Memories of the end of an era at Boeing

Courtesy of an e-mail originally sent by 'Paul' in Oregon, which was forwarded to others and reached me via reader 'Sandy', I spent a fascinating hour going through "Trains, Planes and ... ", a Web site run by Bob Bogash. After a long career at Boeing, in retirement he's been active at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. (You can read his biography here.)

The specific Web page that was highlighted in the e-mail dealt with the closing of Boeing's Plant II in Seattle. Mr. Bogash has this to say about it:

September 18, 2010. An early Saturday morning in a rainy Seattle. 0300 hrs local time. The location: Boeing's historic Plant II - about to be torn down after three quarters of a century producing thousands of the most significant and historic airplanes ever built. In preparation for demolition, three airplanes that have been undergoing Museum of Flight restoration in the factory's assembly bays will have to be moved. Just as in days past, with lights and images reflecting off the wet pavement, the last three airplanes are rolled out. The giant hangar doors are raised, the tugs and towbars are hooked up, and with lights flashing, they are moved out of the factory and onto the historic ramp. Where so many have gone before. Then across East Marginal Way and out onto Boeing Field.

They are the last airplanes to roll out of these doors. Ever.

There's more at the link. Mr. Bogash goes on to describe the history of Plant II, which produced 6,981 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers during World War II, then went on to build the B-50 bomber, the C-97 transport, the B-47 and B-52 jet bombers, and in time the 737 jet transport. Wikipedia provides more information about the history of the plant.

Of particular interest are the last three aircraft removed from the plant before its demolition, all of which were undergoing restoration at the time prior to display at the Museum of Flight. They were a Lockheed 'Super G' Constellation airliner, a B-17 bomber, and - last of all - a B-29 Superfortress. Here's the latter plane being towed out, the very last of the many thousands of aircraft to emerge from this building.




There are many more (and larger) photographs at the link, along with a second photo essay about Plant II's closure and another article containing the reminiscences of John Kuller about the same building.

Other articles on Mr. Bogash's Web site include a fascinating look at the genesis of the Boeing 737 airliner, with which he was involved as a young engineer. His entire site is redolent with aviation history - one can easily lose oneself in its pages for hours! Highly recommended reading for aviation buffs. I'm bookmarking it for future reference.

Peter