Aircraft production in the UK ww2

[dinomartino1]

A woman war worker uses a type 31 Excello Thread Grinder to grind threads on Oil Feed Adaptors to a tolerance of .002" on the pitch diameter at an aircraft factory, somewhere in Britain. More women can be seen at work at their machines in the background.

Aircraft construction: Women workers attaching the skin of an aircraft to its frame; one operates a pneumatic air hammer which produces rivets, while another uses a dolly on the opposite side of the skin.

Aircraft construction: The assembly of North American Mustang aircraft at the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation factory, Speke airport, Liverpool. The propeller is in position and mechanics (both men and women) are checking over the engine.

A portrait of an Indian technician at work at the Government Training Centre, Letchworth. Behind him can be seen a diagram showing the layout of the Vickers Hydraulic System.

Aircraft construction: Production of the De Havilland Tiger Moth training aircraft. Moving assembly lines were used and the photograph shows the fuselage travelling through the paint-spraying booth for exterior doping of the fuselage. Note the factory worker's protective mask.

 

[dinomartino1]

Aircraft construction: Women riveting the rear fuselage of a Fairey aircraft.

A group of women work on the final assembly of a Bristol Beaufighter aircraft.

Aircraft construction: Christina Riddoch who worked as an inspector of cylinders at an aero-engine factory. In peacetime a professional violinist, she was chosen for this job because it required a delicacy of touch.

The fuselage of a Douglas Boston aircraft is repaired in a Ministry of Air Production factory

Men and women working on the production of Merlin engines at a Rolls Royce factory

A Wellington under construction at the Vickers 'shadow factory' at Hawarden, near Chester, 1 June 1942

 

[Flightengineer]

Thank you very much for these rare photos, it was very interesting to me.
By my first education, I'm a design engineer for an plane construction and landing gear, it was always interesting to see how classic planes were assembled in those days.

 

[Micawber]

Brilliant images. I grew up in an area dominated by Handley Page & De Havilland factories and had family work at Radlett, Cricklewood, Leavesden and over in Hatfield. My grandmother in particular was a big fan of the Halifax having worked on several stages on the line and was selected to take part in several in house training films due to her having, in her words, "nice hands"....

I inhertited umpteen old tins [sweet, OXO, biscuits, tobacco etc] some boxes containing rivets, lightweight nuts and bolts, small tools, pattern shapes etc.

 

[ties70]

Amazing pictures!

I have so much respect for these women and girls...basically they were doing "their duty", but nevertheless it must have been really tough for these hardworking, independent women, when the men returned and told them to "go back to kids and kitchen and let us take over".

Ties