Ford & B-24's

[Srjeeper]

Ford's B-24 Bomber Plant at Willow Run, MI


Henry Ford was determined that he could mass produce bombers just as he had done with cars. He built the Willow Run assembly plant and proved it. It was the world's largest building under one roof. This will absolutely blow you away - one B-24 every 55 minutes. ADOLF HITLER HAD NO IDEA THE U.S. WAS CAPABLE OF THIS KIND OF THING. There is no way he could have even guessed.
For those who live outside of Michigan , Willow Run is near Bellville, Canton and Ypsilanti , MI
It's amazing that one B-24 (built with over 1.225 million parts) came off the assembly line every 55 minutes
Take a few minutes to watch this snapshot of history:


Click here: bomber_plant.wmv

 

[Derrickl112]

I have an aerial view of willow run somewhere...Ill see if I can find it and scan it.



Found it.

 

[armytruck63]

Awesome video, thanks for sharing. This is the plant where Henry Ford put a 90 degree bend in the assembly line so he wouldn't cross the county line (or city limits?) and have to pay property taxes in two municipalities.

 

[sigo]

Funny this topic just came up. I was chatting with a friend this last week about that plant. He retired from GM about two years ago and had worked at the Hydramatic plant (former Ford B-24 plant) for his entire career. He spent quite a bit of time during that last 25 years or so exploring the plant and had come across some interesting things left over from the plant's WWII days. Apparently there were substantial shelters underneath the plant and tunnels to various areas including the airfield at Willow Run (Willow Run was used to test and fly out the completed Libs). Most of it was not on the building plans GM used and new rooms were usually uncovered or floors punched through into undocumented areas during renovations and plant upgrades over the years. Tooling and parts from the B-24 line as well as various supplies and machinery from the 40's were also uncovered from time to time.