Beschreibung:

Ford Motor Company Ltd. (Aero Engines). Acting For and On Behalf of the Minister of Aircraft Production [so titled on upper cover], 1946, a presentation photograph album belonging to H.A. Denne, OBE (name gilt-titled to upper cover) beginning with a photograph of a Merlin aero engine design, a three-part panoramic photograph of the Works, a summary one-page diary for the war years, a coloured chart of engine output and a survey map showing sites ‘AX & Y’, followed by 100 gelatin silver print photographs, all corner mounted and mostly two to a page and back to back throughout, typed captions pasted to album leaves, subjects including aerial views of factory, bomb damage (7/8 May 1941), company executives, assembly line engines and a visit of American industrialists, visit of Sir Stafford Cripps, wounded soldiers party, children’s Xmas party, the 25,000 engine, scenes from ‘Merlin Rhapsody’ presented 1st June 1945, presentation of Inter Building Challenge Cup, interior views of factory, machines and processing, inspections, types of aircraft using Merlin engine, etc., the majority of photographs 18 x 25cm and similar, a total of 31 leaves, original heavy-duty blue cloth loose-leaf folder, gilt-title to upper cover, 4to (44 x 38cm) A remarkable presentation album giving an insight into the World War II ‘Shadow Factory’ system. Ford had a redundant assembly plant in Trafford Park, Manchester, and were pleased to participate in the scheme to speed up aircraft production. They were given the brief to build lots of Rolls Royce Merlins, the engine then in use in the vast majority of British fighters and bombers, including the Vickers-Supermarine Spitfire and the Hawker Hurricane. Ford revised the blueprints for the Merlin, making it more suitable for mass production, and by 1944 over 400 engines a week were being produced by the plant. In total, from June 1941 to March 1946, 30,428 engines were produced, over 10,000 men and over 7,000 women worked at Ford in Manchester producing the Merlin engine. -1