DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at the old Convair plant in Tarrant County has to say — and friend, this one is worth pulling over for. Before the bombs started falling on the other side of the world, the American aircraft industry had its eyes on something a whole lot more peaceful: commercial aviation, civilian airlines, passengers with luggage. Military airplane construction?
That was a specialty for the few. But in the fall of 1940, the War Department looked at the horizon and did not like what it saw coming. Expansion of existing plants wasn't going to cut it.
They needed new defense plants, built from scratch, and they needed them fast. Now here's where Texas enters the picture — or rather, where Texas was conspicuously absent from it. For all her size and swagger, Texas had no large-scale role in aircraft manufacturing at that time.
She was helping train pilots, sure, but the factories? Those were elsewhere. The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce knew it, and they decided to do something about it.
While America was still shakin' the dust of the Great Depression off its boots and inching closer to a war nobody wanted to name out loud, those Fort Worth boosters went after Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation — Convair — with everything they had. Aggressive doesn't quite cover it. They campaigned hard for a new plant, and their efforts proved successful.
Groundbreaking ceremonies took place on April 18, 1941. Right here. And then the race was on.
The Austin Company of Cleveland, Ohio, took on the job of building Convair Plant No. 4, and they did not dawdle. In less than a year, that plant was up and running. Less than a year.
And on April 17, 1942 — one hundred days ahead of schedule — the first B-24 Liberator bomber rolled off the assembly line. One hundred days ahead of schedule. Let that sit with you a moment.
When the war was in full fury, this plant would employ thirty-two thousand people at its peak. Thirty-two thousand souls, working shifts, building machines of war in the Texas heat. More than three thousand heavy bombers came out of this place.
They built B-24s here. They converted B-24 airframes into C-87 cargo transports — the Liberator Express, they called it. And later in the war, they produced a limited number of the brand-new B-32 heavy bombers, the Dominator.
This was home front industry in its fullest expression — the kind of mobilization that, as the marker puts it, was an important factor in the eventual Allied victory during World War II. Strategic aerial bombing had grown into a primary weapon for defeating an enemy's ability to wage war, and this plant was feeding that effort with everything it had. And back home in Fort Worth, nothing was ever quite the same.
New employers arrived. New workers arrived. The local economy shifted and expanded in ways that outlasted the war itself.
Fort Worth had always carried that Texas frontier reputation — and now, alongside it, sat something new: a modern industrial identity, forged right here, one bomber at a time. Three thousand heavy bombers. A hundred days early.
From groundbreaking to Liberator in less than a year. Some places just rise to the moment. This was one of them.
What the marker says
Prior to WWII, the U.S. aircraft industry focused primarily on producing aircraft for civilian airlines; few manufacturers specialized in military airplane construction. In the fall of 1940, the War Department determined that expected future demand for military aircraft required new defense plants, not just expansion of existing sites. This form of home front industry and the application of its product toward strategic aerial bombing grew exponentially as a primary weapon toward defeating an enemy's ability to wage war. Although involved in pilot training, Texas had no large-scale role in aircraft manufacturing at this time. As America recovered from the Great Depression while moving closer to war, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce aggressively campaigned Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation (Convair) for a new plant. Their efforts proved successful and groundbreaking ceremonies took place here on April 18, 1941. The Austin Company of Cleveland, Ohio, built Convair Plant No. 4 in less than a year and the first B-24 (Liberator) bomber rolled off the assembly line on April 17, 1942 - 100 days ahead of schedule. More than 3,000 heavy bombers were produced here with a peak wartime employment of 32,000. The site also converted B-24 airframes into C-87 cargo/transports (Liberator Express), and later in the war, produced a limited number of the new B-32 heavy bombers (Dominator). Wartime mobilization was an important factor in the eventual Allied victory during World War II. This and other home front industries had a major impact on the local economy. Industrial growth brought new employers and workers to the community and added a modern industrial aspect to Fort Worth's existing Texas frontier reputation. Texas in World War II - 2008