Willow Run
Coordinates: 42°14′29″N 83°33′03″W / 42.24142°N 83.55077°W
The Willow Run manufacturing complex, located between Ypsilanti and Belleville, Michigan, was constructed in the early years of World War II by Ford Motor Company for the mass production of aircraft, especially the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber.
The plant began production in summer 1941; the dedication plaque is dated June 16. The plant initially built components; Douglas Aircraft and the plane's designer Consolidated Aircraft assembled the finished aircraft. Remote assembly proved problematic, and by October 1941 Ford received permission to produce complete Liberators. Willow Run's Liberator assembly line ran through May 1945, building almost half of all the Liberators produced.
Willow Run Airport was built as part of the bomber plant. The airfield passed into civilian hands after the war, and it is now controlled by Wayne County Airport Authority. Part of the airport complex operated at various times as a research facility affiliated with the University of Michigan, and as a secondary United States Air Force Installation. Willow Run Airport remains active as a cargo and general aviation airfield; since 1992 it has been home to the Yankee Air Museum.
...
Wikipedia