GMs Chevrolet Division assembled rear-engine Corvairs in a converted warehouse on the grounds during a 10-year run beginning in 1959. Click the drop-down menu below and make your selection. approximately 4 out of every 10 employees were women. Efforts to desegregate Willow Run Lodge and Village and build additional integrated housing were rebuffed by the Detroit Housing Commission and the National Housing Agency,[25] so noted African-American architect Hilyard Robinson was contracted to design an 80-unit community. All true, but he didnt mention the hard steel dies he authorized, the same types used to slam auto parts into shape, damaged and defaced the softer aluminum, a metal comprising 85 percent of B-24 content. Ford Motor Company president Edsel Ford passed away on May 26, 1943. Between them, there was a shelter for more than 15,000 people, roughly the number of people living in Ypsilanti at the time. 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. Future of historic Willow Run plant uncertain - mlive.com By 4 a.m. he had configured floor space and time requirements for sequential assembly of the planes principal sections, each fabricated in choreographed progression through separate, self-contained cells. "It was a like a town of its own," said Rancour, 88 . The standard workweek for all hourly employees was 54 hours, with time-and-a-half pay for each hour over 40. Ford's production methods depended on a "fixed" design -- each design modification required expensive and time-consuming updates to the assembly line. Sadly, one of the people most responsible for Willow Run's success did not live to see it. Browse our Buyers Guide to find suppliers of all types of assembly technology, machines and systems, service providers and trade organizations. Construction on the Willow Run Bomber Plant began that spring and it soon became the largest factory under one roof in the world. Today "Rosie" remains a feminist icon and a powerful reminder of women's contributions to the American economy. 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. How Ford's Willow Run Assembly Plant Helped Win World War II That hulking plant was idled in the early 1990s, putting about 4,000 people out of work. For the next six months, Sorensen shuttled 70-man teams of engineers and draftsmen back and forth on 2,300-mile trips from Ford headquarters to the Consolidated works in San Diego to immerse themselves in B-24 design, engineering, parts and components. For webinar sponsorship information, visit www.bnpevents.com/webinars or email webinars@bnpmedia.com. A thousand-member tool design group worked around the clock seven days a week for almost a year to create three-dimensional schematics of the planes 30,000 separate components, generating five million square feet of blueprints in the process. Dwarfs, whose physical stature had limited prewar employment opportunities, toiled inside wings, fuel cells and other confined spaces. [3], Upon the introduction of the B-24J, all three of the Liberator manufacturing plants converted to the production of this version. Ford Motor Company. most enormous room in the history of man.. Workers at the Willow Run Bomber Plant take lunch on the fuselage, February 8, 1943. A ghostly, decaying reminder of the industrial and military history echoing within its cavernous expanse, Willow Run was demolished in 2014. The first of these apartments were ready for occupancy in August 1943. The building is currently being used to house and protect of the Museum's large aircraft . In addition to complete airplanes, Willow Run produced "knock-down kits" that were shipped to Douglas Aircraft's plant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Consolidated Aircraft's plant in Fort Worth, Texas, for final assembly. [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]. Along with the B-17, the B-24 formed the backbone of the Allies' air war over Europe. Few new hires had ever been in a factory, so Ford built the Aircraft Apprentice School on the grounds to familiarize these industrial novices with tools and techniques of high-precision aeronautical manufacturing. . The plant held the distinction of being the world's largest enclosed "room." In on-site classrooms, newly hired workers sat through orientation lectures on the aircraft industry in general, the B-24's specific importance to the war, and the dire consequences should the Allies lose the fight. "A Historical Perspective.". The B-17 had a six-year history of design, development, testing and limited production. Birthplace Of Rosie The Riveter: The Willow Run Bomber Plant Reality proved otherwise. The option to Walbridge has since lapsed and the property remains available for purchase and redevelopment. Contact Us Foxconn Technology Group Employees Assembling Bomber at Willow Run Plant, March 1943 New housing, better roads and professional training alleviated Willow Runs employee retention dilemma, but didnt solve it. It also required the installation of two turntables to turn airplane fuselages 90 degrees near the end of the assembly line. 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. Sorensen, Edsel Ford and Henry Ford well understood the difficulties in precision mass production. The remaining four hours were used to restock parts and change tooling. 