B-24s under construction at Willow Run.

Inspection of the landing wheel of a transport plane at Willow Run

Located between Ypsilanti and Belleville, Michigan, the Willow Run Plant was constructed during World War II by Ford Motor Company for production of the B-24 Liberator aircraft. Ypsilanti (ˌɪpsɨˈlænti Ǐp'-sǐ-lǎn-tē but often /ˌjɪpsɨˈlænti/ by outsiders is a city in Washtenaw County in the U Belleville is a city in Wayne County in the US state of Michigan. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following Mass production (also called flow production, repetitive flow production, series production, or serial production) is the production of The site of the plant was a farm owned by Henry Ford. He used the farm to provide employment for youths during the summer.

Ford Motor Company, like virtually all of the United States' industrial companies, directed its manufacturing output during World War II for Allied war production. Ford Motor Company is an American Multinational corporation and the world's fourth largest automaker based on Worldwide vehicle sales, following World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including In general allies are people groups or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose

The firm developed the Willow Run site to include an airfield and aircraft assembly facility. An aerodrome is an area on land or water (including any buildings installations and equipment used for the arrival and departure of aircraft The plant held the distinction at the time of being the world's largest enclosed "room. " At its peak, in August 1944, Willow Run produced 428 B-24 aircraft or almost 14 for each calendar day. ^[1]

An interesting feature of the Willow Run plant was a large turntable two-thirds of the way along the assembly line where the B-24s would make a 90° turn before continuing to final assembly. This arrangement was to avoid having the factory building cross a county line and so be taxed by two counties. The neighboring county's taxes were higher. ^[2]

The airfield continues to operate as the Willow Run Airport. Willow Run Airport is an airport located in Van Buren Charter Township near Ypsilanti, Michigan, that serves Freight, corporate and general After the war, ownership of the assembly plant passed to Kaiser Motors and then to Ford rival General Motors, which still owns and operates part of the facility as Willow Run Transmission. Originally formed as the Kaiser-Frazer Corporation in 1945 the corporation was reorganized in 1953 under the name Kaiser Motors Corporation after withdrawal of Joseph W General Motors Corporation ( GM) ( is a multinational automobile manufacturer founded in 1908 and headquartered in the United States. Willow Run Transmission (also called Ypsilanti Transmission Operations) is a General Motors factory in Wayne County Michigan. The airfield is primarily used for cargo flights. Cargo (or freight) refers to goods or produce transported generally for Commercial gain by ship, aircraft, train, The Yankee Air Museum is also located on the airport grounds. The Yankee Air Museum, presently housed in Hangar 2 on the southwest side of Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti Michigan, is currently accepting visitors for guided On October 9, 2004, a fire destroyed the museum's main hangar, H-2041. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again "

The plant has given its name to a community on the east side of Ypsilanti, defined roughly by the boundaries of the Willow Run Community Schools district.

On the other side of the airport from the assembly plant were a group of World War II hangars, which were sold to the University of Michigan in 1946. A hangar is an enclosed structure to hold Aircraft in protective storage The University of Michigan Ann Arbor ( U of M, U-M, UM or simply Michigan) is a top-ranked Coeducational public research The university operated Willow Run Laboratories (WRL) from 1946 to 1972. History Formed in 1972 ERIM was established as a private Not for profit Research institute when Willow Run Laboratories formally separated from the WRL produced many innovations, including first ruby laser and operation of the ruby maser. A laser is a device that emits Light ( Electromagnetic radiation) through a process called Stimulated emission. A maser is a device that produces coherent Electromagnetic waves through amplification due to Stimulated emission. In 1972, demonstrations by Vietnam war activists forced the university to detach WRL from it.

After war production ended, the plant was used by a partnership of Henry J Kaiser and a man named Frazer. They produced both a Kaiser and a Fraiser car. Sometime later, Mr. Frazer left the business and Kaiser took over completely. The "Henry J" was one of the cars he produced in later years. It was also sold through Sears-Roebuck as an "Allstate". B-24s were not the only planes produced at Willow Run. From 1952 to 1953, the facility was used by Kaiser to assemble Fairchild C-119 "Flying Boxcar" cargo planes. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout

see also

• World War II aircraft production
• Yankee Air Museum
• Ypsilanti Automotive Heritage Collection

References

External links

• "Willow Run and the Arsenal of Democracy" by Jenny Nolan for The Detroit News
• Yankee Air Museum
• Michigan Aerospace Foundation
• A Bomber An Hour