Building a bomber plane in just a day

Building a bomber plane in just a day

As part of the commemorations marking the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and the London Blitz there have been many events and programmes in memory of "The Few", the fighter pilots of the RAF who bravely and heroically repulsed the Luftwaffe attacks in 1940.

However there are also articles and programmes such as this one from the B.B.C., which tell the story of the workers in the factories and their ongoing job of building aeroplanes and war material for the Allied forces. In particular it focuses on one amazing example of people pulling together for the greater good and performing a Herculean task in order to prove that they were the best in the world and that they wouldn't give up even in the face of constant adversity.

To build an aeroplane the size of a Vickers Wellington in 24 hours sounds an almost impossible target even today, so for the workers of the Welsh Vickers factory to have done it 70 years ago is beyond admirable.

This is yet another story well-deserving of being told, to remember the thousands of men and women who worked in factories up and down the country to provide the necessary machines and equipment to ultimately win the war.

*For British viewers, Wellington Bomber airs on Tuesday 14th September at 8p.m. BST on B.B.C. Four and will of course be on iPlayer for a week thereafter.*

Remains of historic British monoplane discovered in Antarctica - Times Online

Remains of historic British monoplane discovered in Antarctica - Times Online

Well, here we are again after the Christmas and New Year holidays. Items of interest usually fizzle out over this period, plus of course I like to have a break now and again, you know! Three days in to 2010, though, and here we have an incredible story, an amazing example of good fortune. It is always fascinating to me to read about how explorers and men of determination looked upon the then-new technologies of aeroplanes and the like as a means to further challenges, not to mention how fast-advancing the machinery was in itself. Only eight years after its invention and someone decides to take an aeroplane to one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Amazing and inspiring. The story of this particular aircraft's rediscovery is equally astounding and I am so glad that it has been found so that the story has again come to light and, what is more, reached a successful conclusion.