Operation Shoehorn
In which we learn how to maneuver a 38-ton piece of a aircraft with inches to spare.
What happens when you are trying to build a giant aircraft that is so large it needs a new dedicated record-breaking massive assembly hall, but the new facility isn’t ready in time?
You figure out what space is available elsewhere so you can make a start.
Construction on the giant Brabazon aircraft started, not in the specially built “Brab Hanger” but in an existing long, but narrow, older flight shed at the Bristol Aeroplane Company facility at Filton. Located at the top of a hill on the other side of the facility from the under-construction hanger, No. 2 Flight Shed was just long enough to accommodate the planned 170-foot fuselage length of the aircraft. However, it also had supporting beams throughout its structure which meant that jigs and equipment had to be carefully located to provide the maximum assembly space.
After two years of work the fuselage was completed, but now came the question of just how to get it out.
The answer was “Operation Shoehorn.” Calculations were made and it was discovered that if a heating unit was removed from the wall of the Flight Shed, and the nose cone removed from the aircraft then there would be literal inches to spare in which to maneuver what was now a 38-ton component consisting of the fuselage, the inner wings and engine mounts, the tailplane, and the stub of the vertical fin.
On Saturday 4 October 1947 a turntable was positioned under the starboard undercarriage wheels and a six-man team started to rotate the great aircraft with the aim of moving it through around sixty degrees so that the tail would be lined up outside the Flight Shed. The tolerances and movements needed to be inch-perfect, for there was just 20 in clearance from the top of the fin stub to the roof, 28 inches from the tailplane tip to the shed’s inner wall, and just 15 inches from the nose to the shed’s north wall.
Once it was out a tractor was connected to the nose undercarriage leg for towing the aircraft along specially reinforced wheel tracks to the assembly hall. The whole operation was carried out without a hitch starting at 7:30 in the morning, and by 1:30 in the afternoon the Brabazon was sitting in its new home awaiting the final stages of construction. A task that would take another two years to complete.
Other Stuff
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LibraryCon
We'll be hanging out with a few friends at Pflugerville Library in North Austin, TX on Saturday. Come join us for a family-friendly day of pop-culture goodness. You can find all the details HERE.
Pages and Screens
Book Read in 2023 - “Underground in Berlin” by Marie Jalowicz Simon.
Marie Jalowicz Simon was one of 1,700 'U-boats', German Jews who survived the war submerged below the surface of daily life in Berlin.
Her’s is a remarkable story of inspired innovation, bravery, good luck, and the kindness of strangers. After tricking a postman to mark her mail as “moved to an unknown destination in the east” she officially no longer existed in Nazi records. Removing the yellow star from her clothing she drifted along in a tide of humanity being alternately exploited, and helped as she sought to leverage her anonymity in order to survive on a daily basis.
Based on over seventy taped conversations with her son conducted just before her death in the 1990s, this isn’t a polished narrative, but more of a raw first-person account. And it’s that intimacy of memory that gives it its power.
Podcast Procrastinations
I was honored this week to be asked to join the Longbox Crusade crew to record the conclusion of their look back on the Batman movie serial from 1943, the first live-action interpretation of the Caped Crusader. A fun time was had, and once it goes live I’ll make sure to post a link in a future newsletter.
Before They Were Beatles Updates
The Before They Were Beatles podcast - One year ago I posted a note about how delighted I was that the Before They Were Beatles podcast had hit the 10,000 download mark. Here we are one year later just having passed 68,000 downloads! It’s been an unbelievable year of Beatles-related activity, and I can't thank all the folks who have listened to my Fab Four rambles enough.
There’s more to come as I’m working on the research for our new upcoming series, The Forgotten Beatles. So stay tuned.
I’m currently working on the September issue of the Before They Were Beatles newsletter so keep a look out for that soon.
Weekly Web Round-Up
Forest Comics - After a couple of weeks break while we were in the UK, our eBay store is once again open for business. It’s been fully restocked and this week it seems that the FunkoPops are the most popular items. - You can check our current offerings HERE.
Batman On The Cover - The journey through Batman’s comics publishing history continues this week as we move into June 1968 with new issues of Detective Comics, Batman, Brave & The Bold, World’s Finest, and Justice League of America all hitting the newsstands.
I’ve always liked the cover of Brave & The Bold #78. - It’s a dynamic composition by artist Bob Brown (who, to be honest, is not an artist I took much notice of, or know much about). This was one of those covers that made me want to know just how our three heroes got into this predicament. In fact, as far as I recall this is one of the earliest issues of Brave & The Bold I owned.
Where on the Web is Alan?
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See you next time
Alan J. Porter