Willow Run bomber plant. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The standard workweek for all hourly employees was 54 hours, with time-and-a-half pay for each hour over 40. UAW Local 898, 8975 Textile Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. wrbpipms@gmail.com. Construction on the Bomber Plant began in March, 1941. workforce became a model of diversity for future 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, MI 481245029, Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation Overview, Teacher's Choice @ Giant Screen Experience, Henry Austin Clark, Jr. Graduate Internship, Clark Travel-to-Collections Research Fellowship, Diversity and Inclusion Internship Program, Teacher's Choice @ Giant Screen Experience, Educator Professional Development Overview. The delivery of seven YB-24Ns by Ford in June 1945 marked the end of Liberator production at Willow Run.[3][42]. Willow Run Airport has remained active as a cargo and general aviation airfield. On October 31, 1945 Ford published a notice that cut its workforce from 1,400 employees down to 100 employees who would finish cataloging remaining parts and finish the records. The president and his advisers were convinced that long-range, high-altitude heavy bombers would be the decisive weapon in a war dominated by air power and industrial muscle. The company resumed automobile production within a week. They would be built elsewhere. "[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. [7], For a period of time before the eventual demolition of Willow Run Assembly, portions were used as a warehouse, about a quarter of which was leased by GM as a facility for parts distribution.[45]. With so many young men drafted into the armed forces, Willow Run's workforce was unusually diverse for its time: African Americans, whites, older people, younger men unable to serve in the military, and -- most notably -- women. >> the willow run plant is in the process right now of being demolished. The plant began production in summer 1941; the dedication plaque is dated June 16. New housing, better roads and professional training alleviated Willow Runs employee retention dilemma, but didnt solve it. 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. From historic images to vivid descriptions, a record of rich detail is bundled inside a single card. 7:00 PM. 8,685 B-24's were built in Willow Run bomber plant (Story of Willow Run, p.70). Willow Run workers built 1,893 kits over the course of the war. The building is currently being used to house and protect of the Museum's large aircraft . 20900 Oakwood Boulevard, Dearborn, MI 481245029, Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation Overview, Teacher's Choice @ Giant Screen Experience, Henry Austin Clark, Jr. Graduate Internship, Clark Travel-to-Collections Research Fellowship, Diversity and Inclusion Internship Program, Teacher's Choice @ Giant Screen Experience, Educator Professional Development Overview, 6000th Ford B-24 in Flight over Detroit, Michigan, September 13, 1944, B-24 Bomber in Flight, Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1944, Ford Rouge Plant Administration Building from the Ford Rotunda, Dearborn, Michigan, 1936, Henry Ford at Willow Run Bomber Plant Construction Site, 1941, Flow Chart for B-24 Production at the Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1944, Charles Sorensen and Others Viewing a Scale Model of the Willow Run Bomber Plant, July 1941, Interior of the Ford Willow Run Bomber Plant during Construction, 1941, Aerial View of the Ford Motor Company Willow Run Bomber Plant, September 1945, Workers Arriving and Departing by Bus at Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942, Crowd at Dedication of Tri-Level Highway Overpass, Willow Run, Michigan, 1942, Willow Run Lodge, Housing for Willow Run Bomber Plant Workers, 1945, Employees in Classroom at the Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942, B-24 Fuselage Assembly Line, Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942, B-24 Bombers on Assembly Line at Ford Motor Company Willow Run Bomber Plant, January 1943, Senator Harry S. Truman and Ford Executive Charles Sorensen with B-24 Liberator at Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942, B-24 Engine Assembly Line, Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942, B-24 Bomber Wing Assembly, Ford Motor Company Willow Run Plant, 1944, Employees Assembling Bomber at Willow Run Plant, March 1943, Women Riveters at Willow Run Bomber Plant, Michigan, 1944, Employee Handling the Material Flow for the B-24 Bomber, Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1944, Chefs Preparing Food at Willow Run Bomber Plant Kitchen, 1942, Hangar Hospital, Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942, Baseball Game at Willow Run Bomber Plant Recreation Field, September 1944, Comparing Cast and Welded Part with Pieced and Riveted Part to Improve Production, Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1944, B-24 Liberator Assembly Line at Ford Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1944, Portrait of Edsel Ford by Pirie MacDonald, 1934, B-24 Bomber Assemblies Being Loaded Into a Trailer, Willow Run Bomber Plant, circa 1943, 6,000th B-24 Bomber at Ford Motor Company Willow Run Plant, September 9, 1944, Henry Ford and President Franklin Roosevelt Touring the Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942, Ford Institutional Advertisement on the B-24 Bomber, "Watch the Fords Go By! Like many successful technology companies, LITEON outgrew the garage to become a leader of its chosen industry through years of hard work. Production steadily increased, reaching the magical plane-per-hour pinnacle in mid-1944 while accounting for half of all B-24s assembled that year. AskUs", "Oral History Interview with John W. Snyder", "Ford May Convert Willow Run Into Huge Tractor