Something for Gary to Drool over

[Paul Krumrei]

[Obergrafeter]

Gary would have to get a lot more pets for that hangar.

[RNDMTRS4EVR]

Look at all of those spark plugs and oil screens .
Scott.......

[Cubs]

I was talking with a fella one day, he was a former mechanic with a KC-97 reserve squadron. He said that some days were spark plug days. His assignment was to clean all the plugs on one C-97. He started at 8:00 a.m. and got finished at 5:00 that afternoon.

[retroaviation]

AAAAAAAAAAGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

I'm sorry...I thought I was having a nightmare for a second.

Cool picture though. Thanks Paul.

Gary

[BrianB]

Is this Air Force Plant 4 (Ft Worth) or Willow Run?

[CAPFlyer]

I think that's Willow Run. Ft. Worth had (has) low ceilings that are evident in the picture we have on the wall in the museum at the DFW Wing hangar.

[BrianB]

I think that's Willow Run. Ft. Worth had (has) low ceilings that are evident in the picture we have on the wall in the museum at the DFW Wing hangar.

I think that you are correct. In the pictures that they have on the wall of the plant entrance that I saw while touring the F-35 production line in Ft Worth the B-24's were staged nose to tail and there was not much clearance between the walls and the wing tips.

It is interesting to think of the current production lines that are using the same assembly bays today that were used during WWII..... Marietta GA (F-22 and B-29), Ft. Worth (F-16, F-35 and B-24), Boeing Renton (B-17 and the P-3 replacement MMA).... what others? St Louis?, Tulsa?

[Mudge]

That's an unbelievable picture. Pictures like that should have been sent to the Nazis. Would have shortened the war by a bunch. Once they'd cleaned their lederhosen, they'd have been falling all over each other to get to the head of the line to surrender.

Mudge the amazed

[tulsaboy]

Tulsa's Air Force Plant #3 was used to build B-47s and B-66s, modify B-52s, F-4s, A-4s, did some assembly on F/A-18s, and even the cargo bay doors on the space shuttle. Now it is split in half, with half used by International Truck Co. to make school buses and the other half used by Spirit Aerosystems to build structures for almost all of the Boeing commercial airliners, including leading edges and (I think) control surfaces on the 787.

kevin

[Second Air Force]

Paul's photo is indeed Consolidated Fort Worth. Here is a photo of the B-32 line taken in much the same place as the B-24 shot:


And here is B-36 assembly being performed in the same hall:


Willow Run ran two lines nose to tail up until outer wing panel installation, then a single nose to tail line ran to the "tax turn" and made a 90 degree turn to finish up. Also notice the difference in the roof structure and lighting layout:


The Fort Worth and Tulsa assembly halls are nearly identical. The story goes that the Fort Worth plant has one more section built on at the north end so that it was longer than Tulsa--after all, "everything is bigger in Texas!" These were the two largest windowless buildings in the world when built.

[Mr Widgeon]

I don't think Gary would WANT another B-24 - but I'm sure he'd LOVE to some of those spare parts.
Also, no one seems to caught on to the fact that the first 8 airplanes are in a sea search camo, so are either going to the Navy as PB4Y-1s or to a USAAF anti-sub unit.

[Second Air Force]

Mr. Widgeon,

That is definitely the AAF antisubmarine paint scheme, but those airplanes probably stayed stateside as trainers. Most of the early production had enough flaws that they dumped them on the Training Command and 2AF. Here are a couple of shots taken in early '44 at McCook Army Air Field of just such a situation:

Judging from the snow dusted on the vehicles, it was a nice day for a Pass in Review.

[Mr Widgeon]

Hummm, could well be.
I hadn't considerd that.
Here's a little tidbit for you though.
The opening photo in this thread was taken between April and June of 1943.
That was the time period when the airplanes were painted in this particular scheme at the Fort Worth plant.
Also:
The 13th Anti. Sub. Sqd. flew B-24D models from Griener Field, NH. until reclassified as the 863rd B.S. on Sept. 22 1943.
After moving to Pueblo AAB in Colo. they transfrred to McCook in Nov. 1943 and deployed to Evenden, England on Jan. 1, 1944.
Your picture is probably their farewell parade and the sea camo B-24 is a left over from their earlier mission.

(Info from "LIBERATOR America's Global Bomber" by Alwyn T. Lloyd
Pictoral Histories Pub. - 1993)

[Ztex]

Cool Picture.

The manufacturing capacity of WWII America is a mind boggling thing...

Willow Run



Ft. Worth



San Diego



Dallas