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British Aircraft Engine Production 1936 to 1945
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Geoffrey Sinclair
Sep 7, 2015, 1:56:34 PM9/7/15
to
The totals come to,
2,248 piston engines April to December 1936
3,440 piston engines in 1937
5,431 piston engines in 1938
12,499 piston engines in 1939
24,074 piston engines in 1940
36,551 piston engines in 1941
53,916 piston engines in 1942
57,985 piston engines and 9 gas turbines in 1943
56,931 piston engines and 98 gas turbines in 1944
25,810 piston engines and 639 gas turbines in 1945
It is unclear whether this is all production or military orders only.
It is understood the totals do not include prototypes and any
marked as experimental or rejected as per the aircraft production
figures.
The UK Statistical Digest, or "Fighting with Figures" has a table
of engine production, April to December 1936, all of 1937, then
quarterly to Q3/1945, only the total number built plus the total
rated horsepower for the piston engines.
The Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) Statistical review of
December 1945 has production in June 1939, then the quarterly
average (sum the three month's production, divide by 3, round
to nearest whole number), by main engine types, e.g. Merlin,
to Q4/1945. Another table has similar figures by factory, in both
cases the actual yearly totals are given. A third table gives the
total production by engine type, version (mark) and factory for
all engines in production in September 1939 or later, that is for
example all Merlins even if built pre September 1939.
The MAP monthly statistical bulletin has a table from January
1941 on giving monthly production by type and, for some,
sub categories of version(s), for example, all Merlin XX and 21,
then the column becomes XX, 21, 22, then XX, 21 to 24, then
XX, 21 to 25 and finally XX, 21 to 25 and 27. A second table
gives monthly production by factory. Also from March 1942 to
November 1945 a third table gives the number of engines built
that month by type, version and factory and a fourth table gives
cumulative totals to date, but mainly of those engines in
production during that month or since 1941.
A point of warning on the British reporting system, any adjustments
were made to the cumulative totals, the original monthly figures
were not changed. It means the totals from the monthly figures
will not always add to the cumulative total.
So the information available is,
Total engines only, April 1934 to May 1939, by type of engine
June 1939 to December 1940, by type and some versions,
January 1941 to February 1942, types and versions March
1942 to November 1945. The December 1945 figures can
be calculated from the 1945 totals less the November 1945
totals. Note even the monthly figures can combine versions,
for example Mercury XX, 30 rather than providing a figure for
each version and early Hercules XVIII production is reported
as XVII.
Building an engine factory was considerably more expensive
that an aircraft factory. The British set up a shadow system
whereby the government would pay for the factory but industry
would run it. There were three engine shadow factories, all
building Bristol engine designs, at least one was in full
production in June 1939.
Originally called Shadow number 1, 2, and 3 it would seem
Bristol and Austin were involved with number 1, Standard
and Rover number 2 and Bristol number 3. Later factories
1 and 2 are simply reported together as "Shadow Groups"
while number 3 became Bristol Accrington, and it is these
definitions the wartime summaries use.
As of June 1939 Rolls Royce Derby and Crewe were in
operation (figures for the 2 factories are reported together
until Q3/1941), Glasgow began production in January 1941
and Ford in August 1941. To build the jets Rolls Royce had
2 new factories, at Barnoldswick from December 1943, and
the larger Newcastle under Lyme plant from November 1944.
Apart from the Bristol main factory, usually called Parent in
the reports, Accrington began production in January 1941
and the small Hawthorn factory in September 1943. Given
Shadow number 1 produced 774 engines in January 1941
to 8 at number 2 and 13 at number 3/Accrington, Shadow
number 2 probably began production in Q4/1940. Hawthorn
ended production in April 1945, the Shadow Groups in August
1945 and Accrington in September 1945.
Rover began production in its own factory in Q3/1940 and
ceased production in May 1944. It only built Cheetah X engines.
Armstrong Siddley, De Havilland and Napier were all
building engines in June 1939. Napier set up a second
factory in Liverpool which came into production in the
first quarter of 1942.
