The War Archives
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
Issue 1
£7.95
Archive photographs and contemporary drawings
INTRODUCTION
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any believe that the origins of World War II can be traced back to the end of World War I when the punitive terms of the Treaty of Versailles forced Germany to disarm, to make territorial concessions, and to pay substantial reparations. The Treaty also included a clause that required Germany, and her Allies, ‘to accept responsibility for causing all the loss and damage’ during the war. By cleverly exploiting Germany’s feelings of being made a scapegoat, Adolf Hitler began to restore the nation’s pride, but, at the same time, and in direct contravention of the Treaty, Germany was rearming. In 1938, claiming that his people needed more living space (Lebensraum), Hitler engineered the annexation of Austria, and subsequently fooled the Entente powers into allowing him to take over Czechoslovakia. Emboldened by the West’s inaction, on 1 September 1939, and without any formal declaration of war, Hitler invaded neighbouring Poland. Under the terms of Mutual Assistance Treaties, Poland appealed to Britain and France to intervene, and the British and French governments demanded that German troops be withdrawn from Poland. At the same time, both nations mobilised their forces. Germany rejected a final Anglo-French ultimatum and, on 3 September 1939, Britain and France declared war on Germany. In support of Hitler, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east on 16 September, ostensibly to protect White Russian and Ukrainian minorities. The Germans and Soviets held a victory parade at Brest-Litovsk on 22 September. By this time, Hitler’s intentions must have been plain for all to see. On the Franco-German border, skirmishes broke out along the no-man’s land between the Siegfried and Maginot lines. The French government put the country’s munitions industry onto a 72-hour working week. By early October, the British
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Expeditionary Force (BEF), consisting of 161,000 troops, along with 24,000 vehicles and 140,000 tons of supplies, had been safely transported to France, a process which had started on 4 September. Within a week, the BEF was deployed along the Franco-Belgian border, and there followed the period now described as ‘the phoney war’, during which the Western Allies Albion AM463 refuelling watched and waited to tan see what Germany at RAF Digby in Lincolns ker of the RAF attending to a pair of Spitfires hir e. intended with regard to originally as an ambulan The Albion AM463 was introduced in 1934, ce France and the Low Digby, which was origin but was later adapted for a range of roles. RAF ally Countries. 1918, and during the 19 called RAF Scopwick, was opened in March 20 s was home to Numbers Elsewhere, the Schools. 2 and 3 Flying Training situation continued to deteriorate. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in December 1939, whilst Germany alternative invaded Norway in April 1940, followed by was for Britain to fight on, eventually the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg risking certain invasion from the Continent. in May. The Low Countries were rapidly For 18 long months Britain attempted to forced to surrender, and little more than a hold back the Nazi tide alone and, whilst week later, German troops were inside the Battle of Britain showed that the mighty France, heading for the Channel coast. The Luftwaffe was not invincible, the Blitz French Army and the BEF failed to halt the campaign against British cities seriously advance and, on 26 May, the first British tested the nation’s resolve. troops were evacuated from Dunkirk, a Churchill may have pledged that we process that continued for more than a would ‘never surrender’, defending our week, until the last troops were withdrawn island ‘whatever the cost’. In truth, Britain on 3 June. was ill-equipped and ill-prepared for the Germany forced the French to sign an long fight that was to follow, and it was not armistice on 22 June. until the entry of the USA into the war in Having effectively withdrawn from December 1941 that it seemed possible that mainland Europe, Britain now faced the the ‘good guys’ might actually be able to might of Hitler’s armies alone. Many win. believed that it would just be a matter of time before Britain sought an agreement Pat Ware that would allow Germany to retain their Editor acquisitions in Western Europe. The only
The War Archives – World War II
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40 Editor Pat Ware. Design and layout Rob Terry. Scanning assistant Lizzie Ware. Image restoration Lizzie Ware. Production Karen Wayman (Production Manager) and Sarah Willmott (Production Administrator) Picture credits All photographs from the Kelsey Archive unless otherwise credited. Published by Kelsey Publishing Group, Cudham Tithe Barn, Berry’s Hill, Cudham, Kent TN16 3AG. Telephone 01959 541444. Fax 01959 541400. www.kelsey.co.uk Printed by William Gibbons & Sons Ltd, Willenhall, West Midlands. Cover pictures. Main picture: the Hawker Hurricane single-seat fighter aircraft played a key role in the battle of Britain. Left to right: Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) driver, on a Fordson Model N industrial tractor, which is hauling a bomb train; AEC Matador medium artillery tractor; Valentine II infantry tank. © 2014 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with prior permission in writing from the publisher. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for errors in articles or advertisements. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor or Publisher. ISBN 978-1-909786-64-6. Issue 1
The War Archives – World War II BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40 3
INTRODUCTION
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THE BULLDOG SPIRIT
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No other nation mobilised for war so completely as Britain, and no other nation’s women played so large a part in the war effort. There was something in the British psyche that refused to give up… Churchill called this the ‘bulldog spirit’, and it was this that helped the nation to survive six years of hardship, rationing and horror.
18 WAR IN THE AIR
Despite initially having less aircraft than the Luftwaffe, the RAF played a vital role in the defence of the United Kingdom, and in the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. During the Battle for France, the RAF advanced air striking force provided the air component of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), and during the evacuation from Dunkirk, Fighter Command and Coastal Command helped to provide air cover for the troops on the beaches. but it was the Battle of Britain that saw the tables turned.
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32 GROUND SUPPORT
Universally dubbed ‘Erks’, RAF ground crew performed a vital role in keeping the aircraft flying. Fitters were responsible for the engines and mechanical parts of the aircraft, wireless mechanics looked after the communications equipment, riggers maintained the airframe and related components, and carried out refuelling, whilst armourers were responsible for the bomb load and the aircraft’s guns. Fire fighters were trained to deal with both aircraft and domestic fires on RAF premises.
44 SOFT-SKIN VEHICLES
When war was declared in 1939, the War Department was desperately short of military vehicles… of the total inventory of 85,000 vehicles, some 26,000 were impressed civilian vehicles, around 21,500 were motorcycles, and 7,000 were trailers. Large numbers of vehicles went to France with the BEF in 1939, never to return. Some were captured by the Germans, but most were destroyed on the beaches around Dunkirk and the resultant shortage of trucks required procurement on a massive scale.
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58 ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLES In 1939, tank production in Britain totalled just 969 vehicles, and, when the BEF left for France, the total tank strength of the British Army was 1,146 light tanks, lightlyarmoured cruiser tanks, and more heavily armoured, but slow, infantry tanks. The standard British tank gun of the period was 2-pounder (40mm) weapon dating from 1934 and it soon became clear that the British tanks were under-gunned and under-protected when compared to the German Panzers.
CONTENTS
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66 TRAINING FOR WAR
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Training has always been an important aspect of service in the armed forces. Every recruit was required to undergo ‘basic training’, covering the handling of weapons, and the importance of discipline and physical fitness, as well as hand-to-hand combat and basic field craft. For those assigned to a technical field, such as aircrew, tank crew, vehicle maintenance, gunnery, or radio communications, further specialised training could last another three or four months.
75 THE HOME FRONT
The first bombs fell on the British mainland on 30 April 1940 when several houses in Clacton were destroyed by a crashed German bomber. Four months later, the Blitz started, continuing until the night of 10/11 May 1941, with bombs targeted at London, and other major cities. Whilst London bore the brunt of the attacks, the most famous raid is probably the 10-hour bombardment that took place against Coventry on the night of 14 November 1940. Astonishingly, the home front survived against all the odds.
89 PRODUCTION FOR WAR
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In 1938, six per cent of Britain’s industrial output went to defence, with the figure rising 20 per cent by summer 1940. However, huge amounts of materiel had been abandoned in France by the retreating BEF and it was clear that the economy would have to be mobilised for total war. Compulsory powers allowed the State to intervene in the labour market, for example, ensuring that vital industries were not deprived of manpower, whilst increases in the numbers of women in industry helped to offset the loss of men to the services. Domestic consumption was limited to the level of sheer necessity, and few industries remained unaffected by the drive for military production.
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THE BULLDOG S
November 1938, and pilots of Number 111 Squadron pose in front of their new Hurricanes, complete with doggy mascot. 111 Squadron was formed in 1917 in the Middle East and was eventually renamed Number 14 Squadron, before reverting to its original number in 1923. Based at RAF Northolt, the Squadron fought in the Battle of Britain.
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
G SPIRIT Photographed at RAF Hendon in 1939, women of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) set to with hoses and brooms to clean a Crossley IGL 3-ton six-wheeled truck. Powered by a fourcylinder engine of 5,266cc, the Crossley IGL was used by the RAF in a number of different roles, including recovery vehicle and fire tender.
