World war ii military air 2014

World War II Military Aircraft
What happened to all those planes?
W. E. (Bill) Willits

The Industry
• Between 1938 and 1945, the U.S.
aircraft industry produced just under
300,000 (296,431) military airplanes.
• By the beginning of World War II in
September, 1939, the U.S. had already
been providing some arms to the
Allies, but was not yet “in” the War.
• December 7, 1941: U.S. had to fight.

Major Aircraft Builders
• Beech
• Bell
• Boeing
• Brewster
• Cessna
• (Chance) Vought
• Consolidated
• Curtiss
• Douglas
• Fairchild
• Grumman
• Lockheed
• Glenn L. Martin
• Naval Aircraft Factory
• North American Aviation
• Northrop
• Piper
• Republic
• Ryan
• Stearman
• Stinson
• Taylorcraft
• Vultee

Major Engine & Propeller Builders
• Allison
• Continental
• Hamilton-Standard
• Jacobs
• Kinner
• Lycoming
• Packard
• Pratt & Whitney
• Ranger
• Wright (Curtiss-Wright)

Major ex-Auto/Aircraft Builders
• Chrysler – Produced various assemblies; best known
for its production of Army tanks (many Shermans) at
Warren, Michigan, but also aircraft parts
• Ford – Best known for its B-24 production
• General Motors – Produced Navy’s FM2 Wildcat,
TBM Torpedo Bomber and other aircraft
• Packard – Produced engines and other parts
• Other small contracts awarded to various
companies

Other Manufacturing Firms
• Thousands of suppliers to the automotive and
aircraft industries geared up to produce needed
assemblies, parts, paint, whatever called for.
• Employment in these industries soared.
• “Rosie the Riveter” held down the home front.
• Some companies provided child care service.
• Shared rides were the norm.
• America was at war.

Willow Run
Willow Run Airport, outside Detroit near
Ypsilanti, Michigan, was developed by
Ford as an aircraft manufacturing plant for
B-24 bombers. It was a huge success.
I have some personal history to relate
about Willow Run…
But first, watch this film about the place. It
was 1944 and we were at war…

So what did the country
get from all this
amazing production?

Trainers-Primary (Army Air Force & Navy)
Stearman (Boeing) Model 75; PT-13, PT-17, PT-18, N2S – 10,000

Trainers-Primary (Navy)
Naval Aircraft Factory N3N – 997

Trainers-Basic
Consolidated Vultee BT-13, BT-15, SNV – 11,537

Trainers-Advanced
North American Aviation AT-6, Texan, SNJ, Harvard – 15,000+

Army Air Force Pursuit & Fighters
Curtiss Model 75, P-36 Hawk – 215 US, 900 export as Hawk 75

Lockheed P-38 Lightning – 10,000+/-

Bell Aircraft P-39 Airacobra – 10,000 (5,000 to USSR as tank killers)

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (Kittyhawk, Tomahawk)
Almost 14,000 built; predecessor was P-36

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt - over 15,000 in multiple variants

North American P-51; about 12,000 in multiple variants

Bell P-63 Kingcobra – 3,300 (2,400>USSR, 300>Free French)
CAF’s is an “F” Model, last one produced 1945

North American Aviation P-82 – 272 (too late to serve, 1945)

Army Air Force Night Fighters
Northrop P-61 Black Widow – 742

Army Air Force Attack Bombers
Douglas Aircraft A-20 Havoc – 7,300+

Army Air Force Attack Bombers
Douglas Aircraft A-26 Invader – 2,446

Army Air Force Medium Bombers
North American B-25 Mitchell – 11,000+

Army Air Force Medium Bombers
Martin B-26 Marauder – 5,266

Army Air Force Heavy Bombers
Boeing B-17 Fortress – 12,731 in multiple variants

Consolidated Vultee B-24 Liberator – 18,188

Boeing B-29 Superfortress – 3960

Of course we know the USAAF
people did not win the war all by
themselves. There were guys
in the US Navy and Marines
who begged to differ!

