ROF Nottingham facts for kids
The Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Nottingham was a big factory that opened in 1936 in The Meadows, Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was one of many Royal Ordnance Factories built to prepare for World War II. During the war, up to four thousand people worked there. The factory closed down in 2001.
The site had been used for making things, mostly weapons, since 1916.
Contents
Early History: World War I Production
Royal Ordnance Factories were like the new versions of older government workshops that made military supplies.
The Factory Site's Beginnings
1915
- On July 15, a company called Cammell Laird & Co Ltd was asked to build and manage a factory called the National Projectile Factory.
- By July 23, they had a plan to make 2,000 large 9.2-inch shells and 6,000 smaller 6-inch shells every week.
- On August 19, construction officially began.
1916
- The first 6-inch shell was finished on May 27.
- The first 9.2-inch shell was completed on May 31.
- By July 15, the factory was making 2,000 9.2-inch shells per week, as planned.
- By August 19, after one year, they had made 23,519 of the 6-inch shells and 17,842 of the 9.2-inch shells.
- On September 23, they reached their goal of making 6,000 6-inch shells per week.
1917
- In March, they were making 5,000 9.2-inch shells per week.
- A repair shop for 18 pounder guns was finished on June 20. They also announced that new 6-inch Mk XIX guns would be made.
- Ten repaired 18-pounder guns were finished by August 18.
- On October 1, the factory's name changed to the National Ordnance Factory.
- On October 20, the production of 6-inch shells reached its highest point, with 13,500 made in one week.
- The last 9.2-inch shell was delivered on October 29. They had made 210,262 of them in total.
- The first four new 18-pounder guns were completed on December 4.
1918
- In May, the first parts for the 6-inch gun were produced.
- The last 6-inch shell was made on July 11. A total of 685,801 were produced.
- The first 6-inch gun was finished and sent out on September 21.
- By November, they were finishing 11 guns per week.
After World War I
- In 1919, Cammell Laird & Co Ltd still managed the site, which was still called the National Ordnance Factory.
- In 1920, the factory's manager, Benjamin Hick, received an award for his work.
- In 1923, Cammell Laird & Co Ltd bought the site. They made railway wagons there during the 1920s. Part of the site was also used to store Nottingham's city buses.
- In 1930, the factory was sold to another company called Metropolitan Cammell Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company.
- By 1935, that company had closed down, and the factory was taken over by Metro Cammell Carriage and Wagon Company Ltd.
World War II: A Busy Time
Becoming a Modern Gun Factory
In the late 1930s, it looked like another war might happen. So, the country started making more weapons and updating old ones.
The War Office bought the factory back in September 1936 for £94,475. It was named Royal Ordnance Factory Number 23.
A lot of work went into making ROF Nottingham a modern gun factory. New machines were installed starting in January 1937. By early 1939, the factory was described as "working to capacity," meaning it was making as much as it possibly could.
The factory spent a lot of money, over £1.7 million, on building and equipment by March 1938. About 300 people worked on rebuilding the factory in 1937. The number of workers grew to 2,272 by March 1938, and 3,796 a year later.
World War II was even busier than World War I. At its peak, about 14,000 people worked there, many of them women, often working two twelve-hour shifts.
The factory was hidden from above by painting stripes on its roof. This made it look like the nearby houses when seen from the air, helping to protect it from enemy attacks.
What ROF Nottingham Produced in WWII
During the war, Nottingham mainly produced two types of guns:
- The 3.7-inch medium anti-aircraft gun, used to shoot down enemy planes.
- The Bofors 40 mm gun. Nottingham made the mobile stands for these guns for the British Army and mounts for British ships.
Other weapons made here included:
- The 2-pounder anti-tank gun (1937-1939).
- The BL 5.5-inch Medium Gun (1940-1942).
- The 17-pounder gun, which was also used to turn Sherman tanks into the powerful Sherman Firefly tanks.
- Parts for the first prototype of the A41 tank, which later became the famous Centurion tank.
After the War: New Products and Projects
Immediately After World War II
Right after the war (1946-1950), there wasn't much demand for weapons. So, the factory started making many different things that weren't military-related.
These products included:
- Tunnelling shields (used for digging tunnels).
- Parts for hosiery (sock-making) machines.
- Parts for woodworking machines.
- Generators and gearboxes for buses.
- Guillotines for printers.
- Forging dies for bicycle parts.
In late 1950, the country started building up its weapons again. The Nottingham Journal newspaper reported in June 1951 that Nottingham was the second largest factory after Woolwich.
The factory could now drill deep holes ten times faster than in World War II. They also worked on fixing and upgrading Comet tanks.
Later Years and Projects
The factory wasn't always busy in the years that followed, but activity picked up in the late 1950s with various vehicle and special projects. The number of workers was lower, around 400 to 500 people.
Some projects during this time included:
- "Yellow Fever" – Fire Control Equipment (around 1955-1961).
- Aircraft Freight Loader (1958).
- Armored trucks (around 1959-1960).
- Upgrading Centurion Tanks (1959-1962).
- Launchers for Bristol Bloodhound missiles (around 1959-1963).
- A more powerful version of the Bofors 40 L70 gun (around 1958-1962).
- The Hornet Malkara missile launcher vehicle (around 1962).
- Parts for a 10-ton recovery vehicle (around 1962).
- Work on Centurion ARK (Armoured Ramp Carrier) vehicles (around 1963).
Later projects included special axles and the Eager Beaver Air Portable Rough Terrain Fork Lift Truck (around 1969-1973).
From 1978 to 1983, they made the Bar Mine Layer, the Light Mobile Digger (a trench digging machine), and assembled the FV180 Combat Engineer Tractor.
The factory also produced many large guns, such as:
- The Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm tank gun, which was very important for a long time.
- The 165 mm demolition gun, which fired a very large shell and was used on the FV4003 Centurion Mk 5 AVRE (Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers).
- Other guns for armored cars, artillery, and infantry, including the L16 81mm Mortar.
- The 105 mm L119 and L118 Light Gun for the Artillery. The L118 was delivered to the British Army in 1974.
On January 2, 1985, the government-owned Royal Ordnance factories, including ROF Nottingham, became a private company called Royal Ordnance plc.
When other factories like ROF Leeds and the Royal Small Arms Factory (RSAF) Enfield closed, more work came to Nottingham. A new area called the Nottingham Small Arms Facility (NSAF) was created. From 1988, the SA80 assault rifle was made there.
Around 1989, ROF Nottingham designed the Royal Ordnance L30 gun for the Challenger 2 tank.
Closure of the Factory
ROF Nottingham finally closed in 2001. The work of making weapons was moved to another factory in Barrow-In-Furness.
A special building at the factory, called the Pattern Room, held a collection of small arms for the Ministry of Defence. When the factory closed, this collection was moved to the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds.
See also
