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- Employees at Willow Run Assembling Bomber Frame, February 1943 - At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- February 04, 1943
- Collections - Artifact
Employees at Willow Run Assembling Bomber Frame, February 1943
At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- Overhead View of Tool and Die Department, Willow Run Bomber Plant, August 1943 - At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- August 27, 1943
- Collections - Artifact
Overhead View of Tool and Die Department, Willow Run Bomber Plant, August 1943
At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- Building the B-24 Center Wing in Record Time, Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942 - At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- November 30, 1942
- Collections - Artifact
Building the B-24 Center Wing in Record Time, Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942
At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- World War II Poster, "Yessir! Rick We'll Make Willow Run Hitler's Headache!," circa 1943 - The people of Ford Motor Company's Willow Run plant felt -- justifiably -- that their efforts were crucial to Allied victory in World War II. The B-24 Liberator airplanes they built formed the backbone of the Allies' strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Posters like this reinforced the idea that the harder Willow Run's employees worked, the weaker the enemy became.
- circa 1943
- Collections - Artifact
World War II Poster, "Yessir! Rick We'll Make Willow Run Hitler's Headache!," circa 1943
The people of Ford Motor Company's Willow Run plant felt -- justifiably -- that their efforts were crucial to Allied victory in World War II. The B-24 Liberator airplanes they built formed the backbone of the Allies' strategic bombing campaign against Germany. Posters like this reinforced the idea that the harder Willow Run's employees worked, the weaker the enemy became.
- Employee Florence Nightingale Working at Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942 - At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- July 25, 1942
- Collections - Artifact
Employee Florence Nightingale Working at Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942
At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- Henry Ford Watching Workers Riveting Center Wing Section at the Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942 - At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- December 21, 1942
- Collections - Artifact
Henry Ford Watching Workers Riveting Center Wing Section at the Willow Run Bomber Plant, 1942
At Willow Run, Ford Motor Company built B-24 bomber planes for World War II using automobile mass production techniques. Airplanes were much more complex than cars. They required constant design changes poorly suited to a standardized assembly line. Ford overcame these difficulties and, at the plant's peak, Willow Run crews produced an average of one bomber every 63 minutes.
- Baseball Players Pose with Equipment Given by Mrs. Gitlen, Willow Run Station Hospital, September 1943 - Opportunities for recreation were important in maintaining morale among Willow Run's employees during World War II. They worked long shifts under constant pressure to meet wartime production goals. To ease the strain, the plant offered organized leagues for baseball, softball, bowling, golf, and other sports.
- September 03, 1943
- Collections - Artifact
Baseball Players Pose with Equipment Given by Mrs. Gitlen, Willow Run Station Hospital, September 1943
Opportunities for recreation were important in maintaining morale among Willow Run's employees during World War II. They worked long shifts under constant pressure to meet wartime production goals. To ease the strain, the plant offered organized leagues for baseball, softball, bowling, golf, and other sports.
- Aerial View, B-24 Liberators Outside Hangar/Gas House at Ford Motor Company Willow Run Bomber Plant, September 1945 - During World War II, Ford Motor Company built 8,685 B-24 Liberator bomber airplanes at its Willow Run plant. The massive Willow Run complex included a seven million square-foot main building, a hospital, worker housing, an airport, and numerous support structures like this hangar in which planes were fueled.
- September 01, 1945
- Collections - Artifact
Aerial View, B-24 Liberators Outside Hangar/Gas House at Ford Motor Company Willow Run Bomber Plant, September 1945
During World War II, Ford Motor Company built 8,685 B-24 Liberator bomber airplanes at its Willow Run plant. The massive Willow Run complex included a seven million square-foot main building, a hospital, worker housing, an airport, and numerous support structures like this hangar in which planes were fueled.
- Willow Run Ford Village Industry Plant, July 1945 - In the 1920s and '30s, Henry Ford located small hydroelectrically powered factories throughout rural southeast Michigan. Built in 1939, the Willow Run plant differed from other "Village Industries." Instead of local residents, boys from Ford's nearby Camp Willow Run -- which provided income and life-skills training for underprivileged teenagers -- worked here, supplying door and ignition locks and keys for Ford's passenger cars.
- July 11, 1945
- Collections - Artifact
Willow Run Ford Village Industry Plant, July 1945
In the 1920s and '30s, Henry Ford located small hydroelectrically powered factories throughout rural southeast Michigan. Built in 1939, the Willow Run plant differed from other "Village Industries." Instead of local residents, boys from Ford's nearby Camp Willow Run -- which provided income and life-skills training for underprivileged teenagers -- worked here, supplying door and ignition locks and keys for Ford's passenger cars.
- 6,000th B-24 Bomber at Ford Motor Company Willow Run Plant, September 9, 1944 - Mass producing B-24 bombers during World War II was no easy feat -- not even for the company that invented modern mass production. But Ford Motor Company was building one airplane every 63 minutes at its Willow Run plant by March 1944. Ford produced its 6,000th B-24 that September. Another 2,685 were built before production ended in May 1945.
- September 09, 1944
- Collections - Artifact
6,000th B-24 Bomber at Ford Motor Company Willow Run Plant, September 9, 1944
Mass producing B-24 bombers during World War II was no easy feat -- not even for the company that invented modern mass production. But Ford Motor Company was building one airplane every 63 minutes at its Willow Run plant by March 1944. Ford produced its 6,000th B-24 that September. Another 2,685 were built before production ended in May 1945.