Vickers Wellington LN514
Encyclopedia
Vickers Wellington LN514 was a Vickers Wellington
bomber built in 1943 in record time, as part of a British
propaganda
effort during the Second World War.
The bomber was constructed in 23 hours and 50 minutes, and took off 24 hours and 48 minutes after the first parts of the airframe had been laid down, beating the previous record of 48 hours set by an American factory. It was constructed at the Vickers-Armstrongs factory in Broughton, Flintshire
. The record attempt was the idea of the government to bolster morale at home and send a message abroad that British wartime manufacturing capacity was unaffected by German
bombing.
The Ministry of Information produced the newsreel
Worker's Week-End using film of the attempt, detailing the construction process from the beginning to first flight, emphasising the vital role of women in the workforce on the "factory front
". It was distributed both at home and in America, deliberately using a North American sounding narrator.
As part of the BBC
television's Battle of Britain
70th anniversary season, the record attempt was the subject of a one-hour documentary film Wellington Bomber. Bringing together some of the workers who were originally involved, it examined the effort through their eyes, and together with historian Max Hastings
and Rupert "Tiny" Cooling, a former Wellington pilot, examined the bomber and the wider historical context. It was first broadcast on BBC Four
on 14 September 2010.
and made by the Vickers-Armstrongs company. It was named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
. A total of 11,461 were built during the war, more than any other British aircraft except the Supermarine Spitfire
and Hawker Hurricane
, which were smaller, single-engine aircraft.
With its geodetic aluminium
skeleton airframe
construction covered by a varnished linen fabric skin it was said to be held in great regard by aircrews and pilots for its durability and resistance to damage, able to survive long enough to return home, even if one engine failed.
The aircraft's fabric construction and a frame which simply slotted together, likened to the children's toy Meccano
, meant that it was easy to assemble, making it a perfect choice for the construction record attempt.
The Wellington was a mainstay of the British air fleet during World War II, used throughout the conflict, first for RAF Bomber Command
as a strike bomber during the 1940 Battle of Britain and beyond, and after being superseded by the larger Halifax
and Lancaster
, for RAF Coastal Command in the anti-shipping role from 1943. Two Wellington bombers have survived to the present; the one recovered from Loch Ness
is on display at Brooklands Museum
Weybridge, Surrey.
With the Broughton factory being run by the Ministry of Aircraft Production, 6,000 people, over half of them women used in place of the men sent to fight, worked 12-hour shifts to make 28 Wellington bombers a week at peak production. Propaganda films were a significant part of the British war effort, often examining the 'factory front' which was crucial to the real front, paying tribute to the dedication and skill of the workers, encouraging new workers to volunteer, and keeping up morale of those already working and of the wider population.
The Wellington bomber film came in 1943, at the height of the British bombing efforts against Germany. With speed and morale in aircraft production now an important part of sustaining that effort, the Ministry of War together with the RAF came up with the idea of a construction record attempt, and filming it for a Ministry of Information propaganda newsreel. It was to be both a tribute to the workers of the British aircraft industry, and a way for the Ministry of War to demonstrate to the world the spirit and efficiency still evident in wartime aircraft production, despite heavy German bombardment.
In particular, the movie was to be shown in America, with an American-sounding narrator deliberately chosen, to show that Britain had not been beaten by The Blitz
, the sustained German bombing of 1940-1941, and was now holding its own in production efforts. In a show of competitiveness, breaking the record held by the Americans was also seen as 'one in the eye for' the Americans' comparatively late entry into the fight.
Other propaganda films of the period focussing on factory production include the one-off newsreels Night Shift (1942), Clyde
-built (1943), Coalminer (1943), and A Date with a Tank (1944), and the series Worker and Warfront (1942-1946) and War Work News (1942-1945). These are now preserved in the Imperial War Museum
.
.
The newsreel records that the bomber's wheels lifted from the ground 24 hours and 48 minutes after construction began. The 2010 documentary also states the build time after the first part of the airframe had been laid was “ten minutes less than 24 hours”, and the take-off took place 24 hours and 48 minutes later. Some sources state the assembly time was 23 hours and 48 minutes.
The target time set by the workers was to assemble it in 30 hours or less, with a test pilot scheduled for an afternoon flight. However, assembly moved so fast that the pilot had to be roused from his bed to make the flight.
The date of the construction is not known; it was probably early summer 1943 (based on National Archives records) or early autumn (the 2010 documentary asserts it was one autumn weekend). October 1943 was the newsreel's release date according to the National Archives, or the production date according to Imperial War Museum records. The newsreel's narrator states that the record attempt took place “not so long ago”.
LN514. According to the Imperial War Museum record, the newsreel “stresses throughout that standards were not lowered for faster speed”.
and financed by the Ministry of Information. Filmed at the Vickers-Armstrongs factory in Broughton, Flintshire
, it was directed by Ray Elton and produced by John Monck. The reel was filmed in black and white on 2 reels of 35 mm film
(P 1/35/N). It was later also transferred to VHS
. The narrator was Flying Officer
J. Peach of the Royal Canadian Air Force
.
As well as the construction process, early on in the reel just after the flap testing is shown, chief cameraman Chick Fowl and his camera are briefly shown as they film the workers. In addition to simply describing the process and the workers, the narrator relates a couple of anecdotes during the reel - as the electrical work begins, and during the shot of the cockpit exterior and interior work. He indicates that the company test pilot Gerald Whinney, who “stood next to me” (but not shown), said that the electrical fitters were “like a lot of bloody ants, hope they don't forget anything”. He also describes how he had noticed the girl working on the exterior of the cockpit, Ivy Bennett, because she was wearing a pink chiffon blouse, because she had come back from a party to help out in the attempt.
