Who Knew?

Okay, this has got to be one of the coolest things I have ever learned!  And I'm amazed that I had never even heard about this because I had the greatest US History Teacher that has ever lived.  Although he loved the Civil War and so perhaps WWII was skimmed a bit...but I digress.

I was watching the History Channel yesterday and they were having a special on camouflage - basically the who, what, when, where and why of it.  One of the segments was about a Lockheed location in Burbank, California during WWII.  After watching the program, I started searching for more information and this is what I found:  http://www.suite101.com/content/magic-makeover-lockheeds-wwii-vanishing-act-a176694

With the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the Government found it essential to hide and protect the Lockheed /Vega Aircraft Plant in Burbank, California, from aerial attacks by the Japanese.   But how do you hide a 550 acres Aviation Production Facility?  Cue the Magical World of DISNEY.  Soldiers were moved to the Disney properties to protect the nearby Lockheed facility, and in return, Disney animators did what they do best - the created MAGIC.  They hid 550 acres of buildings, airplane hangars, manufacturing plants, parking lots and airport facilities under canvas covered chicken wire!

The Lockheed workers were instructed (by Disney techs) on how to hand paint a residential and agricultural community.  Cardboard houses and buildings were built, trees and shrubs designed out of wire and chicken feathers colored green to match  the landscape.  The factory's air ducts were disguised as fire hydrants.  Cars were constructed out of rubber and plywood and moved along the surface to mimic real life in a residential neighborhood.  And underneath this playground of neighborhoods and lush green gardens and meadows, a fully functioning Aircraft facility produced aircraft and ammo for the war effort.

With the clever Disney disguise in place, Lockheed was able to meet to work with other Aircraft Manufacturers (Boeing, Douglas, North American, etc.) to boost the U.S. aircraft production from 6,000 airplanes a year (1939) to an amazing 300,000 military aircraft by the end of WWII in 1945. 

To see some amazing photographs, please use this SNOPES link:  http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?t=51725  I encourage you to read both the article above as well as the comments made on the SNOPES thread.