Warbird Factory: North American Aviation in World War II

227 Pages·2015·66.713 MB·English

by  North American Aviation;Fredrickson, John;Kindelberger, James Howard

WARBIRD FACTORY
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John Fredrickson
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N O RT H A M E R I C A N AV I AT I O N I N W O R L D WA R I I
WA R B I R D
FAC TORY
John Fredrickson
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This book is dedicated
to the memory of
1st Lt. Winton R. Wey,
a twenty-four-year-old
flight-test engineer who
© 2015 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
perished in the wreck
Text © 2015 John Frederickson
of an experimental B-25
First published in 2015 by Zenith Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc., 400 First Avenue
Mitchell attack bomber, North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA. Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone]
known as NA-98X, at
quartoknows.com
the Inglewood warbird Visit our blogs at quartoknows.com
factory on the evening All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the
copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the
of April 24, 1944.
artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement
of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure
that credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have
occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.
Zenith Press titles are also available at discounts in bulk quantity for industrial or sales-promotional use.
For details contact the Special Sales Manager at Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc., 400 First Avenue North,
Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Front cover: B-25 Mitchells move
ISBN: 978-0-7603-4816-1
along the final assembly line at a
Digital edition: 978-1-62788-808-0
North American Aviation’s massive
plant in the Fairfax industrial Hardcover edition: 978-0-76034-816-1
district of Kansas City. This plant
first augmented the original Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Inglewood production line before
becoming the world’s sole source Fredrickson, John.
Warbird factory : North American Aviation in World War II / John Fredrickson.
of the iconic medium bombers in
pages cm
the summer of 1944.  Production
Includes bibliographical references and index.
continued for another year at the
ISBN 978-0-7603-4816-1 (hbk.)
dizzying but sustained pace of about
1. North American Aviation--History. 2. Airplane factories--California--Inglewood--History--20th
three hundred airplanes per month. century. 3. Kindelberger, James Howard, 1895-1962. 4. Mitchell (Bomber)--Design and construction--
Title pages: A B-25 in navy or History. 5. Aircraft industry--California--Inglewood--History--20th century. 6. Aircraft industry--United
States--History--20th century. 7. World War, 1939-1945--Economic aspects--United States. 8. World War,
marine service was designated
1939-1945--California--Inglewood. 9. Inglewood (Calif.)--Economic conditions. I. Title. II. Title: North
PBJ-1 (for Patrol Bomber, with the
American Aviation in World War II.
letter “J” being assigned to North
UG1242.B6F726 2015
American Aviation). This PBJ-1H at
338.7›623746097309044--dc23
Inglewood was built with an optional 2015018018
75mm cannon in the nose.
Acquiring Editor: Dennis Pernu
Back cover: A young woman
Project Manager: Madeleine Vasaly
perches precariously on the top of a
Art Director: James Kegley
stepladder as she polishes the four-
Layout: Diana Boger
bladed propeller of this Mustang.
Back flap: The 1934 vintage design Printed in China
of the North American trainer was
Unless otherwise indicated, all images are official North American Aviation Inc. photographs and graphics
durable, and after considerable
and are used with permission. Copyright resides with the Boeing Company. This publication has not been
updating, was still viable a decade
prepared, approved, or licensed by the Boeing Company.
later.
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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1 The Genesis of North American Aviation . . . . 10
2 Dutch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3 War at Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
4 Trainers and Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
5 B-25 Mitchell Medium Bomber . . . . . . . . . . . 80
6 Strike . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
7 Working on the Sunshine Assembly Line . . . 104
8 The P-51 Mustang . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
9 B-25 on Steroids:
The Short Life of NA-98X . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .162
10 Eisenhower’s B-25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .176
11 Transition to Cold War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210
Chapter Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The kind, sustained, and generous assistance of Michael Lombardi and Thomas
Lubbesmeyer of the Boeing Historical Archives in Bellevue, Washington, was invaluable
to the creation of this book. The first bits of North American history began to arrive at the
Boeing Archives shortly after the aerospace units of Rockwell International were purchased
in December 1996. Michael Lombardi is the senior corporate historian for the Boeing
Company who had the wisdom and foresight to seek out, organize, and preserve the massive
remaining collection of source documents and photographs that chronicle the history of
North American Aviation Inc. from predecessor companies, the war years, the Cold War
era, and the several space programs.
I was granted unrestricted access over the past three and a half years to this vast col-
lection. We believe fresh new information and insights have been discovered despite the
many well-researched previous books that have probed the fascinating history of North
American Aviation and its products.
Rocky Ruckdaschel was the historian during the era of Rockwell International (circa
1965 to 1996) who assisted past authors with their research into the Mustang and other
North American Aviation related topics. Rocky was very active with the group of North
American retirees who called themselves the “Bald Eagles.” With the implementation of
Social Security in the 1930s, most workers in the United States were required to retire on
their sixty-fifth birthday. Some of the “Bald Eagles” may have felt they were pushed out
of their beloved jobs prematurely. Mandatory retirement at age sixty-five was not mitigated
until the presidency of Ronald Reagan in the 1980s. Some of the “Eagles” remained intel-
