witchbottles
Forum Guru
"Rolls-Royce facilities at Osmaston, Derby"
"Rolls-Royce started building work on a new factory at Crewe"
The former factory produced all but 400 of the Rolls Royce Merlin engines used by all models of the Hurricane, Spitfire, and Defiant up to September 13th, 1940.
The second factory produced the remaining 400 engines delivered to the RAF from the beginning of the war until September 13th, 1940.
No other factory began production of the engines used by RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain until the Glasgow "shadow factory" stood up for production on October 1st, 1940, after "Seelowe" was no longer a viable option.
Derby was out of range of most of the Luftwaffe's available bombers.
Crewe was likewise out of range of most of the Luftwaffe's available bombers.
These two factories, if both disabled from production for more than 2 weeks, would have resulted in a shortage of available engines that would have stopped assembly of all planes going to RAF Fighter Command by September 1st, 1940 (when the surplus in supply ran out). If either one was seriously damaged and out of action for more than 30 days, RAF Fighter Command would have only received 140-150 aircraft per week up to October 1st, 1940.
The attack range one way for the Do-17 bomber, loaded for long-range bombing, was 740 km. The Derby factory was 495 km from the Abbeville France Luftwaffe airfield, and for the Crewe factory, the range one way from Abbeville Luftwaffe airfield was 579 km.
both factories were within range of the Do-17s of the Luftwaffe. If these had been concentrated in the first week of widespread air attacks on British targets in August - against one target and then the other, the RAF would have run out of available planes by September 1st, 1940, without any way to put more in the air until the Glasgow factory came online and the other two were repaired and re-operating at peak output.
Luftwaffe production of Do-17 models up to July 1st 1940 are rather reliably listed at +/-1100 total aircraft, with only 16 confirmed lost in action. That meant the LW had about 1,080 bombers to launch in two successive massive waves that first week of widespread bombing in August, 1940, certainly enough to flatten both factories at Derby and Crewe.
with enough diversionary raids from JU-87s, Ju-88s and HE-111s all over any other area of England in a "shotgun" effect defense saturation - RAF would not have been able to stop Derby or Crewe factories from being obliterated thusly.
Did the Luftwaffe miss the "golden Egg" in August 1940, that could have ended RAF air superiority over southern England in September, 1940 in time for "Seelowe"?
"Rolls-Royce started building work on a new factory at Crewe"
The former factory produced all but 400 of the Rolls Royce Merlin engines used by all models of the Hurricane, Spitfire, and Defiant up to September 13th, 1940.
The second factory produced the remaining 400 engines delivered to the RAF from the beginning of the war until September 13th, 1940.
No other factory began production of the engines used by RAF Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain until the Glasgow "shadow factory" stood up for production on October 1st, 1940, after "Seelowe" was no longer a viable option.
Derby was out of range of most of the Luftwaffe's available bombers.
Crewe was likewise out of range of most of the Luftwaffe's available bombers.
These two factories, if both disabled from production for more than 2 weeks, would have resulted in a shortage of available engines that would have stopped assembly of all planes going to RAF Fighter Command by September 1st, 1940 (when the surplus in supply ran out). If either one was seriously damaged and out of action for more than 30 days, RAF Fighter Command would have only received 140-150 aircraft per week up to October 1st, 1940.
The attack range one way for the Do-17 bomber, loaded for long-range bombing, was 740 km. The Derby factory was 495 km from the Abbeville France Luftwaffe airfield, and for the Crewe factory, the range one way from Abbeville Luftwaffe airfield was 579 km.
both factories were within range of the Do-17s of the Luftwaffe. If these had been concentrated in the first week of widespread air attacks on British targets in August - against one target and then the other, the RAF would have run out of available planes by September 1st, 1940, without any way to put more in the air until the Glasgow factory came online and the other two were repaired and re-operating at peak output.
Luftwaffe production of Do-17 models up to July 1st 1940 are rather reliably listed at +/-1100 total aircraft, with only 16 confirmed lost in action. That meant the LW had about 1,080 bombers to launch in two successive massive waves that first week of widespread bombing in August, 1940, certainly enough to flatten both factories at Derby and Crewe.
with enough diversionary raids from JU-87s, Ju-88s and HE-111s all over any other area of England in a "shotgun" effect defense saturation - RAF would not have been able to stop Derby or Crewe factories from being obliterated thusly.
Did the Luftwaffe miss the "golden Egg" in August 1940, that could have ended RAF air superiority over southern England in September, 1940 in time for "Seelowe"?