Remembering Boeing's Plant 2, the Birthplace of the B-17

During World War II, a Hollywood set designer helped design a 26-acre fake community to camouflage the Boeing factory.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, December 13, 2024 at 04:02 PM ET

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Edited By:

Kimberly Johnson

A nearly complete B-17F Flying Fortress bomber at the Boeing's production line in the Seattle plant, 1942. [Credit: United States Office Of War Information, courtesy Library of Congress archives]

Key Takeaways:

Boeing's Plant No. 2 in Seattle was the primary production site for the B-17 Flying Fortress, manufacturing nearly 7,000 aircraft starting in the 1930s.
During WWII, this vital factory was famously disguised with an elaborate 26-acre fake community on its roof, designed by a Hollywood set designer.
This extensive camouflage effort, prompted by fears of Japanese air raids after Pearl Harbor, included faux streets, homes, and civic buildings to mislead enemy aerial reconnaissance.

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Boeing’s Plant No. 2 in Seattle, arguably the birthplace of the B-17 Flying Fortress, predates the entry of the U.S. into World War II by several years.

The factory was located just west of Boeing Field, which was formerly dedicated as a municipal airport in July 1928. The brick terminal building is still in use today on the east side of the airport now known as King County International Airport/Boeing Filed (KBFI).