How during the Second World War in the USA they built a fake city to deceive the fascists

In 1942, when the Japanese military forces occupied the islands located near Alaska, the strategically important production of equipment of the US forces were threatened. One of them, the Boeing bomber assembly plant, was now within the reach of Japanese pilots. Meanwhile, this enterprise was key for the construction of aircraft needed by the United States for a military campaign against fascist forces — the place had to be protected. The military came up with an original solution — to disguise production as a residential city, because no one will bomb an ordinary settlement if it does not bring any benefit.

Hollywood came to the rescue — the military turned to the famous art director John Stuart Detley, who received an Oscar for the scenery for the 1940 film Bitter Sweet. An architect by training, Detley applied the best methods of filmmaking in order to build believable streets, houses, sidewalks and trees. He built a whole fake city over the factory, jokingly called "wonderland". From a bird's-eye view, military production could not be distinguished from a harmless town.

We invite you to take a look at this unusual locality.

On the roof of the Boeing factory, camouflage structures were actually lower than a person.

This is how the fake city looked from the air.

A street sign with ironic pointers to "synthetic street" and "tarpaulin boulevard".

Boeing employees Suzette Lamorow and Vern Manion inspect one of the buildings. Such a complex disguise may seem superfluous, but it calmed the factory workers.

"Trees" were imitated from a combination of light wire and feathers.

At first glance, it looks like an ordinary day off in the suburbs. By the way, unlike many other "houses", this one was the only one built in full size.

According to the idea, the pilots had to take this design for a parked car.

Employees of the plant are walking through the streets of the city. Trees help to create the impression that the girls got into a poorly executed computer animation.

View from above.

Thousands of factory workers gathered at the entrance to celebrate the re-equipment of production in April 1945.

That's what was really happening under the city.