The
War Years 1914-18 & 1939-45
World
War I
Suddenly,
motoring or what used to be called pleasure motoring, receded into
the background. The Austin Motor Company found itself, like many
other firms, confronted with new problems, which included not
merely those usually associated with the motor industry, but
problems new to the engineering world generally because of the
shear volume of production needed. No precedents were available,
they had a well equipped motor works with a work force of about
2,800, and were in the act of calmly preparing for the November
Motor Show with their new models. But all that was about to change
as war contracts became the order of the day. There was an
immediate and insistent demand for cars, lorries, aeroplanes, aero
engines, guns, shells and munitions generally on a colossal
scale.
The
scale of deliveries of munitions, vehicles, planes etc is
staggering. (See end of article)
Doubling
the original size of the works was, however, only the commencement
of the growth. The need for armaments grew by leaps and bounds, and
the response of Austin grew with it. So it was necessary at the end
of 1914 to enlarge South Works to build a new shop to make the 18lb
shells along with the 9.2in shells. Starting in April 1916 this big
shell shop in two months had reached an output of 2,000 shell per
week. This output was slowly increase over the following months so
that by March 1917 the output had reached 5,000 shell per week.
More new buildings comprised of a forge, stamp shop, two more
machine shops (No 2 & No 3) along with a bond room and various
erecting shops.
I think this was taken
at North Works 1914-8
The
following year a large building was constructed and called Block No
9. Because the land was sloping, a large amount of earth had to be
removed, in fact 150,000 cubic yards. Further building Block No 6
was finished in 1917 which comprised aeroplane erecting shops, dope
and sewing room. Further on the South side was a aero engine
machining and a assemble shop along with testing
facilities.
ARMOURED
CARS
Austin
decided that with the wealth of experience in building motor
vehicles, they could design an armoured car with some unique
features. The name given to this vehicle was ‘Dreadnought’ It was
capable of traveling at 50 MPH on a good road. With a complement of
six men, the vehicle had a couple of machine guns and searchlights.
It’s main role was to get men to the front line as quick as
possible, and to return for more. You could say that it was a
miniature fort with it’s two shrapnel-proof / bullet-proof turrets
which housed the machine guns. It had the unique ability to be
driven and steered from either end. The driver had a pair of
Periscopes front and back to see where he was going and should the
outside glass get broken a new one could be easily
replaced.
Armoured
Cars at 'K' Gate
Austin
Armoured Car
Note
the Larger Rear Wheels on this Version
AEROPLANES
(link for more
information)
Aeroplanes
were produced, the first government contract was given for the RE 7
plane with production commencing September 1915. Fifty two planes
were delivered, a revised version called RE 8 was developed and a
order for 300 placed. In 1918 a order was placed for 350 SE 5
planes, the order was revised several times, ending with a total of
1550. At the start of this contract the delivery schedule was one
plane per day (24hrs). With the larger numbers required, production
rose steadily to an average of 30 per week. From Monday 3 June to
Saturday in six days they turned out sixty three planes. Aeroplanes
construction in those days was very much like aero modeling. The
body of a plane contained thousands of separate and accurately made
pieces of wood which were then assembled together. One of the grey
arts was the ‘doping’ of the canvas, because if not done correctly
the canvas skin would be too tight and so was libel to tare, if
loose it was not very aerodynamic and would also tare. The Austin
dope-room was regarded as the best in the country because it was
fully ventilated along with a controlled temperature. At this time
all this experimental work and production need skilled men who
could manufacture the aircraft, At the time Longbridge had about
130 aircraft carpenters and about 200 riggers and fitters.
Attached
to South Works was a hill called Cofton Hill this was levelled off
giving an area of seventy three acres. The airfield was laid out
like spokes of a wheel, with runways pointing in different
directions connected by a perimeter road. This was a brilliant
design as planes were able to take off what ever the wind
direction.
