Women Working in the Factory During WW II
A woman finishing a bombardier nose section of a B-17F navy bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company, 1942.
Assembling a section of leading edge for the horizontal stabilizer of a plane, North American Aviation, Inc. in Inglewood, California, 1942.
A woman is trained to work on an engine installation at the Douglas Aircraft Company, 1942.
Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy painting the American insignia on airplane wings. Naval Air Base in Corpus Christi, Texas in August, 1942
WW0031 – plane girls – America – 1940’s /alfred T. Palmer
Operating a hand drill at Vultee-Nashville, woman is working on a “Vengeance” dive bomber, Tennessee (LOC) Palmer, Alfred T.,, photographer.
Women working on a bomber, Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, CA 1942.
A woman working as a shop technician at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Long Beach, 1942. Palmer, Alfred T.,, photographer.
A woman operating a turret lathe (1942) photo Howard R. Hollem
We all know the image of Rosie the Riveter, the woman with blue overalls and a red bandana showing her biceps (on the poster with the text “we can do it”) she represents the American women who worked in factories during World War II. The wonderful pictures above are the actual women, some even have a name, like Mrs. Irma Lee McElroy, in retrospect a rather romantic view of the actual war industry. Most of the pictures were taken by Alfred T.Palmer, found in the Library of Congress (via petapixel)