In recent years a dramatic restructuring of Britain's aircraft industry has seen the closure of many famous manufacturing sites and aerodromes including de Havilland's Hatfield, Hawker's Kingston and a host of others, but now the axe is to fall on Chadderton. Although the site will still be connected wi th aviation through the Tanker Transport and Reconnaissance Operations (TTRO) located in the main office block of the BAE SYSTEMS site to provide support for all of those types in the Royal Air Force, the aircraft manufacturing role has now ended.

The Greengate site gave the aviation world some of the finest aircraft including the Second World War's greatest bomber, the Avro Lancaster and also another world-beater, the Avro Vulcan, which provided the country with a nuclear deterrent against the Soviet Union for over 30 years.

War clouds were gathering in August 1938 when the Air Minister Sir Kingsley Wood flew into the Avro airfield at Woodford for a visit to the Company's works at Newton Heath. He was welcomed on his arrival by Roy (later Sir Roy) Dobson, General Manager for A&V. Roe & Company Limited and it was during the visit that plans were announced for the building of a new aircraft factory.

Fields alongside Greengate were chosen for the site and work proceeded at a fast pace for by March 1939 employees from Newton Heath were already starting to move in. As with the Newton Heath facility, the new plant, now known as Chadderton, was to manufacture the main aircraft components which would be transported by road to Woodford for final assembly, test flying and delivery. The plant would also house a massive Design office with over 500 draughtsmen at its peak.

It seemed strange that the first aircraft jigs into Chadderton were not for Avro aircraft, but for the Bristol Blenheim twin-engined light bomber. With surplus floor space at both Newton Heath and the Ivy Mill, Pailsworth facility, Avro was awarded a contract to build 250 Blenheim Mk.I and with this completed a further contract was negotiated to produce the later Blenheim Mk.IV.

The Avro Anson was-already in production and serving with the RAF and a number of other countries after pre-war deliveries was soon alongside the Blenheim, but the Company was pinning its hopes on the new Avro Manchester bomber. The prototype Manchester had made its first flight from Ringway on July 25 1939 and A.V. Roe & Co., was awarded and initial order for 299 aircraft. Unfortunately, the aircraft was plagued by engine problems by the very advanced but complexed Rolls-Royce Vulture and although a number did see service in RAF Bomber Command more were lost through engine failure than by enemy action. However, out of this failure came the magnificent Avro Lancaster for, after Rolls-Royce had been ordered to cease producing the Vulture, it left Avro with an excellent aeroplane but with no other suitable engine for the twin-engined bomber. Chief designer Roy Chadwick modified the drawings to take four Merlin engines which were proving to be excellent in the Spitfires and Hurricanes during the Battle of Britain.

A Manchester airframe was modified in record time and with the four Merlin engines fitted the aircraft, now known as the Lancaster, made its maiden flight from Ringway on January 9 1941 and with flight trials being a complete success the Lancaster was ordered into mass production at Chadderton and the rest is history.

In 1942 with Lancaster production well underwayr work commenced in the experimental department at Chadderton on a transport aircraft to be named the Avro York. In less than six months the prototype was completed with the type going on to be used in many theatres of war as well as serving as VIP transports for Winston Churchill, Lord Mountbatten, Field Marsbal.Smuts and other war leaders.

By the beginning of 1943 the original Chadderton floor area of 750,000 sq.ft. had-been increased to over one million and the production rate for Lancasters alone had reached an incredible 150 per month. The wartime peak labour force at Chadderton was 11,267 with 7,887 on day shift while 3,380 were on nights. Semi-skilled labour accounted for 40.7 percent of the work force with 22.2 percent being women.

The great success of the Lancaster required that it be manufactured at other plants including production in Canada, but out of the total of 7,377 Chadderton had contributed no less than 3,050.

During 1943 Roy Chadwick and the Avro draughtsmen Introduced plans for a larger improved version of the Lancaster which would become available for the war against Japan. This aircraft, the Avro Lincoln, had all the qualities of the Lancaster and more but as production was being planned the Atomic bombs on Japan effectIvely brought the Second World War to an end resulting in orders for the new bomber to be drastically reduced.

Even before the war had ended a civil airliner capable of crossing the Atlantic had emerged from the drawing boards at Chadderton which was named the Avro Tudor. However, it was rated as a failure and this could be down to a number of causes with the main one being the insistance of the Ministry of Supply that---many Lincoln parts and sections be used in the new aircraft. This prevented Roy Chadwick completing the design of an airliner to his own specifications.

Tragically it was in a Tudor that Chadwick one of the world's great aircraft designers, lost his life when one of these aircraft crashed at Woodford on August 23 1947. It was no fault of the design but faulty rigging of the wing ailerons which caused the accident and it was sad that he did not see his Tudor design vindicated in the following years when the aei:bplane did sterling work in the Berlin Air Lift.

