Since arriving in Conwy North Wales, to be near my family, and with the ongoing Covid pandemic I decided that needed to stay put for awhile!
I thought it might be an idea to do some work over the winter months to help my finances?
When I saw the advertisement for welders near Stockport I immediately knew who the company was? How? When I’d work for ALCAN aluminium as salesman I had called on Fairey engineering to sell them aluminium welding wire.
I sent in my CV and welding qualifications not mentioning my age or DOB on my CV. Fortunately I was asked to come for weld test and interview.
I went along on the 12 August for the weld, theory, cognitive, interview and-site orientation. Never before as a welder have I had to do a theory test or a cognitive skills test plus an interview.
The weld test using GMAW Gas Metal Arc Welding or Mig on aluminium. The weld test was an aluminium fillet weld on 10mm plate with three run fillet weld with stops and start on root and the top pass.
Within a day I was offered a welding position. And I was asked to start on 31 August 2021 at 9am at Heaton Chapel which is between Stockport and Manchester.
Fairey aviation is old well established aircraft manufacturer started in Fairey Aviation 1915 to 1936, Stockport aviation from 1936 to 1959. And latterly Fairey Engineering 1959to 1986. Now it’s new in carnation WFEL
WFEL is now owned by German military armaments company called kmweg.com or Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. Fairey Engineering was formed in 1915 by Charles Richard Fairey and had 3 operating centres in Hayes, Heaton Chapel and Ringway Airport. Fairey aircraft were mainly built for the navy requirements.
http://WFEL.com
Their most famous aircraft was the Fairey Swordfish ( nick named the string bag ) biplane torpedo bomber. Fairey Swordfish most famous engagements were the hunting down of the German battleship Bismarck in 1941. The Bismarck had superb sea lines and was the most heavily armoured ship of her day. It had 8 15” or 38 cm guns that could fire shells 22miles away.
She sunk the British navies premier battleship the HMS Hood. The shell hit the main magazine of the hood which obliterated the battleship. Only 3 men survived the sinking.
Short video of sinking of the hood.
Bismarck made a run for occupied France and was intercepted by 16 Fairey Swordfish from aircraft carrier Ark Royal who successfully torpedoed her and damage the steering rudder.
In her final battle the following morning, the already-crippled Bismarck was engaged by two British battleships and two heavy cruisers, and sustained incapacitating damage and heavy loss of life. The ship was scuttled to prevent her being boarded by the British, and to allow the ship to be abandoned so as to limit further casualties. Most experts agree that the battle damage would have caused her to sink eventually.
Animation of the sinking of the Bismarck.
When I was sapper in the Royal Engineers I had built the Fairey engineering aluminium medium girder bridge on various military exercises. The great advantage of the MGB is its man portable doesn’t need to rely on any independent crane to install it.
WFEL have won a new contract through their parent company to build the latest armoured personal carrier for the British army which is called the Boxer.l