, as well as the work being inspected. The film moves on to show wing assembly and inspection, and the making of the cabin heater. Returning to the fuselage, it shows the fitting of the wooden floor and a bulkhead
frame, moving on to the fitting of the cockpit
floor, seat and control column
, installed as one part. Moving away from the fuselage, the flaps
are shown being tested and the aileron
s being assembled. Returning to the fuselage, workers begin fitting the electrical wiring and systems. After more detailed scenes of its assembly, the completed fuselage is shown being removed from the jig.
The film then shows the bolting and stitching of the covering fabric to the wings and other large control surface frames, described as the “4 great sections” of the aircraft. After showing the assembly of the tail end of the fuselage frame, the covering of this and the main fuselage is also shown. While the covering is being completed, the weatherproofing of the finished parts with resin
(dope), is seen beginning. An overhead crane brings an engine to be fitted to the rest of the power nacelle
, referred to as the 'egg', followed by more scenes of engine assembly. The film then shows all the major parts being moved to a main assembly area, including moving the whole fuselage. A crane moves the power 'eggs' into position, and then the tail and elevators
are fitted to the fuselage.
The bomb bay
beam and the fuel tanks are installed, then a crane fits the wings to the fuselage, and propeller
s to the engines. After a general scene of the construction, the crane lifts the rear gun turret
into place, followed by a shot of the main undercarriage
and wheel being moved into the raised position. After a general scene of the cockpit being worked on simultaneously inside and out, the fitting of the inner fuel tank is shown, followed by another wide shot of the general scene at the front of the bomber. A close-up of the Royal Air Force roundel
being hand-painted onto the fuselage is followed by a scene of the tailwheel being inspected.
The bomber is towed to the running shed at the end of the factory, the location for final inspection and engine testing. All the assembled workers are shown watching as the engines are started for the first time, for which the factory door is opened. After a shot of the front gun turret being tested for movement, the completed bomber is towed out of the factory tail-first, as a worker cleans the cockpit windows. With the assembled workers watching, the test pilot enters the aircraft, taxies
into position, and lifts off for its first test flight.
At 7:45 p.m. this bomber was flown by a ferry pilot
to its operational base.'
The workers named in the film are predominantly women doing a variety of jobs, with Eileen assembling the fuselage, and Evelyn (Coates) inspecting it, Grace and Hilda assembling the cabin heater, Eva testing flaps, Evelyn assembling ailerons, Agatha stitching, sisters Vera and Joan assembling the tail, Phyllis fitting fabric, Eva (Powell) operating the engine crane, Ailsa assembling engines and Ivy working on the cockpit exterior. Three men are also shown, with Norman in the engine plant, Robert fitting the rear turret, and Ernest painting the roundel. George Woods is not seen, but is named as a carpentry worker as the bomber is towed to the running shed.
As workers are named by the narrator, he also relates many of their previous occupations. Eileen used to work in a Rayon
factory, Evelyn (Coates) used to work in a draper
's shop, Eva (Williams) used to be a nurse, Phyllis was a maid, Norman was Third Officer
on the ocean liner SS Rawalpindi
, Ailsa worked at a confectioner, and Ernest was a coachpainter
.
film about the record attempt and accompanying newsreel.
and produced by Peter Williams' company Peter Williams Television, with Williams and Cassian Harrison of the BBC acting as executive producers. Williams directed the programme, assisted by Stephen Hopkins and Jo Taylor, with Paul Meadows as editor. Having tracked down workers who originally worked on the record attempt, according to the BBC “Their story of the excitement of the attempt is the heart of this documentary.”
, BBC Two
and BBC Four
. It was first broadcast on BBC Four at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 14 September 2010, and then at 7:30 p.m. on BBC Two on Sunday 19 September.
Of the workers featured, Hilda Dodd was one of those named in the original newsreel. Bill Anderson, as a 14-year-old worker, was seen in the original newsreel but not named. Ernest Tootle and Norman Martin were named in the original newsreel but were no longer alive, so the documentary included contributions from their surviving relatives.
Rupert “Tiny” Cooling was included due to having been an RAF Wellington pilot. He is described as having flown 67 Wellington flights between 1939 and 1945, over two complete tours. A dedication in the documentary states that Cooling died in 2010.
Max Hastings
was included as the author of the book Bomber Command ISBN 0-7181-1603-8, described by the narrator as a “definitive work” on RAF Bomber Command
.
The documentary featured narrated archive footage and pictures interwoven with shots of the original newsreel being screened and of parts of the newsreel itself, supplemented with interviews with the workers and their relatives, pre-recorded in their homes. In addition, there is a large amount of interview material interwoven with this, from both Cooling and Hastings. Cooling is also interviewed in a home setting, while Hastings is interviewed at the Brooklands Museum
in Surrey, site of another wartime Wellington factory, inside one of only two preserved Wellington bombers, N2980.
and the background behind its urgent operational need and thus necessity of easy and quick manufacture. Brooklands Museum's Wellington N2980 is covered in detail with Hastings climbing through it, and with footage of its being raised from Loch Ness
in Scotland, having been lost there during a training flight.
The film discussed the Wellington in service, the daily lives and roles of the bomber crews, with Hastings telling how pilots named the bomber, "the wimpy" after the contemporary cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpy
. It had a resilience to flak and could ride out trouble, albeit Hastings said that aircrews were still more likely to die than survive a 30-mission tour. Cooling told how his first flight returned with petrol leaking out of a fuel tank, with the pilot simply remarking they were 'back in time for last orders
'; the crew were flying again within two days.
to work, with Hilda Dodd having been one of the first women to be employed there, having previously worked in a camera shop. It relayed how many had no experience of such work but were soon training new workers themselves, and how most were motivated by having male relatives involved in the fighting. Norman Martin's son said that his father had not told the family of his involvement in the record, but he showed a newspaper clipping which his father had kept of the attempt (the story's byline said “women's share in world record of plane-building”). It described the general patriotic feeling and productive urge felt among workers, in light of German bombing and propaganda efforts, such as the 1940 broadcasts of Lord Haw Haw.