Blackburn at Brough produced 121 Cirrus Minor engines
June 1942 to May 1943, plus 1 more in August.
The final factory listed is Pobjoy which built 6 Niagara V
engines in the final 6 months of 1940.
>From June 1939 to December 1945 production by factory
was, Derby and Crewe 59,399 (1942 to 1945 production
was 20,601 Derby, 19,916 Crewe), Glasgow 23,395,
Ford 29,514, Barnoldswick 160, Newcastle under Lyme
501, Bristol parent 29,514, Accrington 14,379, Hawthorn
523, Shadow Groups 67,923, Armstrong Siddley 24,304,
Rover 7,601, De Havilland 10,990 and Napier Acton 1,742,
Napier Liverpool 3,525 plus Blackburn and Pobjoy.
>From June 1939 to December 1945 production by engine
was
Rolls Royce, 105,490 Merlin, 286 Peregrine, 506 Vulture,
228 Kestrel, 5,800 Griffon, 110 Welland, 551 Derwent.
Ford and Glasgow built Merlins only while all Peregrine,
Kestrel and Vulture were built at Derby.
Bristol, 16,041 Mercury, 15,713 Pegasus, 60,672 Hercules,
2,059 Perseus, 3,378 Taurus, 2,967 Centaurus. Hawthorn
built Centaurus, while all Perseus and Taurus were built
at the main Bristol factory.
Armstrong Siddley, 32,868 Cheetah, 38 Tiger.
De Havilland 10,905 Gipsy, 85 Goblin.
Napier 276 Dagger, 4,991 Sabre.
Plus Blackburn and Pobjoy.
Wartime production starts or end, Peregine, end Q1/1942,
Vulture end April 1942, Kestrel only built in Q2 and Q3/1940,
Griffon start April 1942, Welland start December 1943, end
April 1945 (apart from 2 in October 1945), Derwent start
November 1944.
Mercury end October 1944, except for 4 in January 1945.
Pegasus end May 1944, Perseus end May 1942, Taurus
end August 1943, Centaurus start October 1942.
Tiger end Q2/1940
Goblin start January 1945.
Dagger end Q3/1940, Sabre start Q4/1940.
Gipsy Major I end June 1944, Major Ic end December 1942,
except for 9 in August and 1 in September 1943 and 1 in
January 1944, Queen II end September 1945.
In terms of versions built the following is from the cumulative
totals, so it should include from the start of production of the
various types. At least 1 built.
Merlin, I, II, III, IV, VIII, X, XII, XX, 21, 22, 23, 24, T.24, 25, 27,
30, 32, 45, 46, 47, 50, 55, 55M, 56, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65,
66, 67, 70, 71C, 72, 73, 76, 77, 85, 85T, 100, 101, 102,
104, 113, 114, 130, 131, so 48 versions. Of these Derby
30,291 engines in 34 versions, while Crewe built 30,263
engines in 18 versions starting with mark III, Ford built XX,
22, 24, T.24 and 25. Glasgow built 23,379 in 19 versions
starting with mark XX.
Griffon, II, III, IV, VI, VIII, XII, 61, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 71, 75, 85,
87, 89 (II to XII built at Derby only)
Derwent I and V
Vulture II and V
Kestrel 30
Cheetah IX, X, XII, XV, XIX
Tiger VIII
Centaurus IV, V, VII, IX, XI, XII, XV, XVII, 57
Hercules II, III, IV, VI, VIII, X, XI, XVI, XVII, XVIII, 100 (II, III, IV,
VIII and X only built at Bristol Parent)
Mercury, VIII, IX, XII, XV, XVa, XX, 25, 30 (IX and XII only
built at Bristol Parent)
Pegasus III, VI, XVIII, 22, 30 (XVIII built at the Shadow
group and Bristol Parent, the rest at Bristol)
Perseus X, Xa, XII, XVI
Taurus II, IIa, VI, XII
Sabre I, III, IV, V, Va, VI
Dagger VIII
Gipsy Major I, Major Ic, Six, Queen II, Queen III
Goblin I, II
All up production was 278,992 engines/turbines from April
1936 to December 1945, the cumulative totals have
276,703 of these.
