Westinghouse War Figures Tell An Impressive Story
Page 28
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
AU' Three Services Get a Substantial Contribution From the Works of One Undertaking WEEK by week we are able. to add VV to the impressive details of the war-Producbion achievements of the motor industry, the greatresources al' which were mobilized for the manufacture of accessories and components and even entire machines far removed from the normal line of business of its members..
The product of ,the Westinghouse Brake and Signal Co., Ltd., Pew Hill Elegise, Chippenhann, Wilts, which is. best knownto vehicle operators, is probably the COMCM's air-brake equipment, but that this side of its business was completely'. ,dwarfed 'during the war years can be appreciated by the following brief details. In connection with road-velicle braking equipment, up to early 1945, the eornpa,ny supplied 14,137 compressors. 7,138 combined 'reservoir,governor and charging valve units, 4,310 charging'valve units, 9,696 foot control valves and 4,028 ,boosters for frontwheel-driven and heavy armoured vehicles:. In addition, there was an item of 6,350 relay emergency valves for operating air brakes on Tank transporters.
• Dealing with other. uhits, the concern produced 9,605 Variflow pumps, 10,100 handles and valve boxes for Tanks, 1,600 cold-starting devices, 1,100 water-circulating pumps, and 1,370 Duplex filters for oil engines. Bogie support plates, .track mudguards and blast guards for Churchill Tanks, and .1,021 complete 2-pounder anti-Tank gun carriages were amongst other contributions.
Coming now to a few pieces' of railway equipment, there were 493 airbrake sets for ambulance trains, 1,240 'brake equipment assemblies for austerity locomotives, 4,500 vacuum brakes for tank wagons, war flats and bogie Well wagons, .
The Westinghouse concern also had a hand in building up our air fleet, for, in addition to large quantities of precision parts for Rolls-Royce Merlin, Vulture and -Peregrine engines, there were 2,459 tail-wheel shock absorbers, 2,955 undercarriage retracting jacks, 6-,200 fairing doer and bomb door jacks for bombers 'and fighters. For the hydraulic system of aircraft,. 2,966. live
-line. pumps were supplied. , Searchlight control and -gyro cornpass gear were amongst some of the items supplied to the Admiralty. Amongst others were 20,000 sets of parts for mine sinkers, 37,800 soluble plug . devices and 6,964 sights of various types: for A.A. and other guns. Considerable numbers of pieces of apparatus wore supplied for frigates, corvettes, mine sweepers and landing craft.
So far as the Arttny. was cOncerned., there were 85,000 3-M. mortar bomb cases, 1,325,000 bodies and tails for anti-Tank grenades, and over 69,000 parts for Lanchester machine carbines, amongst other material.
As may be known, the concern is responsible for the famous Westinghouse metal fectifier, and no fewer than 115,000,000 of all types were turned out up to early 1945, whilst the number of complete rectifying units produced was 76,500. The weight of copper used for the wire employed on the various transformers and chokes was over 500 tabs. These figures are ithpressive and tell' their own story.
The foregoing details; which' are far from' complete, are, nevertheless, Sufficient to indicate the variety and volume of this corapany'.s war actiyitiei, an effort which it was the more able to put forward bjr. reason of the nature of 'its pre-war business.