By contrast, it also discussed the problems of instances of low morale, absenteeism, death, and the effect of industrial relations movements since the 1926 general strike
, and the Labour Acts used to bring in Scottish workers. Dance music was piped into the hangers to boost morale, while the factory had its own doctor, dentist and barber, and employed strict control of comfort breaks. The film discussed the use of teenagers, such as Bill Anderson, who was 14 at the time he worked with wing spars in the factory.
It covered the hardships of working long shifts at the factory, and of wartime rationing, with Eileen Lindfield relating how she ate raw black market eggs while walking home, and she took the linen offcuts from the factory for domestic use. Other hazards included walking and driving home in the dark due to raids and the remote location. The son of painter Ernest Tootle (featured in the newsreel) related how father once was trapped in the bomb bay as an aircraft conducted a test flight. The workers' scant free time was discussed; they danced and enjoyed radio programs, such as Arthur Askey
and Workers' Playtime and It's That Man Again
. Also included was footage of Tommy Handley
at a scale railway.
, the Prime Minister until May 1940, and featured cabinet papers showing concern over the German effect on production, the domain of Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Aircraft Production
. The documentary also covered the role of propaganda
newsreels in the war effort. According to the documentary, a North American narrator was chosen for the newsreel to be shown in America, to show them that the British were also manufacturing efficiently while under attack, and to not only show them that Brits “could take it”, but that they could “dish it out as well”. According to Hastings it had probably been a Wellington force that had caused an air raid warning in Berlin
, just as the visiting Russian ambassador Vyacheslav Molotov
was being reassured by Hitler that the British were near defeat.
In the wider civilian context, the film dealt with the affects of domestic bomb damage and air raids, and air raid shelters, and the role of Welsh coal mining
, a reserved industry
supporting production at Broughton, with Ben Motram having been a coal miner at Llay
main colliery, the deepest mine in Europe at the time, with wife Constance employed as a sewer at the factory.
In the wider military context, the film covered the Battle of Britain
and German raids on south eastern RAF airfields
, followed by the sequence of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
ordering a raid on Berlin after a German raid damaged parts of London housing, which in turn led to Hitler switching raids to cities, which while devastating for civilians, took pressure off the RAF. Further on the film relayed the progress of the ground and aerial fighting in Europe
, and covered German Luftwaffe
raids on the Channel Ports
and Dunkirk.
, the film related how the factory was then put to use making prefab houses and how, while many single women workers were retained, all the married women were made redundant. There were stories about the success or otherwise of the resulting reunions with their husbands returning home from the fighting, moving forward into demobilized
civilian life. Linking the Broughton factory of the present day to the time of the war, the film included footage of the present day Airbus operations at the site, including the manufacturing process and the loading of parts onto the Airbus Beluga
transport aircraft. Stories of long-serving employers were included, and of an employee of the old factory whose grandson now works at the Airbus plant.
, used as the backdrop as Cooling recites a poem he wrote. At the end of the cinema screening, the documentary shows an Airbus photographer taking an official photograph of the reunion group.
The documentary closes with an on screen dedication to “Flt Lt Rupert “Tiny” Cooling (1920-2010) and to the wartime workers on the Broughton production line”.
Vickers Wellington
The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engine, long range medium bomber designed in the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey, by Vickers-Armstrongs' Chief Designer, R. K. Pierson. It was widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War, before being displaced as a...
bomber built in 1943 in record time, as part of a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
effort during the Second World War.
The bomber was constructed in 23 hours and 50 minutes, and took off 24 hours and 48 minutes after the first parts of the airframe had been laid down, beating the previous record of 48 hours set by an American factory. It was constructed at the Vickers-Armstrongs factory in Broughton, Flintshire
Broughton, Flintshire
Broughton is a small district in Flintshire, Wales, close to the Wales–England border and located to the west of the City of Chester, England. Along with the nearby village of Bretton, the total population was 5,791 at the 2001 Census....
. The record attempt was the idea of the government to bolster morale at home and send a message abroad that British wartime manufacturing capacity was unaffected by German
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
bombing.
The Ministry of Information produced the newsreel
Newsreel
A newsreel was a form of short documentary film prevalent in the first half of the 20th century, regularly released in a public presentation place and containing filmed news stories and items of topical interest. It was a source of news, current affairs and entertainment for millions of moviegoers...
Worker's Week-End using film of the attempt, detailing the construction process from the beginning to first flight, emphasising the vital role of women in the workforce on the "factory front
Front (military)
A military front or battlefront is a contested armed frontier between opposing forces. This can be a local or tactical front, or it can range to a theater...
". It was distributed both at home and in America, deliberately using a North American sounding narrator.
As part of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television's Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
70th anniversary season, the record attempt was the subject of a one-hour documentary film Wellington Bomber. Bringing together some of the workers who were originally involved, it examined the effort through their eyes, and together with historian Max Hastings
Max Hastings
Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. He is the son of Macdonald Hastings, the noted British journalist and war correspondent and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.-Life and career:Hastings was educated at Charterhouse...
and Rupert "Tiny" Cooling, a former Wellington pilot, examined the bomber and the wider historical context. It was first broadcast on BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
on 14 September 2010.
Wellington bomber
The 26.25 metres (86.1 ft) wingspan Vickers Wellington bomber was designed by Barnes WallisBarnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
and made by the Vickers-Armstrongs company. It was named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
. A total of 11,461 were built during the war, more than any other British aircraft except the Supermarine Spitfire
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
and Hawker Hurricane
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
, which were smaller, single-engine aircraft.
With its geodetic aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
skeleton airframe
Airframe
The airframe of an aircraft is its mechanical structure. It is typically considered to include fuselage, wings and undercarriage and exclude the propulsion system...
construction covered by a varnished linen fabric skin it was said to be held in great regard by aircrews and pilots for its durability and resistance to damage, able to survive long enough to return home, even if one engine failed.