Plant", "History of the original Willow Run Village", "They may save our honor, our hopesand our necks", AFHRA Document 00155775 1 Concentration Command History, AFHRA Document 00150138 AAFTC Technical Training Command, "Tucson International Airport's Historic Hangars", "History of the Willow Run Plant, Part 3", "Preservation group gets extension to raise money for historic Willow Run factory", "Willow Run bomber plant preservationists get more time to reach goal", "Yankee Air Museum signs deal for part of Willow Run Bomber Plant", "YPSILANTI TOWNSHIP: RACER Trust reaches demolition, development agreements for Willow Run plant", "Death of a factory: inside the Willow Run GM Powertrain plant for the last time", "Willow Run assembly plant demolition proceeding", "A Future NEW Home for the Yankee Air Museum", Detroit Edison Company Willis Avenue Station, Michigan Bell and Western Electric Warehouse, Piquette Avenue Industrial Historic District, Frederic M. Sibley Lumber Company Office Building, List of Registered Historic Places in Michigan, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Willow_Run&oldid=1134554587, Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States, Motor vehicle assembly plants in Michigan, United States home front during World War II, Michigan State Historic Sites in Washtenaw County, Michigan, Defunct manufacturing companies based in Michigan, Articles with dead external links from September 2020, Short description is different from Wikidata, Infobox mapframe without OSM relation ID on Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, military draft each month 8,200 workers drafted into military service, school the Aircraft Apprentice School had up to 8,000 students per week completed training and reported for work, dimensions More than 3,200 feet long and 1,279 feet across at its widest point, subassemblies parts production and subassemblies at almost 1,000 Ford factories and independent suppliers, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 07:10. The Willow Run plant was formally dedicated on October 22, 1941, in a ceremony attended by Major Jimmy Doolittle of the U.S. Army Air Forces. The average daily pumpage in million gallons was about 1.68 in 1942, 1.70 in 1943, and 1.66 in 1944. You can select the language displayed on our website. The bomber plant adjacent to the airport produced the famed World War II bombers in a plant built by Henry Ford. those hangar doors represent the end of the plant, the end of the assembly line where 8700 b-24s rolled out. [55] By mid-2014, the majority of the facility had been demolished and cleared. The housing shortage Sorensen complained about arose from his choice of a sparsely populated rural setting 30 miles west of Detroits labor poolan island in Michigan mud, as one writer viewed it. Gift of Ford Motor Company. The plant held the distinction of being the world's largest enclosed "room." When Cherry Hill outgrew the little chapel and decided to build a new church, it sold the chapel to the Belleville Presbyterian Church for one dollar in July 1978. Access the "best of" at The Henry Ford and other great visit planning resources. [40], The B-24E was the first variant of the B-24 that underwent primary manufacture by Ford at Willow Run. you can see the two big hangar doors behind me. Automobiles of the era had 15,000 parts and weighed around 3,000 pounds. The plant's kitchen prepared nearly 10,000 rolls each day. From the Collections of The Henry Ford. The errant flush caused Lewis grief as he tried to find the source of the sound. [27] In May 2017, the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office recognized Parkridge Homes with the unveiling three historic markers signifying the importance to Ypsilanti history.[28]. However, in October 1941, Ford received permission from Consolidated and the Army to assemble complete Liberators on its own at its new Willow Run facility. Sorensen and his team methodically broke the complex bomber plane into 11 major assemblies, and then further divided these into 69 sub-assemblies. approximately 4 out of every 10 employees were women. A technological marvel for a new age of aerial warfare, the B-24 was now obsolete. While there were many injuries, it is notable that Willow Run did not record a single fatality while the factory was in service. plant, each paid the same 85 cents an hour as their The government's constant design changes to the B-24 were particularly troubling. [10] Ford, a keen exponent of the virtues of country living, used it as farmland for a "social engineering" experiment that brought inner-city boys to the Willow Run Camp to learn about farming, nature, and the rural way of life. Even with people driving 100 miles or renting every spare room between Ann Arbor and Grosse Pointe, the sheer size of Willow Run led inevitably to a housing shortage. 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. the end of the assembly line where 8700 b-24s rolled out. During this reduction, there was rumor that Ford would repurchase the plant from the government . [3], Upon the introduction of the B-24J, all three of the Liberator manufacturing plants converted to the production of this version. 