Before he died Chadwick had instigated the design of two aircraft which would eventually become famous in the annals of the Royal Air Force ---- the Shackleton and the delta-winged Vulcan.

In post-war years, besides the Tudor, Lancastrianst Yorks and, the still going strong Anson, continued to roll off the Chadderton production lines with other types such as the Athena, Ashton, Avro 707, Shackleton and Vulcan beginning to appear. Not since the Bristol Blenheim had Chadderton built aircraft other than Avro designs, but in 1951 the Company was requested to manufacture,a batch of Canberra twin-jet bombers with 75 being completed.

In 1967 the Defence White Paper forecast that no more manned aircraft would be designed and built for the RAF (Note; 50 years later we are still flying piloted Tornadoes, Harriers, Jaguars and even the new Typhoon Eurofighter!) and it,was decided that A.V. Roe & Company would re-enter the civil aircraft market. A number of designs were studied with the Company eventually giving the go-ahead to the production of an aircraft to replace the multitude of Dakotas operating around the world which became the Avro 748 twin-turboprop transport.

It was in the 1959-1960 period that Chadderton was hit by a series of fires in various parts of the factory. The first of these and the most serious occurred on October 3 1959 when a massive blaze destroyed large sections of the production and office areas. It was a formidable task to return things to normal but the main Vulcan and 748 lines escaped serious damage. In less than twelve months the plant was rocked by more fires with the main one destroying the Experimental Department.

With the fires behind them Chadderton's personnel settled down once more to serious production with the aircraft production lines now joined by a high-walled compound complete with Security Guards. This housed the production of the highly secret`.W.100 Blue Steel stand-off missile which was developed by Avro for use by the RAF's V-bomber force.

On July 1 1963 the famous Avro name disappeared as it was grouped with Armstrong Whitworth, de Havilland, Hawker and the like to become Hawker Siddeley Aviation Limited.

During the 1960s the 748 continued to sell steadily and with the last of the 136 Vulcans delivered a new military aircraft was already being developed by Chadderton's designers. This was the Hawker Siddeley HS.801, soon to become known as the Nimrod.

In December 1969 work commenced on manufacture of wing components for the European Airbus series of airliners. This work was greatly expanded until well into the 1990s when it represented the largest proportion of Chadderton's business.

The 748, which by that time was known as the Hawker Siddeley 748, but still 'E1 Avro' in most Latin countries, was proving to be an excellent aeroplane with a fine reputation for its versatility, reliability and above all safety even when operating in the roughest areas and extreme temperatures. Manufacture of the main components at Chadderton was increased as the order book steadily grew.

When production of the 748 finally ended in 1989 almost 400 had been manufactured, sold to 81 operators in 51 countries throughout the world and it had been used as the personal transport of no less than sixteen Heads of State including The Queen. The introduction of more advanced turboprop engines with excellent fuel efficiency spelled the end for the 40 years old Rolls-Royce Dart powerplant for the 748.

In 1977 the British aircraft industry had been Nationalised so the nameplate above the Chadderton entrance was changed once again, this time to British Aerospace.

The production of the rear fuselage for the BAe 146 four-jet airliner was allocated to Chadderton in November 1979 which continued until the closure of the Hatfleld site meant that the production of the whole aircraft was transferred to Woodford.

As the 748 was reaching the end of its production 1&fe approval was given for manufacture of the Advanced Turboprop ATE airliner with Chadderton supplying fuselage, wings and other major components to Woodford in the same process as when the Greengate plant opened in 1939. The ATP's maiden flight was made on August 6 1986 with the Chadderton employees enjoying the event by a large screen erected in the factory with the live pictures beame'd 'directly from Woodford.

Components for the ATP, BAe 146 and its later Regional Jet RJ airliner continued at Chadderton, but British Aerospace decided to opt out of the civil airliner market. As this decision began to take effect, a change of name to BAE SYSTEMS signalled a massive expansion into many and diverse markets, but it also proved to be the death knell for aeroplane manufacturing at Chadderton. The aviation connection lives on with the TTRO unit and long may it continue.

It is interesting to note that the top two executives in BAE SYSTEMS Mike Turner, chief executive and Chris Geoghegan, chief operations officer, plus board member Sir Charles Masefield all 'cut their teeth' at Chadderton!

Chadderton has a proud aviation heritage with the AVRO name being up there along with other famous aircraft manufacturers who were builders of some of the world's greatest aeroplanes. No matter what the future holds for the site it is hoped that the Blue Heritage Plaque dedicated to Roy Chadwick placed on the wall outside his office on Greengate where he designed the Avro Lancaster will be retained as a permanent reminder of the site's great achievements.

 

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