The aircraft's fabric construction and a frame which simply slotted together, likened to the children's toy Meccano
Meccano
Meccano is a model construction system comprising re-usable metal strips, plates, angle girders, wheels, axles and gears, with nuts and bolts to connect the pieces. It enables the building of working models and mechanical devices....
, meant that it was easy to assemble, making it a perfect choice for the construction record attempt.
The Wellington was a mainstay of the British air fleet during World War II, used throughout the conflict, first for RAF Bomber Command
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
as a strike bomber during the 1940 Battle of Britain and beyond, and after being superseded by the larger Halifax
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
and Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
, for RAF Coastal Command in the anti-shipping role from 1943. Two Wellington bombers have survived to the present; the one recovered from Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
is on display at Brooklands Museum
Brooklands Museum
Brooklands Museum is an independent charitable trust, established in 1987, whose aim is to conserve, protect and interpret the unique heritage of the Brooklands site. It is located south of Weybridge, Surrey and was first opened regularly in 1991 on of the original 1907 motor-racing circuit...
Weybridge, Surrey.
Propaganda
The Wellington bomber film came in 1943, at the height of the British bombing efforts against Germany. With speed and morale in aircraft production now an important part of sustaining that effort, the Ministry of War together with the RAF came up with the idea of a construction record attempt, and filming it for a Ministry of Information propaganda newsreel. It was to be both a tribute to the workers of the British aircraft industry, and a way for the Ministry of War to demonstrate to the world the spirit and efficiency still evident in wartime aircraft production, despite heavy German bombardment.
In particular, the movie was to be shown in America, with an American-sounding narrator deliberately chosen, to show that Britain had not been beaten by The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, the sustained German bombing of 1940-1941, and was now holding its own in production efforts. In a show of competitiveness, breaking the record held by the Americans was also seen as 'one in the eye for' the Americans' comparatively late entry into the fight.
Other propaganda films of the period focussing on factory production include the one-off newsreels Night Shift (1942), Clyde
River Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
-built (1943), Coalminer (1943), and A Date with a Tank (1944), and the series Worker and Warfront (1942-1946) and War Work News (1942-1945). These are now preserved in the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
.
Record attempt
The aim was to build an operational Wellington bomber from scratch against the clock, “from first bolt to take-off” The record was at the time held by the Americans, having achieved the feat in 48 hours in a bomber factory in CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
The newsreel records that the bomber's wheels lifted from the ground 24 hours and 48 minutes after construction began. The 2010 documentary also states the build time after the first part of the airframe had been laid was “ten minutes less than 24 hours”, and the take-off took place 24 hours and 48 minutes later. Some sources state the assembly time was 23 hours and 48 minutes.
The target time set by the workers was to assemble it in 30 hours or less, with a test pilot scheduled for an afternoon flight. However, assembly moved so fast that the pilot had to be roused from his bed to make the flight.
Date
The bomber was constructed over a weekend, starting on a Saturday morning. The workers donated their free time for the attempt, donating their bonus money to the Red Cross Aid to Russia Fund.The date of the construction is not known; it was probably early summer 1943 (based on National Archives records) or early autumn (the 2010 documentary asserts it was one autumn weekend). October 1943 was the newsreel's release date according to the National Archives, or the production date according to Imperial War Museum records. The newsreel's narrator states that the record attempt took place “not so long ago”.
Construction
The bomber airframe used for the record attempt was serial numberUnited Kingdom military aircraft serials
In the United Kingdom to identify individual aircraft, all military aircraft are allocated and display a unique serial number. A unified serial number system, maintained by the Air Ministry , and its successor the Ministry of Defence , is used for aircraft operated by the Royal Air Force , Fleet...
LN514. According to the Imperial War Museum record, the newsreel “stresses throughout that standards were not lowered for faster speed”.
Worker's Week-End newsreel
Worker's Week-End was the propaganda newsreel that resulted from the construction effort.Production
The reel was produced by the Crown Film UnitCrown Film Unit
The Crown Film Unit was an organisation within the British Government's Ministry of Information during World War II. Formerly the GPO Film Unit it became the Crown Film Unit in 1940. Its remit was to make films for the general public in Britain and abroad...
and financed by the Ministry of Information. Filmed at the Vickers-Armstrongs factory in Broughton, Flintshire
Broughton, Flintshire
Broughton is a small district in Flintshire, Wales, close to the Wales–England border and located to the west of the City of Chester, England. Along with the nearby village of Bretton, the total population was 5,791 at the 2001 Census....
, it was directed by Ray Elton and produced by John Monck. The reel was filmed in black and white on 2 reels of 35 mm film
35 mm film
35 mm film is the film gauge most commonly used for chemical still photography and motion pictures. The name of the gauge refers to the width of the photographic film, which consists of strips 35 millimeters in width...
(P 1/35/N). It was later also transferred to VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
. The narrator was Flying Officer
Flying Officer
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence...
J. Peach of the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
.
Format
The newsreel's picture closely followed the Wellington bomber and its construction, interspersed with small periods of the wider scene. The audio consisted of the narration, factory background sounds, and the plane's sound on takeoff. The narration focuses on the people involved until the main parts come together, after which it describes more of the production process.As well as the construction process, early on in the reel just after the flap testing is shown, chief cameraman Chick Fowl and his camera are briefly shown as they film the workers. In addition to simply describing the process and the workers, the narrator relates a couple of anecdotes during the reel - as the electrical work begins, and during the shot of the cockpit exterior and interior work. He indicates that the company test pilot Gerald Whinney, who “stood next to me” (but not shown), said that the electrical fitters were “like a lot of bloody ants, hope they don't forget anything”. He also describes how he had noticed the girl working on the exterior of the cockpit, Ivy Bennett, because she was wearing a pink chiffon blouse, because she had come back from a party to help out in the attempt.
