The American Aircraft Factory in World War II

Few, if any, industrial phenomena have been as dramatic as the United States' mid-20th-century shift from peacetime manufacturing to wartime production. While the years 1939 to 1945 saw explosive growth in the manufacture of every type of armament imaginable, none was more emblematic of the industrial climate than the proliferation of aircraft factories. Zeroing in on the crux of the American military-industrial complex at a critical moment, this volume documents the production of fighters and bombers by legendary companies like Boeing, North American, Curtiss, Consolidated, Douglas, Grumman, and Lockheed. Illustrated with 175 period photographs - including 50 rare color photos never before seen in print - "The American Aircraft Factory in World War II" conveys the incredible acceleration of aviation technology that took place during this period. Author, Bill Yenne considers the various pre-war governmental acts that got the ball rolling, as well as the notable gender shift that occurred on factory floors. He also describes the construction of mega factories like Willow Run, factory-design considerations, and the post-war conversion back to peacetime production.

Yenne, one of the best present-day chroniclers of aviation history, ably merges text and images to give a sense of efficency and even beauty of American "yankee" ingenuity at it's best. The text is crisp and efficient, but the images are what give the book it's edge. From the early images of aviation workers in full suits and ties to the surprising colour shots of factory workers, the book underlines the glamour and , dare I say it, coolness of a bygone era. --In Flight

Bill Yenne keeps his reputation for consistent quality in his nostalgic book The American Aircraft Factory in World War II...Yenne supports his text with an amazing collection of photographs, a few familiar to aviation buffs, but many others seen here for the first time. This compilation clearly represents an extensive research effort. All in all, The American Aircraft Factory in World War II tells the story of how the United States and its diverse population responded to a crisis in a positive manner, one that benefited the world in their day and which may also serve to inspire new generations. --Aviation History

Lavishly illustrated, landscape-format tribute to the huge US war machine that churned out over 304,000 aircraft between 1939 and 1945. The format and large size of this book was dictated by sheer scale and drama of the illustrations within. Incredible views of production lines are balanced with images of countless Rosie the Riveters at work, plus engineers, test pilots and designers. Pictures are mostly black and white, but with good amounts of color all spectacularly reproduced. The author knits a careful narrative around the imagery --FlyPast

Most aircraft publications concentrate on either the aircraft's development or operational service or indeed both. This book is defferent; it takes you into the factory to see the aircraft being built and to meet the people who built them.The landscape layout enables the author to produce some extremely large photographs and this is mainly a book of captioned photographs, although there is quite a reasonable amount of text covering not only the the indutry itself but some of the aircraft types built in American factories during World War Two. The photographs themselves are a mixed bag, some showing production lines, with or without asembly workers. most of them are incedibly sharp and must form part of manay family photograph collections. What it does show is just how reliant the factories were on the women of America. Of course this is nothing new as a photograph in chapter one that covers early aircraft production illustrates in this paticular shot no fewer than thirteen women working on a Boeing FB-5 in 1927. So in a way this book is a tribute to the women of America whose contribution to the war effort was vital.But, of all the photographs, one set fascinated me most. After the attack on Pearl harbour, America was paraniod about Japan, expecting attacks on the West Coast where some factories were located. To counter this, the companies enlisted the aid of the film studios and, using their expertise, artificial 'cities' were built, belive it or not, on the top of factories!This is not so much an aviation book but more a fascinting part of social history that is now over 60 years in the past. --Model Aircraft Mothly

Bill Yenne keeps his reputation for consistent quality in his nostalgic book The American Aircraft Factory in World War II...Yenne supports his text with an amazing collection of photographs, a few familiar to aviation buffs, but many others seen here for the first time. This compilation clearly represents an extensive research effort. All in all, The American Aircraft Factory in World War II tells the story of how the United States and its diverse population responded to a crisis in a positive manner, one that benefited the world in their day and which may also serve to inspire new generations. --Aviation History