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After Dec 7, 1941, one of the immediate consequences of the famous attack was a certain psychosis of the American people for similar attacks. If previously the people living on the West Coast were not convinced that it could not happen, now they are even less so. Pearl Harbor is miles from Japan, and if the enemy could launch a large-scale air attack in two waves on Honolulu and its surroundings, what was stopping them from doing the same, without warning, a few hundred miles further away against some other large city?
If the same Japanese battle group that had focused on Pearl Harbor had targeted any of the buildings of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the country, the disaster would be absolute. Also FDR and company realized (or thought) that the Japanese possibly knew it. And of all the factories, Boeing Plant 2, in Seattle, Washington, seemed to be the easiest target.
Plant 2, before the day of infamy
Thus was born Wonderland Boeing, whose plan was to make Boeing’s aircraft factory, Plant 2, “disappear” from the face of the earth by camouflaging it to look like a nondescript suburban neighborhood to a prospective Japanese pilot flying at an altitude of 5,000 feet.
After the changes
The “trick” was to paint what appeared to be streets and vegetation on real runways and to erect entire fake subdivisions on the factory rooftops. Standard camouflage netting, stretched over massive wooden scaffolding, served as the basic canvas upon which Hollywood artists painted colored details, contrasts to suggest streets, and all the paraphernalia we can imagine.
For example, the netting was green, but areas were sprayed in subtly different shades to give the scene a more realistic look. Even some plots of “grass” in the subdivisions were painted brown to suggest they had not been watered and were drying out. Dozens of fake houses were constructed out of tarp, as were schools and public buildings. Hundreds of artificial trees and floor details were also created using every technique the industry had at its disposal.
Hollywood illusionists developed a method for creating trees using tar and feathers. Wire mesh was lightly coated with tar and then dipped in chicken feathers.
Within a few months, they had built a bona fide fake city of at least three main streets, plus alleys and driveways. The streets even had somewhat humorous names, such as Synthetic Street which intersected with Burlap Boulevard. Obviously, they were counting on the fact that in the event of a Japanese attack, pilots would not be able to read the names from thousands of feet up in the air.
In addition, at least two of the completely fake houses built were used to be occupied by real people. During 1942 and early 1943, the US Army personnel manning anti-aircraft guns at Wonderland were housed on the roof of Plant 2.
Another notable aspect was the scale on which everything was built. In reality, while the houses and trees were scaled in plan, they were smaller in elevation. In other words, almost nothing was over 2-2.5 metres tall (again, this is something that at altitude the enemy would not notice). As for the cars parked on the streets, they were made of wood and were about half a metre tall.
In the end, the Japanese never got that far, and the fear and apprehension of those months gradually faded. Still, the open secret of the existence of these rooftop neighbourhoods in Seattle remained untold. In fact, it was not until the summer of 1945 that it was officially revealed.
In mid-July, almost a month before the Japanese government announced it was prepared to surrender unconditionally to the Allies, the Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that it had already awarded contracts to civilian companies to dismantle the ghost town.
In 1946, the most improbable and extraordinary set ever created by Hollywood was dismantled and Boeing Plant 2 was once again brought to light.
If the same Japanese battle group that had focused on Pearl Harbor had targeted any of the buildings of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the country, the disaster would be absolute. Also FDR and company realized (or thought) that the Japanese possibly knew it. And of all the factories, Boeing Plant 2, in Seattle, Washington, seemed to be the easiest target.
Plant 2, before the day of infamy
Thus was born Wonderland Boeing, whose plan was to make Boeing’s aircraft factory, Plant 2, “disappear” from the face of the earth by camouflaging it to look like a nondescript suburban neighborhood to a prospective Japanese pilot flying at an altitude of 5,000 feet.
After the changes
The “trick” was to paint what appeared to be streets and vegetation on real runways and to erect entire fake subdivisions on the factory rooftops. Standard camouflage netting, stretched over massive wooden scaffolding, served as the basic canvas upon which Hollywood artists painted colored details, contrasts to suggest streets, and all the paraphernalia we can imagine.
For example, the netting was green, but areas were sprayed in subtly different shades to give the scene a more realistic look. Even some plots of “grass” in the subdivisions were painted brown to suggest they had not been watered and were drying out. Dozens of fake houses were constructed out of tarp, as were schools and public buildings. Hundreds of artificial trees and floor details were also created using every technique the industry had at its disposal.
Hollywood illusionists developed a method for creating trees using tar and feathers. Wire mesh was lightly coated with tar and then dipped in chicken feathers.
Within a few months, they had built a bona fide fake city of at least three main streets, plus alleys and driveways. The streets even had somewhat humorous names, such as Synthetic Street which intersected with Burlap Boulevard. Obviously, they were counting on the fact that in the event of a Japanese attack, pilots would not be able to read the names from thousands of feet up in the air.
In addition, at least two of the completely fake houses built were used to be occupied by real people. During 1942 and early 1943, the US Army personnel manning anti-aircraft guns at Wonderland were housed on the roof of Plant 2.
Another notable aspect was the scale on which everything was built. In reality, while the houses and trees were scaled in plan, they were smaller in elevation. In other words, almost nothing was over 2-2.5 metres tall (again, this is something that at altitude the enemy would not notice). As for the cars parked on the streets, they were made of wood and were about half a metre tall.
In the end, the Japanese never got that far, and the fear and apprehension of those months gradually faded. Still, the open secret of the existence of these rooftop neighbourhoods in Seattle remained untold. In fact, it was not until the summer of 1945 that it was officially revealed.
In mid-July, almost a month before the Japanese government announced it was prepared to surrender unconditionally to the Allies, the Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that it had already awarded contracts to civilian companies to dismantle the ghost town.
In 1946, the most improbable and extraordinary set ever created by Hollywood was dismantled and Boeing Plant 2 was once again brought to light.
Translated from an article published in xataca.com