U.S. Navy/Marine Pursuit & Fighters
Brewster Buffalo F2A – 509

U.S. Navy/Marine Pursuit and Fighters
Grumman F3F – 147

Grumman F4F or FM2 Wildcat – 7,722 in multiple variants

Chance Vought F4U Corsair – 12,571 in multiple variants

Grumman F6F Hellcat – 12,500 in multiple variants

Grumman F8F Bearcat – 1,265

U.S. Navy Torpedo Bombers
Grumman TBF/TBM Avenger – slightly under 10,000

U.S. Navy Dive Bombers
Douglas SBD Dauntless – slightly under 6,000

U.S. Navy Dive Bombers
Curtiss SB2C Helldiver – approx. 7,200; this is the only one left
(Flown in “Heritage Flight” with F18E)

U.S. Navy Amphibians
Consolidated PBY Catalina – 3,200 approx.

Transport Aircraft
Beech C-45, AT-7, AT-11, SNB – 9,000* in multiple variants

Transport Aircraft
Curtiss C-46 Commando – 3,180

Transport Aircraft
Douglas C-47/R4-D Skytrain, “Gooney Bird” – 10,926

Transport Aircraft
Lockheed C-60A Lodestar – 325 this variant

The Industry Stood Down
• The official end of World War II in September 1945
coincided with the end of military aircraft contracts for the
interim.
• There were massive layoffs in the industry and concern
that it would collapse entirely.
• What to do?
• The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, War Assets
Corporation and War Assets Administration, three
agencies responsible for at least a partial solution,
designated nearly 35,000 military aircraft for sale and
about 27,000 for scrapping (but probably more).
• So…

An Unexpected Fate
(Photo courtesy Kirtland AFB Historian’s Office via H. M. Davidson)

How could this be?
• On the morning of August 22, 1946, I saw this very
scene at Albuquerque. I was nine years old.
• I wanted to know how this was allowed to happen, and it
stuck with me for life.
• My interest in preservation of World War II aircraft was
stirred by that experience.
• This official Air Force photo appears in the book Military
Aircraft Boneyards by Nicholas A. Veronico, Nick
Veronico, A. Kevin Grantham and Scott Thompson,
which has been digitized by Google and is available
online. It bares the facts.

About That Unexpected Fate
• Aircraft stored (and cut up) at locations including:
– Albuquerque AAF Base (later Kirtland AFB) (New Mexico)
– Kingman AAF Base (Arizona)
– Altus AAF Base (Oklahoma)
– Ontario AAF Base (California)
– Walnut Ridge (Arkansas)
– Clinton (Oklahoma) (Navy & Marine only)
• Storage at up to 30 sites (China Lake, Tucson, etc.)
• Total 150,000 left? Surplus 117,000?

A Certain Irony
Ontario, CA, 1946-47, awaiting the ‘slicer’
(Photo from Military Aircraft Boneyards)

A Precious Few Were Saved
• Actual number cut up estimated at several tens
of thousands; but not all were lost…
• Some bombers and transports later fought fires.
• Some transport planes served corporations and
airlines.
• Some trainers, observation planes and fighters
were bought for “fun flying” and preserved.
• (Later) some mediums and heavies (bombers
and transports) were bought to save the few left.
• Some limited numbers of WW II types are
preserved today by groups and museums.

A few of them still fly…
• Commemorative Air Force (Multiple Units)
• Lone Star Flight Museum (Galveston)
• Collings Foundation (Houston)
• Cavanaugh Flight Museum (Dallas)
• Naval Aviation Museum (Pensacola, FL)
• Yankee Air Museum (Willow Run, MI)
• Planes of Fame (Chino, CA)
• And a number of other “flying museums”

Wings Over Houston Airshow
Saturday, November 1, and Sunday, November 2, 2014, the
Houston Wing and Gulf Coast Wing of the Commemorative
Air Force co-sponsor the Wings Over Houston Airshow at
Ellington Field, southeast of Houston off the Gulf Freeway.
The 2014 featured military team is the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.
World War II, Korean-era and Vietnam-era planes will perform
during much of the day, as well as exciting aerobatic teams
and other acts.
Come visit me at the Warbird Information tent by the WW II
aircraft display ramp at the north end.
Tickets: At Kroger stores, or on the website:
http://www.wingsoverhouston.com/

“Lest We Forget”
B-17 “Texas Raiders” lives and flies from Hooks Airport in 2014

QUESTIONS?
Thank you for your kind attention.

World war ii military air 2014

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