By Bill YennePaperback w/flaps, 11 x 9.625
192 pages, 50 color, 125 b/w photos
ISBN 978-0-7603-3913-8
$24.99 / $27.99 CAN / £17.99
“Yenne, one of the best present-day chroniclers of aviation history, ably merges text and images to give a sense of the efficiency and even beauty of American ‘Yankee’ ingenuity at its best. The text is crisp and efficient, but the images are what give the book its edge. From the early images of aviation workers in full suits and ties to the surprising color shots of factory workers, the book underlines the glamour and, dare I say, coolness of a bygone era.”
192 pages, 50 color, 125 b/w photos
ISBN 978-0-7603-3913-8
$24.99 / $27.99 CAN / £17.99
BUY NOW!
“Yenne, one of the best present-day chroniclers of aviation history, ably merges text and images to give a sense of the efficiency and even beauty of American ‘Yankee’ ingenuity at its best. The text is crisp and efficient, but the images are what give the book its edge. From the early images of aviation workers in full suits and ties to the surprising color shots of factory workers, the book underlines the glamour and, dare I say, coolness of a bygone era.”
—InFlight USA
Few, if any, industrial phenomena have been as dramatic as the United States’ mid-20th-century shift from peacetime manufacturing to wartime production. While the years 1939 to 1945 saw explosive growth in the mass production of every type of armament imaginable, none was more emblematic of the industrial climate than the proliferation of aircraft factories.
Zeroing in on the crux of the American military-industrial complex at a critical moment, The American Aircraft Factory in World War II documents the production of fighters and bombers by legendary aircraft manufacturers at dozens of new or converted factories across the U.S.
Illustrated with 175 period photographs—including 50 rare color photos never before seen in print—The American Aircraft Factory in World War II conveys the incredible acceleration of aviation technology that took place during this period. Author Bill Yenne considers the various prewar governmental acts that got the ball rolling, as well as the notable gender shift that occurred on factory floors. He also describes the construction of megafactories like Willow Run, factory-design considerations, and the postwar conversion back to peacetime production.
About the Author
Bill Yenne is the author of a number of Zenith Press titles, including Hitler's Master of the Dark Arts, Attack of the Drones and Great Northern Empire Builders, as well as the landmark The Story of the Boeing Company and more than 20 other aviation titles. Yenne and his family live in the Noe Valley district of San Francisco.
Zeroing in on the crux of the American military-industrial complex at a critical moment, The American Aircraft Factory in World War II documents the production of fighters and bombers by legendary aircraft manufacturers at dozens of new or converted factories across the U.S.
Illustrated with 175 period photographs—including 50 rare color photos never before seen in print—The American Aircraft Factory in World War II conveys the incredible acceleration of aviation technology that took place during this period. Author Bill Yenne considers the various prewar governmental acts that got the ball rolling, as well as the notable gender shift that occurred on factory floors. He also describes the construction of megafactories like Willow Run, factory-design considerations, and the postwar conversion back to peacetime production.
About the Author
Bill Yenne is the author of a number of Zenith Press titles, including Hitler's Master of the Dark Arts, Attack of the Drones and Great Northern Empire Builders, as well as the landmark The Story of the Boeing Company and more than 20 other aviation titles. Yenne and his family live in the Noe Valley district of San Francisco.
Reviews of The American Aircraft Factory in World War II
“Bill Yenne keeps his reputation for consistent quality in his nostalgic book The American Aircraft Factory in World War II … Yenne supports his text with an amazing collection of photographs, a few familiar to aviation buffs, but many others seen here for the first time. This compilation clearly represents an extensive research effort. All in all, The American Aircraft Factory in World War II tells the story of how the United States and its diverse population responded to a crisis in a positive manner, one that benefited the world in their day – and which may also serve to inspire new generations.”
—Aviation History
“No story is more emblematic of the all-out industrial effort than that of the American aircraft industry. And no book captures that effort better than this handsome, oversized work by Bill Yenne. Using 125 exquisitely detailed black-and-white photos and 50 color shots, Yenne captures the hustle, bustle, and sheer muscle that was required to turn steel and aluminum into the legendary aircraft of the day – the fighters, transports, and bombers – that helped win the war...All aviation buffs will want this one.”
—WWII History
“This oversized, oblong volume devotes more acreage to photos than text, and it looks suspiciously like a coffee-table book, but it proves to be considerably more than that … While the book doesn't pretend to be a scholarly treatise (and it dispenses with footnotes), Yenne does a good job of explaining and illustrating the mammoth expansion of American aviation during the war years … Given the ease with which this volume could have turned into an insipid collection of wartime photos of jovial workers toiling on the Home Front, The American Aircraft Factory proves to be a pleasant surprise.”
—Stone & Stone Second World War Books
“Lavishly illustrated, landscape-format tribute to the huge U.S. war machine that churned out over 304,000 aircraft between 1939 and 1945. The format and large size of this book was dictated by sheer scale and drama of the illustrations within. Incredible views of production lines are balanced with images of countless ‘Rosie the Riveters’ at work, plus engineers, test pilots and designers. Pictures are mostly black and white, but with good amounts of color – all spectacularly reproduced. The author knits a careful narrative around the imagery.”
—Flypast magazine
“There are plenty of visual treatments of the battles of World War II, but relatively few covering the underlying military support systems at home. The American Aircraft Factory in World War II fills this gap, covering the history, work, and production efforts of military aircraft factories across the country that contributed greatly to the success of soldiers. This was a major manufacturing shift which changed the business and military face of America: chapters document the production of fighters by manufacturers using new and converted factories alike, and even pack in fifty unusual color photos new to print, here. An eye-catching, outstanding production results.”
—Midwest Book Review
