What World War II Can Teach Us About Fighting the Coronavirus-- Part 1

From March 26, 2020, Wired  by Alex Davies.

With the fast spread of the virus, Ford has announced it won't be resuming production  of its trucks and SUVs.  However, they have started several projects  aimed at fighting the pandemic.  That means collaborating with 3M  on a new respirator design using stockpiled fans.  They are also working with GE Healthcare to increase production of ventilators.

In addition, Ford designers are producing  new sorts of transparent face shields to protect medical workers and first responders.  It hopes to soon be making  100,000 a week at a subsidiary
plant.

Tesla and GM are also helping.

This is similar to what the big companies did to battle the Axis.  They quickly switched from peace time production to war footing.  New factories were built.  Ford made aircraft (at its peak, turning out a B-24 bomber every  63 minutes at its Willow Run plant west of Detroit), Frigidaire made machine guns, lingerie factories churned out camouflage netting and parts made for vacuum cleaners went into gas masks.

Getting Big Business On Board.  --GreGen