Hi, castle 261. I was an apprentice at the Seaplane works from July 1945 until January 1947 when we juniors were told that the works were closing & all production was being moved to Short & Harland in Belfast. So we best find another firm who would take us on & extend our indentures. Some of my friends went to Wingets, in Strood & others to Blaw & Knox( who eventually took over No.18 shop). I had always been very interested in aircraft, instigated I suspect by my uncle Hector Smith who had been the chauffeur/mechanic to the 3 Short Brothers, driving their Rolls Royce when they were over on the Isle of Sheppey. He then became an aero mechanic with Shorts (loved the Pobjoy engines they used) & was a member of the team who started up Shorts at what is now Rochester airport. His tales, told with great enthusiasm, were many & varied- hence my addiction! At that time the RAF were advertising for apprentices for Halton, so I sat their exam, passed & spent several years at Halton, etc. Re the shops at the Seaplane Works. The 1st inside the gate was No.1 ( machine shop & detailing section) then a small No.2 ( offices) then No.3 which was final assembly where the engines were fitted- by Bristol personnel- & the a/c was launched down one of the two slipways into the Medway. Various small shops facing the river or behind ( spray booth, panel beaters, lofting hall, canteen over one of them- good grub, only 6d for apprentices, etc.). Then No.17 shop where main planes were assembled & finally No. 18 shop where various sub assemblies were made & different aircraft ( eg Shetland) were kept prior to moving out onto the very large apron at the side.My trade was Fitter & Sheetmetal Worker & I worked in Nos. 18, 17 & 1 ( detail) shops. In recent years I've visited Rochester Museum to find, to my dismay- that there is no area there dedicated to Shorts!( the 2nd largest, by far, employer in the Medway Towns). They just don't have the room but one day.... I gave then some of my tools & other artifacts, which are stored in the basement- just resting! About 5 years ago Liz Walker- the great niece of the Short Bros.- started the Short Brothers Commemoration Society. She- like me- was sad to see the pioneers of the British aircraft industry- & makers of the first world travel aircraft (C Class flying boats) & long range anti submarine aircraft in WW2 (Sunderlands)- with no history in the City/County in which they operated. ( If you go to Stoke, the designer of the Spitfire,
RJMitchell, is very proudly celebrated).
Having replied to some posts, I now find there are a lot more that were not shown then. So, hopefully to clarify. I think all those Sunderland fuselages together with Sunderland V & 3 Seafords + Shetland II all on the apron outside No. 18 shop are about 1947 when Shorts closed. They are NOT being manufactured!( see my earlier post re shop useage). All "the rubbish" surrounding them is after a good clear out ready for the new companies to move in. Shorts had a very big presence in Bedford during the war, a big shadow factory. The wings would definitely have been transported on the 60ft long Queen Mary's, they could take 2 side by side (upright not flat) as span was 112ft, so wings just over 50ft. The Stirling wings were very similar to Sunderlands s
[/size][/color]o would also have gone on a Queen Mary over Rochester bridge.
If of interest to anyone, basically, Sunderlands were the RAF aircraft; Mk's 1,2,3 & 5. The Seaford ( we called it the IV) had a large fairing on the fore of the fin. [/size][/color]Sandringhams were a civil version of the Mk.V & Solents the civil Seaford.