During World War II the Army Corps of Engineers needed to hide the Lockheed Burbank Aircraft Plant to protect it from a Japanese air attack. They covered it with camouflage netting and trompe l’oeil to make it look like a rural subdivision from the air.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

“These photographs were taken during the early 1940’s by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as they were completing the massive camouflage effort at Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank, California. During these years the American people and the military were quite concerned about followup attacks by the Japanese on our mainland. Lockheed was a huge military aircraft manufacturing center, as well as an active P-38 fighter base.

At this facility they manufactured the famous Lockheed P-38 Lightening, the Lockheed Hudson bomber, Lodestar bomber and the P2V Lockheed Vega. A logical target for the enemy.

By todays standards this camouflage effort looks primitive, however, in 1941-1945 America and the Japanese did not have the sophisticated rockets and bombing capabilities we have today. Therefore, the object of this effort was to hide the plant and confuse any enemy pilots who were looking for a large military installment. It was hoped that the camouflage would trick the eye of the pilots (trompe l’oeil) and their bombs might be made ineffective. Well, it must have worked because Lockeed Aircraft was never bombed!”

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