Total Napier Sabre production to end 1941 was 220 versus 28
Typhoons, by the end of 1942 it was 966 versus 714, end 1943 it
was 2,107 versus 1,851, hence the stories of airframes being
stored thanks to a lack of engines. By the end of 1945 there had
been 4,991 Sabres built, versus 3,315 Typhoon and 822 Sabre
Tempests. A rather tight supply, compounded by the quality and
reliability issues of at least the early production. When Canada
ordered engines from the US the standard contract added
reserves equal to 20% more than required for the number of
aircraft being built.
Geoffrey Sinclair
Remove the nb for email.
2,248 piston engines April to December 1936
3,440 piston engines in 1937
5,431 piston engines in 1938
12,499 piston engines in 1939
24,074 piston engines in 1940
36,551 piston engines in 1941
53,916 piston engines in 1942
57,985 piston engines and 9 gas turbines in 1943
56,931 piston engines and 98 gas turbines in 1944
25,810 piston engines and 639 gas turbines in 1945
It is unclear whether this is all production or military orders only.
It is understood the totals do not include prototypes and any
marked as experimental or rejected as per the aircraft production
figures.
The UK Statistical Digest, or "Fighting with Figures" has a table
of engine production, April to December 1936, all of 1937, then
quarterly to Q3/1945, only the total number built plus the total
rated horsepower for the piston engines.
The Ministry of Aircraft Production (MAP) Statistical review of
December 1945 has production in June 1939, then the quarterly
average (sum the three month's production, divide by 3, round
to nearest whole number), by main engine types, e.g. Merlin,
to Q4/1945. Another table has similar figures by factory, in both
cases the actual yearly totals are given. A third table gives the
total production by engine type, version (mark) and factory for
all engines in production in September 1939 or later, that is for
example all Merlins even if built pre September 1939.
The MAP monthly statistical bulletin has a table from January
1941 on giving monthly production by type and, for some,
sub categories of version(s), for example, all Merlin XX and 21,
then the column becomes XX, 21, 22, then XX, 21 to 24, then
XX, 21 to 25 and finally XX, 21 to 25 and 27. A second table
gives monthly production by factory. Also from March 1942 to
November 1945 a third table gives the number of engines built
that month by type, version and factory and a fourth table gives
cumulative totals to date, but mainly of those engines in
production during that month or since 1941.
A point of warning on the British reporting system, any adjustments
were made to the cumulative totals, the original monthly figures
were not changed. It means the totals from the monthly figures
will not always add to the cumulative total.
So the information available is,
Total engines only, April 1934 to May 1939, by type of engine
June 1939 to December 1940, by type and some versions,
January 1941 to February 1942, types and versions March
1942 to November 1945. The December 1945 figures can
be calculated from the 1945 totals less the November 1945
totals. Note even the monthly figures can combine versions,
for example Mercury XX, 30 rather than providing a figure for
each version and early Hercules XVIII production is reported
as XVII.
Building an engine factory was considerably more expensive
that an aircraft factory. The British set up a shadow system
whereby the government would pay for the factory but industry
would run it. There were three engine shadow factories, all
building Bristol engine designs, at least one was in full
production in June 1939.
Originally called Shadow number 1, 2, and 3 it would seem
Bristol and Austin were involved with number 1, Standard
and Rover number 2 and Bristol number 3. Later factories
1 and 2 are simply reported together as "Shadow Groups"
while number 3 became Bristol Accrington, and it is these
definitions the wartime summaries use.
As of June 1939 Rolls Royce Derby and Crewe were in
operation (figures for the 2 factories are reported together
until Q3/1941), Glasgow began production in January 1941
and Ford in August 1941. To build the jets Rolls Royce had
2 new factories, at Barnoldswick from December 1943, and
the larger Newcastle under Lyme plant from November 1944.