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hen Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939, the three British services comprised just 897,000 men…. by comparison, the combined might of Nazi Germany stood at 3,706,104. On the same day that war was declared, the ‘National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939’ introduced conscription for all men 18 to 41 years old, with those who were aged 20 to 23 required to register by 21 October 1939. By the end of 1939 more than 1.5 million men had been conscripted into the armed forces. However, it was obvious that ‘total warfare’ would also involve the nation’s manufacturing industries and, as the men disappeared into the armed forces, women were called upon to fill their jobs. At first this was on a voluntary basis, but, during 1940, a report drawn up by William Beveridge argued that the conscription of women was unavoidable, either for the services or for service in industry or agriculture. At first only childless widows and single women 20 to 30 years old were called up, but eventually the age limit was expanded to 19 to 50. And, on the home front, hundreds of thousands who were not eligible for military service volunteered for Civil Defence jobs such as air-raid wardens, rescue workers, first-aiders, fire watchers and messengers. No other nation mobilised for war so completely, and no other nation’s women played so large a part in the war effort. But the sheer numbers do not tell the whole story because, even in the darkest hour, even when the struggle must have seemed hopeless, there was something in the British psyche that refused to give up. Churchill called this the ‘bulldog spirit’, and it was this that helped the nation to survive the worst that Hitler could throw at them. ■
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1938, at RAF Northolt… and King George VI (on the step ladder) inspects a Hurricane fighter. The first production Hurricane flew in October 1937, and Northolt was the first RAF station to operate the aircraft, with Number 111 (Fighter) Squadron receiving the first four examples in December 1937, with the full complement delivered by February 1938.
Photographed during the Blitz in October 1940, this air-raid warden and police officer typify the ‘bulldog spirit’. Note shrapnel behind them, no doubt parts of enemy aircraft destined to be smelted down as part of the on-going national scrap-metal drive. Bofors anti-aircraft gun crew, impressively equipped for all eventualities. The 40mm Bofors gun first appeared in 1930 and by 1939 had become the most numerous gun of its type, in service with 18 countries. It was the standard light anti-aircraft gun of the British Army and by the end of the war, British, Australian and Canadian factories had produced more than 2,000 examples. (Warehouse Collection)
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Photographed on a wet morning in December 1939, at a Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) depot, this line-up shows the types of vehicle available to the British Army at the outbreak of war. Note that the men are wearing gas mask bags. From left to right, the line-up includes an impressed Triumph motorcycle, Morris-Commercial CS8 15cwt 4x2 truck, Austin K2 ambulance, and a Morris-Commercial CD 30cwt 6x4 truck.
Blackburn Shark photographed at Lee-on-Solent in July 1939. Designed in 1933 as a torpedo spotter and reconnaissance aircraft for the Fleet Air Arm, the carrier-borne Shark was typical of aircraft of the ‘thirties. It began to be replaced in operational service by the Fairey Swordfish from 1938, but, at the beginning of WWII the Fleet Air Arm still had 165 Sharks, and the type was not actually retired until 1945.
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Women’s Royal Navy (WRN) personnel brushing up on their first-aid drills at an emergency aerodrome, one of a series of airfields provided to allow stricken aircraft to make emergency landings without first making contact with the control tower. Note the distinctive black-out markings outlining the edges of the vehicles; in the foreground, a Morris 10HP light utility vehicle (‘Tilly’), at the rear, an impressed Bedford JC van with a Martin Walter Utilecon body.
Spitfire I pilots practising the ‘scramble’ drills, 8 March 1939.
Mounting Bren guns on motorcycles must have seemed to be an excellent method of providing mobility, thus gaining an element of surprise at minimal cost… what these days would be called ‘shoot and scoot’. However, it would not have been possible to fire on the move with any degree of accuracy and the Bren gun would not have been effective against armoured vehicles.
(Warehouse Collection)
Britain Alone 1939/40
This photograph was taken at RAF Sealand in Flintshire, during October 1940, and shows two RAF officers, one wearing the insignia of a Squadron Leader, standing in front of a Miles Master two-seater advanced training aircraft. Making its first flight in March 1939, the Miles Master served as an excellent introduction to highperformance British fighters such as the Spitfire and Hurricane.
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The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) was formed on 28 June 1939, initially with just 1,700 members… at its peak, in 1943, the total number of WAAF personnel exceeded 180,000, with more than 2,000 women enlisting every week. WAAFs worked in roles such as catering, meteorology, transport, telephony and telegraphy, codes and ciphers, intelligence, security and operation room plotters.
Fordson E83W canteen van, operated by the Salvation Army, serving ‘char and a wad’ (tea and buns) to personnel at RAF Northolt. Described as ‘emergency food vans’, these vehicles were apparently donated by Ford to the war effort and were also to be found providing comfort to air-raid victims and relief workers.
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
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Introduced into the RAF in June 1938, the Westland Lysander was originally used for army co-opera tion, for example dropping messages and artillery spotting. Later in the war, the aircraft’s short landing capabilities made it ideal for clandestine missions on unprepared airstrips behind enemy lines, for example inserting or recovering agents, particularly in occupied France.
r ‘Cobber’
d Hurricane ace of the Battle of France, New Zealande ‘Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few’… here, celebrate Kain (right) is in discussion with another Hurricane pilot.
14 Women’s Auxiliary Air Force personnel photographed at RAF Hendon in November 1939. Why are the girls all clutching a mug and a knife and fork?
Although often overlooked by modern commentators in favour of the more Hurricanes and men of Number 111 Squadron, photographed at RAF Northolt, in March 1938. aircraft than any other fighter, accounting for 1,500 confirmed victories over glamorous Spitfire, during the Battle of Britain, the Hawker Hurricane destroyed more enemy the Luftwaffe in 1940.
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Petty Officer of the Fleet Air Arm alighting from a Hurricane. During WWII, the Fleet Air Arm took delivery of a total of 537 Hurricanes and Sea Hurricanes.
The Hawker Hurricane was designed to Air Mini stry specification F.36/34, with the prototype making its first flight on 6 Novembe r 1935. Production started the following year. The test pilots were (from the left|) Philip Lucas, Ken Seth-Smith, John Grierson and Dick Reynell, and, with the exce ption of Lucas, all were killed while flying.
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Operated by a crew of two, and in service with both Fighter and Bomber Command, the Bristol Blenheim was a light bomber that saw extensive service during the early days of the war. Fitted with a powered gun turret, it was one of the first British aircraft to have allmetal stressed-skin construction, and to utilise retractable landing gear, flaps, and variable-pitch propellers. The legend begins! Battle of Britain display at RAF Biggin Hill. Small boys – of all ages – crawl all over the Spitfire, whilst the Lancaster attracts its own crowd of admirers. It is worth pointing out that the Lancaster did not enter service until 1941/42, and thus was never involved in the Battle of Britain, but even as early as September 1948, when this photograph was taken, it had become an integral part of the story.
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WAR IN THE AIR Flying in his trademark trilby hat, Hawker’s test pilot George Bulman puts the prototype Hurricane (K5083) through its paces, flying alongside a Hawker Henley two-seater target tug. Although production ended in 1944, the Merlin-powered Hurricane remained in front-line service throughout the conflict, serving on 17 fronts.
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espite an initial numerical deficiency when compared to the Luftwaffe, the RAF played a vital role in the defence of the United Kingdom, and in the eventual defeat of Nazi Germany. At the outbreak of war, Bomber Command had planned to attack key points in the German war machine, such as oil refineries, railways and power stations, but it quickly became obvious that daylight raids would be impossible and, anyway, the bombing was not sufficiently accurate. A switch was made to night-time raids using ‘carpet bombing’ techniques. During the Battle for France in 1939/40, the RAF deployed an advanced air-striking force of light
and medium bombers, and provided the air component of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), including reconnaissance and photographic aircraft, together with some fighter support. However, the campaign was not a great success, and between mid-May and early June 1940, nearly 1,000 RAF aircraft were destroyed although Fighter Command and Coastal Command did help to provide air cover for the troops awaiting evacuation from the beaches around Dunkirk. The Battle of Britain saw the tables turn. Between July and October 1940, the RAF, together with Fleet Air Arm squadrons, defended British skies against the numerically superior
German Luftwaffe. During this period, the RAF destroyed 2,375 enemy aircraft, against losses of 733. When Germany abandoned its attacks on the RAF and started to bomb British cities during the winter of 1940, Fighter Command was able to regroup and to start to employ different tactics. Spitfires took on the escorting fighters, whilst Hurricanes engaged the bombers and, despite large numbers of fighter aircraft escorting the bombers, Germany was never able to achieve air superiority. The RAF undoubtedly contributed significantly to the eventual postponement of ‘Operation Sealion’, Hitler’s plans for an invasion of the United Kingdom. ■
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
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Constructed by Short Brothers of Belfast, the Sunderland was effectively a military version of the Empire flying boat. Powered by four Bristol Pegasus nine-cylinder radial engines – later versions had Pratt & Whitney 14-cylinder radials – the prototype first flew in 1937. By the outbreak of war, the Sunderland was in service with several squadrons in a reconnaissance role.
me of earned the unfortunate nickna ich wh n, pde Ham e Pag y dle ngine Introduced in 1938, the Han t accommodation, was a twin-e total kpi coc ed mp cra its of t oun r Europe. By late 1939, a ‘the flying suitcase’ on acc early bombing campaigns ove the ing dur totype, d use ber bom m mediu . The photograph shows the pro ons adr squ ten h wit e vic ser of 226 Hampdens were in active service in 1942. and the type was retired from
Designed by R J Mitchell, and considered by many to be the finest aircraft of its type, the Supermarine Spitfire was developed as a private venture, and formed the model around which Air Ministry Specification F.37/34 was written. Easily identified by its sleek shape and elliptical wings, the Spitfire was powered by the Rolls-Royce Merlin or Griffon V12 petrol engine, and in its fastest form was capable of more than 450mph (730km/h).
