Inside the eerie factory tunnels safe from German bombers
Inside the eerie factory tunnels safe from German bombers where munitions workers built Merlin engines to power Spitfires during Second World War
- The War Office wanted to develop underground facilities to protect them from air raids during the war
- An anonymous urban explorer took photographs of the former top secret site in Birmingham, West Midlands
- In some cases, the shadow factories were repurposed after 1945 and used as possible Cold War bunkers
- Many of the workers involved in aircraft production during the war were women allowing men to fight
Eerie images have revealed the abandoned remains of an underground factory where the Merlin engines that powered the iconic Spitfire planes were made during World War Two.
The haunting pictures show the dark, dank tunnels that would have been navigated by munitions workers during the war as well as industrial equipment left behind and forgotten office furniture.
Other striking shots show ladders leading down long shafts, flooded sections filled with water and an exterior doorway that provides an entrance to the hidden factory.
This is an amazing photograph of an underground factory created during the Second World War to build aircraft engines
The War Office wanted to develop underground facilities to protect them from air raids during times of conflict
An anonymous urban explorer took photographs of the former top secret site in Birmingham, West Midlands
Herbert Austin – Lord Austin – who became Chairman of the Government’s shadow factory scheme in 1936, is pictured (right) visiting the shadow factory site at Longbridge in 1937
Lord Austin (in foreground), an Australian-born industrialist, founded the Austin Motor Company – which had already turned its services to the war effort from 1914 to 1917
The spooky snaps were taken in Birmingham, UK by an urban explorer who wished to remain anonymous.
‘This place is widely renowned in the urbex world for The Shadow Factory Tunnels,’ they said.
‘These are the remnants of Lord Austin’s secret plans that were hatched to bolster British military might in the face of German military aggression in the arms race that led up to the start of the Second World War.
‘These images show you the bare bones of what used to be a necessary secret and a thriving employer for the people of Birmingham, a truly British industry. This was where munitions workers produced the Merlin engines that powered the Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes used to regain control of the British skies during the Battle of Britain in 1940.
‘You can see toilets, batteries, work spaces and air shafts; Air conditioning machinery, old storage boxes and the car parts, industrial graffiti, mould and empty packets of park drive.’
The British government developed plans for ‘Shadow factories’ in order to protect war time industry from bombing
However, more than 70 years after the end of the war, the vital factories lie abandoned and derelict, filling with flood water
Modern health and safety regulations would ban ladders such as this as they would be deemed as excessively dangerous
In many cases, the shadow factories were excavated underneath the existing facilities meaning it was easy to transfer production
In some cases, the shadow factories were repurposed after 1945 and used as possible Cold War nuclear bunkers
The anonymous person continued: ‘This is my favourite type of place to explore as it gives you a chance to see something you would never normally get to see and how it works,’ added the urban explorer.
‘The Shadow Scheme involved two parts – building nine new factories and extending existing factories – including the Longbridge plant.
‘Australian-born industrialist and Conservative MP, Lord Austin – also the founder of Austin Motors – had already contributed to the war effort in the First World War, turning his factories to munitions and engine production.
‘After the war, the factory returned to producing automobiles and the tunnels were abandoned. By the late 1960s, the Longbridge plant was the second largest car plant in the world.
‘But since the collapse of MG Rover, part of the site was redeveloped for housing and commercial purposes. It’s sad to see yet interesting.
‘The last mini of Longbridge was sold at auction to a motor museum eventually, the back seat of the orange Mini Clubman 1275 GT can be seen in my images.’
According to the urban explorer responsible for these images: ‘Australian-born industrialist and Conservative MP, Lord Austin – also the founder of Austin Motors – had already contributed to the war effort in the First World War, turning his factories to munitions and engine production’
Today, the vital role these factories played during the Second World War risks being forgotten as they disappear
At the end of the war, many of the aircraft factories shifted production above ground and returned to making cars
It looks like someone has been into this section of the factory and stripped out all the copper pipe and cable for scrap
The Austin Rover box, pictured, provides evidence that this could have been part of the Longbridge plant
Parts of Britain’s vital wartime industry was dispersed to alternative locations to ensure continued production
Many of the workers involved in aircraft production during the war were women allowing men to join the armed services
According to the unnamed urban explorer: ‘You can see toilets, batteries, work spaces and air shafts; Air conditioning machinery, old storage boxes and the car parts, industrial graffiti, mould and empty packets of park drive’
The urbex explorer said: ‘But since the collapse of MG Rover, part of the site was redeveloped for housing and commercial purposes. It’s sad to see yet interesting’
According to the explorer: ‘This was where munitions workers produced the Merlin engines that powered the Spitfires and Hawker Hurricanes used to regain control of the British skies during the Battle of Britain in 1940’
Many of the tunnels have been flooded or filled with a strange looking sludge
An sign warns people to keep the gangway in the abandoned factory clear ‘at all times’ as the steel beams of the tunnel slowly corrode
This abandoned box has Rover printed on the side – meaning it is one of the more modern things dumped in the factory
A Jaguar box has also been left in one of the decaying tunnels underneath the Longbridge plant in Birmingham
A sign on the wall warns that something should not be moved – possibly the light switch at the corner of the tunnels
The Urbex eplorer added: ‘The Shadow Scheme involved two parts – building nine new factories and extending existing factories – including the Longbridge plant’
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