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. Planes were assembled outdoors, exposed to a hot sun that distorted parts out of shape. During this reduction, there was rumor that Ford would repurchase the plant from the government . Among them were farmhands, secretaries, housewives, schoolteachers and grocery clerks. Search our website to find what youre looking for. The Willow Run Expressway also connected with the Detroit Industrial Expressway, built at the same time. Ford now planned to build 650 planes each month -- one every 45 minutes. Employees at Willow Run celebrated the completion of their 6,000th airplane in September 1944. The metal entry doors were also fashioned with magnets to effectively keep the door shut. you can see the two big hangar doors behind me. Join Ernst Neumayr, Channel Development Manager from Universal Robots, and Jeremy Crockett, Business Manager for Automation from Atlas Copco, and discover how cobots can build your business and increase productivity in your manufacturing facility without multiplying the complexity of your processes! 1, Specialty Press. Feeding the thousands of workers at Willow Run was no small task. Consolidated had built each wing with its own temporary jig to hold the structure in place. 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 yankee air museum into it and show people what the history . The errant flush caused Lewis grief as he tried to find the source of the sound. At its peak, Willow Run employed more than 42,000 people. No two were alike.. In November 2016, RACER Trust sold Willow Run to an entity created by the State of Michigan, which leases the property to the American Center for Mobility (AMC).[9]. 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. Sorensen and his team methodically broke the complex bomber plane into 11 major assemblies, and then further divided these into 69 sub-assemblies. Women did everything from clerical work in the offices to riveting and welding on the assembly line. 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. Managing the utilities and slowly shutting them off has been Lewis' biggest challenge, as the building is hard-pressed to give up its secrets. Like virtually all of the United States' industrial concerns, Ford Motor Company, by this time under the direction of Henry Ford's only son Edsel, directed its manufacturing output during World War II to Allied war production. [49] The majority of the $8 million goal reflects separation costs to make the preserved portion of the plant viable as a standalone structure. Willow Run Airport has remained active as a cargo and general aviation airfield. Simply moving workers to and from the plant was a major logistical challenge. The story of Willow run and the production miracle that produced as many as 25 B-24 bombers every day. 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. Approximately one-third of the plant's assembly line workers were female. For government officials, Ford offered significant advantages. The influx of workers for the massive war . A 175,000-square-foot section, where B-24s were gassed up and towed out the door, was spared for the future home of the National Museum of Aviation and Technology. [21], Also in the Willow Run Village were the West Court[24] buildings, with peaked rooftops and space for couples or three adults. All Rights Reserved BNP Media. Working with a scale model, they shifted equipment and work stations for maximum efficiency. The remaining four hours were used to restock parts and change tooling. The company resumed automobile production within a week. 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. The water is treated in a modern treatment plant completed in 1939. Please click here to continue without javascript.. Increase Assembly Productivity With Cobot Automation, Manufacturing Cost Policy Deployment (MCPD) Profitability Scenarios: Systematic and Systemic Improvement of Manufacturing Costs, How Lean Helped GEs Turbine Factory Find Its Mojo, 2018 Assembly Plant of the Year: Ford Shifts Flexible Assembly Into High Gear. By mid-1944, the Willow Run assembly plant This section was known as Willow Run Village. Of the 1,000 apartments in West Court, some had no bedrooms and were called "zero bedroom" apartments, and the rest had one bedroom. Thirty-eight tons of structural steel, five million bricks, and six months later, the $65-million colossus began churning out parts while equipment was still being installed and roof and walls remained unfinished. The Fords built seven of these: The first at Greenfield Village, Michigan, was completed in 1929. Search our website to find what youre looking for. The Willow Run airport was to produce the B-24 bomber to support the Allied war effort. >> the willow run plant is in the process right now of being demolished. The aircraft manufacturer Douglas Aircraft, and the B-24's designer, Consolidated Aircraft, assembled the finished airplane. The bombings curbed Germany's manufacturing capabilities and wore down its citizens' morale. While there were many injuries, it is notable that Willow Run did not record a single fatality while the factory was in service. Willow Run Bomber Plant IPMS - USA. [40], The B-24E was the first variant of the B-24 that underwent primary manufacture by Ford at Willow Run. This website requires certain cookies to work and uses other cookies to help you have the best experience. 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. ", Demolition of the majority of the Willow Run facility began in December 2013. 