Assembly depiction
The newsreel begins by showing a tractor opening the factory door, and with the workers arriving. The construction is seen beginning with the first fuselage pieces being assembled on jigsJig (tool)
In metalworking and woodworking, a jig is a type of tool used to control the location and/or motion of another tool. A jig's primary purpose is to provide repeatability, accuracy, and interchangeability in the manufacturing of products. A jig is often confused with a fixture; a fixture holds the...
, as well as the work being inspected. The film moves on to show wing assembly and inspection, and the making of the cabin heater. Returning to the fuselage, it shows the fitting of the wooden floor and a bulkhead
Bulkhead (partition)
A bulkhead is an upright wall within the hull of a ship or within the fuselage of an airplane. Other kinds of partition elements within a ship are decks and deckheads.-Etymology:...
frame, moving on to the fitting of the cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...
floor, seat and control column
Yoke (aircraft)
A yoke, alternatively known as control column, is a device used for piloting in most fixed-wing aircraft.- Principle :The aviator uses the yoke to control the attitude of the plane, usually in both pitch and roll. Rotating the control wheel controls the ailerons and the roll axis...
, installed as one part. Moving away from the fuselage, the flaps
Flap (aircraft)
Flaps are normally hinged surfaces mounted on the trailing edges of the wings of a fixed-wing aircraft to reduce the speed an aircraft can be safely flown at and to increase the angle of descent for landing without increasing air speed. They shorten takeoff and landing distances as well as...
are shown being tested and the aileron
Aileron
Ailerons are hinged flight control surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing of a fixed-wing aircraft. The ailerons are used to control the aircraft in roll, which results in a change in heading due to the tilting of the lift vector...
s being assembled. Returning to the fuselage, workers begin fitting the electrical wiring and systems. After more detailed scenes of its assembly, the completed fuselage is shown being removed from the jig.
The film then shows the bolting and stitching of the covering fabric to the wings and other large control surface frames, described as the “4 great sections” of the aircraft. After showing the assembly of the tail end of the fuselage frame, the covering of this and the main fuselage is also shown. While the covering is being completed, the weatherproofing of the finished parts with resin
Aircraft dope
thumb|right|[[United Kingdom military aircraft serials|2699]] a [[World War I]] [[Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2]] finished in a clear dopeAircraft dope is a plasticised lacquer that is applied to fabric-covered aircraft...
(dope), is seen beginning. An overhead crane brings an engine to be fitted to the rest of the power nacelle
Nacelle
The nacelle is a cover housing that holds engines, fuel, or equipment on an aircraft. In some cases—for instance in the typical "Farman" type "pusher" aircraft, or the World War II-era P-38 Lightning—an aircraft's cockpit may also be housed in a nacelle, which essentially fills the...
, referred to as the 'egg', followed by more scenes of engine assembly. The film then shows all the major parts being moved to a main assembly area, including moving the whole fuselage. A crane moves the power 'eggs' into position, and then the tail and elevators
Elevator (aircraft)
Elevators are flight control surfaces, usually at the rear of an aircraft, which control the aircraft's orientation by changing the pitch of the aircraft, and so also the angle of attack of the wing. In simplified terms, they make the aircraft nose-up or nose-down...
are fitted to the fuselage.
The bomb bay
Bomb bay
The bomb bay or weapons bay on some military aircraft is a compartment to carry bombs, usually in the aircraft's fuselage, with "bomb bay doors" which open at the bottom. The bomb bay doors are opened and the bombs are dropped when over the target or at a specified launching point.Large-sized...
beam and the fuel tanks are installed, then a crane fits the wings to the fuselage, and propeller
Propeller (aircraft)
Aircraft propellers or airscrews convert rotary motion from piston engines or turboprops to provide propulsive force. They may be fixed or variable pitch. Early aircraft propellers were carved by hand from solid or laminated wood with later propellers being constructed from metal...
s to the engines. After a general scene of the construction, the crane lifts the rear gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
into place, followed by a shot of the main undercarriage
Undercarriage
The undercarriage or landing gear in aviation, is the structure that supports an aircraft on the ground and allows it to taxi, takeoff and land...
and wheel being moved into the raised position. After a general scene of the cockpit being worked on simultaneously inside and out, the fitting of the inner fuel tank is shown, followed by another wide shot of the general scene at the front of the bomber. A close-up of the Royal Air Force roundel
Royal Air Force roundels
The Royal Air Force roundel is a circular identification mark painted on aircraft to identify them to other aircraft and ground forces. In one form or another, it has been used on British military aircraft from 1915 to the present....
being hand-painted onto the fuselage is followed by a scene of the tailwheel being inspected.
The bomber is towed to the running shed at the end of the factory, the location for final inspection and engine testing. All the assembled workers are shown watching as the engines are started for the first time, for which the factory door is opened. After a shot of the front gun turret being tested for movement, the completed bomber is towed out of the factory tail-first, as a worker cleans the cockpit windows. With the assembled workers watching, the test pilot enters the aircraft, taxies
Taxiing
Taxiing refers to the movement of an aircraft on the ground, under its own power, in contrast to towing or push-back where the aircraft is moved by a tug...
into position, and lifts off for its first test flight.
Timing depiction
During the film the narrator relates how the attempt is doing for time. At the beginning he says the aim was for completion in under 30 hours, and that work started at 9 a.m.. At 1:45 p.m. the fuselage leaves the jig with electrics fitted. At 6:15 p.m. the main parts are coming together. With the change in shifts also noted, the propeller fitting occurs at 8:23 p.m. It's noted the workers are now making bets as to whether they will beat the 30-hour target. The landing gear is on the aircraft by 10:30 p.m. By 3:20 a.m. the next morning the aircraft is being towed to the running shed. The engines are started for the first time at 6:15 a.m., or 21:15 hrs since construction began. He then relates how the attempt is delayed at this stage for 2 hours of "snagging" (last-minute rectifications). At 8:50 a.m. (the 23:50 hr mark), the completed bomber is wheeled out of the factory door. As the Wellington takes off, he states “its wheels lifted from the ground, in exactly 24 hours and 48 minutes.” The newsreel ends with a note, 'P.S.Postscript
A postscript, abbreviated P.S., is writing added after the main body of a letter . The term comes from the Latin post scriptum, an expression meaning "written after" .A postscript may be a sentence, a paragraph, or occasionally many paragraphs added, often hastily and...