Three Hurricanes in formation over RAF Biggin Hill, one of the key airfields defending London and the Southeast against attack by enemy bombers during the Battle of Britain. Over the course of the war, Biggin Hill fighters claimed 1,400 enemy aircraft, losing 453 aircrew in the process.
Post-war colour photograph showing Spitfires of Number 615 Squadron, operating out of RAF Kenley. The Spitfire entered service in 1938 and, at the time, was the fastest military aircraft in the world, but, on 1 July 1940, the RAF had just 160 serviceable Spitfires from a total of 286 aircraft available.
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K5054 was the Spitfire prototype, making its first flight on 5 March 1936 with Captain Joseph ‘Mutt’ Summers at the controls. Summers was, by all accounts, mightily impressed, but a new propeller was fitted and he flew the aircraft again on 10 March, when the undercarriage was retracted for the first time. Eventually a new engine was fitted, and further test flying was left in the hands of Summers’ assistants, Jeffrey Quill and George Pickering. The aircraft was written off after a landing accident at the Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) at Farnborough on 4 September 1939.
Designed for the Fleet Air Arm, and introduced in April 1939, the Blackburn Roc was a single-engined carrierbased fighter powered by a Bristol Perseus radial engine. Rocs operated over the English Channel during the summer of 1940, providing air cover during the evacuation for Dunkirk, but the aircraft’s performance was never satisfactory and it was eventually converted for use as a target tug.
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With the first prototype flying in 1934, by all rights the Bristol Pegasuspowered Fairey Swordfish should have been considered obsolete by the time war was declared in 1939. In fact, it proved to be extremely versatile, operating as a carrier-based torpedo bomber, as well as rocket-launcher, convoy escort, anti-submarine aircraft, and trainer. Production continued until mid-1944.
The mighty Lancaster was not operational until 1941/42 and during the early stages of the war, the twin-engined Vickers Wellington formed the backbone of the RAF’s heavy bomber fleet, as well as being the first aircraft to conduct a bombing raid on Nazi Germany. The prototype first flew in June 1936, with the first production aircraft flying by December 1937; total production exceeded 11,300 examples.
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At the beginning of the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe had 824 serviceable fighter aircraft, consisting of 656 Messerschmitt Me 109 (Bf 109) single-engined fighters, and 168 Me 110 (Bf 110) twin-engined aircraft. The RAF was able to field 591 fighters, of which 347 were Hurricanes, 160 Spitfires, 25 Boulton-Paul Defiants, and 59 Bristol Blenheims. Visit www.airfix.com
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Spitfires photographed over RAF Duxford in May 1939. Delivery of the Spitfire I started in 1938.
Entering service in 1937, the Blackburn D-24 Skua was a carrier-based aircraft operated by the Fleet Air Arm as both a fighter and dive bomber, and was one of the FAA’s first monoplanes. One of 16 Skuas from RNAS Hatston was responsible for sinking the German cruiser Königsberg in Bergen on 10 April 1940, although the aircraft crashed on its return flight.
‘The Last of the Many’, Hawker Hurricane PZ865 is a fighter-bomber variant (Hurricane IIC), a type which entered service in 1941, and forms part of the RAF’s Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. A total of almost 15,000 Hurricanes were constructed between 1937 and 1944, with 46 per cent lost to either enemy action or mechanical failure; 1,715 Hurricanes flew with Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, a figure far in excess of all other British fighters combined.
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nced aircraft when mand, the Blenheim was considered to be an adva Com ber Bom and d man Com ter Figh both by oyed rst aerial raid on A trio of Bristol Blenheim IV light bombers. Depl ice over northern Europe, notably making the fi serv saw type the ess, rthel Neve lete. obso less -orit was introduced in 1935, but, by 1940, was more in France during the Blitz. elds airfi an Germ king attac and , Germany in 1939
Vickers Wellington IC twin-engined heavy bomber, the ‘C’ suffix indicating the use of Frazer-Nash turrets. Delivery of the Wellington began in 1939, and the type remained in service as a bomber until 1944, as well as seeing service in the convoy escort, reconnaissance, mine-laying and anti-submarine roles. Early examples were powered by Bristol Pegasus engines, but Rolls-Royce Merlin, Pratt & Whitney R-1830, and Bristol Hercules engines were also used.
Britain Alone 1939/40
The Spitfire was a superb fighter aircraft, and development continued throughout the war years. PK515 is a Griffon-engined Spitfire F22, dating from 1947. Like the Spitfire 21, it can be identified by virtue of its reshaped wings with ailerons extending to the tips, bubble canopy, and larger rudder and tail fin. Production ended in 1948, with a total of 20,351 Spitfires produced, and the type remained in front-line service with the RAF until April 1954.
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Photographed in May 1940, Hurricanes of Number 56 Squadron, based at RAF North Weald, show what they’re made of. The airfield was established as Royal Flying Corps Station North Weald Bassett in the summer of 1916, and Hurricanes from North Weald played an important role in providing covering fire over the beaches at Dunkirk, as well as in the Battle of Britain. In 1940, two Eagle Squadrons, manned with volunteer pilots from the USA were based at North Weald and were supplied with Spitfires.
Fascinating ghost view of a Hurricane showing the individual component costs… the cheapest item is a single rivet at 6d (2.5p), although of course thousands were required, whilst the fuselage at £2,500 and the engine at £2,000 are the most expensive. The drawing was used as a way of getting communities and individuals to contribute towards the costs of producing the fighter aircraft during WWII.
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Although the Hurricane acquitted itself extremely well during the Battle of Britain, the fabric construction of the rear fuselage and the thick wing prevented the level of development that was possible with the Spitfire. Nevertheless, there were fighter, fighter-bomber, reconnaissance and anti-tank variants. There was also a carrier-borne version described as the Sea Hurricane.
As well as being built in large numbers by the Hawker Aircraft Company, Hurricanes were also constructed in Canada by the Canadian Car & Foundry Company, using a Packard-Merlin engine. Although designated Mk X, these aircraft were equivalent to the British-built Mk I.
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GROUND SUPPORT
Hurricane fighter-bombers were capable of carrying either 500 lb or 1,000 lb of bombs, or long-range 45-gallon (205 litres) drop tanks, mounted on hardpoints on the wings. This reduced the top speed of the aircraft to 301mph (484km/h). Initially described as the Hurricane IIA Series 2, the first examples were built in October 1940.
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Radio generator trucks of Number 4 Squadron, which was moved to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1939, acting as army co-operation. The Squadron had replaced its Hawker Hector bi-planes with Westland Lysanders at the beginning of the year.
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escribed correctly as ‘aircraftman’ or ‘aircraftwoman’, but universally dubbed ‘Erks’, ground crew of the Royal Air Force performed a vital role in keeping the aircraft flying. Fitters were responsible for the engines and other mechanical parts of the aircraft, wireless mechanics looked after the communications equipment, riggers maintained the airframe and the related components, and carried out re-fuelling, whilst armourers were responsible for the bomb load and the aircraft’s guns. Fire fighters were equipped with fire and crash tenders, to deal with both aircraft fires and domestic fires on RAF premises. During the Battle of Britain, refuelling of fighters for a speedy turn-around became a priority, with aircraft landed, re-armed and re-fuelled in as short a time as possible. The numbers of aircraft involved eventually called for thousands of tankers. The Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) was formed on 28 June 1939. Although WAAF personnel did not serve as combat aircrew, women pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which was a civilian organisation, were used to deliver new aircraft from factory to airfield. Typical roles for WAAFs included parachute packing, meteorology, catering, crewing of barrage balloons, radar, aircraft maintenance, transport, and communications duties. Women also analysed reconnaissance photographs, and were used as plotters in operation rooms. The usual working week for an aircraftman on an operational station was at least six and a half days, and rates of pay varied according to trade and rank. WAAFs were paid only two-thirds of the figure for their male counterparts. Whilst aircrew perhaps suffered the greatest percentage of losses, with bomber command shouldering the lion’s share of the 70,253 men who gave their lives, being part of the ground crew was relatively safe. Nevertheless, 1,570 RAF and WAAF ground crew were killed between 1939 and 1945. ■
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Although originally designed as a civil airliner, the de Haviland DH95 Flamingo was also used by the RAF as a troop-carrier, and for general communications duties. Prototyped during late 1938, the Flamingo began its military service in 1940, with a total of seven aircraft – three of which were impressed – serving with the King’s Flight, the RAF, and the Fleet Air Arm.