Aeroplane
Production in the Wood Shop
SE
5a Biplane Production South Works
July
1916 work on North Works commenced for a huge shop measuring 850ft
x 270ft together with a long building to house the new forge,
running along side with a machine shop. By Christmas the buildings
had been completed and by March 1917 the forge was producing its
first blanks. Production steadily rose with the forge producing
20,000 blanks per week with the machine shop at 15,000 shells per
week. There were two immense bays devoted to the machining of 4.5in
howitzer guns.
18lb
SHELLS
The
total production of 18 lb shells during the war period was amounted
to six and a half million, to produce his quantity you needed
80,000 tons of steel bar. It is difficult to envisaged what 6.5
million shells look like. Somebody worked out that if you put them
end to end they would stretch from Lands End to John o Groat’s and
half way back a distance of 867 miles. At the height of the
production, 1,200 tons of steel bar was used every week, which
meant two train loads each day. Production of the shells was so
prolific that they were running out of storage space. In one week
they dispatched no less than 150,000 shells and a daily rate for a
nine and a half hours was running at 13,000.
Machine
Shop 18 Pounders
In
December 1916 the demand for munitions was still rising, so work
commenced on the land opposite the Bristol Road which became known
as West Works. It was an exceptionally hard winter, so building
work was particularly difficult, but by working continually day and
night with flares used to help at night, the building was ready for
fitting out in June 1917. Large foundation were made to accommodate
the heavy machinery that was to be installed including presses
which could exert a pressure of 750 tons. A large machine shop
measuring 660ft x 330ft was soon machining 100,000. 18lb shells per
week.
Aero
Engines
USAF Museum
x
x x x x x RAF
1a V8 Aero Engine
Such
was the demand for aero engines that British manufactures were
having difficulty in supplying, so other firms were given contracts
to supply. At the time there were two engines that the Austin was
awarded contracts for. One was for the RAF 1A which was a air
cooled V8 and produced about 90 HP, this was a very successful
engine and the Longbridge plant made about 2,400. The second engine
called the Arab had been designed by the Sunbeam Company, this was
also a V8 which had a power output of just over 200 HP. Austin was
awarded an order but from the outset there was a major design fault
so in the end only about 100 were actually built
Aero
Engine Production South works
Ambulances
Lorries etc
Making
vehicles for war situations is not the same as in peace time, and
initially some components would fail under these tough conditions.
But a lot of knowledge was gained on the stress and strains that
components were subjected to. A specially strengthened 20hp chassis
was used for a variety of jobs. This was the backbone for the
various bodies that were mounted including Ambulances, X-Ray
apparatus, Field kitchens and General stores.
Delivered
by the Austin Motor Co to HM Government and Allied Governments from
October 1914 to the end of contracts in
1918.
Shells:
13 : 25,000
15 : 100,000
8.0in : 980,000
210mm : 60,000
9.2in shells 350,000
18-pounders 6,500,000
Guns 650
Lorries 2,000
Ambulances
148
Aeroplanes
2,000
Trace Troughs 34
Electric Motors 25
Armoured
Cars 480
Night
Tracers 506,399
Pumping Equipment 40
Shrapnel Heads 47,768
Percussion Tubes 682,808
Burster Containers 167,791
Working Trailer Wagons 3,405
Electric Generating Sets 4,762
Touring Cars, Light Vans etc. 750
Switchboards and Resistances 4,423
Aeroplane Engines (various kinds) 2,500
Along with large quantities of spare parts for lorries, aeroplanes
etc.
______________
World War II
Its
a fact that many people suppose that, during the war, Car
Manufacturers merely continued the business of producing
automobiles, supplying them solely to the Government for the
Fighting Services. This was so far from the truth, motor vehicles
were still been produced in the war, in fact nearly 100,000 came of
the production lines in this period.
It was a very difficult time as output for peace had to continue,
but the possibilities, at least, of war production began to unfold
and the country had to be ready. As it became clearer that war was
only just around the corner the first phase was the building of the
Flight Shed at the corner of Lowhill Lane and Grovelly Lane.
