Long Beach and Inglewood, 1942: Nobody Wrote Down Her Name
The film of this episode premieres December 8, 2026 on YouTube. The documents, the transcript and the sources are below now.
In 1942 Alfred T. Palmer photographed two aircraft plants in Los Angeles County in color — North American Aviation at Inglewood, where they built the B-25 and the P-51 Mustang, and Douglas Aircraft at Long Beach, where they built the B-17F, the A-20 and the C-47.
Transcript
You have seen this photograph
R001 A noontime rest for a full-fledged assembly worker at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-89 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
You have seen this photograph. The caption on the back of it does not give her name.
R002 Mounting motor on a Fairfax B-25 bomber, at North American Aviation, Inc., plant in Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · 1942 · LC-USW36-39 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Inglewood, California. Twenty miles up the coast from where she is sitting, and the same month.
R003 A wing brace assembly for a B-25 bomber is prepared for the assembly line of an aircraft plant, North American Aviation, Inc., Calif. With plenty of speed, a 1,700-mile cruising range and a ceiling of 25,000 feet, it has performed as a medium bomber and as an escort plane
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · 1942 · LC-USW36-136 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Both plants were photographed by the same man, and he worked for neither of them. He worked for an agency created that June.
This is the order that made it — in recognition, it says, of the right of the American people to be truthfully informed about the common war effort.
R004 Making wiring assemblies at a junction box on the fire wall for the right engine of a B-25 bomber, North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif. Forward of this wall will be mounted one of the two 1,700-horsepower Wright Whirlwind engines which carry the B-25 through performances up to Altitudes of 25,000 feet
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · July 1942 · LC-USW36-138 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
So these are not the documentary file. The Library keeps them in the war information series, and they were made to be printed.
The first duty on the list. Formulate and carry out, through the use of press, radio, motion picture, and other facilities, information programs.
Inglewood
R005 Riveting team working on the cockpit shell of a B-25 i.e. C-47 bomber at the plant of North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood i.e. Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · 1942 · LC-USW36-139 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
North American Aviation, Inglewood. They built the B-25 here, and the Mustang. This is a riveting team on a cockpit shell.
R006 Punching rivet holes in a frame member for a B-25 bomber, the plant of North American Aviation, Inc., Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · June 1942 · LC-USW36-141 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Punching rivet holes in a frame member.
R007 Woman working on an airplane motor at North American Aviation, Inc., plant in Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · June 1942 · LC-USW36-142 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A woman working on an airplane motor. That is the entire caption.
R008 New B-25 bombers lined up for final inspection and tests at the flying field of an aircraft plant, North American Aviation, Inc., Calif. It performs at the 25,000-foot ceiling
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · July 1942 · LC-USW36-146 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
New bombers lined up at the flying field for final inspection.
R009 Another North American B-25 bomber rolls off the final assembly line to join other ships on the outdoor assembly line, North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-239 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The ramp, seen from inside a dark hangar. Everything out there is going overseas.
R010 North American B-25 bomber is prepared for painting on the outside assembly line, North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-240 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A bomber taped up and prepared for painting on the outside line.
R011 View of the B-25 final assembly line at North American Aviation's Inglewood, California, plant
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · 1942 · LC-USW36-244 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The final assembly line, indoors, the whole length of it.
R012 Employees on the "Sunshine" assembly line at North American's plant put the finishing touches on another B-25 bomber, Inglewood, Calif. In addition to the battle-tested B-25 ("Billy Mitchell") bomber, used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, this plant produces the P-51 ("Mustang") fighter plane which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-245 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
They finished the aeroplanes outdoors, in the open air. The plant called it the Sunshine line.
R013 On North American's outdoor assembly line, employees rush a B-25 to completion, North American Aviation, Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-247 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Employees rushing one to completion.
R014 Two women employees of North American Aviation, Incorporated, assembling a section of a wing for a P-51 fighter plane
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-249 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Two women assembling a section of wing for a Mustang.
R015 Sheet metal parts are numbered with this pneumatic numbering machine in North American's sheet metal department, North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-251 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Sheet metal parts, numbered by machine.