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. The first B-24Ms were delivered in October 1944, and by the end of its production in 1945, Willow Run had built 1677; 124 Ford-built B-24Ms were cancelled before delivery. Sociologist and professor Lowell Juilliard Carr and James Edson Stermer of the University of Michigan studied the sociological conditions at Willow Run arising from the wartime surge in the worker population in their book of 1952. [34] The B-24 holds the distinction of being the most produced heavy bomber in history. Ford recruited workers throughout the Midwest and South. Equities Group Holdings offered to buy the former Powertrain plant from the RACER Trust. Designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California, the B-24 Liberator served in every branch of the armed forces during World War II. For government officials, Ford offered significant advantages. WOO Network is a fast-growing Fintech startup and a deep liquidity network with a mission to empower individuals with the right to freely trade, invest, borrow and lend to better their lives. Of the seven chapels, this is the only one currently in use as a regular place of worship. Truman was unimpressed -- he didn't want excuses, he wanted finished bombers. Though the outside may appear to be a stubborn tool shed that won't open by pulling the handle, simply pushing the door open reveals a secret room hidden from prying eyes. A typical month saw as many workers quit as were hired, and 8,200 more were drafted into military service. Sorensen was shocked. [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 some places, water cascades from the rafters of the buildingsending a shower on to the oily floor below. DETROIT -- The public will get the chance to visit the former Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti Township, Mich., one last time Saturday before the factory is demolished. Charles Sorensen, seen here earlier in his career, traveled to Consolidated's San Diego plant with Ford president Edsel Ford. Although the jumping of an automotive company into aircraft production posed these quality problems, it also brought remarkable production rates. Workers on the factory floor could purchase meals from lunch wagons that traveled the facility. Employees Assembling Bomber at Willow Run Plant, March 1943. most enormous room in the history of man.. 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 is an Albert Kahn-designed World War II bomber plant near Ypsilanti, Michigan. FDRs goal exceeded the total of all planes built in the U.S. since the Wright brothers 1903 flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, and he challenged the aviation industry to match that number in succeeding years. The company came back to the government with a counter proposal: it wouldn't just build parts for the B-24, it would build complete airplanes using the automaker's highly refined techniques. It's all narrated with a fantastic mid-Atlantic accent that perfectly fits the . [3][4] The Birmingham Air Depot's primary mission was modifying Liberators from Willow Run. . The Story of Willow Run highlights several of the steps involved in building the aluminum-intensive aircraft. This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. The B-24J incorporated a hydraulically driven tail turret and other defensive armament modifications in the nose of the aircraft. Adjacent to the factory complex, Ford constructed a 1,484-acre airport with six runways and three aircraft hangars. The 60-year-old production czar viewed mass production of B-24s as the crowning achievement of his career. The twin-finned, high-winged B-24 with its dual bomb bays and tricycle landing gear debuted in 1939 as a repurposed land model of Consolidateds bulky flying boats. 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. The war's focus was shifting from Europe to Japan, where more-advanced B-29 bombers were needed. South Lyon, Mich., resident Emma Rancour, who got a job at the Willow Run bomber plant at age 19 in 1943, was in awe of the plant's sheer size. Next WRBP Meeting -. [7] Indeed, the majority of the plant was demolished in late 2013 and early 2014. Yankee was originally granted until August 2013 (deadline was later extended) to raise the funds needed to purchase and separate a portion of the approximately 5,000,000 sq. Specialized employees -- riveters, for example -- received training in these classrooms as well. On November 3, 1943, employees celebrated as Willow Run turned out its 1,000th finished B-24 bomber. High school graduates worked the line next to 70-year-olds. Click the drop-down menu below and make your selection. Consequently, newly constructed Liberators needed modifications for the specific geographic areas they were to be flown in combat. The automaker had . The chosen site was farmland owned by Henry Ford on the eastern edge of Michigan's Washtenaw County, near a creek called Willow Run. '"[31], A 1943 committee authorized by Congress to examine problems at the plant issued a highly critical report; the Ford Motor Company had created a production line that too closely resembled an automobile assembly line "despite the warning of many experienced aircraftmen."[32]. Workers at the Willow Run Bomber Plant take lunch on the fuselage, February 8, 1943. Rivet gun operator Rosemary Will from Pulaski County, KY, appeared in a Ford promotional film, personifying thousands of women in the nations defense industry, collectively known as Rosie the Riveter. The remaining four hours were used to restock parts and change tooling. The worksite Sorensen chose was a 1,875-acre Ford-owned tract that had been a farm camp for boys whose fathers were killed or disabled in World War I. Kahn had designed the Rouge and hundreds of other manufacturing facilities over a long and storied career. Simply moving workers to and from the plant was a major logistical challenge. Search our website to find what youre looking for. Expectations were crushed and the sarcastic appellation Willit Run gained wide circulation. Company Description: Pegatron offers a wide range of electronics products in computing, communications and consumer electronics segment, including notebook PCs, desktop PCs, motherboards, cable modems, smartphones, set-top boxes, and automotive electronics, among others. They were producing a custom-made plane put together as a tailor would cut and fit a suit of clothes. For those unable to endure a long commute, the federal government constructed housing on nearby farmland purchased from Henry Ford. Willow Run