Fuselage of a Hurricane of Number 274 Squadron being loaded onto a barge by a large steam crane. Number 274 Squadron was reformed at Amriya in Egypt following the fall of France. By October 1940, the Squadron was fully equipped with Hurricanes, and, in December of that year, began to fly fighter sweeps over the Western Desert. Always elegant, whether on the ground or in the air, the Supermarine Spitfire served as a front line fighter with the RAF for almost two decades, and was a key component of the Battle of Britain. Photographed at RAF Duxford, these aircraft formed part of what was known as 11 Group, along with other iconic airfields such as Kenley, Biggin Hill, and Tangmere.
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Tired-looking three-wheeled refuelling tanker of unknown make, photographed at Armstrong-Whitw orth’s Coventry factory in December 1940. The tanker is tending to a newly-constructed Whitley bomber.
Impressive line-up of eleven early Spitfires at RAF Duxford in May 1939. The Spitfire was designed as a short-range, high-performance interceptor aircraft and, with a production total of 20,351 examples built, was the only British fighter aircraft to be in continuous production before, during and after WWII.
36
Hurricanes under repair in July 1940. The Hurricane’s mixture of old technology and new techniques, made it capable of taking great punishment, yet still able to get home to be repaired and fight another day.
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Bristol Blenheim I light bomber s outside the hangar, photograp hed in a snowy February 1939. Powered by a pai r of crewed by three men, the Blenhe Bristol Mercury VIII radial engines, and im was able to deliver a payload of 1,000 lb.
The Armstrong-Whitworth’s Whitley was the RAF’s first modern night bomber, and was capable of delivering a bomb load of 3,365 lb, later increased to 5,500 lb with the Whitley III, and 7,000 lb with the Whitley V. A total of 1,855 examples were built between 1937 and 1946; this example, a Whitley V, was photographed at ArmstrongWhitworth’s factory in December 1940.
In November 1938, three Hurricane Mk Is, L1708, L1710 and L1711, were shipped to the South African Air Force (SAAF) direct from the Hawker factory at a cost of £8,000 each. The aircraft retained the RAF serial numbers until April 1939, and one of the two is seen here in Durban being refuelled in March of that year. A total of 29 Hurricane Mk Is eventually served in the SAAF. The serial number L1710 was re-used and the aircraft was subsequently mocked-up as a replica, and installed as a gate guardian at RAF Biggin Hill, one of the key airfields of the Battle of Britain, and the home base of Number 79 Squadron.
38
Armourers loading the bomb bay of a Handley Page Hampden. Entering service in 1937, and nicknamed ‘the Flying Panhandle’, the twin-engined Hampden was one of three night bombers that saw service during the opening years of the conflict. The standard bomb load was 4000 lb.
More than 14,500 Hurricanes were built, and, today, just 13 are believed to survive in flying condition. This example, delivered new to the Royal Canadian Air Force, and subsequently re-registered G-AWLW, was one of three Hurricanes used during the filming of ‘The Battle of Britain’ in 1968. The photograph shows the aircraft receiving some ‘last-minute adjustments’ as Hawker test pilot Duncan Simpson looks on: it was eventually returned to Canada as C-GCWH, but was destroyed in a fire in 1993.
43 BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40 BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
early Hurricane I, as seen The early HurricaneI, The as seen was fitted with a two-blade here, was fitted with ahere, two-blade propeller and had fabric wooden propeller and wooden had fabric covered wings. covered wings. Later production had Later production had a three-blade a three-blade metal propeller and metal propeller and aluminium-clad wings.aluminium-clad wings. Fordson Model N tractor Fordson Model N tractor attempts attempts to pull a Handley Pageto pull a Handley Page bomber out of the hangar Hampden bomber out Hampden of the hangar a snowy airfield in February onto a snowy airfield inonto February 1940.readied The aircraft is being readied 1940. The aircraft is being for its first flight. for its first flight.
safelyThis back on the ground. This Hurricane They didn’t always getThey safelydidn’t backalways on theget ground. Hurricane I hasacome to grief during standing on its nose and I has come to grief during landing, standing onaitslanding, nose and considerable mechanical damage. Note the collapsed causing considerable causing mechanical damage. Note the collapsed landing side, leg onand thethe right-hand and the puddle of oil and landing leg on the right-hand puddle ofside, oil and coolant under the engine. coolant under the engine.
RAF armourer feeding belts of ammunition into the wing-mounted Browning machine guns of the Hurricane; behind him is a refuelling hose. Total armament for the original Hurricane I consisted of eight 0.303in Browning machine guns, four in each wing; different guns were fitted to the Hurricane II and later, including both 20mm and 40mm cannons, and rocket projectiles.
The Ford Model N industrial tractor was used both as an aircraft tug, and for towing refuelling bowsers, as seen here, and bomb trains. Some were fitted with mudguards and a crude cab in RAF workshops. The tractor was equally in demand for farming, and a total of more than 37,000 were constructed at Dagenham during 1939 and 1940 alone. The aircraft is an Avro Anson.
44
SOFT-SKIN VE H
Unlike most of the smaller British trucks of the early years of the war, this Humber 8cwt has both independent front suspension and all-wheel drive. For the Army, the truck was supplied either as a general-service cargo vehicle, a heavy utility staff car, or ambulance; this example is a recording van as supplied to the BBC for use by radio correspondents in forward areas. (Warehouse Collection)
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
45
E HICLES Line-up of typical early WWII British vehicles: a Morris 10HP light utility – generally described as a ‘Tilly’ – leads a Bedford OXC fifth-wheel tractor that has been coupled to a house-type signals semi-trailer of a ‘Golden Arrow’ mobile wireless station. The OXC was also commonly used with the so-called ‘Queen Mary’ trailer for carrying aircraft fuselages. (Warehouse Collection)
W
hen war was declared in 1939, the British War Department (WD) was woefully short of military vehicles. Of the total inventory of 85,000 vehicles, some 26,000 were impressed civilian vehicles, around 21,500 were motorcycles, and 7,000 were trailers. Large numbers of vehicles went to France with the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in 1939, never to return. Some were captured by the Germans, but most were destroyed on the beaches around Dunkirk. The resultant shortage of trucks required procurement on a massive scale. The production of civilian vehicles had virtually ceased at the end of 1939, and the British motor industry set to work at full capacity, at first producing trucks of essentially pre-war design. New designs did not begin to appear in any quantity until 1941, but the emphasis was always on quantity, with no serious attempts made at standardising vehicle types beyond the obvious weight classes. Despite heroic efforts, the British motor industry was not able to produce sufficient vehicles, and large quantities were also purchased from the USA, and from Canada. Smaller numbers of American vehicles were also diverted to Britain from French Army contracts that could not be completed after the fall of France. By VE Day, the British Army had more than a million vehicles in service, but the difficulties of procurement and production meant that there was an enormous variety of makes and models in use… by 1944, it was said that there were 55 different types of soft-skin transport vehicle, and close to 600 different types, makes and contracts within the Army as a whole. Servicing and maintaining a fleet of this size and diversity presented a mighty big logistical headache. ■
46
A pair of early Bedford MW 15cwt general-service trucks being refuelled from 45-gallon (204 litre) barrels. Later vehicles of this type dispensed with the half-height ‘aero’ style windscreens. (Warehouse Collection)
Triumph 3TW motorcycle of 1940. With a two-cylinder engine of 349cc, the 3TW was typical of medium-weight motorcycles of the period. Soon after production started, the Triumph factory was destroyed by the German bombing raids on Coventry on 14 November 1940, and just 50 examples were produced.
(Warehouse Collection)
Entering production in 1935, and thus looking decidedly pre-war, the MorrisCommercial CDSW 6x4 truck was used as an artillery tractor and as a light breakdown vehicle. The engine was a six-cylinder unit of 3,485cc driving through a five-speed gearbox to the rear wheels. (Warehouse Collection)
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47
Following the declaration of war on Germany in September 1939, the British Army was heavily dependen t on impressed vehicles – out of the total inventory of 85,000 vehicles, around 26,000 were impressed. From 1939, the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) operated a number of Leyland FKT 3-ton fire tenders, as seen here, both impressed and supplied directly. Next to the fire tender is a Morris-Commercial loudspeaker van based on the company’s CVF Equiload chassis.