R016 A young woman employee of North American Aviation, Incorporated, working over the landing gear mechanism of a P-51 fighter plane, Inglewood, Calif. The mechanism resembles a small cannon
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-253 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A young woman over the landing gear of a fighter. The caption adds that the mechanism resembles a small cannon.
R017 Clerk in one of the stock rooms of North American Aviation, Inc., checking to see if the proper numbers of parts were received and placed in the proper bin, Inglewood, Calif. This plant produces the battle-tested B-25 ("Billy Mitchell") bomber, used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, and the P-51 ("Mustang") fighter plane which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-255 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A clerk in a stock room, checking that the right parts went into the right bin.
R018 On North American's outdoor assembly line, a painter cleans the tail section of a P-51 fighter prior to spraying the olive-drab camouflage of the U.S. Army, North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-258 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A painter cleaning a tail section before the olive drab goes on.
R019 Cowling and control rods are added to motors for North American B-25 bombers as they move down the assembly line, North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-259 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Cowling and control rods, added as the motors move down the line.
R020 An employee in the drill-press section of North American's huge machine shop runs mounting holes in a large dural casting, Inglewood, Calif. This plant produces the battle-tested B-25 ("Billy Mitchell") bomber, used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, and the P-51 ("Mustang") fighter plane which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-262 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The drill press section of the machine shop.
R021 Metal parts are placed on masonite by this woman employee before they slide under the multi-ton hydropress, North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-264 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Parts laid on masonite before they go under the hydropress. Multi-ton, the caption says.
R022 In North American's modern machine shop, another aircraft part is finished on a huge turret lathe, North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · 1942 · LC-USW36-265 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A turret lathe.
R023 Operating a hand drill at North American Aviation, Inc., a woman is working in the control surface department assembling a section of the leading edge for the horizontal stabilizer of a plane, Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-297 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A hand drill in the control surface department, on the leading edge of a stabilizer.
R024 Part of the cowling for one of the motors for a B-25 bomber is assembled in the engine department of North American Aviation, Inc.'s Inglewood, Calif., plant
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-298 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Part of a cowling, assembled in the engine department.
R025 Switch boxes on the firewalls of B-25 bombers are assembled by women workers at North American Aviation, Inc.'s Inglewood, Calif., plant
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-303 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Switch boxes on the firewalls of the bombers, assembled by women workers.
The paragraph that repeats
R026 A nose wheel and landing gear assembly for a B-25 bomber under construction in a western aircraft plant, North American Aviation, Inc., Calif. A front section of the plane shows in the background. General Doolittle has called the ship the best military plane in existence. With plenty of speed, a 1,700-mile cruising range and a ceiling of 25,000 feet, it has performed brilliantly as a medium bomber and as an escort plane.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-314 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A nose wheel — and then, out of nowhere, an advertisement. General Doolittle has called the ship the best military plane in existence.
R027 Huge drop hammers work day and night forming sheet metal parts for United Nations bombers and fighters at the North American Aviation, Inc., plant, Inglewood, Calif. The heavy hemp rope is used to snub the hammer so that it forms the part under proper pressure and rises clear of the work after each operation. This plant produces the battle-tested B-25 ("Billy Mitchell") bomber, used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, and the P-51 ("Mustang") fighter plane which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-475 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Drop hammers, day and night. The rope snubs the hammer so it rises clear of the work.
D01 Huge drop hammers work day and night forming sheet metal parts for United Nations bombers and fighters at the North American Aviation, Inc., plant, Inglewood, Calif. The heavy hemp rope is used to snub the hammer so that it forms the part under proper pressure and rises clear of the work after each operation. This plant produces the battle-tested B-25 ("Billy Mitchell") bomber, used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, and the P-51 ("Mustang") fighter plane which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe (detail)
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-475 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
And then the advertisement again. This plant produces the battle-tested B-25 bomber, used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo.
R028 Members of the experimental staff at the North American Aviation, Inc., plant, observe wind tunnel tests on an accurate scale model of the B-25 ("Billy Mitchell") bomber, Inglewood, Calif. This plant produces the battle-tested B-25 bomber, used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, and the P-51 Mustang fighter plane which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-488 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
And again, under the wind tunnel. And the P-51 Mustang fighter plane, which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe.
