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I found these pictures on Think or Thwim and was blown away. Back in the 40s, during the war, the Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank was not only Los Angeles’ main airport, but a massive facility that produced warplanes from the P-38 to the B-17 bomber.
Located in a city on the west coast, however, it was considered vulnerable to Japanese bombers. Rather than moving the facility, Lockheed took what some might consider an even more drastic step: they hid it in plain sight. This is a picture of the same facility taken from more or less the same angle as the picture above:
What had been runways and production buildings and terminals and massive parking lots now looked, from above, like nothing more than an ex-urban subdivision of houses set alongside rolling fields of alfalfa. A perfect trompe l’oeil.
Below the “fields,” business went on as usual:
The main Lockheed plant and runways were made to appear as grain fields and houses, and the parking lot was covered over with netting to appear as alfalfa fields. In addition, an extensive smoke screen system was installed to hide the plant under smoke.
Nowadays I’m sure we’d have some kind of super-complex satellite-based missile defense shield or something — but I think this goes to show that sometimes, simpler is better.
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Comments (19)
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WOW…
How cool. I love hearing about wartime “secret” gems in California. This is awesome.
Love your articles as always.
posted by Chrystani on 2-4-2010 at 11:43 am
that’s insane!!!
posted by Nicole on 2-4-2010 at 12:06 pm
Sadly, we probably be unable to do this today for a variety of reasons. Might be some field mouse whose habitat may not get enough natural light or something…..
posted by Hurricane on 2-4-2010 at 12:20 pm
They did the same thing with the Boeing factory in south Seattle – my dad worked there and he had pictures that looked very similar to these.
posted by Andrew on 2-4-2010 at 12:44 pm
That’s awesome! I wonder what the people who lived in the area thought of this all!?
posted by KayTee on 2-4-2010 at 1:03 pm
Agreed, hurricane. Agreed.
posted by Jakab on 2-4-2010 at 1:35 pm
Having grown up in L.A during the 40s (Yes, that’s where the \Old\ in Old Geezer comes from) just one little correction. Burbank was not LA’s main airport. What is now LAX existed as Mine’s Field from 1930 and became the municipal airfield for Los Angeles in 1937. For those familar with LAX, the original airport was west of Sepulveda Blvd and there was no tunnel under the runway. We used to go up on the \Flight Deck\ of the eponymously named restaurant and watch people walk out to the planes, watch the planes taxi away and take off.
My father worked for the Vultee Aircraft, which built planes in Downey before it moved to San Diego and became Convair.
I remember the barrage balloons and camo netting all around the city.
posted by Old Geezer on 2-4-2010 at 2:33 pm
You must mean parking lot mouse, the fields are fake.
posted by Celare on 2-4-2010 at 3:03 pm
Actually this would be easily seen with todays technology. Satellite imagery in the near infrared bands would indicate no signature when fields and vegetation would normally return a very high signature in the near infrared bands. Stuff like this won’t work these days…
posted by Steven on 2-4-2010 at 4:01 pm
thanks Old Geezer! A fellow Angelino thanks you for your story and lesson!
LOVE THIS POST!
posted by shirleyfeeney on 2-4-2010 at 5:56 pm
Very cool!
posted by Bill Siderski on 2-4-2010 at 8:21 pm
To reinforce Steven…
Stunts like this were pulled all throughout the nuclear arms race because the satellite technology wasn’t very sophisticated. Today, satellites can identify where a person previously walked on a grassy field. During the Cold War, the Soviets actually “docked” inflatable navy ships in their ports to trick the US into thinking they had more military power than they did. And I’m sure we did the same to them…
posted by J on 2-5-2010 at 2:19 am
Yah, totally agree J. Not saying this was unusual, that comment was more to the author who stated at the end that sometimes simpler is better. It was then, but now it’s a lot harder to get away with.
On a side note, it’s just as easy to tell which football fields are astro or field turf instead of natural grass using the Near Infrared bands of satellite or aerial imagery. Same concept, just different application :-)
posted by Steven on 2-5-2010 at 8:26 am
Well, Old Geezer, I too remember those daze(days?), but my recollection is that the old airport, was EAST of Supelveda (as wecalled it,then) Blvd. I remember my Dad walking out to the plane, AND, we went out to say goodbye, too!
posted by Panama Red on 2-5-2010 at 11:38 am
Boeing did the same thing… I would expect with satellite technology being what it is they couldn’t do this in the modern times.
http://www.taphilo.com/history/WWII/USAAF/Boeing/index.shtml
posted by Nate on 2-5-2010 at 11:40 am
@Panama Red. You are absolutely right! I got turned around there. So, you seem to think west is in the direction of the ocean and east is where the sun comes up?
posted by Old Geezer on 2-6-2010 at 3:01 pm
That second to last picture looks like the curving road outside the main entrance to the Burbank Airport terminal. Only been there once, but it’s quite recognizable.
posted by BuriedCaesar on 2-6-2010 at 10:58 pm
Satellite imagery in the near infrared bands would indicate no signature when fields and vegetation would normally return a very high signature in the near infrared bands.Actually this would be easily seen with todays technology.
posted by First Blast on 2-9-2010 at 3:40 pm
It’s also worth nothing that Universal Studios, which feared its sound stages would be mistaken for the ivnisible Lockheed hangers put up a large sign, visible from the air, stating \Lockheed, that way\ with a directional arrow.
posted by Michael on 2-16-2010 at 2:01 am