Title:AERIAL TORPEDO TAIL UNIT CONSTRUCTION AT EASTLEIGH WORKS [Allocated Title]
Film Number:BTF 44
Other titles:RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
Summary: Aerial torpedo tail units under construction at Eastleigh Works, by predominantly female workers. There is also a railway bridge demolition at Bookham in Surry, followed by a mixture of other military equipment under construction.
Description: (8 December 1943) The construction of aerial torpedo tail units at Eastleigh Works, Hampshire. Two female workers paint an adhesive dope onto strips of wood. The wood is then piled together in a giant press. Two different female workers are then seen working on the wooden tails at a work bench. Various other stages in the construction process follow. SH294
(10 December 1943) Skinned torpedo tail units are lined-up across the workshop floor, as shots show more stages in the construction process. Much of the work is carpentry based, but female workers are also shown skinning the tail units. The workers throughout the sequence are predominantly female, but some male workers also feature. Some of the younger workers appear to be no older the school aged (11-13 year old). Finally, the tail units are crated up. (2 min 3 sec) SH295
(19 December 1943) The demolition of Slades bridge at Bookham, by Southern Railway engineers. A crowd watch-on as two railway cranes use a metal girder to topple the brick built bridge. Once the rubble is spread across the ground, workmen begin to loosen the remaining structure from scaffolds using pneumatic drills and shovels. The debris clear-up underway, from a variety of angles and distances. (6 min 6 sec) SH296
(23 December 1943) Shells are unloaded from a munitions ship, into freight railway wagons, at the “new” Southampton Docks, South coast of England. Workers inside the wagons have to remove the shells from cargo nets and carefully stack them together. SH297
(4 January 1944) The final section is shot at Eastleigh Works, and features work on the various military equipment built at the plant. A pontoon bridge is tested for rigidity in a pressure tank, and a wooden hulled boat (Harbour Launch Boat?) is being skinned using a crosshatching method. This allows the hull to retain its shape, after the jigs have been removed. (9 min 52 sec) SH297
Alternative Title:RAILWAYS IN BRITAIN, 1935-1976 [Allocated Series Title]
