Skip Navigation
Michigan Department of Natural ResourcesMichigan.gov, official Web site for the State of Michigan
Michigan.gov Home DNR Home |  Key Topics |  Contact DNR |  DNR Mobile Apps |  Site Map
close print view

OCTOBER 1, 1942

Willow Run B-24 bomber production

The first B-24 bomber rolls off the assembly line at the Willow Run Bomber Plant near Ypsilanti. In December 1940, the federal government asked the Ford Motor Company to build 1,200 B-24 bombers. Ford's chief engineer, Charles Sorensen, quickly devised a then-untried scheme of mass-producing planes. The government agreed to the plan, and in April 1941, construction began on what would become the world's largest assembly plant. The plant produced 8,600 planes. By early 1944, bombers came off Willow Run's mile-long assembly line at the rate of one an hour. Michigan's other auto companies also produced war materiel. By the end of World War II, Chrysler's Warren Tank Plant made 25,000 tanks, while in Kingsford, the Ford Motor Company manufactured more than 4,000 gliders. Known as the "Arsenal of Democracy," Michigan—with only 4 percent of the nation's population—led all other states in the production of war materiel.

Contact the Michigan Historical Center.

Updated 06/23/2011

Related Content
 •  MAY 17, 1673
 •  JULY 24, 1701
 •  MAY 7, 1763
 •  JULY 11, 1796
 •  JANUARY 22, 1813
 •  JANUARY 26, 1837
 •  JANUARY 27, 1847
 •  JUNE 22, 1855
 •  JULY 1, 1863
 •  JANUARY 28, 1877
 •  MARCH 6, 1896
 •  MAY 2, 1933
 •  DECEMBER 30, 1936
 •  NOVEMBER 1, 1957
 •  JANUARY 26, 1987
QR code

Michigan.gov Home |  Report All Poaching 1-800-292-7800 |  Contact DNR |  DNR Home |  State Web Sites |  Office of Regulatory Reinvention |  Spending & Accountability
Privacy Policy |  Link Policy |  Accessibility Policy |  Security Policy | Michigan News | Michigan.gov Survey


Copyright © 2001-2013 State of Michigan