Apart from the Bristol main factory, usually called Parent in
the reports, Accrington began production in January 1941
and the small Hawthorn factory in September 1943. Given
Shadow number 1 produced 774 engines in January 1941
to 8 at number 2 and 13 at number 3/Accrington, Shadow
number 2 probably began production in Q4/1940. Hawthorn
ended production in April 1945, the Shadow Groups in August
1945 and Accrington in September 1945.
Rover began production in its own factory in Q3/1940 and
ceased production in May 1944. It only built Cheetah X engines.
Armstrong Siddley, De Havilland and Napier were all
building engines in June 1939. Napier set up a second
factory in Liverpool which came into production in the
first quarter of 1942.
Blackburn at Brough produced 121 Cirrus Minor engines
June 1942 to May 1943, plus 1 more in August.
The final factory listed is Pobjoy which built 6 Niagara V
engines in the final 6 months of 1940.
>From June 1939 to December 1945 production by factory
was, Derby and Crewe 59,399 (1942 to 1945 production
was 20,601 Derby, 19,916 Crewe), Glasgow 23,395,
Ford 29,514, Barnoldswick 160, Newcastle under Lyme
501, Bristol parent 29,514, Accrington 14,379, Hawthorn
523, Shadow Groups 67,923, Armstrong Siddley 24,304,
Rover 7,601, De Havilland 10,990 and Napier Acton 1,742,
Napier Liverpool 3,525 plus Blackburn and Pobjoy.
>From June 1939 to December 1945 production by engine
was
Rolls Royce, 105,490 Merlin, 286 Peregrine, 506 Vulture,
228 Kestrel, 5,800 Griffon, 110 Welland, 551 Derwent.
Ford and Glasgow built Merlins only while all Peregrine,
Kestrel and Vulture were built at Derby.
Bristol, 16,041 Mercury, 15,713 Pegasus, 60,672 Hercules,
2,059 Perseus, 3,378 Taurus, 2,967 Centaurus. Hawthorn
built Centaurus, while all Perseus and Taurus were built
at the main Bristol factory.
Armstrong Siddley, 32,868 Cheetah, 38 Tiger.
De Havilland 10,905 Gipsy, 85 Goblin.
Napier 276 Dagger, 4,991 Sabre.
Plus Blackburn and Pobjoy.
Wartime production starts or end, Peregine, end Q1/1942,
Vulture end April 1942, Kestrel only built in Q2 and Q3/1940,
Griffon start April 1942, Welland start December 1943, end
April 1945 (apart from 2 in October 1945), Derwent start
November 1944.
Mercury end October 1944, except for 4 in January 1945.
Pegasus end May 1944, Perseus end May 1942, Taurus
end August 1943, Centaurus start October 1942.
Tiger end Q2/1940
Goblin start January 1945.
Dagger end Q3/1940, Sabre start Q4/1940.
Gipsy Major I end June 1944, Major Ic end December 1942,
except for 9 in August and 1 in September 1943 and 1 in
January 1944, Queen II end September 1945.
In terms of versions built the following is from the cumulative
totals, so it should include from the start of production of the
various types. At least 1 built.
Merlin, I, II, III, IV, VIII, X, XII, XX, 21, 22, 23, 24, T.24, 25, 27,
30, 32, 45, 46, 47, 50, 55, 55M, 56, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65,
66, 67, 70, 71C, 72, 73, 76, 77, 85, 85T, 100, 101, 102,
104, 113, 114, 130, 131, so 48 versions. Of these Derby
30,291 engines in 34 versions, while Crewe built 30,263
engines in 18 versions starting with mark III, Ford built XX,
22, 24, T.24 and 25. Glasgow built 23,379 in 19 versions
starting with mark XX.