R029 An experimental scale model of the B-25 plane is prepared for wind tunnel tests in the plant of North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif. This plant produced the B-25 bomber
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-489 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A scale model going in. This one gets three lines and no advertisement at all.
R030 An experimental scale model of the B-25 plane is prepared for wind tunnel tests in the plant of the North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif. The model maker holds an exact miniature reproduction of the type of bomb the plane will carry. This plant produces the battle-tested B-25 bomber used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, and the P-51 ("Mustang") fighter plane which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-490 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The model maker is holding an exact miniature of the bomb the aeroplane will carry. And then the paragraph, one more time.
R031 P-51 ("Mustang") fighter plane in construction, North American Aviation, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · [1942?] · LC-USW36-491 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Seven of the captions carry it. Three of them word for word. A sentence that turns up under seven unrelated pictures is not describing any of them.
The plant it names is the wrong plant
R032 Employees at North American Aviation, Incorporated, assembling the cowling on Allison motors for the P-51 fighter planes, Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-492 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
And the parts meant to describe the picture? The riveting team you saw earlier is captioned as a B-25, at Inglewood.
D02 Employees at North American Aviation, Incorporated, assembling the cowling on Allison motors for the P-51 fighter planes, Inglewood, Calif. (detail)
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-492 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The Library has had to correct it twice, in brackets. It is a C-47, and it is Long Beach.
R033 Bomb bay gasoline tanks for long flights of B-25 bombers await assembly in the plant of North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood, Calif. This plant produces the battle-tested B-25 ("Billy Mitchell") bomber used in General Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, and the P-51 ("Mustang") fighter plane which was first brought into prominence by the British raid on Dieppe
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-493 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The very first frame of this episode says Fairfax, which is a plant in Kansas. The words written to be reprinted are perfect. The words about what is in front of the camera are not.
R034 P-51 ("Mustang") fighter planes being prepared for test flight at the field of the North American Aviation, Inc., plant in Inglewood, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-494 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Mustangs being prepared for a test flight.
R035 P-51 "Mustang" fighter in flight, Inglewood, Calif. The "Mustang", built by North American Aviation, Incorporated, is the only American-built fighter used by the Royal Air Force of Great Britain
Alfred T. Palmer · Inglewood, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-496 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The Mustang, in the air. The caption is proud that the British were flying it.
Long Beach
R036 The careful hands of women are trained in precise aircraft engine installation duties at Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-60 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Twenty miles south. Douglas Aircraft, Long Beach, October 1942.
R037 Working with the electric wiring at Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-90 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The careful hands of women are trained in precise aircraft engine installation duties. That is the caption, in full.
R038 A noontime rest for a full-fledged assembly worker at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company. Nacelle parts for a heavy bomber form the background
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-91 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
And here she is again — the same woman, the same sandbags, and the same caption word for word. A noontime rest for a full-fledged assembly worker.
D03 A noontime rest for a full-fledged assembly worker at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company. Nacelle parts for a heavy bomber form the background (detail)
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-91 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The Library holds three frames of her. Not one of them carries a name.
R039 Women are trained as engine mechanics in thorough Douglas training methods, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-92 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Women are trained as engine mechanics, says the next one, in thorough Douglas training methods.
R040 Girl inspectors at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company make a careful check of center wings for C-47 transport planes
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-94 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Inspectors, checking the centre wings of transport planes.
Trained
R041 American mothers and sisters, like these women at the Douglas Aircraft Company, give important help in producing dependable planes for their men at the front, Long Beach, Calif. Most important of the many types of aircraft made at this plant are the B-17F ("Flying Fortress") heavy bomber, the A-20 ("Havoc") assault bomber and the C-47 heavy transport plane for the carrying of troops and cargo
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-95 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
American mothers and sisters, this one begins, give important help in producing dependable planes for their men at the front.
R042 With careful Douglas training, women do accurate electrical assembly and installation work, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-97 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
With careful Douglas training, women do accurate electrical assembly and installation work.