At 7:45 p.m. this bomber was flown by a ferry pilot
Ferry flying
Ferry flying refers to delivery flights for the purpose of returning an aircraft to base, moving an aircraft from one base of operations to another or moving an aircraft to or from a maintenance facility for repairs, overhaul or other work.-Ferry permit:...
to its operational base.'
Workers
The following people are named during the reel (all workers unless indicated):- Ivy Bennett
- Joan Butler
- Vera Butler
- Evelyn Coates
- Eileen Daphne
- Robert Davis
- Hilda Dodd
- Phyllis Evans
- Chick Fowl, chief camera man
- Ailsa Gryndley
- Agatha Hobson
- Evelyn Homewood
- Norman Martin
- Eva Powell
- Ernest Tootle
- Grace Wally
- Gerald Whinney, company test pilot
- George Woods
- Eva Williams
The workers named in the film are predominantly women doing a variety of jobs, with Eileen assembling the fuselage, and Evelyn (Coates) inspecting it, Grace and Hilda assembling the cabin heater, Eva testing flaps, Evelyn assembling ailerons, Agatha stitching, sisters Vera and Joan assembling the tail, Phyllis fitting fabric, Eva (Powell) operating the engine crane, Ailsa assembling engines and Ivy working on the cockpit exterior. Three men are also shown, with Norman in the engine plant, Robert fitting the rear turret, and Ernest painting the roundel. George Woods is not seen, but is named as a carpentry worker as the bomber is towed to the running shed.
As workers are named by the narrator, he also relates many of their previous occupations. Eileen used to work in a Rayon
Rayon
Rayon is a manufactured regenerated cellulose fiber. Because it is produced from naturally occurring polymers, it is neither a truly synthetic fiber nor a natural fiber; it is a semi-synthetic or artificial fiber. Rayon is known by the names viscose rayon and art silk in the textile industry...
factory, Evelyn (Coates) used to work in a draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
's shop, Eva (Williams) used to be a nurse, Phyllis was a maid, Norman was Third Officer
Third Mate
A Third Mate or Third Officer is a licensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship. The third mate is a watchstander and customarily the ship's safety officer and fourth-in-command...
on the ocean liner SS Rawalpindi
HMS Rawalpindi
HMS Rawalpindi was a British armed merchant cruiser that was sunk during the Second World War.-Merchant service:...
, Ailsa worked at a confectioner, and Ernest was a coachpainter
Livery
A livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
.
Analysis
According to the Imperial War Museum, the newsreel “provides quite good coverage of various processes in construction” describing it as a “good film well put together: right atmosphere of dedication, efficiency, speed”.Wellington Bomber documentary
Wellington Bomber is a 2010 television documentaryTelevision documentary
Documentary television is a genre of television programming that broadcasts documentaries.* Documentary television series, a television series which is made up of documentary episodes....
film about the record attempt and accompanying newsreel.
Production
The 1 hour documentary was commissioned by the BBC's digital channel BBC FourBBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
and produced by Peter Williams' company Peter Williams Television, with Williams and Cassian Harrison of the BBC acting as executive producers. Williams directed the programme, assisted by Stephen Hopkins and Jo Taylor, with Paul Meadows as editor. Having tracked down workers who originally worked on the record attempt, according to the BBC “Their story of the excitement of the attempt is the heart of this documentary.”
Broadcast
The programme was part of the BBC's Battle Of Britain season, marking the 70th anniversary of the battle with special programmes across BBC OneBBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
and BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
. It was first broadcast on BBC Four at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, 14 September 2010, and then at 7:30 p.m. on BBC Two on Sunday 19 September.
Participants
The documentary featured the following people speaking to camera (all original Broughton workers unless otherwise stated):- Bill Anderson
- Rupert “Tiny” Cooling, former Wellington pilot
- Hilda Dodd
- Max HastingsMax HastingsSir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. He is the son of Macdonald Hastings, the noted British journalist and war correspondent and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.-Life and career:Hastings was educated at Charterhouse...
, author and historian - Eileen Lindfield
- Richard Martin, son of Norman Martin
- Ben Motram, husband of Constance
- Constance Motram
- Betty Weaver
- Wilfred Williams
- Bob Wilson
- James Tootle, grandson of Ernest Tootle
- Peter Tootle, son of Ernest Tootle
Of the workers featured, Hilda Dodd was one of those named in the original newsreel. Bill Anderson, as a 14-year-old worker, was seen in the original newsreel but not named. Ernest Tootle and Norman Martin were named in the original newsreel but were no longer alive, so the documentary included contributions from their surviving relatives.
Rupert “Tiny” Cooling was included due to having been an RAF Wellington pilot. He is described as having flown 67 Wellington flights between 1939 and 1945, over two complete tours. A dedication in the documentary states that Cooling died in 2010.
Max Hastings
Max Hastings
Sir Max Hugh Macdonald Hastings, FRSL is a British journalist, editor, historian and author. He is the son of Macdonald Hastings, the noted British journalist and war correspondent and Anne Scott-James, sometime editor of Harper's Bazaar.-Life and career:Hastings was educated at Charterhouse...
was included as the author of the book Bomber Command ISBN 0-7181-1603-8, described by the narrator as a “definitive work” on RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command
RAF Bomber Command controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s stood at the peak of its postwar military power with the V bombers and a supplemental...
.