Griffon, II, III, IV, VI, VIII, XII, 61, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 71, 75, 85,
87, 89 (II to XII built at Derby only)
Derwent I and V
Vulture II and V
Kestrel 30
Cheetah IX, X, XII, XV, XIX
Tiger VIII
Centaurus IV, V, VII, IX, XI, XII, XV, XVII, 57
Hercules II, III, IV, VI, VIII, X, XI, XVI, XVII, XVIII, 100 (II, III, IV,
VIII and X only built at Bristol Parent)
Mercury, VIII, IX, XII, XV, XVa, XX, 25, 30 (IX and XII only
built at Bristol Parent)
Pegasus III, VI, XVIII, 22, 30 (XVIII built at the Shadow
group and Bristol Parent, the rest at Bristol)
Perseus X, Xa, XII, XVI
Taurus II, IIa, VI, XII
Sabre I, III, IV, V, Va, VI
Dagger VIII
Gipsy Major I, Major Ic, Six, Queen II, Queen III
Goblin I, II
All up production was 278,992 engines/turbines from April
1936 to December 1945, the cumulative totals have
276,703 of these.
Total Napier Sabre production to end 1941 was 220 versus 28
Typhoons, by the end of 1942 it was 966 versus 714, end 1943 it
was 2,107 versus 1,851, hence the stories of airframes being
stored thanks to a lack of engines. By the end of 1945 there had
been 4,991 Sabres built, versus 3,315 Typhoon and 822 Sabre
Tempests. A rather tight supply, compounded by the quality and
reliability issues of at least the early production. When Canada
ordered engines from the US the standard contract added
reserves equal to 20% more than required for the number of
aircraft being built.
Geoffrey Sinclair
Remove the nb for email.
Stephen Graham
Sep 7, 2015, 10:12:59 PM9/7/15
to
On 9/7/15 10:56 AM, Geoffrey Sinclair wrote:
> The totals come to,
> 57,985 piston engines and 9 gas turbines in 1943
> 56,931 piston engines and 98 gas turbines in 1944
> 25,810 piston engines and 639 gas turbines in 1945
>
> It is unclear whether this is all production or military orders only.
> It is understood the totals do not include prototypes and any
> marked as experimental or rejected as per the aircraft production
> figures.
As you say later in unquoted material, that's both an awful lot of
engines and not nearly enough.
What particularly strikes me is the very low number of production gas
turbines in 1944. Granted, this was new technology. Production figures
for jet aircraft overall were quite low and some were fitted with
prototype engines. Yet given the requirement for two engines per
aircraft and the short lifespans of the engines, that's horribly limiting.
> The totals come to,
> 57,985 piston engines and 9 gas turbines in 1943
> 56,931 piston engines and 98 gas turbines in 1944
> 25,810 piston engines and 639 gas turbines in 1945
>
> It is unclear whether this is all production or military orders only.
> It is understood the totals do not include prototypes and any
> marked as experimental or rejected as per the aircraft production
> figures.
engines and not nearly enough.
What particularly strikes me is the very low number of production gas
turbines in 1944. Granted, this was new technology. Production figures
for jet aircraft overall were quite low and some were fitted with
prototype engines. Yet given the requirement for two engines per
aircraft and the short lifespans of the engines, that's horribly limiting.
Geoffrey Sinclair
Sep 8, 2015, 10:42:55 AM9/8/15
to
"Stephen Graham" <gra...@speakeasy.net> wrote in message
news:d56u2i...@mid.individual.net...
No the UK and US jet engines were at around to better the lifetimes
of the piston engines. They had access to the materials needed.
The engineering means jets are more reliable than piston engines
provided the parts can stand the heat, hence the turbo props instead
of piston engines around today.
What the early jets lacked was comparable fuel economy.
http://www.enginehistory.org/GasTurbines/r-r_w2b.shtml
Goes for 180 hours between overhauls for the Welland,
then note the fuel economy and power to weight,
Jumo 004B weight 1,782 pounds, thrust, 1,985 pounds,
specific fuel consumption 1.38 per hour.
RR Derwent, weight 975b pounds, thrust 2,000 pounds,
specific fuel consumption 1.18 per hour.
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/sfc.html
For specific fuel consumption.
Ignoring prototypes UK jet aircraft production was, 30 Meteor
in 1944, another 163 in 1945, along with 28 Vampire.
The US managed 812,615 engines 1940 to 1945, versus the
British total of 255,374. US Gas turbine production was 122
in 1944 and 1,076 in 1945.