The RAF’s standard light aircraft tug was the David Brown VIG-1/100, which was based on an agricultural tractor dating from 1939. The VIG-1 was perfectly capable of providing a drawbar pull of 2,500 lb (1,136kg); in its later VIG-1/462 configuration, a torque convertor was used to replace the clutch, giving a smoother take-off under heavy loads. There was a 5-ton chain-driven winch at the rear. Total production amounted to around 1,350 vehicles.
48
This militarised Austin 8HP tourer, dating from 1939, is typical of the type of car provided for use by junior officers for the liaison and communications role. The rear seat was omitted and replaced by a small load-carrying compartment, and the vehicle was powered by a four-cylinder side-valve engine of 900cc.
(Warehouse Collection)
Although lacking all-wheel drive – and for that matter, front-wheel brakes – the Gardner-engined Scammell Pioneer possessed a plodding reliability that seemed to engender a fierce loyalty in its crews. The photograph shows the R100 heavy artillery tractor coupled to a 7.2in howitzer, but there were also tank transporter and heavy recovery variants. Production started in 1937 and continued through the war.
(Warehouse Collection)
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
The Morris-Commercial ‘Quad’ gun tractor went into production in 1937, based on the company’s all-wheel drive C8 military chassis. Around 4,000 examples were delivered during 1939 and 1940, and the vehicle remained in production until 1945, in three ‘marks’. The engine was a four-cylinder Morris-Commercial EH unit, producing 70bhp from 3,519cc and coupled to the axles via a five-speed gearbox.
(Warehouse Collection)
49
Before the American Jeep appeared in 1941, the British Army used light utility vehicles – generally nicknamed ‘Tillies’ – in a similar role. Produced by Austin (as seen here), Morris, Hillman and Standard to a similar pattern from 1939 onwards, each was derived from a light saloon car of 10 or 12HP, with a pair of front seats and a load-carrying body at the rear. None of those produced offered all-wheel drive. (Warehouse Collection)
50
Britain Alone 1939/40
51
When the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated from France in May 1940, huge amounts of equipment and stores were abandoned. Much of it was destroyed to prevent it falling into enemy hands, but the Germans were not too proud to make use of whatever they could salvage or repair. Described as Beutefahrzeuge, many ex-British vehicles remained in German service for rather longer than they had been used by their original owners and quite a few even made it to the Eastern Front. This Bedford OXD 30cwt truck has been pressed into service with the Wehrmacht, others were used by the
Luftwaffe. (Simon Thomson)
52
RAF Bedford MSC 30cwt generalservice truck fitted with a Spurling drop-side body. Note the additional cooling grilles in the engine compartment side covers. The same chassis was also used for a tipper.
(Warehouse Collection)
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force personnel unloading crates from a US-built (though right-hand drive)
1938/39 Ford 0.5-ton panel van. The photograph was taken at Hendon in 1939.
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
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Matchless G3WO medium motorcycle, with a 347cc single-cylinder engine. Although generally used solo, in this case the ‘bike is attached to a decidedly makeshift sidecar on which is mounted a Boys anti-tank rifle. Photographed at Frinton in September 1940, the men are Royal Scottish Fusiliers. (Warehouse Collection)
Three-wheeled Scammell Mechanical Horse MH6 equipped with a wooden ballast body for use as a tractor for draw-bar trailers; there was also an open-cabbed variant. The photograph was taken at an RASC depot in December 1939; similar vehicles were also used by the Royal Navy.
Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) drivers bein g trained. The lead vehicle is an early Bedford MW 15cwt truck. (Warehouse Colle
ction)
the company’s Snipe motorcar, the Humber heavy utility dating from 1939; based on engine producing 85bhp from vehicle was powered by a six-cylinder side-valve were also purchased by the Army. 4,086cc. Open and closed top motorcar versions
(Warehouse Collection)
54
Thornycroft Amazon WF/AC6 6x4 chassis on which has been mounted a Coles Mk VII 5-ton electric crane. Although this version is assigned to the Ministry of Supply, identical vehicles were used by the RAF for the same purposes. About 2,000 Amazons were produced during WWII, with the first being supplied to Coles for the crane to be fitted in March 1939; around 1,800 went to the RAF between 1939 and 1945. In this photograph, the crane is lifting the engine from an Avro Lincoln heavy bomber.
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Morris-Commercial CS8 compre ssor of the versatile CS8 started in 193 truck showing the on-board tools and equipment. Deliveries 4 and the chassis, which was pow valve engine of 3,485cc, was dev ere eloped through three ‘marks’ and d by a six-cylinder sideremained in production until 1944 when the four-cylinder C4 was trucks, but, as well as the compre introduced. Most were equipped as general-service cargo ssor truck shown here, there we re other variants. Collection)
(Warehouse
h farmyard. The their motorcycles in a Frenc g’ lin au erh ‘ov t en gim Re r based on a Men of the Lothian and Borde 0s, a typical medium-weight solo military machine M2 A 1945, the M20 motorcycles appear to be BS With 125,000 examples supplied between 1939 and s. rtie arehouse civilian ‘bike of the mid-thi and long-serving motorcycles in the British Army. (W s was one of the most numerou
Collection)
56
Line-up of Fordson WOT2 15cwt trucks at Coatbridge, near Glasgow in November 1939; the infantry passengers are Norwegians training with British Army Scottish Command. Introduced in 1939, the V8-engined WOT2 was typical of its type, with a total of almost 60,000 examples constructed by the time the war ended.
(Warehouse Collection)
Early Bedford/Scammell OXC tractor and 6-ton platform semi-trailer; later examples had single rear wheels, fitted with larger tyres. Scammell’s involvement in the project was to modify the chassis to accept the fifth wheel automatic coupling; a vacuum servo was fitted to operate the mechanical brakes of the trailer. (Warehouse Collection)
Britain Alone 1939/40
57
Leyland Retriever 3-ton 6x4 truck equipped with a single jib derrick crane and 5-ton winch. For operation, the spring-counterbalanced jib was swung through 90 degrees, with drop-down legs at the rear supporting the truck during lifting. Production of the Retriever started in 1939 and continued through the war years, and the same equipment was also fitted to Crossley and Guy chassis. (Warehouse Collection)
ARMOURED FIGHTING VEHICLES
The so-called ‘tracked carrier’ was designed by Carden-Loyd with the first examples supplied to the British Army towards the end of the ‘twenties. The patent rights to the design were acquired by Vickers-Armstrongs in 1928 with outstanding production contracts taken over at the same time. The vehicle consisted of little more than an armoured box running on deformable tracks and, despite lacking overhead protection, carriers remained in production until 1944. The photograph shows a ‘scout carrier, Mk I’ of 1938, armed with a Boys anti-tank rifle… and with a genuine VIP passenger. (Warehouse Collection)
I
n 1939, tank production in Britain totalled just 969 vehicles, and, when the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) left for France, the total tank strength of the British Army was 1,146. There was a mix of light tanks, the design of which could be traced back to the ‘twenties, lightlyarmoured cruiser tanks, designed for a mobile role, and more heavily armoured, but slow, infantry tanks. The standard British tank gun of the period, a puny 2-pounder (40mm) weapon dating from 1934, was no match for the 50mm gun that the Germans had started to introduce in April 1940. The best British tank in service in 1940 was probably the Matilda II, but there were plenty of older designs
that fared less well, and, for example, crews of the earlier Matilda I may have fought bravely against the Germans, but the vehicle was hopelessly outclassed. Facing the better-designed German Panzers, it was obvious that the British tanks were under-gunned and under-protected. During the evacuation from Dunkirk, 700 tanks were abandoned in France, providing an opportunity for the Army to re-equip with more modern designs. But, there was a desperate shortage of capacity, and, although British tank production reached 1,399 in 1940, it was to be some time before new designs were developed. The Tank Board was established in May 1940, with a brief to examine the existing designs and
to recommend improvements. Despite the appearance of the Crusader in March 1940, which was little more than a warmed-over pre-war design, the first all-new British tank of the war, the Churchill, did not appear until 1941. The situation was only marginally better with wheeled armoured vehicles. Vehicles such as the Daimler armoured car and the BSA-designed Dingo were certainly more than adequate, but hastily-conceived horrors such as the Standard Beaverette, the Bedford Armadillo mobile pillbox, and the Bison concrete-bodied trucks used for airfield and factory defence demonstrate just how bad things were. ■
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British tank doctrine of the period classified tanks as either light, cruiser, or infantry. Typical of cruiser tanks of the opening years of the war was the Crusader, a Liberty-engined 19-ton machine, originally armed with a 2-pounder (40mm) main gun, and with a maximum of 40mm of armour. Work on the Crusader started in 1939, with the first examples delivered just too late to see action in France. (Warehouse Collection)
Nuffieldsion of the cruiser Mk III, the Essentially an uparmoured ver featured a maximum 30mm of 1939, apon designed Mk IV, dating from still the 2-pounder (40mm) we s wa gun in ma the h oug alth armour, at Huppy, 2. The photograph was taken that remained in use until 194 ) tion (Warehouse Collec close to Abbéville in Picardie.