ran two nine hour shifts. You must have JavaScript enabled to enjoy a limited number of articles over the next 30 days. Feeding the thousands of workers at Willow Run was no small task. Public bus lines offered 35 daily trips from Detroit, while private carriers offered 130. The 2023 Detroit Area Crosstown Challenge. May 2023 WRBP Meeting -. Dies and machine tools were tossed out and redesigned, wasting precious time and millions of dollars. Perhaps the most impressive breakthrough at Willow Run was Ford's technique for assembling the B-24's center wing section. Ford built 6,972 of the 18,482 total B-24s and produced kits for 1,893 more to be assembled by the other manufacturers. Every available room within miles was rented, including those with eight-hour shifts called hot beds. By closing this message or continuing to use our site, you agree to the use of cookies. Pilots, co-pilots, navigators and crew chiefs were assigned as a crew for each aircraft, sleeping on 1,300 cots as they waited for the B-24s to roll off the assembly line. 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. Highway improvements came in September 1942 when the Willow Run Expressway opened between the plant and Detroit. At last Willow Run hit its stride in 1944. The museum would consolidate operations scattered on various parcels at Willow Run, and the Trust expects to clear the remainder of the plant for redevelopment. It also required the installation of two turntables to turn airplane fuselages 90 degrees near the end of the assembly line. After Kaiser left, General Motors leased and then purchased Willow Run. [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. [29] They discuss "cultural inadequacy theory", stating that "industrial culture provides no criterion by which either a manufacturer or a government official can determine in advance when a manufacturer should divert his own capital to housing and other community services and when he shall rely on the capital of others for such facilities and services". [11], Later in 1953, after a fire on August 12 destroyed General Motors' Detroit Transmission factory in Livonia, Michigan, the Willow Run complex was first leased and then later sold to GM. The center includes a proving ground where smart cars react instantly to all manner of potentially dangerous and problematic situations. Consolidated's method required 250 man-hours; Ford's needed one. Charles Sorensen's brash "one plane every hour" claim was no longer an empty boast. In 1968, General Motors began reorganizing its body and assembly operations into the GM Assembly Division (GMAD). Despite intensive design efforts led by Ford production executive Charles E. Sorensen,[30] the opening of the plant still saw some mismanagement and bungling, and quality was uneven for some time. Plant construction started in March 1941. In some places, the bulbs had been simply painted over and left in their sockets as GM quickly re-tooled assembly lines. A ghostly, decaying reminder of the industrial and military history echoing within its cavernous expanse, Willow Run was demolished in 2014. In 2013, the Museum was able to purchase 144,000 square feet of the Plant. The others, completed in the 1930s, were located in Dearborn, Michigan (site of the Fords' Fair Lane estate); Sudbury, Massachusetts; two in Richmond Hill, Georgia (the Fords' winter home); Macon, Michigan; and Willow Run. Automatic flushing toilets in numerous bathrooms throughout the building didn't stop. [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. The bombings curbed Germany's manufacturing capabilities and wore down its citizens' morale. By mid-1944, the Willow Run assembly plant was producing one B-24 per houraccounting for half of all B-24s assembled that year. Ford had no say in the matter; production chaos ensued. Blacks and other minorities were welcomed and so were immigrants. It was thought to be the largest factory under one roof anywhere in the world. 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. 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. Out of sheer necessity, Willow Runs 42,500-member Deemed unfit for combat, they were assigned to training bases, reconnaissance patrols and transport duties. Winston Churchill called his specially outfitted B-24 the Commando. we intend to save that. Every fluorescent light bulb in the plant must be taken out before the building can be torn down. The Willow Run complex has given its name to a community on the east side of Ypsilanti, defined roughly by the boundaries of the Willow Run Community School District. It also provided a final inspection of the aircraft and made any appropriate final changes; i.e., install long-range fuel tanks, remove unnecessary equipment, and give it a final flight safety test. The U.S. government contributed $200 million to the project.Originally 975 acres of farmland owned by Henry Ford, the site was developed by the Ford Motor Company into In 1972, the University spun off WRL into the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan, which eventually left Willow Run for offices in Ann Arbor. Most controversial was Ford's decision to replace soft metal dies -- thought to be gentler on aluminum airplane components -- with hard steel dies. Willow Run and its workers met their goal. Out of sheer necessity, Willow Runs 42,500-member workforce became a model of diversity for future generations. Long car rides from Detroit over lumpy roads and in overcrowded buses discouraged thousands of employees who left for jobs closer to home. But when we send the 24's out, most of them don't. B-24 Liberators line the airfield at Willow Run Airport in this June 1945 photo. At its peak, Willow Run employed more than 42,000 people. [1] Construction of the Willow Run Bomber Plant began in 1940[2] and was completed in 1942.

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