US Jet aircraft production,
1 P-59 in 1943 (YP-59)
33 P-59 and 5 P-80 in 1944 and
66 FR-1, 29 P-59 and 236 P-80 in 1945. Again ignoring prototypes.
news:d56u2i...@mid.individual.net...
of the piston engines. They had access to the materials needed.
The engineering means jets are more reliable than piston engines
provided the parts can stand the heat, hence the turbo props instead
of piston engines around today.
What the early jets lacked was comparable fuel economy.
http://www.enginehistory.org/GasTurbines/r-r_w2b.shtml
Goes for 180 hours between overhauls for the Welland,
then note the fuel economy and power to weight,
Jumo 004B weight 1,782 pounds, thrust, 1,985 pounds,
specific fuel consumption 1.38 per hour.
RR Derwent, weight 975b pounds, thrust 2,000 pounds,
specific fuel consumption 1.18 per hour.
https://www.grc.nasa.gov/www/k-12/airplane/sfc.html
For specific fuel consumption.
Ignoring prototypes UK jet aircraft production was, 30 Meteor
in 1944, another 163 in 1945, along with 28 Vampire.
The US managed 812,615 engines 1940 to 1945, versus the
British total of 255,374. US Gas turbine production was 122
in 1944 and 1,076 in 1945.
US Jet aircraft production,
1 P-59 in 1943 (YP-59)
33 P-59 and 5 P-80 in 1944 and
66 FR-1, 29 P-59 and 236 P-80 in 1945. Again ignoring prototypes.
Rich Rostrom
Sep 17, 2015, 4:26:09 PM9/17/15
to
"Geoffrey Sinclair" <gsinc...@froggy.com.au> wrote:
> >From June 1939 to December 1945 production by engine was
Totals by parent company
> >From June 1939 to December 1945 production by engine was
Rolls Royce - 112,971 (105,490 Merlin)
Bristol - 100,830 (60,672 Hercules)
Armstrong Siddley - 32,906 (32,868 Cheetah)
De Havilland - 10,990 (10,905 Goblin)
Napier - 5,267 (4,991 Sabre)
--
The real Velvet Revolution - and the would-be hijacker.
http://originalvelvetrevolution.com
bernar...@gmail.com
Jan 10, 2016, 4:27:22 PM1/10/16
to
Geoffrey Sinclair
Jan 13, 2016, 5:06:46 PM1/13/16
to
<bernar...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:4cc503b8-fd39-4074...@googlegroups.com...
involved in engine production, only airframe. I note Wikipedia
lists the Ryton plant production as engines under the shadow
factory entry and airframes under the Rootes entry.
Also unfortunately later war figures report the combined total
of the two shadow factories as one figure.
As noted before,
Building an engine factory was considerably more expensive
that an aircraft factory. The British set up a shadow system
whereby the government would pay for the factory but industry
would run it. There were three engine shadow factories, all
building Bristol engine designs, at least one was in full
production in June 1939.
Originally called Shadow number 1, 2, and 3 it would seem
Bristol and Austin were involved with number 1, Standard
and Rover number 2 and Bristol number 3. Later factories
1 and 2 are simply reported together as "Shadow Groups"
while number 3 became Bristol Accrington, and it is these
definitions the wartime summaries use.
As of end February 1943, Shadow number two Standard had
built 3,340 Hercules VI and Shadow number two Rover 3,347.
By end March it was Shadow number one 30, Shadow number
two 7,243. By end May shadow factories 7,335, by end
September 7,350 after which production ceased.
As of end November 1942, Shadow number two Standard had
built 2,000 Hercules XI and Shadow number two Rover 1,890.
As of end February 1943, Shadow number two Rover had built
9 Hercules XVI. End March was shadow number two 244, by
end May Shadow 1,890. Total shadow factory production was
21,000 reached in May 1945.
Unfortunately production of Hercules XVIII was counted in the
XVII figures for a time.
As of end February 1943, Shadow number two Standard had
built 127 Hercules XVII and Shadow number two Rover 94.
By end March it was shadow number two 428. By end May
shadow factories 694, by end December 1944 production
ceased after 2,649 were built. Production of Hercules XVIII
in shadow factories was 808 to end November 1944 when
first separated from XVII, production ended in March 1945
with 851 built.