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. It was an historic but ephemeral achievement. The average daily pumpage in million gallons was about 1.68 in 1942, 1.70 in 1943, and 1.66 in 1944. Overstocked with B-24s, the Air Force already had canceled contracts with Douglas Aircraft and North American Aviation and would terminate Consolidated Fort Worth by years end. Production. Willow Run bomber plant. Inspection of more than a thousand Courtesy of the Library of Congress. "[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. [50], Meanwhile, the remaining portion of the Willow Run property, which includes over 95% of the historic original bomber plant building, was optioned to Walbridge, Inc., for redevelopment as a connected car research and test facility. 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. 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. Of the seven chapels, this is the only one currently in use as a regular place of worship. Meanwhile, Ford was savaged in the Detroit press because it took too long. There were 24 lunch rooms located throughout the complex. They were producing a custom-made plane put together as a tailor would cut and fit a suit of clothes. 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 plant was originally designed to be able to continue to operate if parts of it were ever bombedwhich resulted in dedicated water, compressed air and gas lines to different areas of the building.". [7] The 175,000-square-foot (16,300m2) portion of the original bomber plant that Yankee seeks to preserve is less than 5% of the massive facility, comprises the end of the former B-24 assembly line at the far eastern edge of the property, and contains the two iconic bay doors from which the finished Consolidated B-24 Liberator bombers exited the plant during World War II. Deemed unfit for combat, they were assigned to training bases, reconnaissance patrols and transport duties. Women and men were paid the same rate for the same work. The bomber plant adjacent to the airport produced the famed World War II bombers in a plant built by Henry Ford. 550 sizes, and it weighed 18 tons. The Fisher Body division also operated at Willow Run Assembly until its operations were assumed by the GM Assembly Division in the 1970s. However, he finally relented and did employ "Rosie the Riveters" on his assembly lines, probably more because so many of his potential male workers had been drafted into the military than due to any sudden change of principle on his part. 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 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. The Yankee Air Museum acquired a portion of the plant, for preservation and exhibit purposes, in 2013. Many fled after their first day, traumatized by the smell, constant clanging and motion of machinery, and overpowering size of the place. But, as 1943 arrived, problems got solved and Willow Run turned a corner. [3], B-24Es built and fully assembled at Ford were designated B-24E-FO; those assembled at Tulsa and Fort Worth out of parts supplied by Ford were designated B-24E-DT and B-24E-CF respectively. 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. After Ford declined to purchase the plant, it was sold to the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation, a partnership of construction and shipbuilding magnate Henry J. Kaiser and Graham-Paige executive Joseph W. Frazer. The massive plant turned out 8,645 Liberators vs. 9,808 manufactured by four factories of Consolidated, Douglas Aircraft, and North American Aviation. At its peak monthly production (August 1944), Willow Run produced 428 B-24s with highest production listed as 100 completed Bombers flying away from Willow Run between April 24 and April 26, 1944. Here is his description of the visit and how he conceived the Willow Run bomber plant that eventually manufactured 8,800 of these aircraft. Ford proved that even the most complicated military machines could be built using the techniques it pioneered with the Model T. At war's end, Ford Motor Company chose not to exercise its option to buy the Willow Run plant. 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. Willow Run Lodge, Housing for Willow Run Bomber Plant Workers, 1945 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 . ", 1960 Chevrolet Corvair Sales Brochure, "The Prestige Car in Its Class". Handcrafted versions were pressed into service in England, but the San Diego company lacked resources and methods for high-volume production of the largest, most complex airplane ever designed. '"[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]. Early example of Lean. Willow Run Airport was built as part of the bomber plant. [3][41], The B-24M was the last large-scale production variant of the Liberator. Ford built 37 planes in January, 70 in February, 96 in March, and 146 in April. [23] The flat-tops contained four, six, or eight apartments with one, two, or three bedrooms. Ford had no say in the matter; production chaos ensued. The B-24H differed from earlier B-24s by having a second turret placed in the nose of the aircraft to increase defensive firepower. Baseball games at the on-site recreation field took away some of the strain during off-duty hours. [36][37], While the planes were being serviced and made ready for overseas movement, personnel for these planes were also being processed. A never-ending stream of water gurgles through the pipes to parts unknown like an underground stream. The campaign to save a portion of Willow Run for the Yankee Air Museum was called SaveTheBomberPlant.org, and is centered on a fundraising website by the same name. 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! Every available room within miles was rented, including those with eight-hour shifts called hot beds. That was the schedule six days a week. 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.