A contract for the
erection of the Flight Shed, Low Hill Lane, Longbridge, between
Austin Co. acting for the Secretary of State for Air and the
builder Messrs Wilson Lovatt & Sons Ltd was signed early in
1937, work starting immediately. Next
came the building of the Shadow Factory, Cofton Hackett Factory,
but called the Aero by all who worked there. People who worked
there were issued with square enamalled badges which were in
deferent colours depending on which department you were working in,
this meant you were not allowed in any other department. The badge
shown below is rather unique in that it is round.
(if
anybody can give me a reason for this, please contact me)
Although
most people called it "The Aero" it tended to be called East Works
after the War. The first aeroplane to be built, were the Fairey
Battle. It was in September 1938 that the first plane built, took
off from the flying ground.
Main
Door where the Planes Emerged
Hurricane
taking off from the Longbridge airfield
East
Works with the Sand Bags
But
the actual diversity of products and components was staggering, the
Longbridge site provided anything from a simple machined shaft to a
Lancaster Bomber.
Some of the war time products were large, many were small, but all
were vital to the war effort. In a normal year of peace, Longbridge
would manufacture nearly 100,00 vehicles which would range on the
car side from 8 HP to 28 HP, and commercials would be from small
vans up to 3 ton trucks, also including industrial and marine
engines.
Marine
Engine for Life Boats
It
is, therefore, not surprising to learn that Austin vehicles during
the war met a large part of the transport needs of the British
armies, and every week up to 500 army and other vehicles came off
the production lines, ranging from 8 h.p. utility cars to 3-ton
trucks, including four and six wheelers drive. Army breakdown and
fire fighting vehicles. Along with Ambulances, R.A.F. tenders and
troop carriers, Signals and Workshop units. By the end of the war
the total number of such vehicles was over 120,000.
6 x 4 Austin
Chassis
For
the war in the air, Longbridge has also to its credit a formidable
list of aircraft products. These ranged from balloon cable cutters
to Beaufighter and Miles Master wing and centre.sections and Horsa
glider fuselages, representing in all 5,000 aircraft. Additionally,
Austin production included oil and fuel tanks for four.engined
bombers to the tune of 15,000 incorporating 2,500,000 square feet
of light alloy, and numerous small assemblies ranging from landing
gears to components for Rolls Royce engines and Rotol
propellers.
Oil
and Fuel Tank Production
Also
the process of digging out deep shelter tunnels in 1936 to
accommodate up to 15,000 personal. The main tunnels were in the
South Works and driven under the Flying Ground through the
sandstone, a task undertake by mining engineers. As can be seen
from the picture below they were larger enough to accommodate a 3
ton lorry. The ones in South Works were mainly built to act as a
air raid shelter although some machining etc was also carried out.
The ones next to the Shadow Factory were built for the main purpose
of assembling Bristol Aero engines although it did have a Ambulance
Station. So by the time September 1939 had arrived, the main tasks
were in place and Longbridge could take its place promptly and
efficiently to produce the items of War.
One
of the Tunnel Entrances
For
months before war was declared, production was slowly been changing
so that it could be ready to meet the needs of our armed forces. It
was a bit of a balancing act as the needs of peace time had to
continue. By September 1939 the major infrastructure was in place,
and Longbridge was now ready. The first task was the need to
camouflage the factory and although everything had been planned in
advance, this mammoth undertaking was achieved in just three day.
So from the air the factory roofs of 120 acres disappeared into the
countryside. The Lickey Hills is very close to the factory and
people at the time would go and look at the panoramic view of the
factory, were amazed to see how it blended with the countryside
even down to having a road going across the
site.
Aerial
Picture taken by the Germans
As
you can see from the aerial picture East Work and the Flight Shed
have blended well with the countryside around. The Air Field is not
so good, but note that the runways are like the spokes of a wheel,
this was a brilliant idea as aircraft could take off what ever
direction the wind was blowing.
