United States Air Force Plant 4

Air Force Plant 4 is a government-owned, contractor-operated aerospace facility in Fort Worth, Texas, currently owned by the U.S. Air Force and operated by Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. It is home of the F-16 and F-35 fighter aircraft. Military aircraft have been manufactured here since 1942. Plant 4 is adjacent to Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, formerly Carswell Air Force Base.OverviewAir Force Plant 4 is one of the largest employers in the area with a staff of approximately 17,000 people. Air Force Plant 4 is located within the Fort Worth-Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area which includes Johnson, Parker and Tarrant Counties. The area is characterized as a highly urbanized area with a diverse economic base concentrated in the manufacturing, service and retail industries. With a large number of defense industries and their associated supply and service businesses, the community has been greatly affected by the recent reduction in defense expenditures.HistoryPlant 4's origins begin in May 1940 when the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce was trying to convince aircraft manufacturers to build an aircraft assembly plant in the Fort Worth area to support the massive expansion of the Army Air Corps.Fleet and Consolidated Aircraft, wanting to build in the area, suggested to the Air Corps that they jointly build an airfield adjacent to the heavy bomber plant they wanted to build in Fort Worth. It was suggested that the Air Corps would benefit by having a joint facility. Local officials promised to spend money to build an airport on the land next to the plant and lease it to the Air Corps. After some objections to this, another suggestion to deed the Air Corps the land was made was accepted, and on 16 June 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved $1.75 million to construct a military airfield (Fort Worth Army Airfield) next to the Consolidated manufacturing plant.