Trying My Hand at Forced Perspective

 A couple months ago, I got a model of a B-24 Liberator that had the markings of a plane that was built at the Willow Run Assembly Plant.  I posted pictures of it before but I wanted to do some pictures of it with some landmarks behind it.  With little river traffic today and it being a somewhat miserable day, I figured I would try my hand at some forced perspective.

Willow Run is about 5 miles or so away from Ypsilanti proper.  Henry Ford decided to build his B-24 plant there so that it would be in Washtenaw instead of Wayne County (better taxes at the time).  In 1940, it was determined that the United States would have to switch its production so that it would be on more of a war footing.

The aircraft manufacturers at the time did not have the capacity to increase production to what was needed.  It was also determined that using mass production techniques would increase construction several fold.  As a result, Henry Ford was one of the people asked if his company was up to the task.

Ford had some experience with producing airplanes in the 1930s with the Ford Tri-Motor but Ford really wanted to focus on cars but he said he would look into it.

Ford was selected to produce the B-24 Liberator.  It was not the most famous bomber of the war, but it was probably the workhorse of the war.  It was designed and developed by Consolidated out of San Diego.  Henry Ford visited to the Consolidated plant with his chief engineer to see if it was possible.  They determined it was possible, but some of the parts had to be redesigned to be more mass production friendly.  For instance, the number of parts in the landing gear was reduced from 29 to around 16.  Other changes were made to make the bomber more mass production friendly.

Ford was awarded the contract in 1940 and ground was broken on the Willow Run site later in the same year.  Production was started in 1941, but that was only for B-24 kits that would be assembled elsewhere.  Ford got final approval to assemble bombers later in 1941.

Initially, Ford had a number of issues starting production.  One of them was finding enough workers to work at Willow Run.  He also had some union issues once he got those workers.  He also had issues with the Army Air Force changing requirements as he built the bombers.

Eventually, he solved the labor issues.  He also solved the issues with changing requirements by building standard bombers and if the Army Air Force wanted something different, he would set bombers aside that could be reworked later.  By 1943, the factory was humming.  Eventually, one B-24 would roll off the line per hour.

This particular model is "Libra" and has a serial number of 42-52508, meaning that it was ordered by the US Government in 1942.  It was transferred to the 833rd Bombing Group in July of 1944.  This bombing group operated out of England.  The nose art was developed by a corporal out of Chicago.  He did nose art with other Zodiac signs.  This bomber would serve through the war and was scrapped sometime after.

It's a shame that the Yankee Air Museum couldn't get its hands on the real one.  Oh well.

I would have liked this picture more if it didn't start raining earnest.  But this means I will have to try some other day.

The M.S. Westcott Returns to her Dock

One of the things I like about going down to Riverside is that I get a chance to catch the Westcott.

It seems like they have been using the M.S. Westcott lately.

But that is fine, she's a pretty nice looking boat.

The Philip R. Clarke on a Foggy Evening

 I decided to go boatwatching tonight.  There was a ship I've wanted to catch for a bit.

I saw that the Philip R. Clarke was making her way down today.  I saw that I could catch her passing Detroit later in the day.

She was coming down from Calcite, which meant that she had a load of stone.

She was heading over to Buffalo which I think is a rare destination for her.

But she is a ship I like catching.  She's almost like catching the Anderson since she's of the same class.

I was thinking about not going since it's been raining all day.  I'm glad I resisted that urge because misty shots are pretty cool.

She passes a spot on the river where there normally isn't much of a background.  This time, the background was obscured by the fog.

She passes Windsor.

She is approached by the M.S. Westcott.  I kind of like this shot, especially with the wake from the Westcott making a leading line for me.

The Westcott starts to turn around.

The Westcott gets closer.

The Westcott at her side.

She approaches the Ambassador Bridge.

The tower just behind her pilothouse.

The tower in her middle.

The tower behind her deck house.

She continues down the river.

She starts to disappear into the fog.

Normally, this shot would have the Gordie Howe Bridge in the background, but she is obscured by the fog.

The Kaye E. Barker at Mistersky

 This was a ship that I saw on Marine Traffic but I wasn't sure that I was going to catch her.

When I got to Riverside, I saw that she was getting fuel at Mistersky.  I also saw that she had been there a couple of hours, so I expected that she was going to pulling out soon.

I wasn't sure if I was going to see her actually pull out, so I took a couple of pictures as she was docked.

As I realized that the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder was pulling into the fuel dock, I looked at the Barker and saw that smoke was coming out of her stack.  That meant that she would be pulling out.

Sadly, I didn't catch a picture of it but after a puff of smoke from the bow thrusters, she started to pull out of the dock.  I was more interested in getting a bow shot of her.

She continued to push out.

Started to give me a good shot of Zug Island.

When I posted this picture, I titled it as "Pulling out of Correllia" because that was Han Solo's home plant.  This looked like the planet in "Solo".

She is another ship that I really like.  she is another classic laker but she is a unique looking one.

She is also one that I see fairly often because she is typically the one that goes between Marquette and Dearborn.

The bridge in the background.

She pulls out in the channel.

Just a beautiful ship.

A relatively clean background.

A nice shot with the McKeil Spirit and Pathfinder in the picture.

The ship moves on.

She approaches the Ambassador Bridge.

The tower to the front.

The tower in the back.

She was heading on to Burns Harbor.  I think she was coming from Toledo which means that she was delivering iron to Burns Harbor.

The Detroit Police Boat

 As I was waiting for the next ship, this passed by.

It was the Harbor Master boat for the Detroit Police.

I don't know why it was passing this way but it was kind of cool to see.

The Curtis Randolph Tests Its Fire Hoses

 This next part was pretty neat.  For part of the morning, I heard them turn the engines on for the Curtis Randolph.  Occasionally, they would cycle them.  I assume that was to test the engines because I imagine the boat doesn't go out much.

Then they started to test the fire hoses.  I heard the engines rev up for this.

They started to rev the engines more.

And then we got a nice stream of water and a little wet from the mist.

And Then There Was the Pathfider

This is one that I did not expect to catch.

The Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder was stopped in the Belle Isle Anchorage when I first got here.  I wasn't sure why she was waiting there.

I initially thought she was waiting to go up the Rouge or something.

But it turns out that she was waiting for an opening at the fuel dock.

So she started to head down the river.

I'm surprised they didn't bring the tug to her but I imagine that might cost extra.

She starts to pass the Ambassador Bridge.

The tower in the middle.

One more with the Bridge.

She continues to the Mistersky fuel docks.