Hiding Lockheed

[Thorlifter]

Lockheed During WW.II (unbelievable 1940s pictures) This is pretty neat--special effects during the 1940's: During World War II the Army Corps of Engineers needed to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant to protect it from Japanese air attack. They covered it with camouflage netting to make it look
like a rural subdivision from the air. (Besides everything else, check out the cars.) The first pic is before the camouflage, and everything else is after.

 

[Airframes]

Great series of shots, Rabid. I always find the art of camouflage and deception fascinating! I read somewhere, and saw a pic, that 'Hollywood' got involved in similar projects, not sure if it was at Boeing, Seattle, or North American, CA. Whatever, it's one hell of a big job, and very well done!

 

[Messy1]

I have seen the top two pics before, but never have seen the views from underneath the canopy! Great Stuff Thor! thanks for posting! It is amazing the scale that they went to during WW2. Shows you how worried they were about invasion or being bombed!

 

[RabidAlien]

Not gonna steal Thor's thunder, Airframes, but I will agree that they are amazing pics! I've heard of stuff like this being done at some of the more important plants, but never seen the pics! I'm gonna steal em shamelessly, of course....

 

[comiso90]

The very close proximity to Hollywood helped inspire the trickery

 

[wilbur1]

Very cool Thor 8) 8)

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Most of that was the Old plant A1 facility located right next to the now Burbank airport. The third photo down is today the front of the terminal building, not much has really changed.

BTW - there was always a folklore story that a guy painted a big red arrow on top of his house actually pointing at the facility. He was arrested for espionage.

 

[RabidAlien]

BTW - there was always a folklore story that a guy painted a big red arrow on top of his house actually pointing at the facility. He was arrested for espionage.

There's one in every family...

 

[Graeme]

Boeing, Seattle

On top of the Boeing plant. A 26 acre 'town' consisting of 53 houses, 24 garages, service station, three greenhouses, a store and a real cow grazing on real grass...

 

[FLYBOYJ]

Douglas in Santa Monica and Long Beach did the same thing as well.

I marked up the first photo - the small circle is where I used to work - Building 85A. It remained unchanged until the Burbank facility was closed down in 1990. In the distance is plant B-1 where most of the P-38s were built. There was also another small airfield located at that facility. After the war years that runway was closed down and it became a huge parking. Hudsons and Venturas were also produced at that facility. In it's last years it housed the L-1011 mock up and all the machine shops for CALAC (California Lockheed Aircraft Company)

 

[Gnomey]

Cool stuff Thor. I have also seen the first two pictures before but they never cease to amaze me.