lectually active by seeking out and preserving the anecdotes and recollections from the
early years at Dundalk, thus creating the oral legacy that enriches this book. Past issues of
the retiree quarterly newsletter were an additional source of historic information.
Norm Avery was hired by North American in 1940 and started his career as a draftsman
on the B-25 project at Inglewood. He devoted his life to documenting the history of North
American aircraft. His 1993 book, B-25 Mitchell: The Magnificent Medium, is considered by
many historians to be the primary authority on that model. His notes and working papers
are an invaluable research tool. Robert Hutton of Madison, Wisconsin, generously shared
his personal experiences as a World War II instructor pilot and P-51 combat pilot during
the Korean War.
The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum of Abilene, Kansas, pointed the way
to the wartime history of the General Eisenhower’s Fairfax-built B-25J transport that was
assigned for his exclusive use from May 1944 to May 1945 and provided essential photo-
graphic documentation. The Truman Presidential Library and Museum of Independence,
Missouri, assisted with the research of Truman’s visit to Inglewood in August 1941.
The Dayton, Ohio, public library provided newspaper clippings dated 1944, which
detailed the life of Maj. Perry J. Ritchie. The National Museum of the US Air Force at
Wright-Patterson AFB was the source for the photographs of Major Ritchie. The historians
at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, provided copies of the four accident reports that involved him
plus the routing between Inglewood and Eighth Air Force in England for Eisenhower’s
B-25 on its delivery flight in May 1944.
The descendants of the Wey family were very supportive in seeking to preserve the memory
of their uncle, Winton R. Wey. They knew he died in service to his country in a 1944 air-
plane crash, but were uninformed as to the circumstances. Jim Graham, grandson of Dutch
Kindelberger, assisted with fact checking while generously sharing family recollections.
Other manuscript proofreaders included Michael Alexander, a Seattle-based aviation
consultant with over forty years’ experience in airline training and commercial aircraft
6
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
marketing; and Carl Fredrickson, a stress engineer who specializes in the design of engine Wartime Inglewood worker
pylons for forthcoming transport jets. Both men, as lifelong students of aviation history, Ben Chang seems to be happy
pointed out not only my many errors of usage but also offered invaluable guidance regard- with his task—installing cockpit
ing optimum portrayal of factual events as they intermix with human attitudes. window panes on a Mitchell B-25.
The leaders of North American were extremely proud of their creations and consum-
mate marketers. Many of the documents in the North American historical files ooze with
praise of their own products and some of that perpetual salesmanship has, no doubt,
found its way into this text.
—John Fredrickson, 2015
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 7
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PREFACE
PREFACE
The North American Aviation Inc. (NAA) campus at Inglewood, California, was a beehive
of activity during the most challenging time in United States history: the war years from
1938 to 1945 when aircraft assembly lines hummed with activity as engineers, hunched
over their drafting tables, conceived lethal new designs and made improvements to exist-
ing models. The company was home to the warbirds that helped seal the most crushing
dual victories in the history of warfare: the stunning defeats of 1945 when the German
government, followed by the Japanese Empire, capitulated in unconditional surrender.
The AT-6 trainers, B-25 medium bombers, and P-51 fighters that helped win the war
are at the crux of the NAA legacy and mystique. NAA’s legendary airplanes resulted from
the genius, labor, and tenacity of its people. The star performers in this story include
James Howard “Dutch” Kindelberger and other executives who organized the business;
engineers who had a passion for aviation and who envisioned and designed the aircraft;
factory workers who fabricated then assembled the parts; managers who organized
the workers; and brave airmen who took the airplanes into battle. The supporting cast
includes field-service representatives, procurement specialists, service workers, mechan-
ics, union organizers, and an occasional politician. When feasible, the story is told in the
actual words of the protagonists. The upbeat central themes of engineering brilliance
and manufacturing acumen are offset by occasional instances of tragedy, missed opportu-
nities, and personal conflicts.
The sudden collapse of airplane production at the end of the war was unsettling.
A goat nibbling on a Nazi flag Employees were laid off by the tens of thousands as major plants were quickly cleared out
spilling out of a garbage can is a and abandoned. Within weeks, previously invaluable combat airplanes, spare parts, and
great way to symbolize disrespect tooling were consigned to the scrap heap. Life in postwar America also included the assim-
for the fascist regimes that made ilation of returning veterans, who were focused on establishing families and fulfilling the
a mess of Europe starting in the pent-up demand for material things that had been deferred, first by the Great Depression
mid-1930s. and then by war. Suburbs sprouted as new homes were erected on former open spaces.
Most families initially set aside their memories
of war in the headlong quest for marriage,
children, and a new home, automobile, and
television set.
A trickle of peacetime movies, magazine
articles, and books celebrating the war began
to appear. These tales often focused on the
main battles without emphasis on how the
industrial bounty was utilized to achieve victory.
More recently, curiosity has shifted to the
sources of the abundance resulting from
President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1940 visionary
appeal for the full-throttle production of war
materiel. How did so much of everything
needed for war get made? Our goal is to
explore the genesis of the forty-thousand-
plus airplanes that were the legacy of NAA
between 1938 and 1945 and the resolve of the
dedicated people who transformed industrial
America from the doldrums of the Great
Depression into sustained levels of aircraft
production never previously envisioned.
8
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