Format
The location for the documentary film is an evening at the Broughton factory, where several of the original workers and their relatives have met to view a screening of the original newsreel in a small cinema room. Eleven of the original workers and their relatives were interviewed in the documentary, while the visible group present at the cinema numbered at least 30. It is stated that the screening was the first time many of them had seen the newsreel.The documentary featured narrated archive footage and pictures interwoven with shots of the original newsreel being screened and of parts of the newsreel itself, supplemented with interviews with the workers and their relatives, pre-recorded in their homes. In addition, there is a large amount of interview material interwoven with this, from both Cooling and Hastings. Cooling is also interviewed in a home setting, while Hastings is interviewed at the Brooklands Museum
Brooklands Museum
Brooklands Museum is an independent charitable trust, established in 1987, whose aim is to conserve, protect and interpret the unique heritage of the Brooklands site. It is located south of Weybridge, Surrey and was first opened regularly in 1991 on of the original 1907 motor-racing circuit...
in Surrey, site of another wartime Wellington factory, inside one of only two preserved Wellington bombers, N2980.
The bomber and its crew
The film covered the design of the bomber by Barnes WallisBarnes Wallis
Sir Barnes Neville Wallis, CBE FRS, RDI, FRAeS , was an English scientist, engineer and inventor. He is best known for inventing the bouncing bomb used by the RAF in Operation Chastise to attack the dams of the Ruhr Valley during World War II...
and the background behind its urgent operational need and thus necessity of easy and quick manufacture. Brooklands Museum's Wellington N2980 is covered in detail with Hastings climbing through it, and with footage of its being raised from Loch Ness
Loch Ness
Loch Ness is a large, deep, freshwater loch in the Scottish Highlands extending for approximately southwest of Inverness. Its surface is above sea level. Loch Ness is best known for the alleged sightings of the cryptozoological Loch Ness Monster, also known affectionately as "Nessie"...
in Scotland, having been lost there during a training flight.
The film discussed the Wellington in service, the daily lives and roles of the bomber crews, with Hastings telling how pilots named the bomber, "the wimpy" after the contemporary cartoon character J. Wellington Wimpy
J. Wellington Wimpy
J. Wellington Wimpy, generally referred to as Wimpy, is one of the characters in the long-running comic strip Popeye, created by E. C. Segar and originally called Thimble Theatre, and in the Popeye cartoons based upon the strip...
. It had a resilience to flak and could ride out trouble, albeit Hastings said that aircrews were still more likely to die than survive a 30-mission tour. Cooling told how his first flight returned with petrol leaking out of a fuel tank, with the pilot simply remarking they were 'back in time for last orders
Last call (bar term)
In a bar, a last call is an announcement made shortly before the bar closes for the night, informing patrons of their last chance to buy alcoholic beverages. There are various means to make this signal, like ringing a bell, flashing the lights, or announcing orally.Last call times are often...
'; the crew were flying again within two days.
The factory
The film covered the Broughton factory, a shadow factory which built many of the 11,461 Wellington bombers built. Its production line, its aircraft hangar, its assembly lines, parts storage systems and component assembly hangars, and the processes of stitching and doping, were shown. It discussed the production line organisation, with Bob Wilson having been an original production supervisor. Wilson explained that some assembly work such as electrical panels had actually been prepared beforehand for the record attempt. The film covered air raids on the factory and the measures taken to prevent injury or damage, including a system of amber and red warning lights, and the illumination of nearby hills to fool German bombers. With all regular forces committed in theatre, security at the factory was provided by the Home Guard, who also escorted workers as they undertook snagging work to finished aircraft on the neighbouring fields into which they were distributed with wide spacings.Workers
It covered the role of women at the factory, who made up half the workforce, and why they were mobilisedMobilization
Mobilization is the act of assembling and making both troops and supplies ready for war. The word mobilization was first used, in a military context, in order to describe the preparation of the Prussian army during the 1850s and 1860s. Mobilization theories and techniques have continuously changed...
to work, with Hilda Dodd having been one of the first women to be employed there, having previously worked in a camera shop. It relayed how many had no experience of such work but were soon training new workers themselves, and how most were motivated by having male relatives involved in the fighting. Norman Martin's son said that his father had not told the family of his involvement in the record, but he showed a newspaper clipping which his father had kept of the attempt (the story's byline said “women's share in world record of plane-building”). It described the general patriotic feeling and productive urge felt among workers, in light of German bombing and propaganda efforts, such as the 1940 broadcasts of Lord Haw Haw.
By contrast, it also discussed the problems of instances of low morale, absenteeism, death, and the effect of industrial relations movements since the 1926 general strike
1926 United Kingdom general strike
The 1926 general strike in the United Kingdom was a general strike that lasted nine days, from 4 May 1926 to 13 May 1926. It was called by the general council of the Trades Union Congress in an unsuccessful attempt to force the British government to act to prevent wage reduction and worsening...
, and the Labour Acts used to bring in Scottish workers. Dance music was piped into the hangers to boost morale, while the factory had its own doctor, dentist and barber, and employed strict control of comfort breaks. The film discussed the use of teenagers, such as Bill Anderson, who was 14 at the time he worked with wing spars in the factory.
It covered the hardships of working long shifts at the factory, and of wartime rationing, with Eileen Lindfield relating how she ate raw black market eggs while walking home, and she took the linen offcuts from the factory for domestic use. Other hazards included walking and driving home in the dark due to raids and the remote location. The son of painter Ernest Tootle (featured in the newsreel) related how father once was trapped in the bomb bay as an aircraft conducted a test flight. The workers' scant free time was discussed; they danced and enjoyed radio programs, such as Arthur Askey
Arthur Askey
Arthur Bowden Askey CBE was a prominent English comedian.- Life and career :Askey was born at 29 Moses Street, Liverpool, the eldest child and only son of Samuel Askey , secretary of the firm Sugar Products of Liverpool, and his wife, Betsy Bowden , of Knutsford, Cheshire...
and Workers' Playtime and It's That Man Again
It's That Man Again
It's That Man Again was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran from 1939 to 1949. The title was a contemporary phrase referring to ever more frequent news-stories about Hitler in the lead-up to World War II, and specifically a headline in the Daily Express written by Bert Gunn...
