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 Royal Canadian Air Force officer as 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.
Background
Wellington bomber
The wingspan Vickers Wellington bomber was designed by Rex Pierson 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.
Propaganda
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 propaganda newsreel Worker's Week-End showing the construction of the Wellington bomber was made 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.
Record attempt The aim of the record attempt 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 California.
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 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".
The bomber airframe used for the record attempt was serial number 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 Unit 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 35mm 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.
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 jigs, 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 ailerons 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 propellers 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.
Timing depiction