R043 Girl inspector confers with a worker as she makes a a careful check of center wings for C-47 transport planes, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-100 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
An inspector conferring with a worker.
R044 Lunchtime brings a few minutes of rest for these women workers of the assembly line at Douglas Aircraft Company's plant, Long Beach, Calif. Sand bags for protection against air raid form the background. Most important of the many types of aircraft made at this plant are the B-17F ("Flying Fortress") heavy bomber, the A-20 ("Havoc") assault bomber, and the C-47 heavy transport plane for the carrying of troops and cargo
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-101 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Lunch. The wall behind them is sandbags, stacked against an air raid.
R045 A girl riveting machine operator at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant joins sections of wing ribs to reinforce the inner wing assemblies of B-17F heavy bombers, Long Beach, Calif. Better known as the "Flying Fortress," the B-17F bomber is a later model of the B-17, which distinguished itself in action in the south Pacific, over Germany and elsewhere. It is a long range, high altitude, heavy bomber, with a crew of seven to nine men -- and with armament sufficient to defend itself on daylight missions
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-102 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A riveting machine operator, joining wing ribs inside a Flying Fortress.
R046 Women workers install fixtures and assemblies to a tail fuselage section of a B-17 bomber at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant, Long Beach, Calif. Better known as the "Flying Fortress," the B-17F is a later model of the B-17, which distinguished itself in action in the south Pacific, Germany and elsewhere. It is a long range, high altitude, heavy bomber, with a crew of seven to nine men, and with armament sufficient to defend itself on daylight missions
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-103 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Inside the tail of one. Long Beach has its own repeating paragraph — that same description of the Flying Fortress, under four different pictures.
R047 Men and women make efficient operating teams on riveting and other jobs at the Douglas Aircraft plant, Long Beach, Calif. Most important of the many types of aircraft made at this plant are the B-17F ("Flying Fortress") heavy bomber, the A-20 ("Havoc") assault bomber and the C-47 heavy transport plane for the carrying of troops and cargo
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-105 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Men and women make efficient operating teams, says this one. It is the only caption of the eighty-three that shows a man doing this work.
R048 Women become skilled shop technicians after careful training in the school at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant, Long Beach, Calif. Most important of the many types of aircraft made at this plant are the B-17F ("Flying Fortress") heavy bomber, the A-20 ("Havoc") assault bomber and the C-47 heavy transport plane for the carrying of troops and cargo
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-106 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Women become skilled shop technicians after careful training in the school at the plant.
R049 Woman at work on motor, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-107 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Trained. Careful. Thorough. Six of the Long Beach captions use that word, and every single one of them is about women.
Two years later the same government printed a pamphlet on the subject. Not for the public. This is addressed to employers hiring women for production jobs.
Its first instruction is not about tools, or hours, or safety. Sell the idea of women workers to present employee staff — the foremen and men workers.
An aircraft foreman, quoted in it. I was pretty surprised to find the girls had the guns, and the boys were bucking for them.
A superintendent from somewhere else. Where have I been all these years? Why, these women are easier to train than men and can do finer work.
And on money. You can't tell a woman she is filling the shoes of a man called to arms, and then pay her only eighty percent of his wages, without stigmatizing her instantly.
R050 Women at work on bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-109 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
That is what a pamphlet like that is for. Somebody had to be talked round, and it was not the women.
R051 Two assembly line workers at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company enjoy a well-earned lunch period, Long Beach, Calif. Nacelle parts of a heavy bomber form the background
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-111 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Lunch, in front of the nacelle parts of a heavy bomber.
Girl
R052 Girl worker at lunch also absorbing California sunshine, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-112 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Now read the captions again. Girl worker at lunch, this one says, also absorbing California sunshine.
R053 Flexible performance of C-47 transport planes is due in part to their two 1,200 horsepower radial engines and to their three-blade variable-pitch propellers, Long Beach, Calif. Picture taken at the Douglas Aircraft Company. The versatile C-47 performs many important tasks for the army. It ferries men and cargo across oceans and mountains, tows gliders and brings paratroopers and their equipment to scenes of action
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-114 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Two twelve-hundred-horsepower radial engines and three-blade variable-pitch propellers. About machinery, the captions are exact.
