How big was the Willow Run plant?

five-million square foot
The Willow Run plant was first leased, and eventually sold, to General Motors after a fire in August 1953 destroyed their Detroit transmission factory in Livonia, Michigan. The five-million square foot Willow Run plant was closed in 2010 as part of GM’s bankruptcy proceedings.

How many bombers did Willow Run produce?

Willow Run Bomber Plant Manual, 1943-1944 Workers at Willow Run built a staggering 8,685 B-24 bombers — 6,792 complete planes and 1,893 knock-down kits — by the time the last one was finished on June 28, 1945. No one had ever manufactured airplanes on such a scale before.

How long did it take to build the Willow Run bomber plant?

two years
The result of one night’s hard work, it is the true outline of Willow Run, which took two years to build and came through on schedule with one four-engine Liberator an hour, 18 bombers a day, and by the end of the war a total of 8,800 big planes off the assembly lines and into the air.

When did the Willow Run bomber plant open?

The Willow Run Bomber Plant, located just outside of metro Detroit in Ypsilanti Township, was the pinnacle of American innovation at the time of its construction. Between 1940 and 1945, workers built the plant and accomplished something truly astonishing: one B-24 Liberator rolled off the production line per hour.

Why did Ford stop making planes?

But Ford never again made a serious push to build flying cars. Historians generally point to the Depression and a need to concentrate on his auto business as reasons for the “motor king’s” retreat from aviation, while some of his contemporaries never thought he had the same passion for airplanes that his son Edsel did.

How long did it take to build a plane in ww2?

Aircraft companies went from building a handful of planes at a time to building them by the thousands on assembly lines. Aircraft manufacturing went from a distant 41st place among American industries to first place in less than five years.

What was Detroit called in ww2?

The Arsenal of Democracy
It is generally agreed that no American city contributed more to the Allied powers during World War II than Detroit. Appropriately, Detroit grew to be known as “The Arsenal of Democracy,” a term coined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during one of his Fireside Chat radio broadcasts.

Are any Ford Trimotors still flying?

Two Ford Trimotors are still being used by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) to fly passengers on sightseeing tours : a 4 -AT-E, bought by the association after a crash and fully restored, and a 5-AT-B owned by the Liberty Aviation Museum.

Are there any Ford Trimotors still flying?

The three-engine aircraft was used worldwide for airline transportation, cargo, military service and just about anything else you can think of. Production of the Trimotor ran from 1926 to 1933, and today, very few are still in flying condition.

When was the Willow Run bomber plant built?

Five main contractors hurried the project along, and parts of the plant began production in September 1941. Ultimately, more than seven million square feet of floor space were completed for B-24 production at Willow Run.

When was Willow Run Liberator assembly line built?

Willow Run’s Liberator assembly line ran through May 1945, building almost half of all the Liberators produced. Willow Run Airport was built as part of the bomber plant.

When was the Willow Run Transmission plant built?

Construction of the Willow Run Bomber Plant began in 1940 and was completed in 1942. When Ford declined to purchase the facility after the war, Kaiser-Frazer Corporation gained ownership, and in 1953 Ford’s rival General Motors took ownership and operated the factory as Willow Run Transmission until 2010.

How big was Ford’s Willow Run factory in 1940?

But in December 1940 the focus shifted to the B-24s. Willow Run plant under construction, 1940. With nearly 5 million square feet, the factory was touted as the largest single-story building in the world at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrwTz-9Qi24