100 FLYPAST May 2018
W
hen the British Aerospace
Weybridge (ex Vickers/
BAC) aircraft works closed
its doors at Brooklands for the last
time on Christmas Day 1989, few
people thought that the sights and
sounds of an aircraft factory would
be seen on the site again.
The famous airfield, well known
for both its extensive aviation
and motor racing heritage, had a
pedigree dating back to 1907, and
through the years had seen the
genesis of such notable aircraft
types as the Wellington, Valiant and,
latterly, VC10. The future looked
ominous, to say the least, with the
famous banked circuit and the
remaining extant buildings heading
for dereliction and demolition.
What would become Brooklands
Museum was working hard behind
the scenes, but it was still another
two years before it became a public
entity.
Since those uncertain times, it’s
pleasing to report the museum has
gone from strength to strength
and expanded on its initial promise.
Now, incredibly in 2018, it’s possible
to experience what life was like on
the shop floor with a new series of
exhibits that cleverly manage to
recreate the days when, at its peak,
some 14,000 people worked at
Brooklands, helping to design and
produce nearly 19,000 aircraft that
took to the air from the site.
The idea stemmed from a project
to renovate the listed Bellman-
type transportable hangar, which
had been built in 1940 on what
had originally been the Finishing
Straight of the pre-war racing
circuit. At the time, the track was
in the process of being visually
camouflaged and disrupted to
prevent easy recognition of the site
by the Luftwaffe.
The circuit, with the associated
Vickers and Hawker factory
buildings inside, stood out easily
from the air, which had already
led to several air raids on the
aerodrome. After the war the
1940 hangar and other buildings
remained in situ, effectively
blocking any chance of returning
the war-damaged racetrack to its
original use.MUSEUMS BROOKLANDS
Back
Brooklands Museum expanded its exhibitions
recently with a fascinating insight into what
life was like in an aircraft factory. Chris Gilson
went along to see how this has been achieved.
The centrepiece of the Aircraft Factory
hangar is Wellington IA N2980, ‘R for
Robert’.A view of the Vickers Warwick assembly line
at Brooklands. Note the unfi tted horizontal
stabilisers on the fl oor. The reason for the
ragged holes in the fuselage is unknown,
although these could be location points.
KEY COLLECTION