Willow Run Liberators

The words

1. Albert Kahn

   Architect Albert Kahn worked with Ford officials on the Willow Run factory. Its layout had to accommodate parallel aircraft assembly lines inside a very large building.

   The Henry Ford: Willow Run history (opens a new tab)

2. Assembly Line

   Willow Run’s assembly system had four parallel lines that later merged into two, then a single final line. Different stages added major components before finishing and fueling.

   The Henry Ford: production flow chart (opens a new tab)

3. Automotive

   Ford applied automobile mass-production methods to aircraft, but airplanes were more complex than cars. Repeated design changes disrupted the standardized manufacturing process and made the early work difficult.

   The Henry Ford: production challenges (opens a new tab)

4. Bomber Plant

   The factory complex included classrooms, a hospital and worker housing as well as production buildings. An adjoining airport let completed aircraft leave under their own power.

   The Henry Ford: factory and airfield (opens a new tab)

5. Consolidated

   Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego designed the B-24. The company’s design provided the aircraft that Ford then organized for production at Willow Run.

   The Henry Ford: Willow Run history (opens a new tab)

6. Ford

   Ford built complete aircraft and partly assembled kits. The kits traveled to Consolidated in Fort Worth and Douglas in Tulsa, where other workers completed the airplanes.

   The Henry Ford: aircraft kits (opens a new tab)

7. Liberator Line

   Liberator was the B-24’s name. Its production line combined separately built aircraft sections, showing how Ford divided a complex airplane into coordinated stages of work.

   The Henry Ford: production flow chart (opens a new tab)

8. Michigan

   The Willow Run plant stood west of Detroit in Michigan. Gasoline and tire rationing made commuting difficult, so bus services carried workers to and from the factory.

   The Henry Ford: workers’ bus services (opens a new tab)

9. Overhead Crane

   An overhead crane lifted center wing sections into and out of a permanent assembly jig. The jig held parts in position while workers assembled the wing.

   The Henry Ford: Willow Run history (opens a new tab)

10. Sorensen

    Charles Sorensen led Ford’s production planning. He and his team worked out where machinery and workstations should stand so aircraft could pass efficiently through the factory.

    Did you know?

    Sorensen’s team used a 1:98-scale model of the plant to plan the placement of equipment and workstations.

    The Henry Ford: Sorensen’s planning (opens a new tab)

11. Turntables

    Two turntables rotated aircraft fuselages through a right-angle bend near the end of the line. They accommodated the factory’s L-shaped layout while keeping assembly moving.

    The Henry Ford: Willow Run history (opens a new tab)

12. War Plane

    The B-24 Liberator was a four-engine military bomber. In Europe, B-24 crews attacked industrial and transport targets and also cities, making the aircraft part of the wider bombing war.

    The Henry Ford: Willow Run history (opens a new tab)

13. Willow Run

    At its peak, Willow Run averaged a completed bomber every 63 minutes. Reaching that rate required overcoming repeated design changes and the difficulties of adapting car-building methods to aircraft.

    The Henry Ford: production challenges (opens a new tab)

14. Wings

    The center wing section was joined to the fuselage and landing gear before the aircraft moved onward. Wing tips were fitted later, showing how the whole wing was assembled in stages.

    The Henry Ford: production flow chart (opens a new tab)

15. Ypsilanti

    The factory stood in Ypsilanti Township. The arrival of workers created a housing need, met in part by federal dormitories at Willow Run Lodge and family housing in Willow Run Village.

    The Henry Ford: worker housing (opens a new tab) · The Henry Ford: production flow chart (opens a new tab)