‘A tribute to the workers of the British Aircraft Industry’. Men and women at the Broughton factory in North Wales set themselves the task of building a Wellington bomber in the record time of 24 hours. Constructing in their own time, the workers donate the bonus they got to the Red Cross ‘Aid to Russia Fund’. The cameras capture the whole process of the construction in record time through to the test pilot taking off in the plane, ahead of schedule.
Context
At the time this film was made the tide of war was beginning to turn against Germany. However, Germany still controlled most of Europe, including France. British Empire and American forces were not strong enough to invade France at this stage. They decided to attack German cities and industries with a huge campaign of bombing. To do this, they needed aircraft. This film is an attempt to show the British public and also Britain’s allies how British workers were putting all their efforts into supporting this campaign.
Interesting or important points about the film
There are many points of interest in the film. The most obvious value of the film is that it shows how aircraft production was organised during the war. However, if we look beyond the obvious then many important insights emerge. The film tells us a huge amount about women workers and the responsibilities they took on during the war. There are also a few comments that might be seen as patronising today but were probably taken for granted at the time. The film also gives us an insight into the nature of British propaganda during the war. One of the main elements of British propaganda policy was to inform people about how Britain’s war effort was organised. This film clearly fits that aim. Another propaganda dimension can be seen in the constant references to how committed the workers are, how many of them have lost family in the war, or how their present job is more fulfilling than the job they did previously yet.