Based on the private-venture Carden-Loyd light tank, and built by Vickers-Armstrongs, the British light tank series went into production in 1929, and was developed over the next 12 years through six ‘marks’. The last of the line was the Mk VI, seen here, which remained in service until 1942, in its later years, adapted as an artillery observation post or training vehicle. (Warehouse Collection)
The British Mk VI light tank went into production in 1936, primarily for the reconnaissance role. With the main armament consisting of a Vickers 0.50in machine gun or 15mm Besa machine gun, and a maximum thickness of armour of just 14mm, the design was effectively obsolete by 1939. Nevertheless, the Mk VI light tank formed the bulk of the armoured strength of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France, where it did not fare well against the German Panzers. Anti-aircraft versions were also built. (Warehouse Collection)
The Guy armoured car – or ‘wheeled tank’ as it was described at the time – was the first all-welded armoured fighting vehicle to go into production in Britain. With an 0.50in main gun and a maximum of 15mm of armour, it offered the same levels of protection and firepower as the light tank Mk VI, with little given away in terms of mobility. The vehicle was constructed on a modified version of the all-wheel drive Guy Quad Ant gun tractor chassis, and was powered by a Meadows engine. (Warehouse Collection)
64
The Valentine infantry tank went into production in July 1939, with the first deliveries made for trials in May 1940. The Mk I was equipped with a 2-pounder (40mm) main gun, but this was superseded by a 6-pounder (57mm) gun when the Mk VIII appeared; the final Mk XI variant was armed with a 75mm main gun. The design was largely obsolete by 1942, but, by the time production ended in 1944, a total of 8,275 Valentines had been produced. The tank was also constructed in Canada. (Warehouse Collection) Despite only being armed with a 2-pounder (40mm) gun, the maximum 78mm frontal armour, made the Matilda II infantry tank one of the better British designs of the period, with a pair of AEC diesel engines providing a top speed of 15mph (24km/h) on the road. Small numbers were deployed to France with the Royal Tank Regiment in 1940, but the design was found to lack mobility. (Warehouse Collection)
Effectively an armoured version of the company’s Super Snipe motorcar, the Humber light reconnaissance vehicle was originally intended for airfield and factory defence, but was developed through three ‘marks’ into a competent and widely used machine, with a total of 3,600 constructed. The photograph shows the Mk III that appeared at the end of 1941, but all variants used essentially the same chassis. (Warehouse Collection)
The tank in the foreground is a Matilda II, those behind are Valent ines, a private venture design developed by Vickers-Armstrongs and first shown to the War Office in 1938. (Warehouse Collection)
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Designed by BSA, the Daimler Dingo scout car was small armoured vehicle designed for a crew of two for the liaison and reconnaissance role. The basis of the vehicle was an octagonal armoured box, with the engine at the rear, and with a centrally placed five-speed pre-selector gearbox; early vehicles featured four-wheel steering, but this facility was subsequently deleted. A total of 6,626 examples were constructed. (Warehouse Collection)
In June 1937, the workshops of the London, Midland Scottish Railway (LMS) started work on the design of what became the Covenanter cruiser tank. The design was based on the earlier cruiser Mk IV, but featured an angular turret, increased thickness of frontal armour (40mm) and a new 300bhp Meadows engine designed especially for use in tanks. Unfortunately, it was plagued with overheating problems throughout its life and was never used in combat. (Warehouse Collection)
Named for Lord Beaverbrook, the Standard Beaverette was an improvised armoured reconnaissance vehicle constructed on the chassis of the Standard 14 motorcar. Protected by 10-11mm mildsteel, with 75mm oak reinforcement to the forward areas, the vehicle was intended for airfield and factory defence. A total of 2,800 examples were constructed through three ‘marks’, the later Mk III variant being fitted with a ‘proper’ armoured hull on a shortened chassis. The photograph shows a Mk II.
(Warehouse Collection)
66
TRAINING FOR W
A splendid line-up of RAF motorcyclists photographed at an RAF Technical Training School. Number 1 School of Technical Training, based at RAF Halton from 1919 to 1993, trained personnel in the various mechanical trades required for aircraft maintenance and turned out the best trained technicians in the RAF.
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R WAR Floating pontoon bridge constructed across a river as a training exercise by Royal Engineers. The bridge is 130ft (40m) long and was said to support the heaviest military vehicles of the period. The Albion BY3 trucks crossing the bridge are also used to transport the pontoon components; the four towers were fitted with hand winches to allow loading and unloading. (Warehouse Collection)
T
raining has always been an important aspect of service in the armed forces. Every recruit to one of the three British service was required to undergo what was described as ‘basic training’. Nearly 800,000 men and women were taken into the Army between 3 September and 31 December 1939 and this mass of civilians presented something of a training nightmare. During basic training, which could last up to 14 weeks, the recruit received weapons training, and was taught the importance of discipline and physical fitness, as well as elements of hand-to-hand combat and basic field craft. For those men (and women) who would be assigned to a technical field, such as aircrew, tank crew, vehicle maintenance, gunnery, or radio communications, further training would have been given that was appropriate to the specific job. Such specialised training could last a further three or four months. The Royal Air Force had a separate Training Command, but the Army preferred to establish training formations within each division; for example, both the infantry and armoured divisions included specialised training formations. Training establishments were set up across the country, and large areas of land, and even whole villages, were taken over exclusively for military training and were closed to the population as a whole. And, of course, there was the inevitable paperwork. The Army, particularly, produced training pamphlets and manuals covering every aspect of soldiering, from weapons handling to field craft, including such diverse topics as the digging of latrines, sniping, setting booby traps, first aid, catering, camouflage, and signals codes. With the benefit of hindsight, a widespread feeling emerged that the conscript army that invaded France in 1944 was not sufficiently well trained. Worse still, perhaps the rather parochial attitudes engendered by organising training by division had led to a lack of proper co-operation, for example between infantry and armour. ■
68
RAF fire crew learning the art of extinguishing an aircraft fire. The photograph was taken at the RAF Weeton School of Technical Training, near Blackpool, which was also the RAF’s motor transport (MT) training school for drivers and technicians.
A Hurricane pilot being put through his paces at Naval Fighter School. Training schools for Fleet Air Arm pilots were HMS Corncake, at Ballyhalbert in Co Down, Northern Ireland, and HMS Nighthawk at Drem in Scotland.
Students at the Fleet Air Arm Technical Training School are shown by Rolls-Royce technicians how to strip and reassemble the technically complex Merlin V12 aircraft engine.
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
Tank crew being trained on a state of the art simulator – described as a ‘driving teacher’ – which reproduces the pitching motion of a tank travelling across rough country. (Warehouse Collection)
Women’s Royal Army Corps drivers standing by their training vehicles. The lead vehicle is a Morris-Commercial L2/DCTM dating from 1936, and was specially constructed for driver training, with dual controls that even included two steering wheels. (Warehouse Collection)
69
70
Officer cadet tank crew being trained on a specially adapted light tank Mk VIA on Salisbury Plain in 1940. Although obsolete even before the war began, light tanks were retained for training duties until at least 1942. (Warehouse Collection)
BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
Medium tanks photographed during a training exercise. Introduced in 1923, the Vickers air-cooled medium tank was developed through three ‘marks’ with around 160 examples constructed before production ended in 1928/29; a number remained in service for training purposes until as late as 1942. Although the first modern tank used by the British Army, the type was never used in combat. (Warehouse
Collection)
71
Armed with a 2-pounder (40mm) main gun and a pair of Besa 7.92mm machine guns, the Crusader was typical of British cruiser tanks of the early years of the war. Despite a record of unreliability, it was designated as the Army’s principal tank from the Spring of 1941, finally being withdrawn from front-line use in May 1943. (Warehouse Collection)
Royal Artillery 25-pounder (87.6mm) gun crew photographed during training. The gun was operated by a crew of six men. ‘Number 1’ was in charge of the gun and gave the order to fire, he can be seen kneeling to the right of the trail. ‘Number 2’ operated the breech. ‘Number 3’ sat on a small wooden seat to the left of the breech and was responsible for laying the gun. ‘Number 4’ was the loader, kneeling behind ‘number 3’. ‘Number 5’ passed ammunition to the loader, and, finally, ‘number 6’ removed ammunition from the limber and prepared it for use.
