Laying the First Eagle Boat Keel, Ford Rouge Plant "B" Building, May 1918
THF270303 / Laying the First Eagle Boat Keel, Ford Rouge Plant "B" Building, May 1918
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Artifact Overview
The first vehicles built at Ford Motor Company's Rouge factory weren't automobiles but boats. These Eagle boats were designed to challenge German submarines during World War I, but they saw only limited action before the armistice. Workers laid the first Eagle's keel on May 7, 1918. Sixty boats were completed when production ended in October 1919.
Artifact Details
Artifact
Photographic print
Date Made
04 May 1918
Subject Date
04 May 1918
Collection Title
Location
By Request in the Benson Ford Research Center
Object ID
64.167.833.P.21990
Credit
From the Collections of The Henry Ford. Gift of Ford Motor Company.
Material
Paper (Fiber product)
Linen (Material)
Technique
Gelatin silver process
Color
Black-and-white (Colors)
Dimensions
Height: 8.000 in
Width: 11.000 in
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Related Content
SetBuilding Eagle Boats at the Rouge
- 27 Artifacts
Over the years, Ford Motor Company's River Rouge factory turned out everything from tractors to cars to pickup trucks. But its first products had no wheels at all. From May 1918 to October 1919, Ford built 60 "Eagle" anti-submarine patrol boats at the Rouge. World War I ended before any of the Eagles saw action, but they proved that even warships could be made on an assembly line.