned real estate as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

RACER announced plans to demolish the bomber plant and re-purpose the property for other uses.

Yankee Air Museum Steps Up

In 2014 Yankee Air Museum succeeded in raising $8 million to purchase a portion of the building. The RACER Trust sold the remainder of the property and demolished the rest of the building.

The 175,000 sq. ft. portion of the original bomber plant that Yankee acquired is less than 5% of the massive facility. However, it comprises the end of the former B-24 assembly line at the far eastern edge of the property, which contains the two iconic bay doors from which the finished Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers exited the plant during World War II.

The Yankee Air Museum is now engaged in a fund raising campaign to restore the portion of the bomber plant they acquired and build exhibits.

The museum will move into this building and become the National Museum of Aviation and Technology at Historic Willow Run.

Open for Business

In the meantime, the Yankee Air Museum is open to the public with exhibits and educational programs.

The flyable aircraft are available to the public for rides. These include the Yankee Warrior, one of only two B-25C/D Mitchell aircraft still flying; the Yankee Lady, a World War II B-17G bomber which is one of only 10 still flying; and the Yankee Doodle Dandy, a C-47 transport plane which served as the backbone of troop transport from WWII through Vietnam.

The museum also offers rides on its Biplane.

For more information, and to contribute to the fund-raising effort, visit:

www.YankeeAirMuseum.org

Thunder Over Michigan

The Thunder over Michigan Air Show is an annual event presented by Wayne County Airport Authority. In 2018 it will feature the United States Air Force 'Thunderbirds and much more on August 25-26, 2018.

Thunder over Michigan is one of America’s leading air shows and is considered the best “warbird” show in America. Held every summer at Willow Run Airport near Detroit, the show features world-class entertainment, unique static displays, and fun for the whole family.

http://yankeeairmuseum.org/airshow

Rosie the Riveter

The iconic Rosie the Riveter may seem to be simply a fiction from the past but she has a name – and an important history.

Rose Will Monroe moved from her home in Pulaski County, Kentucky as part of the great migration to Ypsilanti, Michigan to participate in the greatest national cause of the 20th century, the defense of freedom and liberty in World War II. She worked as a riveter at the Willow Run Aircraft Factory building B-24 bombers for the U.S. Army Air Forces. Monroe was asked to star in a promotional film about the war effort at home.

She and thousands of other men and women rolled up their sleeves with the “can do” attitude necessary to bring victory to America and her allies.

While Henry Ford had reservations about using women on the line, there was little alternative available at the time. Thus, Rose Will Monroe and her co-workers came to southeast Michigan. Rose was singled out to become the symbol for this newly diverse workforce, and became the emblem for wartime production. And so, “Rosie the Riveter” was born.

Having women employees helped stabilize the workforce as well. Between the draft, enlistments, and a general shortage of skilled workers, many of the male workers either could leave for other opportunities or be made to leave for the war effort. In the end, women, who collectively became known as “Rosies” not only at Willow Run, but throughout the country, were strongly recruited and appreciated, to the point that “Rosies” made up 36.5 percent of the assembly workers in the aircraft industry.

Henry Ford’s Tax Problem

Henry Ford selected his farm in Washtenaw County, Michigan as the site of the Willow Run Bomber plant for several reasons.

First, he already owned the property. And second, its taxes were much lower than neighboring Wayne County.

But as the building footprtint continued to grow as new manufacturing lines were added, the plant grow closer to the Wayne County line each day.

When it became inevitable that every bomber coming off the end of the straight production line would end up in Wayne County, that county announced it planned to tax Ford for every plane it produced..

Henry Ford was furious. He was also cantankerous and rigid in his ways.

So Ford had a large turntable installed along the assembly line, allowing the B-24 production line to make a 90° turn before continuing to final assembly, and exiting into Washtenaw County.

According to legend, this arrangement allowed the company to pay taxes on the entire plant (and its equipment) to Washtenaw County, and avoid the higher taxes of Wayne County.

About the Author

Stephen M. Kirchner has been Editor & Publisher of Byways Magazine for the past 35 years. He is based in Louisville, KY.