Allied Home Front
Allied Home Front
Mainland USA During WWII

Facility Disguise

US West Coast Camouflage
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The Lockheed Vega Aircraft Plant in Burbank
(now the Bob Hope Airport)

Right after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Army wanted to protect its manufacturing facilities on the West Coast through camouflage and disguise. The Lockheed parking lots were painted green, large canopies were erected over the plant and the runways. They were disguised to look like farm fields and quiet suburbs. They even built small houses on top of the canopies so that they would cast shadows as the sun passed over.

Lockheed During World War II: Operation Camouflage
[https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/news/features/history/camouflage.html]

Posted November 2023

WWII Camouflage
Hiding in Plane Sight
Camouflaging of the West Coast
Mere days after the bombing of Pearl Harbor the Army contacted Col. John F. Ohmer stationed at March Field, 70 miles away, while at the same time company officials at Lockheed's Burbank plant worked on developing ways to ramp up production for the newly declared war the country found itself in. The Army began setting up barricades around the facility and urgently sought ways to protect this and all of the other facilities up and down the Pacific Seaboard. Ohmer had seen how well Britain had protected its manufacturing facilities through camouflage and disguise and he intended to do the same for facilities on the West Coast.

WWII Camouflage Parking lots were painted green and large canopies were erected over the plant and the runways and then they were disguised to look like farm fields and quiet suburbs with small houses built on top of the canopies so that they would cast shadows as the sun passed over. So realistic was the effect that Ohmer even flew over the plant with some other military officers and asked them to point out the facilities. They couldn't do it!