November/December 2020 55planes and guns their chance. In the
bookkeeping of war, that possibility is
worth any cost.”
Ohmer’s trickery worked so well
that American f liers looking for
Douglas became lost, complain-
ing someone had absconded with
their once-familiar buildings and
runway. Lockheed’s disguise was so well-
executed that the Warner Brothers
studio facility suddenly stood out as
the most imposing complex in the San
Fernando Valley. Jack Warner worried
that his movie-making complex might
be mistaken for the hidden aircraft
factory. Unconfirmed rumors circu-
lated that he hired a company painter
to scribe a huge arrow on the roof of one
of his massive sound stages, along with
the words “Lockheed That-A-Way.”
▲ On the roof of Boeing Plant 2, trees and structures were
often shorter than the workers; ▶ Boeing’s faux suburb
design mimicked the nearby South Park neighborhood.