(Warehouse Collection)
72
De Haviland Tiger Moth of Fleet Air Arm training at the Elementary Flying Training School, photographed in March 1940. Entering service in 1931, the Tiger Moth remains one of Britain’s best-known aircraft, and was the basic trainer on which the majority of RAF and FAA pilots of the period received their initial flying training.
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State of the art protective suits for RAF fire crews, circa 1939. The difficulties of wearing and working in such hot and bulky suits, not to mention the problems of communicating with other members of the crew, necessitated a strict training regime.
Although the original caption to this photograph described these Standard Beaverette Mk IIs as ‘fast and mobile reconnaissance vehicles’, they are scarcely a fearsome sight and would not have survived long in action. Based on the Standard 14 motorcar, the Beaverette was used by the RAF as an airfield defence vehicle, by the Army for training, and by the Home Guard. (Warehouse Collection)
Following the evacuation from Dunkirk, attempts were made to create training regimes that were more representative of actual combat. Here, a 25-pounder gun train is going to be used to allow infantry to ‘advance’ under a barrage of live shellfire.(Warehouse Collection)
RAF aircrew being trained on a mock-up of a bomber gun turret. A typical bomber of the period was equipped with Browning 0.303in aircooled machine guns with a simple ring and bead fixed sight. This was essentially the same gun that had been used to such devastating effect against infantry during WW1, but, despite its reliability, it frequently lacked the necessary punch to damage aircraft.
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BRITAIN ALONE 1939/40
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THE HOME FRONT
Crouched in a cramped concrete pillbox ‘somewhere in England’, the crew of an anti-tank gun are ready should the Germans invade. Something like 28,000 concrete pillboxes, and other field fortifications, were hastily constructed in England during 1940 to defend roads, railways and other strategic locations. Around a quarter of these structures still survive.
T
he first bombs fell on the British mainland on 30 April 1940 when several houses in Clacton were destroyed by a German bomber that had been brought down by anti-aircraft fire. But, there was worse to come. The Blitz started on 7 September 1940, and continued until the night of 10/11 May 1941, with bombs falling on London, and other major cities including Birmingham, Belfast, Bristol, Glasgow, Hull, Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield. London bore the brunt of the attacks but the most famous raid is probably that which took place against Coventry on the night of 14 November 1940, when 500 German bombers dropped 500 tonnes of high explosives and 36,000 incendiary bombs in a
bombardment that lasted 10 hours. In 1940, the Ministry of Information produced a morale-boosting film entitled ‘Britain can take it’. The thrust of the film was that the British people remained unbowed in the face of the worst that Hitler could do, and, although this, perhaps, did not entirely chime with the real feelings of the nation, there was more than a grain of truth in it. Determined to face down, and defeat, what were seen as the evils of Nazi Germany, British civilians volunteered for service as air-raid wardens, fire marshals, emergency ambulance drivers, first-aiders, and part-time firemen. By the end of June 1940, around 1.5 million men, who
would otherwise have been exempt from military service by virtue of age or disability, had signed up for the Home Guard. The home front survived against all the odds. There was no widespread breakdown in law and order, and the population did not panic. Britons survived the blackout, the Blitz, and ever-tightening rationing of commodities such as food, coal, clothing, furniture, and petrol rationing. They saved scrap metal and paper for the war effort, and ‘made do’ whenever they could, tolerating levels of deprivation that would cause riots today. Clearly, ‘Britain could, and did, take it’! ■
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On 4 June 1940, following the British Army’s ignominious departure from France, Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave what is probably his finest speech… declaring that ‘We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender’.
tion of civil defence was Even before war was declared in 1939, the ques aid precautions air-r cial offi rst fi taken extremely seriously, with the 1938, the ‘Air Raid ary Janu 1 On . (ARP) broadcast made in January 1937 orities to set up ARP auth local elling Precautions Act’ came into force, comp ens, first-aid posts, and schemes, and requiring the establishment of ward ue, repair and demolition emergency ambulance, gas decontamination, resc ice (AFS) was also created. services. At the same time, the Auxiliary Fire Serv
The first civilian deaths in Britain due to enemy action came on 30 April 1940, when a German mine-laying bomber was shot down and crash-landed in a garden in Clactonon-Sea. The wreckage tore through several houses before blowing up. The crew and two civilians were killed, and 160 people were injured.
The man in the cockpit says itBritain all. This enemy Messerschmitt Bf 109-E4 fighter was 77 Alone 1939/40 downed by Lewis gun fire somewhere on the south coast on 25 August 1940. The sentry is in place to prevent looting, but eventually the remains of the aircraft will be sent away for scrap, poetic justice no doubt demanding that it be reincarnated as a Spitfire or Lancaster.
Bristol Blenheim photographed as part of a home defence training exercise at RAF Harwell, in Berkshire on 5-7 August 1938. At the time, Harwell was home to Number 105 Bomber Squadron, which later was sent to France as part of the advanced air striking force.
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The so-called Armadillo was a mobile pillbox constructed for airfield and factory defence duties. More than 500 vehicles were converted to this role, using requisitioned trucks onto which the workshops of the London Midland Scottish (LMS) railway constructed a double-skin timber structure that could withstand machine-gun fire. (Warehouse Collection)
By making it a figure of fun, the TV programme ‘Dad’s Army’ has done no favours to the Home Guard which was a considerable body of, often experienced men. By the end of May 1940, the Home Guard comprised 300-400,000 men, rising to more than 1.5 million within a month. Approximately 40 per cent of these men were veterans of the previous war. It was not always easy, and over 1,600 members of the Home Guard were killed whilst on duty, with around 1,000 awarded medals for their service. Here, Corporal J.W. Scott of the Home Guard, 1st West Riding (Bradford) Battalion, is seen after being presented with British Empire Medal in December 1943.
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ans were all issued with gas early years it was an ever present threat and civili been subject to a mock the in least at ict, confl the g durin side r eithe Although poison gas was never used by shown decontaminating a city street that has at all times. Here, civil defence volunteers are hand on keep to ired requ were they that ks mas gas attack during a 1938 training exercise.
For many civilians, the Battle of Britain was a turning point, demonstrating that the Nazi war machine was not invincible and that, even alone, Britain could fight back, and Battle of Britain commemorative events were held as early as 1948. This photograph, taken on Horse Guards Parade in 1953, includes the three iconic fighter planes that slugged it out over Britain during the summer and autumn of 1940. Nearest the camera is the Luftwaffe’s Messerschmitt Bf 109, centre is the Hawker Hurricane, with only the tailfin of the Spitfire visible at the back.
Fears about the possibility of German invasion during 1940 led to the creation of a range of improvised armoured vehicles that were intended to defend airfields and factories against the attackers. One of three such vehicles built by John Allen of Oxford in 1940 at a cost of around £150 each, and optimistically named ‘Vindictive’, this particular airfield-defence vehicle is fairly typical. The basis of the vehicle was an existing Bedford truck chassis, into which was mounted the rear turret of a Whitley bomber.
(Warehouse Collection)
Barrage balloons, or ‘blimps’, were used to defend factories, airfields and other strategic locations against aerial attack, the balloons forcing aircraft to fly higher where they could more easily be pickedoff by anti-aircraft fire. RAF Balloon Command was established in 1938, and, by the middle of 1940 there were 1,400 balloons in British skies, around one third of them in the London area. German aircraft were often fitted with cable-cutting devices to help defeat the balloons.
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, giving older ntly required for so-called Home Defence Battalions urge were men 0 20,00 that d unce anno ce Offi county areas. Originally In November 1939, the War ty to perform military service, mainly in their own rtuni oppo an ice, serv ry milita lar regu for gh poster was produced. men, or those not fit enou the Home Guard in 1940, when this iconic recruiting as n know me beca force the , teers Volun nce described as Local Defe
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Women’s Royal Navy (WRN) personnel photographed during a medical evacuation training exercise at a Fleet Air Arm emergency airfield. Bedford OXA armoured mobile pillbox constructed for use by the Home Guard. Armed with a Boys anti-tank rifle mounted in a timber composite armoured body, a total of 948 of these vehicles were constructed using new Bedford OX truck chassis during 1940 and 1941. The official description was ‘lorry, 30cwt, armoured, anti-tank’. (Vauxhall Motors) The Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS) was established in 1938 in Great Britain as part of Civil Defence air raid precautions and its role was to supplement the work of the national fire brigades at local level. In August 1941, the National Fire Service was created by amalgamating the AFS with the local authority fire brigades. Whilst standard wartime pump and escape units were developed, this Leyland Beaver is typical of civilian appliances of the period.