R054 An A-20 bomber being riveted by a woman worker at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-124 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A woman riveting an attack bomber.
R055 Riveter at work at the Douglas Aircraft Corporation plant in Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-125 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A riveter at work. No name.
R056 A fast, hard-hitting new A-20 i.e., B-25 attack bomber is brought for a test hop to the flight line at the Long Beach, Calif., plant of Douglas Aircraft Company
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-126 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
A bomber going out to the flight line for a test hop.
R057 Woman machinist, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-127 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Woman machinist. Two words, then the company and the town, and that is the whole record of her.
R058 Women are trained to do precise and vital engine installation detail in Douglas Aircraft Company plants, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-130 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Women are trained to do precise and vital engine installation detail.
R059 Women at work on C-47 Douglas cargo transport, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-133 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Women at work on a cargo transport.
R060 This girl in a glass house is putting finishing touches on the bombardier nose section of a B-17F navy bomber, Long Beach, Calif. She's one of many capable women workers in the Douglas Aircraft Company plant. Better known as the "Flying Fortress," the B-17F is a later model of the B-17 which distinguished itself in action in the South Pacific, over Germany and elsewhere. It is a long range, high altitude heavy bomber, with a crew of seven to nine men, and with armament sufficient to defend itself on daylight missions
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-212 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
This girl in a glass house is putting finishing touches on the bombardier nose section. She's one of many capable women workers.
R061 Carefully trained women inspectors check and inspect cargo transport innerwings before they are assembled on the fuselage, Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-299 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Carefully trained women inspectors, checking innerwings before they go on the fuselage.
The two men with names
R062 F.W. Hunter, Army test pilot, Douglas Aircraft Company plant at Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-99 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Then he photographed two men on their own, and wrote down who they were. F. W. Hunter, Army test pilot.
R063 Lieutenant "Mike" Hunter, Army pilot assigned to Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-132 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Lieutenant Mike Hunter, Army pilot assigned to Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, California.
Annette del Sur
R064 Annette del Sur publicizing salvage campaign in yard of Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-115 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
One woman in the whole set is named. She is not on the line.
R065 Annette del Sur publicizing salvage campaign in yard of Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-116 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Annette del Sur, publicizing a salvage campaign in the yard of the Douglas plant. Six frames of her, and her name on every one.
R066 Annette del Sur publicizing salvage campaign in yard of Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-118 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Aluminium shavings in her hair.
R067 Annette del Sur publicizing salvage campaign in yard of Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Long Beach, Calif. · Oct. 1942 · LC-USW36-120 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The one woman the caption writer thought to identify is the one who was standing on a scrap heap to be photographed.
Who is not in the frame
There is a second absence in these eighty-three frames, and you have to know what is missing to see it. Another bulletin, three years later, opens like this.
In aircraft plants also there are many Negro women pioneers. Working on production, in at least fifteen major aircraft plants.
Look through all eighty-three frames and you will not find one of them. The bulletin asks for jobs, with no bars erected because of colour, creed, or sex.
What they wanted
The pictures never ask what these women wanted afterwards. In 1944 and 1945 the Women's Bureau asked. Ten cities — and Los Angeles is not on the list.
Over thirteen thousand women interviewed. About seventy-five percent expected to be part of the postwar labour force. Three in four meant to keep working.
Polytechnic High
R068 Students at Washington High School at class, training for specific contributions to the war effort, Los Angeles, Calif. Ralph Angar, instructor, explains propeller characteristics to students in the aeronautics class
Alfred T. Palmer · Los Angeles, Calif. · Sept. 1942 · LC-USW36-281 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
The month before he went into the plants, the same photographer went to two Los Angeles high schools. Ralph Ang-gar, instructor, explaining propeller characteristics.
R069 Students at Washington High School at class, training for specific contributions to the war effort, Los Angeles, Calif.
Alfred T. Palmer · Los Angeles, Calif. · Sept. 1942 · LC-USW36-286 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
Washington High School, training for specific contributions to the war effort.