It was now necessary to re-plan the tooling and production areas
for the change over to munitions etc. Employment gradually rose, as
contracts from the government came in and production increased so
that Longbridge was employing over 32,000 workers. Even though the
factory was well camouflaged, the Air Ministry was sure that an air
raid was on the cards, as the Luftwaffe planes only had to follow
the railway line. In fact only one daylight attack took place on
North Works by the railway when a few employee was killed. To
protect the site from attack some workers in overtime would be
assigned to the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) and later with the Home
Guard.
Because of the requirement of the Air Ministry, every new contract
given often meant that new machinery had to be brought in, tooled
up and the labour retrained. this was a ongoing event, which at
times must have been soul destroying.
So
what did the Longbridge plant turn out.
One
of the necessities of war was the service helmets produced by the
Austin presses to the tune of 500,000. The Jerrican which enabled
the safe storage of fuel, and with its ease of pouring should have
won a design award. With over 600,000 assembled from pressings at a
factory in South Wales supplied by
Longbridge.
The
Jerrican
Over
110,000 bogey suspension units and a large number of driving gear
units for Churchill tanks were another ‘sideline’ so to speak.
Although most of the Longbridge production was geared to the Army
and Airforce, parts were also made for the Royal and Merchant Navy.
Mine mechanism plates and depth charge pistols came to a staggering
total of 440,000 units. Magazines for the Navel ‘Oerlikon’ gun
amounted to over 110,000.
The Civil and Nation Fire Service were equipped with over 5,000
Austin 2 ton lorries of various body styles. Industrial engines of
which about 20,000 were produced, with nearly half coupled up to
drive a fire pump.
x
x x x x x K2
Ambulances Finishing Line
Particularly
extensive was the output of exhaust rings for Bristol aero engines,
of which more than 122,000 were made in a part of the factory
special devoted to this work.
Exhaust
Ring Production
Although
most of the items produced were fairly large, there were small
items made that were vital, such as tails for 2501b., 1,0001b. and
4,0001b. bombs, some 300,000 Vickers and Hispano machine gun
magazines were produced for aircraft atmament. One of the small
items was the humble bilge pump which was with each airborne Life
Boat on every Bomber. This very simple construction of a
semi-rotary pump was designed and produced at Longbridge. It was
self priming and should it draw up debris into the pump itself, by
rotating the cover plate using the metal strip as shown any
obstruction could be easily removed.
Bilge
Pump
For
the land war, additional to vehicle output' armour.piercing
ammunition of 2-pounder, 6-pounder and l0-pounder types were
produced to a total of 1,350,000 rounds ; allied to this was the
output of 3,350,000 ammunition boxes. Magazines for machine or
tommy guns also loomed large in the Austin contribution to the
Army's needs' as with the Bren Sten and other magazines, upwards of
four millions of these units were turned out'
Ammunition
Boxes
Bren
Gun MKI
The
Bren Gun which was manufactured in Enfield London was rated as the
finest light machine gun every adopted as it was reliable, robust,
simple and accurate. It was in the West Works that a shop was set
up to produce the magazine that held 30 rounds, with over
half-a-million been made.
Bren
Gun Magazine production West Works
Sten
Gun MKIII
The
gun got its name from the designers (R. V.
Shepard
and H. J. Turpin)
and the Enfield
arsenal where they worked. Although it was ugly and crude, but been
of simple design proved to be very reliable in the field. It was
produced by the Enfield factory and also the BSA factory in
Birmingham. The Sten magazines produced at Longbridge reached an
incredible total of 1,759,000.
Sten
submachine gun magazine production
Vickers
Machine Gun No2 MKI
This
gun was originally supplied to the Royal Air Force as an observers
gun. It was later taken up by the Special Air Service (SAS) often
been used mounted on a Jeep. The early version used a 60 round
magazine, with the later version having a 100 round magazine, which
was the one produced at Longbridge. The total of 100 round Vickers
magazines produced at Longbridge was over 421,000.
100
round Vickers magazine production