Shadow factories built 4,250 Hercules 100, starting in
April 1944, ending in August 1945.
In terms of naming, the Rootes airframe plants are often not
given a location in the documents. Blenheim I (Oct-38 to
Sep-39) and IV (Sep-39 to Nov-41) production was only at
Speke. Blenheim mark V (or Bisley) production (Aug-41 to
Jun-43) is said to be at Speke, Stoke and Shawbury. The
Wikipedia article agrees with Speke but calls the second
airframe factory Blyth Bridge. As does Graham Warner in
his book The Bristol Blenheim, A complete history.
Halifax production by Rootes is at Speke (Mar-42 to Jul-45),
Beaufighter production at Stoke (Feb-43 to May-44) in the
documents I have.
It would appear the Ministry of Aircraft Production usually
called the Blyth Bridge factory Stoke. Shawbury is an
RAF airfield 40 or so miles almost due south of Liverpool.
No mention of Ryton on Dunsmore, near Coventry, which
suggests it was components or non aircraft production.
news:4cc503b8-fd39-4074...@googlegroups.com...
> What about the Hercules production at Roote, Ryton.?
Sorry, the production documents do not list Rootes as being
involved in engine production, only airframe. I note Wikipedia
lists the Ryton plant production as engines under the shadow
factory entry and airframes under the Rootes entry.
Also unfortunately later war figures report the combined total
of the two shadow factories as one figure.
As noted before,
Building an engine factory was considerably more expensive
that an aircraft factory. The British set up a shadow system
whereby the government would pay for the factory but industry
would run it. There were three engine shadow factories, all
building Bristol engine designs, at least one was in full
production in June 1939.
Originally called Shadow number 1, 2, and 3 it would seem
Bristol and Austin were involved with number 1, Standard
and Rover number 2 and Bristol number 3. Later factories
1 and 2 are simply reported together as "Shadow Groups"
while number 3 became Bristol Accrington, and it is these
definitions the wartime summaries use.
built 3,340 Hercules VI and Shadow number two Rover 3,347.
By end March it was Shadow number one 30, Shadow number
two 7,243. By end May shadow factories 7,335, by end
September 7,350 after which production ceased.
As of end November 1942, Shadow number two Standard had
built 2,000 Hercules XI and Shadow number two Rover 1,890.
As of end February 1943, Shadow number two Rover had built
9 Hercules XVI. End March was shadow number two 244, by
end May Shadow 1,890. Total shadow factory production was
21,000 reached in May 1945.
Unfortunately production of Hercules XVIII was counted in the
XVII figures for a time.
As of end February 1943, Shadow number two Standard had
built 127 Hercules XVII and Shadow number two Rover 94.
By end March it was shadow number two 428. By end May
shadow factories 694, by end December 1944 production
ceased after 2,649 were built. Production of Hercules XVIII
in shadow factories was 808 to end November 1944 when
first separated from XVII, production ended in March 1945
with 851 built.
Shadow factories built 4,250 Hercules 100, starting in
April 1944, ending in August 1945.
In terms of naming, the Rootes airframe plants are often not
given a location in the documents. Blenheim I (Oct-38 to
Sep-39) and IV (Sep-39 to Nov-41) production was only at
Speke. Blenheim mark V (or Bisley) production (Aug-41 to
Jun-43) is said to be at Speke, Stoke and Shawbury. The
Wikipedia article agrees with Speke but calls the second
airframe factory Blyth Bridge. As does Graham Warner in
his book The Bristol Blenheim, A complete history.
Halifax production by Rootes is at Speke (Mar-42 to Jul-45),
Beaufighter production at Stoke (Feb-43 to May-44) in the
documents I have.
It would appear the Ministry of Aircraft Production usually
called the Blyth Bridge factory Stoke. Shawbury is an
RAF airfield 40 or so miles almost due south of Liverpool.
No mention of Ryton on Dunsmore, near Coventry, which
suggests it was components or non aircraft production.
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