R070 Boys trained in the fundamentals of navigation may become technicians in the armed service, Los Angeles, Calif. Thomas Graham, a member of the Victory Corps at Polytechnic High School, is learning to use a sextant to determine longitude and latitude
Alfred T. Palmer · Los Angeles, Calif. · Sept. 1942 · LC-USW36-284 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
At Polytechnic they taught navigation, and he wrote down the boy's name. Thomas Graham, of the Victory Corps, learning to use a sextant.
R071 Learning how to determine latitude by using a sextant is Senta Osoling, student at Polytechnic High School, Los Angeles, Calif. Navigation classes are part of the school's program for training its students for specific contributions to the war effort
Alfred T. Palmer · Los Angeles, Calif. · Sept. 1942 · LC-USW36-282 · Library of Congress · OWI Kodachrome transparency. View the original.
And then, once, he wrote down hers. Sen-tah Osoling, student at Polytechnic High School, learning how to determine latitude.
Sources
- Alfred T. Palmer, FSA/OWI colour photographs, Library of Congress — https://www.loc.gov/pictures/search/?q=Palmer+aviation&;co=fsac
- Executive Order 9182, "Consolidating Certain War Information Functions Into an Office of War Information," 7 F.R. 4468, Federal Register, Tuesday, June 16, 1942 — https://archive.org/details/sim_federal-register-find_1942-06-16_7_117
- U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Special Bulletin No. 14, *When You Hire Women* (GPO, 1944) — https://archive.org/details/WhenYouHireWomen-nsia
- Katherine Blood, U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Special Bulletin No. 20, *Negro Women War Workers* (GPO, 1945) — https://archive.org/details/NegroWomenWarWorker
- U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, Bulletin No. 209, *Women Workers in Ten War Production Areas and Their Postwar Employment Plans* (GPO, 1946) — https://archive.org/details/women-war-workers
- "In recognition of the right of the American people and of all other peoples opposing the Axis aggressors to be truthfully informed about the common war effort…" (p. 4468)
- "a. Formulate and carry out, through the use of press, radio, motion picture, and other facilities, information programs designed to facilitate the development of an informed and intelligent understanding, at home and abroad, of the status and progress of the war effort…" (p. 4469)
- 7 captions end with the same sentence about the plant, naming Doolittle's Tokyo raid and the British raid on Dieppe.
- 3 of those 7 are identical, word for word: the stock room (LC-USW36-255), the drill press (LC-USW36-262) and the drop hammers (LC-USW36-475).
- 1 more carries a different advertisement — "General Doolittle has called the ship the best military plane in existence" — on a nose-wheel assembly.
- "the cockpit shell of a B-25 [i.e. C-47] bomber at the plant of North American Aviation, Inc., Inglewood [i.e. Douglas Aircraft Company, Long Beach], Calif." — two errors in one caption: wrong aircraft, wrong plant, wrong company, wrong city.
- "Mounting motor [on a] Fairfax B-25 bomber, at North American Aviation, Inc., plant in [Inglewood], Calif." — Fairfax is North American's Kansas City plant.
- "A fast, hard-hitting new A-20 [i.e., B-25] attack bomber…"
- "FIRST — Sell the idea of women workers to present employee staff — the foremen and men workers." (p. 1)
- the aircraft foreman's account, ending "I was pretty surprised to find the girls had the guns, and the boys were bucking for them." (p. 2)
- "Where have I been all these years? Why, these women are easier to train than men and can do finer work." (p. 2)
- the National Foremen's Institute on wages: "You can't induct a woman into war work and tell her she's going to fill the shoes of a man who has been called to arms, and then pay her only 80 percent of his wages, without stigmatizing her instantly with the idea that she really isn't so good as the man whose job she took over." (p. 16)
- *When You Hire Women* — the `WhenYouHireWomen-nsia` scan is 1,715 px on the long edge; the other Archive copy of the same pamphlet is 858 px and unusable.
- *Negro Women War Workers* — 4,026 × 6,250 px.
- Bulletin 209 — the FRASER scan mirrored at the Archive, 1,741 px.
- Federal Register vol. 7 no. 117 — 3,604 px.