Worker inside Kenworth plant, Seattle, June 15, 1944

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Image of Worker inside Kenworth plant, Seattle, June 15, 1944 — 1983.10.14851.14

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Worker inside Kenworth plant, Seattle, June 15, 1944

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The Kenworth Motor Truck Company got its start building heavy-duty trucks for the timber industry. During World War II, the company participated in many war-related production contracts. Beginning in 1943, Kenworth began making components for the Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" bomber and the B-29 "Super Fortress" at its Seattle plant. Three shifts of workers carried out subassembly work on the planes' nose sections, bomb bay doors, and bulkheads.

This 1944 photo shows a Kenworth employee posing with an airplane fuselage. During World War II, many industries employed women in traditionally male jobs in order to keep up with war-related production. Of Kenworth's 507 Seattle employees at this time, 415 were women.

Handwritten on sleeve: Kenworth 6-15-44.
Webster & Stevens number: 44-1169

Caption by MOHAI staff with information from Kenworth: The First 75 Years, By Doug Siefkes.

ID Number: 1983.10.14851.14

Date: 1944

Creator(s): Webster & Stevens, Photographer

Physical Description: 1 safety film negative : b&w ; 4 x 5 in.

Credit: MOHAI, PEMCO Webster & Stevens Collection, 1983.10.14851.14

Subjects: World War II, 1941-1945 (WWII), Manufacturing, Labor and Labor Unions