Labour unrest at the Spitfire factory

Tim Hawkins

A very interesting perspective that rings true! I was a boy at the time and have read many books on the subject.

Herbert Thornton

This account reminds me of a conversation I had - around 1966 - with a man then in his seventies.

Early in World War II he had worked as a skilled machinist in a factory in South Lancashire that manufacted equipment of some sort for the armed forces.

He described to me how a group of time & motion study experts from the government visited the factory to study how production might be increased and made more efficient.

He went into considerable detail about how he and he co-workers delibetately exaggerated how much time was required to operate the factory's various machine tools with the required degree of precision.

He said that they were so successful at hoodwinking the experts that shortly afterwards he and his fellow workers ware awarded considerably increased wages - and the rate of production was decreased.

He thought that having arranged things so that they did considerably less work for much more money was a considerable triumph.

Kenneth Perry

I worked in the Air Ministry before being called up in March 1940 & saw many files relating to the Spitfire & the Shadow Factory Schene. I would not dispute any details of this "researched" article,but it is an incomplete & incorrect picture. The Spitfire was a sophisticated hand tooled plane,not susceptible to mass production,unlike the Hurricane. And it was the Hurricane that won the Battle of Britain. The Shadow Factory Scheme embraced Aircraft Engines more than Aiframes & other Car Manufacturers besides Lord Nuffield. There was greed & selfishness amonst civilian workers who escaped call up,but 50% income tax,rationing,with copmpulsory Fire Watching & Home Guard duties were mitigating factors.The famed "Community Spirit"of1940 did indeed exist because none of us could escape the stark reality that we were alone.

Guy Wilson

I was under the impression that the lack of trained pilots represented the greatest threat to success during the Battle of Britain, not the lack of aircraft. Spitfire production may have been a problem but, as Mr Perry has pointed out, the Hurricane was of much greater significance. Nevetheless, an interesting perspective on the reality of the time.

Gervas Douglas

These Nuffield workers were not the only people who undermined our war effort. Michael Foot tried to get the Welsh miners out on strike during the war. Whose side was he on??

Nicholas Millman

Guy Wilson - yes, you are correct that pilot availability was a more critical factor. I thought it curious that in an article about Battle of Britain era Spitfire production The Spectator should choose an image of a much later mark (IX?) flying over the D-Day invasion force to illustrate the article! I hope that is not down to the author of a book about the Spitfire?