# 'Giant Transport Plane'



## Graeme (Jun 12, 2017)

So says the caption. Being built in Chicago. 
What do ya think the aircraft is?


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## fubar57 (Jun 12, 2017)

I did not know they made aircraft in Chicago............off to the Googler


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## WJPearce (Jun 12, 2017)

I think that is a Douglas C-54 built at Orchard / Douglas Field, which is now O'Hare. The airport was originally developed to facilitate the construction of C-54s. I believe the image is of the underside of the right wing, with the "Rosies" working between the no 3 and 4 nacelles.

In the image below, you can see the circular access cover flanked by two rectangular covers, all between the engines. That configuration matches our subject image.

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## WJPearce (Jun 12, 2017)

Bonus images...

Newly-completed Douglas Aircraft plant at Orchard Place, Illinois. The prominent intersection of Higgins and Mannheim roads and the Soo Line railroad in foreground. The city of Bensenville is visible in the distance, directly above the airfield. O'Hare Field in 2012 has engulfed all the intervening land and encroached on the city proper. (text and image from ORD - The History of Orchard Place - Douglas Field)





The assembly line in the Douglas Aircraft plant in Park Ridge, Ill., where wings are attached to the fuselage of big C-54 cargo planes. The plant was 15 percent ahead of schedule in June 1944. — _Douglas Aircraft, Chicago Tribune historical photo, July 7, 1944_

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## Old Wizard (Jun 12, 2017)




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## Wayne Little (Jun 13, 2017)




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## Robert Porter (Jun 13, 2017)

Nice info!


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## Crimea_River (Jun 13, 2017)

Sounds good to me. Here's a better pic of the underside. Rosie there would be standing on part of the nacellle.

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## Capt. Vick (Jun 13, 2017)

My initial thought was B-24...


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## Old Wizard (Jun 13, 2017)




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## Graeme (Jun 13, 2017)

WJPearce said:


> I think that is a Douglas C-54 built at Orchard / Douglas Field, which is now O'Hare.



Thanks Bill - excellent detective work! 



Capt. Vick said:


> My initial thought was B-24...


 
Same here Jim. I "disbelieved" the caption (Readers Digest) and went bomber hunting...but nothing matched.


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## Capt. Vick (Jun 13, 2017)

Great minds think alike....then there's us!

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## Robert Porter (Jun 14, 2017)

Capt. Vick said:


> Great minds think alike....then there's us!


Hey! I resemble that remark, the latter part...


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## mikewint (Jun 14, 2017)

A lot of War production took place in Chicago. In 1942, WWII was underway and the US was gearing up to produce war material. Knowing the key strategy to winning this war would be control of the air, the government arranged for the construction of a new defense plant, what would be the largest plant in the world. With the purchase of 432 acres of marshland bounded by Cicero Avenue on the west, Pulaski Road on the east, the Belt Railway Tracks on the north and a yet-to-be-constructed 77th Street on the south, thousands of construction workers began their race against time.
Approximately 17,000 people were employed in the construction of the complex. Working nine-hour shifts, sometimes six days a week, and with the rationing of gas, workers began to look for ways to cut down on traveling time and expense. The southwest side of Chicago began to expand as people bought homes and moved their families closer to work.

By October of that year, Building No. 1 was finished and the space had been leased to the Dodge division of the Chrysler Corporation. Production, assembly and testing of aircraft engines to be used for the B29 bomber began. Known as the Dodge Chicago Plant, the war effort was underway. But construction didn’t stop there.

Throughout the brutal Chicago winter, construction continued. By the following spring, they had finished. In total, the area consisted of 10 separate buildings, covering approximately six million square feet, and constructed of steel, concrete and wood. The largest, Building No. 4, covered 62 acres and was built entirely of reinforced concrete, with the whole project using nearly 450,000 cubic yards of concrete. The plant consisted of 7,000 miles of underground piping and 15 miles of cable distributed underground for power and water.

December, 1945, saw the end of the war and left this once illustrious plant standing vacant and deserted. The government tried many times to sell the parcel of land to no avail. That is until February of 1947, when at least two of the buildings were brought back to life by Preston Tucker. Tucker, thinking long-term, believed this large facility would fit his long-term goal of producing an entire line of Tucker automobiles under one roof. Tucker signed the lease in July 1946 but due to claims and disputes over the plant between Tucker and the Lustron Corporation, he was not able to move in until September 1947. Tucker planned for 60,000 cars a year with 140/day produced for the first 4 months and 300/day produced after this.

Car dealers from the world over gathered at the plant to get the first glimpse of the Tucker Torpedo. Hailed as the “truly modern automobile”, the Tucker Torpedo was going to revolutionize the automobile. However, just over one year later, after a number setbacks, an intense SEC investigation, and with $26 million gone, Tucker had only managed to assemble 46 cars. On June 10, 1949, Tucker and six other Tucker Corporation executives were indicted on 25 counts of mail fraud, 5 counts of violations of SEC regulations and one count of conspiracy to defraud. Billed as a big financial catastrophe, though Tucker was found innocent of all charges, the plant once again stood vacant.

But not for long, another war was coming – this time the Korean War. And once again the government went to work producing airplane engines. In October of 1950 Ford Motor Company signed with the government to produce these engines. And what better place than the exact plant that had done almost the same work years earlier.

Ford worked incessantly modernizing the plant and getting machinery ready for the production of piston-type engines. Thousands of workers were employed until the spring of 1953 when technological advancements forced the retirement of the piston engine. Undaunted by this development, Ford switched to the production of jet engines. Production continued, employing as many as 12,000 people until 1959 when Ford Motor Company discontinued production and one more time, the plant stood vacant.

The land stood silent until October of 1961 when the government again offered it for sale. Harry F. Chaddick, along with a group of Chicagoans, purchased the site and began massive changes. Buildings were torn down to make room for parking lots. Those left standing were remodeled. Development of an industrial park along with a shopping center was underway. The new site would now be known as the Ford City Complex. With the industrial park the first to develop, the United States South Suburban Postal Facility became the first to move in, November, 1961. They almost immediately expanded their space until it totaled well over a half-million square feet. Other companies soon followed. The remainder of the site was developed into the retail portion of the complex becoming largest, fully enclosed mall in Chicago.

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## Gnomey (Jun 14, 2017)

Nice stuff guys!


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## Wayne Little (Jun 15, 2017)

Agreed.


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