MTFCA Forum

A few days ago there was post about the T production line. Well this is what it lead to. Thought you guys would like to see what our cars helped do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2zukteYbGQ

Great video Dan, that was an incredible achievement, to build a complete aircraft plant from scratch in such a short time

Here's where one of the B 24s saw the end of it's life. After a remarkable 81 missions, some Rah-Rah boy in Washington D.C. decided to have the crew fly the plane out to Southern California for a bond drive.
Unfortunately, when the plane set down at Vultee Field in Downey, California, brake system failure along with a short runway spelled the end for the Bolivar.
Trucks and a crew of demolition welders were dispatched to the site and torched up the remains, placed the pieces on Trucks and delivered them to the scrap yard.
Here you see what's left of the Bolivar at it's final resting place. It's rests facing Southwest, partly sitting on a portion of what is now Imperial Highway, between Ardis Avenue and Clark Avenue (now Columbia Way).
A close friend of mine, now deceased, had driven his Case model SO tractor to the Northern most end of his field to see the crew bring in the bomber since it had been announced in the Downey "Live Wire" newspaper days earlier about the arrival of the bomber for the bond rally at Vultee Aircraft. Ed's property ended on the opposite side of the highway.
He told me that he drove out there and watched the Bolivar appear and slowly get larger on the horizon. He said he watched it touch down, roll down the runway, and as he said to himself that bomber ain't gonna stop in time, it crashed just as you see it here.
Ed told me that the medics took all but a couple of the crew out on stretchers.
I live about a half mile from this site and worked there when it was Boeing North American from 1997-1999.

Thanks for posting Dan. Enjoyable. I was getting born about that time, so it is wonderful to see this film!

About 10+ years ago there was Ford B24 at Barksdale Air Base.
They said that it was the last one. Dan

Those bond drives accounted for keeping the public engaged in the war, and put money into the coffers to defeat the enemy. My mom went to one or two of those and they meant a LOT to the people at home to know they were doing domething for the boys over there. So yeah, call them "rah-rah boys", but those bonds paid for stuff like some of those B-24's...

By the way - I love the way they turned the Ford experiemtnal farm into a aircraft factory - pretty doggone awesome!

Suzanne,
I meant no disrespect towards the bond drives that helped pay for a much needed war effort to defeat the axis powers during the war.
My father fought with the 69th Cavalry Reconnaissance Division, Mechanized in Europe during WW II. His troop was the group of GIs that met the Russian Army at Torgau, Germany on April 25th 1945 thereby marking the unofficial end of the war in Europe.
My mother worked for Fram Filter Company in Pawtucket, Rhode Island wrapping oil filters for military vehicles. Both efforts financed, in part, by Bond Drives.
What I meant to bring attention to was that someone in Washington didn't think past their nose and had a crew fly in a decorated plane to a field that was built to fly Vultee trainers out of. Just a little homework would have saved a plane and it's crew that had seen many hours flying over enemy territory, only to meet it's fate on an ill-equipped landing strip 20 miles outside of L. A.
Government Intelligence at it finest.
I sincerely apologize if I upset you.

Mike Spaziano.

Naw, too crusty to be upset here...

You are right - It's not the first time a politico out his (or her) own desire to wow people and garner votes kissing the flag did something detrimental to the services and our nation. Whoever lined up that publicity stunt probably thought "think of the votes I'll get"... and then when tradgedy happened, said "I have no part in (someone elses) folly, no not me, I would never"... Whoever decided they would drop that big, graceful war machine on a little tiny airstrip because "it looked good" may as well been wearing the latest fashions of jackboots, greatcoats, and pushbroom moustaches. (Don't get me started... please... )

Every time I watch the Ford assembly plant movies putting out war stuff, it makes me kind of tingle inside - I know they weren't the only ones fighting for the war effort at home, but darn, I can't help but think, just a bit, "MY CAR helped build the company that helped win the war."

As we all know Ford was not the only one making war goods.
My father was Chief Test Pilot at the Nash Kelvinator plant in Detroit where they were building R6 Helicopters in 44/45.
Also, a few years ago one of my biggest customers was Murray lawnmower in Tn. In the office there was a 10 to 12 inch shell not the case but the business end. It was engraved that it was shell number 100,000 or something that they made for the US Navy.
All kinds of plants made all kinds of stuff.
I just hope we could do it again if we had to. Dan

Just wanted to add one more thing. Some of you may, or may not know that Henry J. Kaiser purchased that facility in 1945 to produce Kaiser and Frazer automobiles there.

Loved the movie Dan,
It was truly amazing what we did as a nation back then, definitely makes one proud and also wonder how on earth we did it!! Could it be accomplished again? I fear not. Where are the Henry Fords and patriots today???