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WWII US Aircraft Modification
Centers
Below is the listing of Aircraft
Modification Centers that existed during WWII to modify aircraft after
they came off the assembly lines. While at first this may not seem
to make sense and the sensible thing to do was build the aircraft to the
current specification this was impossible under wartime conditions.
The issue came down to output. If one stopped or slowed the assembly
line to update an aircraft with the current modifications, changes,
updates and new equipment and technology, very few aircraft would have
been built for the war effort. Actually when it was attempted early
in the war to make running changes on the assembly line it was then not
known what equipment and modifications were actually in each aircraft,
which was totally unacceptable. So two things were instituted.
First was the Block System. Aircraft were built in "blocks' or
groups of say twenty five aircraft. Each one would be the same and
there would be documentation as to what equipment was on the aircraft.
The larger the number of aircraft in the block the faster the line could
run to take advantage of the economies of scale.
However, the aircraft would still not in many cases be up to date on
required modifications needed for combat. So then the aircraft would be
flown off to a modification center, if one was not at the aircraft
assembly plant location. There the aircraft in many cases would have
as many hours spent on it being updated as were involved in the original
manufacture. While not the desired state, most cost effective or the
most efficient manner of building the aircraft, it was the most expedient.
There were 24 locations for the modification centers. Information
below comes from "The Modification of Army Aircraft in the United
States, 1939-1945" and was provided by Chris Howlett. Unless
otherwise noted. aircraft were modified for the USAAF.
Atlanta, GA - Delta Airlines - B-34, C-45, C-54, P-38, P-51, A-25
Birmingham,
AL - Betchel-McCone-Parsons Corp - B-24, C-87, C-109, B-29, F-5
Buffalo, NY - Curtiss-Wright Corp.-
O-46, P-40, P-51, OA-10
Burbank, CA -
Lockheed
Aircraft Corp
- F-5, P-51
Cheyenne, WY - United Airlines
Transportation Corp. - F-9, B-17, OA-10
Daggett, CA - Douglas Aircraft Company - A-20, F-3, P-51
Dallas (Love Field), TX - Lockheed
Aircraft Corp. - F-5, P-38, P-51, B-17, C-46
Denver, CO - Continental Airlines -
B-17, P-51, B-29
Evansville, IN - Republic Aviation
Corp. - P-47, P-51, P-39, P-61, A-35A, B-25, C-45, B-24
Kansas City, MO - Transcontinental
& Western Airlines Inc. - B-25, P-51
Kansas City, KS - North American
Aviation, Inc. - B-25
Long Beach - Douglas Aircraft - C-47, A-26,
B-17
Louisville, KY -
Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corp. - B-24, A-31
Marietta, GA - Bell Aircraft - B-29
Memphis, TN - Chicago & Southern Airlines
-
A-34(Britain), A-35(Britain), C-45,
P-36(Peru), P-70
Nashville, TN - Consolidate-Vultee Aircraft
Corp.- P-38, A-35(Britain)
Niagara, NY - Bell Aircraft Corp. - P-39,
P-40, P-51, P-63, F-3, C-45, AT-11, OA-10
Oklahoma City, OK -
Douglas
Aircraft Company
- C-47 for USAAF, Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and France
Omaha, NE - Glenn L.
Martin Co. - B-25 for USAAF, US Navy and China, F-7(B-34), (1,593) B-26
for USAAF and Britain, (893) B-24, (12) P-40, (188) Wichita, KS B-29,
(236) Omaha B-29. Starting 1-1-1945 only Omaha, NE B-29s were
modified.
Santa Monica, CA - Douglas Aircraft
Company
- A-20 for USAAF, Russia and Brazil
St. Paul, MN - Northwest Airlines,
Inc. - B-24, F-7(B-24), C-109
Tucson, AZ - Consolidated Vultee
Aircraft Corp -.B-24 for USSAF and Britain, C-87, F-7(B-24) and P-51
Tulsa, OK - Douglas Aircraft
Company -
B-17, B-24, C-87 for USAAF and Britain, B-25, A-24, P-70, C-47
Vandalia, OH - Northwest Airlines,
Inc. - AT-6
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