. Also included was footage of Tommy Handley
Tommy Handley
Thomas Reginald "Tommy" Handley was a British comedian, mainly known for the BBC radio programme ITMA . He was born at Toxteth Park, Liverpool in Lancashire....
at a scale railway.
Wider context
In terms of the wider political context, it discussed the build up to war and the approach of Neville ChamberlainNeville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain FRS was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. Chamberlain is best known for his appeasement foreign policy, and in particular for his signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, conceding the...
, the Prime Minister until May 1940, and featured cabinet papers showing concern over the German effect on production, the domain of Lord Beaverbrook, the Minister of Aircraft Production
Minister of Aircraft Production
The Minister of Aircraft Production was the British government position in charge of the Ministry of Aircraft Production, one of the specialised supply ministries set up by the British Government during World War II...
. The documentary also covered the role of propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
newsreels in the war effort. According to the documentary, a North American narrator was chosen for the newsreel to be shown in America, to show them that the British were also manufacturing efficiently while under attack, and to not only show them that Brits “could take it”, but that they could “dish it out as well”. According to Hastings it had probably been a Wellington force that had caused an air raid warning in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, just as the visiting Russian ambassador Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov was a Soviet politician and diplomat, an Old Bolshevik and a leading figure in the Soviet government from the 1920s, when he rose to power as a protégé of Joseph Stalin, to 1957, when he was dismissed from the Presidium of the Central Committee by Nikita Khrushchev...
was being reassured by Hitler that the British were near defeat.
In the wider civilian context, the film dealt with the affects of domestic bomb damage and air raids, and air raid shelters, and the role of Welsh coal mining
Mining in Wales
Mining in Wales provided a significant source of income to the economy of Wales throughout the nineteenth century and early twentieth century....
, a reserved industry
Reserved occupation
A reserved occupation is an occupation considered important enough to a country that those serving in such occupations are exempt - in fact forbidden - from military service....
supporting production at Broughton, with Ben Motram having been a coal miner at Llay
Llay
Llay is a village and local government community, the lowest tier of local government, part of Wrexham County Borough in Wales....
main colliery, the deepest mine in Europe at the time, with wife Constance employed as a sewer at the factory.
In the wider military context, the film covered the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
and German raids on south eastern RAF airfields
Battle of Britain airfields
During the Battle of Britain, the defence of the UK's airspace was divided up within RAF Fighter Command into four Groups, each comprising several airfields and squadrons....
, followed by the sequence of the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
ordering a raid on Berlin after a German raid damaged parts of London housing, which in turn led to Hitler switching raids to cities, which while devastating for civilians, took pressure off the RAF. Further on the film relayed the progress of the ground and aerial fighting in Europe
Western Front (World War II)
The Western Front of the European Theatre of World War II encompassed, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and West Germany. The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale ground combat operations...
, and covered German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
raids on the Channel Ports
Channel Ports
The Channel Ports are seaports in southern England and the facing continent, which allow for short crossings of the English Channel. There is no formal definition, but there is a general understanding of the term. Some ferry companies divide their routes into "short" and "long" crossings...
and Dunkirk.
Postwar
Moving to after the war in Europe's endVictory in Europe Day
Victory in Europe Day commemorates 8 May 1945 , the date when the World War II Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of the armed forces of Nazi Germany and the end of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. The formal surrender of the occupying German forces in the Channel Islands was not...
, the film related how the factory was then put to use making prefab houses and how, while many single women workers were retained, all the married women were made redundant. There were stories about the success or otherwise of the resulting reunions with their husbands returning home from the fighting, moving forward into demobilized
Demobilization of the British Armed Forces after World War II
thumb|right|upright|A page from the official demobilization handbook, Release and Resettlement, which allowed British servicemen to calculate their 'release group number.'...
civilian life. Linking the Broughton factory of the present day to the time of the war, the film included footage of the present day Airbus operations at the site, including the manufacturing process and the loading of parts onto the Airbus Beluga
Airbus Beluga
-External links:*...
transport aircraft. Stories of long-serving employers were included, and of an employee of the old factory whose grandson now works at the Airbus plant.
Dedications
Towards the end of the documentary, there is also extended footage of RAF Memorial, RunnymedeAir forces memorial
The Air Forces Memorial, or Runnymede Memorial, near Egham, Surrey, England is a memorial dedicated to some 20,456 men and women from the British Empire who were lost in operations from World War II. All of those recorded have no known grave anywhere in the world, and many were lost without trace...
, used as the backdrop as Cooling recites a poem he wrote. At the end of the cinema screening, the documentary shows an Airbus photographer taking an official photograph of the reunion group.
The documentary closes with an on screen dedication to “Flt Lt Rupert “Tiny” Cooling (1920-2010) and to the wartime workers on the Broughton production line”.
See also
- Aircraft recordsAircraft recordsThis article gives yearly aviation records under 5 headings: airspeed, range, ceiling, gross take-off weight and engine power.-Sources:Gunston, Bill : Chronicle of Aviation, Chronicle Communications Ltd., 1992, ISBN 1-872031-30-1, pp...
- List of newsreels by country
- List of Vickers Wellington operators
- SS Robert E. PearySS Robert E. PearySS Robert E. Peary was a Liberty ship which gained fame during World War II for being built in a shorter time than any other such vessel. Named after Robert Peary, an American explorer who claimed to have been the first person to reach the geographic North Pole, she was launched on November 12,...
, a US Liberty Ship built in under five days
External links
- Workers Weekend (inc. embedded film) at National Archives