Castle Bromwitch and the BoB
Yes Aust55 Wiki does confirm 'some' of the issues especially the first part re the design not being 'production friendly' and the workforce element. The 'Ten in June' were in fact more like kits sent up from Southampton, and by then Beaverbrook had read the riot act and put Supermarines in charge. However it does not answer the question of why in 39 they had not grasped the serious of the situation and put an aviation company in charge even if it was not Vickers themselves. It has to be said that Hawkers had prepared very well for the forthcoming conflict by gearing up for more Hurricanes than the actual ministry order, which was just as well after the losses in France. Anyway going back to Chattis Hill (Stockbridge) I use to drive past the location for years en route to the West Country and knew nothing of its location due to the entrance road name 'Love Lane' , It has been changed now to Spitfire Lane. The original WW1 airfield was on the right hand side going 'up' the lane and the wood at the top are where the hangars were located (base's still evident) . The field on the left was used to fly out the assembled machines.