British shadow factories facts for kids

Spitfire Mark IIa, one of the many planes built in shadow factories.

During the time leading up to World War II, the British government created a special plan called the Shadow Scheme. This plan aimed to quickly build many more airplanes. They did this by using the skills and factories of car companies. These new factories were called British shadow factories.

The word "shadow" didn't mean they were secret. Instead, it meant these new factories worked closely alongside existing car factories. They used the same skilled workers and managers from the car industry. This helped them learn how to build planes and engines very quickly.

The government started this plan in 1935. A special group was formed in 1936 to manage making planes and their parts. Herbert Austin, a famous car maker, helped lead this big project.

Why Were Shadow Factories Needed?

It was clear that Britain needed many more airplanes to be ready for war. The existing aircraft factories couldn't build them fast enough. The idea was to use the car industry's experience in making things quickly and efficiently.

Building Planes Faster

These factories couldn't be kept secret, even though they were camouflaged (hidden) once the war started. They were built right next to car factories. This made it easy to share technology and workers. Car companies ran these new factories, helping to produce war materials.

How the Plan Worked

The Shadow Scheme had two main parts:

• New Factories: The government built and equipped nine brand new factories. Car companies then learned how to make airplane parts. This way, if war started, these new factories could immediately begin full production.
• Expanding Old Factories: Existing car factories were also made bigger. This allowed them to switch easily to making aircraft parts or to produce more of them.

The government provided money to build these new facilities. A very important part of the plan involved Rolls-Royce. Their Merlin engine powered many key British aircraft. Other companies like Bristol also made important engines.

The first car makers chosen to help build engines were Austin, Daimler, Humber, Singer, Standard, Rover, and Wolseley.

Amazing New Buildings

The new factory buildings were designed to be very efficient. They were huge sheds, sometimes over 2,000 feet (600 meters) long. They had lots of light and wide, clear pathways. One of the biggest was Austin's Cofton Hackett factory, built next to their Longbridge plant. It covered about 20 acres (8 hectares)! Later, even more factory space was added for building plane bodies and flight testing.

A De Havilland Mosquito, a fast bomber built in some shadow factories.

By late 1937, five shadow factories in Coventry were already making parts for the Bristol Mercury engine. By early 1938, two of these factories were building complete aircraft bodies. In July 1938, the first bomber built entirely in a shadow factory (by Austin) took its first flight.

The plan kept growing. By 1943, the government took over building even more factories for aircraft production.

Factories Across the UK and Beyond

The third wave of shadow factory construction reached Scotland. A factory in Hillington started producing Rolls-Royce Merlin engines there. Similar plans were also started in other countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

List of Shadow Factories

Here are some of the main shadow factories and what they produced during the war:

An Avro Lancaster bomber, also built in shadow factories.

Spreading Out Production

The government also wanted to spread out where things were made. This was called "strategic dispersal." The idea was to reduce the risk of all production stopping if one major factory was bombed. New smaller factories were built in different areas, including places with high unemployment.

London Aircraft Production Group

Handley Page Halifax bombers spread out to avoid being hit by bombs.

In 1940, a group called the London Aircraft Production Group (LAPG) was formed. This group brought together many different factories and workshops in and around London. These included companies that usually made cars or buses.

Their main job was to build Handley Page Halifax bombers for the RAF. They also made ammunition, gun parts, and armored vehicles. London Transport (the company that runs London's buses and trains) led this group. They used their own workshops and a new factory with an airfield at Leavesden, Hertfordshire. This allowed them to build, assemble, and test the Halifax bombers.

By March 1945, the LAPG included eight main members, even some with factories outside London. These companies worked together to make different parts of the Halifax bomber. For example:

• London Passenger Transport Board made the middle section of the plane.
• Chrysler Motors made the back part of the plane.
• Express Motor and Body Works made the wings and tail.
• Duple Bodies and Motors made the front part of the plane.
• Park Royal Coachworks made the outer wings.

From May 1941, Fairey Aviation Company in Stockport took over putting all the parts together and doing the test flights.

At its busiest, the LAPG involved 41 factories and smaller units. They worked with 660 other companies and had over 51,000 employees. Many workers were new to aircraft production, and more than half were women.

This huge effort meant they could produce up to 200 Halifax bombers every month. The group built about 40% of all the heavy bombers made in Britain during the war. Halifax bombers dropped over 200,000 tons of bombs during the war.

A Halifax bomber having its engines checked in a dispersed area.

Other Dispersal Plans

Because the shadow factory plan worked so well, other military production areas also started their own dispersal plans:

• Alvis, a car company, had 20 sites in Coventry alone. They made vehicles and weapons. When their main factory was destroyed in 1940, they quickly started working from eight different dispersed factories.
• Rover managed six shadow factories for the government and ran eighteen of their own dispersed factories.
• When the Birmingham Small Arms (BSA) factory was bombed in 1940, it caused delays in making rifle barrels and machine guns. BSA then spread its production to 67 factories across Britain. They employed 28,000 people and made more than half of Britain's small arms during the war.

List of Dispersal Factories

Here are some examples of dispersal factories:

A Vickers Wellington bomber being built at a factory near Chester.

How Many Factories?

By June 1939, 31 shadow factories were either finished or being built. The Air Ministry was in charge of 16 of these, and 11 were already working at full speed. Many Bristol engines and aircraft were being made in these government-owned shadow factories.

By February 1944, there were 175 "managing agency schemes" or shadow factories in total. This shows how important they were to Britain's war effort.

See also

• Supermarine Spitfire § Production dispersal