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Fisher Body Craftsmanship Goes to War
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Surviving Fisher Body Plants - General Motors Corporation in World War Two
Memphis, TN
1930?-Current

This page updated 2-9-2021.

It was one of those rare twists of fate that allowed this former Fisher Body Plant to continue to exist long after World War Two while most of the other Fisher Body plants have been torn down.  The plant survived because Fisher Body no longer needed it and it became a paper making plant, as it still is today.

Fisher Body originally owned the plant as far back as the early 1930s.  The purpose of the plant was to provide hardwood, which was available in abundance in the area, for the wooden bodies Fisher Body was building at the time.  When the United States entered the war in December of 1941, the plant was converted into the war production of aircraft parts and expanded to 700,000 square feet.  The government, having paid for the expansion and the new equipment of the plant, bought the facility.  However, Fisher Body continued to manage and operate the plant during the war, making B-25 and B-29 parts and assemblies.  When the war was over, the plant was not needed by Fisher Body, as wood was no longer used in the manufacture of automobile bodies.  So, the War Assets Administration put the plant up for sale.  It was purchased by Kimberly-Clark and converted into a paper plant, which it still is today.  The current owner is Kruger KTA USA, manufacturing White Cloud products.

The Fisher Body Memphis Plant was awarded the Army-Navy "E" for Excellence Award four times for its excellent work during the war.
 

This is how the plant looked during World War Two.

In the seventy years since the end of World War Two, the plant has undergone numerous expansions and changes, making it difficult to determine where the original structure was.  This shows what can be seen of the facility looking east from the north end of Minnie Street.   Author's photo taken in August 2015.

This is looking east again further south on Minnie Street and gives the best view of the plant.  Author's photo taken in August 2015.

This is the southwest corner of the building along Pear Avenue.  Author's photo taken in August 2015.

Looking down the side of the plant along Pear Avenue.  Author's photo taken in August 2015.

This photo of the Fisher Body Memphis plant during World War Two shows an automobile style production line making wing sections for the B-25.  The parts when complete and assembled in the wing were sent to the North American B-25 assembly plant in Fairfax, KS. 

The right vertical stabilizer for the B-25 is being riveted as it comes down the assembly line.  Photo added 12-25-2016.

Building a B-25 Mitchell bomber takes many skills.  Here, two young ladies are sewing the fabric onto the right rudder for the B-25.  During World War Two, many of the control surfaces on the trainers, fighters, transports, and bombers were fabric covered.  All needed to be hand stitched onto the framework underneath.  This was tedious but important work.  Making these components was extremely time consuming.  Photo added 12-25-2016.

This B-25 wing spar is being assembled in the Fisher Body Memphis plant.  The operators on the left are using air tools to install rivets into the spar.  The operators on the right have bucking bars, which are used to flatten the end of the rivet.  This operation is called "bucking rivets."  Photo added 2-8-2021.

In this photo, B-25 fuel tanks are being assembled.  This is probably an early war photo, as several of the men are young and subject to the draft.  Photo added 2-8-2021.