Rusty Bowtie
General Category => General Discussion - Intros => Topic started by: themoose on December 18, 2017, 04:45:12 PM
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Willow Run B-24s -
The long hanger at Willow Run, Michigan has a 90 degree turn in it so Henry Ford would not have to pay taxes in the next county. That short end is being saved and restored today as a museum. The big hanger doors are still operational after all these years.
This is one of the best and most informative clips about a great American accomplishment, thanks to the Ford Motor Company during WWII.
A Ford Airplane! AMAZING!
Production began here 6 months BEFORE Pearl Harbor! Henry Ford was determined that he could mass produce bombers just as he had with cars, so he built the Willow Run assembly plant and proved it. This was the world's largest building under one roof at the time. This film will absolutely blow you away -- one B-24 every 55 minutes! -- and Ford had its own pilots to test them. And no recalls!
ADOLF HITLER HAD NO IDEA THE U.S. WAS CAPABLE OF THIS KIND OF THING.
Click here to watch video (https://www.youtube.com/embed/iKlt6rNciTo?rel=0)
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Amazing that 1 every 55 minutes was produced. Wonder how many still survive.
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Very cool video. Amazing they could produce them that quickly!
Thanks for posting Moose
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A lot of history there , as well as GM powertrain.
Watched a few vids. Good stuff.
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Cool video moose!
62131, quick answer is 4. ;)
Total production of B-24s was 18,400 (+/- data verys)
Willow Run plant produced nearly half, at 8,685 planes. The first Willow Run B-24 rolled off the assy line Sept 1942, the last one rolled off the line in May 1945. Avarage was 9-10 planes per day. Very impressive!
B-24 Survivors 16 total (+/- pending site info)
2 are airworthy and flying, 1 is possible of flight but has not been in the air in quite a few years.
13 are somewhat intact throughout the world, including the 4 remaining Willow Run built. Most of these are on static display needing total restoration before the possibility of becoming airworthy.
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This is amazing stuff. I was born in June of '45. My mom, dad, and aunt built planes for Douglas in Tulsa (where I was conceived) and Covina (where was born). When I was a kid on a trip from Texas to California we went past a place where surplus planes were sitting awaiting scrapping. They went from near the road lined up in rows and columns for miles as far as I could see. It probably took longer to scrap them than it did for Ford to build them. I think it was Braniff Airline DC7s that my aunt flew to Texas on in the 50s. They bellowed like thunder, shook the ground, and flames from the exhaust lit the night. I was relived when my aunt dressed to the 9s stepped out of that roaring shiny beast and walked down the gangway to safety on Earth.
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That's some really neat stuff guys. thanks
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Can you imagine how the young guys who had to fly these monsters into combat must have felt. Take a look at this video on one going through the start up procedure ...Awesome!!
Click to watch video (https://youtu.be/qOGow1WZIUU)