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Aviation History
1939
1939 - 1101.PDF
-390 FLIGHT. APRIL 13, 1939 NEWS of tl Recent Happem- The Air Minister at Speke SIR KINGSLEY WOOD, accompanied by Sir Edward Camp bell, M.P., his Parliamentary Private Secretary and Major B. W. Shimon, O.B.E., Assistant Director of Production, spent a busy day at Liverpool on Monday of last week. In the morn ing he flew to Speke Aerodrome to lay the foundation stone of an important ,£100,000 extension to the Strowger works of the Automatic Telephone and Electric Co., in which are pro duced large quantities of aircraft equipment. In the afternoon the Air Minister visited the Rootes aircraft shadow factory at Speke, where he was received by Mr. W. E. Rootes and Mr. R. C. Rootes, the chairman and deputy chairman, and by Mr. Hammond, Director of Rootes Securities, Ltd. The facrcry is now approaching peak production of Bristol Blenheims and, apart from being one of the largest of its kind in the world, is undoubtedly one of the most modern with regard to planning, equipment and organisation. The whole manufacturing area of the factory is in one vast building with an exceptionally high roof and the production How, is in straight lines from end to end. Raw materials enter at one enl and are supplied to the press bays and other fabricating sections. The details and processing departments A group of personalities leaving the big assembly shop at the Speke shadow factory during Sir Kingsley Wood's visit, which is reported on this page. Left to right : Mr. H. D. Blow of the Air Ministry ; Mr. De Roeper (business manager, Rootes Securities, Ltd.) ; the Air Minister ; Mr. R. C. Rootes (deputy-chairman), Mr. W. E. Rootes (chairman), Mr. Trowbridge (works manager) and Major B. W. Shilson (Assistant Director of Production, Air Ministry). are next in line. and feed to the sub assembly jigs. Completed sub-assemblies are passed on to the five parallel main assembly lines, which finish at sliding doers opening on to the aerodrome. Large numbers of well-spaced-out jigs and the latest of machine-tool equipment charac terise the department. Transporter cranes similar to those used in certain American factories carry whole fuselages above and along the production lines when necessary. Several of the variety of presses installed are not working up to their full capacity, but valuable experience is being gained for the production of parts for other aircraft in the future. In an emergency it would be possible almost to double the present output of Blenheims with alterations to, or additions in, the factory. The aero-engine shadow factory at Coventry, which is also managed by Rootes Securities, Ltd., is producing components for the Bristol Mercury VIII engines as fitted to the Blenheims. Vacation Course for Students STUDENTS interested in marine engineering are once again offered a chance of studying first-hand the construction of high-performance motor craft such as R.A.F. rescue tenders and target boats. This offer is made by the British Power Boat Company, Ltd., of Hythe, Southampton, to enable students from the age of sixteen upwards to take a vacation course of three weeks in the company's works. It is intended that the courses should start on June 5. Students should apply as soon as possible, stating the type of experience wanted. Linked Data A FEATURE of the Renold and Coventry Chains stan dardised for aircraft is that they incorporate (with one ex ception) shouldered bearing pins to prevent lateral move ment of the plates on the pins. This fact, together with techni cal data concerning the pro perties of the chains, is de scribed in a new leaflet pub lished by the Renold and Cov entry Chain Co., Ltd., Renold Works, Didsbury, Manchester. THE MEN AND THE JOB : A group snapped at the Belfast Works of Short and Harland Ltd., after a test flight of the first production Bombay bom ber transport. Fifth from the right is Mr. J. H. Lower (manager) and the fourth from the right is Mr. H. L. Piper, of Short Brothers, who has been carrying out the test flying.
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