(Warehouse Collection)
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The managing director of Concrete Limited devised this expedient armoured pillbox for airfield defence duties. The heavy concrete superstructure was mounted onto existing truck chassis, in this case a Thornycroft, and the truck would simply have been towed into a static position. After the trademark of the company, the trucks were described as Bisons. (Warehouse Collection)
Air-raid wardens and police, photographed in October 1940, at the height of the Blitz. ARP Wardens, who could be identified by the ‘W’ painted on to their steel helmets, patrolled the streets during the blackout to ensure that no light was visible, reported on bomb damage, and co-ordinated with the emergency and rescue services. There were 1.4 million ARP wardens in Britain, most of them part-time volunteers.
In August 1940, Lord Beaverbrook established the Spitfire Fund, allowing any town, business or individual that raised a total of £5,000 to have an aircraft named after them. At one extreme, community events were staged across the country to raise whatever could be spared, whilst at the other, The Nizam of Hyderabad, the former monarch of Hyderabad State, donated so much that his name was given to a whole squadron… Number 152 (Hyderabad) Squadron. The actual cost of building a Spitfire was between £8,000 and £12,000, but £5,000 covered the cost of the fuselage and the engine, and was felt to be a realistic figure.
Britain Alone 1939/40
The Blitz started on 7 September 1940 and continued until the night of the 10/11 May 1941, when 515 bombers dropped over 900 tons of bombs on London, killing 1364 and seriously injuring over 1,600. Anti-aircraft guns were sited at strategic targets, and along the expected flight paths of the attacking bombers and the photograph shows a five-man team operating a Bofors 40mm anti-aircraft gun. The Luftwaffe lost 2,265 aircraft over the British Isles during the Blitz, one third of them bombers.
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Men of the Home Guard photographed during an exercise, with a civilian motorcycle leading an unarmed Standard Beaverette Mk II. The Beaverette was rushed into production in mid-1940 and was intended for defending airfields and factories.
Fire-fighting during the Blitz called for huge amounts of water and, although trailer pumps were commonly employed, there were also heavy pumps, capable of delivering up to 1,100 gallons (5000 litres) a minute. A standard pumpequipped escape unit was also produced, this photograph showing the vehicle’s engine-driven Tangye pump. (Warehouse Collection)
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PRODUCTION FOR WAR
AW-38 Whitley bomber being manufactured at Armstrong-Whitworth’s Coventry factory in December 1939. Introduced in 1937, the Whitley was named after a suburb of Coventry, and it was the first RAF aircraft to use a semi monocoque fuselage, designed to speed production. A total 1,814 examples were constructed.
I
n 1938, six per cent of Britain’s industrial output was devoted to defence. A year later, the figure had risen to 14 per cent and, by summer 1940, to 20 per cent. However, huge amounts of materiel had been abandoned by the retreating British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and it was clear that the economy would have to be mobilised for total war. Believing that the war would be a long one, the British government adopted physical, rather than financial, planning as the method of managing the economy, with the supply of labour seen as a chief constraint. Compulsory powers allowed the State to intervene directly in the labour market, for example, ensuring that vital industries were not deprived of manpower. Increases in the numbers of
women in industry helped to offset the loss of men called up for military service. In 1939, the number of women at work was close to five million, but, by the beginning of 1941, the figure had risen another million, and over the next two years continued to rise, with women eventually accounting for 80 per cent of new entrants to the labour market. Domestic consumption of all commodities was limited to the level of sheer necessity, with few industries unaffected by the drive for military production. For example, civilian vehicles were replaced on the production lines by military trucks, tanks and armoured cars, and the larger motor manufacturers started to produce aircraft. Small garages and engineering workshops were contracted to rebuild
military vehicles, whilst larger machine shops produced items such as guns, fuses and mines. The electrical industry manufactured radar and communications equipment, military radios, and generators. Shipyards were hard at work building or repairing minesweepers, destroyers and cargo ships. The iron, steel and aluminium industries produced the metal required for building ships, tanks, ammunition and aircraft. Even the clothing and footwear industries abandoned fashion in favour of uniform air-force blue and khaki. These achievements are all the more impressive for the fact that the work was carried out against a background of fuel and material shortages, blackouts and aerial bombardment. ■
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The Rolls-Royce supercharged V12 Merlin engine powered many of Britain’s best military aircraft, including the Spitfire, Hurricane, and Lancaster, and was one of the most successful aircraft engines of the period. Almost 150,000 were constructed and there was also a naturally-aspirated variant, described as the Meteor, for use in tanks. This photograph was taken at the Rolls-Royce engine experimental department.
the armed services, women As more and more men were conscripted into and proved themselves ent cem were drafted into the factories as a repla equivalent, or higher an to more than capable of undertaking any task t at one of the many shaf drive standard. This woman is cutting a splined Nuffield plants. (Warehouse Collection)
The Humber armoured car went into production at Roote’s Karrier factory in Luton, with prefabricated hulls for the first 140 examples coming from Guy Motors in Wolverhampton.
(Warehouse Collection)
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Spitfire production at Eastleigh, 1939. The Spitfire went into full-scale production at Supermarine’s factory at Woolston, Southampton in mid-1939, but was eventually constructed at a Ministry of Supply plant at Castle Bromwich, with sub-contract work carried out across the country. Total Spitfire production amounted to more than 20,000 aircraft.
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Fuselages for the Vickers Wellington being produced at the company’s Brooklands factory, near Weybridge. Vickers had established an aircraft factory at the former Itala motor works at Brooklands in 1915. The factory was bombed by the Luftwaffe on 4 September 1940, and extensively damaged, with nearly 90 aircraft workers killed and a further 419 injured.
fuselage components for the Women machine operatives punching holes in
.
Whitley bomber at Armstrong-Whitworth in 1940
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Bristol Blenheim IV bombers being built at Speke, Liverpool in December 1939. At the height of production, the Blenheim was being constructed by Bristol at Filton, by A V Roe at Middleton, and by Rootes Securities at Speke, south of Liverpool, where, to this day, there is a Blenheim Way.
Men of the Royal Army Ordnance Corps (RAOC) overhauling early tracked carriers. From 1937, the RAOC operated a Central Ordnance Depot (COD) and workshop for vehicles at the site of a former National Shell Filling Factory, at Chilwell. Purpose-built vehicle depots for both tracked and wheeled vehicles were also opened across the country during the war years. (Warehouse Collection)
Austin K2 ambulances coming off the production line at Austin’s Longbridge plant. The timber-frame fabriccovered bodies were constructed by Mann Egerton, based in Norwich. A total of 13,102 examples were constructed, and the vehicle was used by the American, British, and Soviet Army medical services. (Warehouse Collection)
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Crusader cruiser tanks photographed at Wolseley’s Adderley Park factory. Designed by Nuffield Mechanizations using a similar layout, although a different engine, to the Covenanter, the Crusader was ordered ‘off the drawing board’, without the construction of prototypes, and the first example was completed in 1940; a total of 5,300 examples were built.
(Warehouse Collection)
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Brand-new Thornycroft Amazon crane photographed outside the Thornycroft factory at Basingstoke, in Hampshire. Equipped with a Coles Mk VII 5-ton electric crane, around 2,000 of these vehicles were constructed for the RAF and the Ministry of Supply. A longer-wheelbase version was produced from 1944. (Warehouse Collection)
Photographed at Scammell’s Watford factory, this new Pioneer is equipped as a tank-transporter tractor. Although it dated back to the ‘twenties, the Pioneer 6x4 chassis remained in production throughout the war as a tank transporter, heavy artillery tractor, and heavy recovery vehic le, although production was never able to keep pace with demand. (Warehou se Collection)
Production of the Hawker Hurricane at Hawker’s Kingston factory; the last Hurricane rolled out of the factory in 1944. In the foreground is the only Hawker Hotspur (K8309) two-seater fighter to have been built. Although it first flew in 1948, the Hotspur was superseded by the BoultonPaul Defiant and never entered production; the prototype survived until 1942.
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was the RAF’s standard primary ring service with the RAF in 1932, the Tiger Moth Ente . 1939 in t plan eld Hatfi ’s pany com the at test hangar converted to a leisure Production of the de Haviland Tiger Moth redeveloped in the late ‘nineties, with the flight was site eld Hatfi The ice. serv in 500 were trainer, and by the start of WWII, there ersity buildings, housing and a business park. centre; the remainder of the site consists of univ Line after line of brand-new motorcycles that have been delivered to the Royal Army Service Corps depot in 1939, and which are awaiting issue to units. Although other makes can be seen in the background, the machines nearest the camera are Triumph 3SWs, a 500cc single-cylinder machine that was in production for the military between 1938 and 1941, with a total of 10,000 built.
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Operating a swing-arm drilling jig at ArmstrongWhitworth in Coventry.
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