“COVENANTER” TANK

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20629, 9 August 1941, Page 5

“COVENANTER” TANK

SPEEDY PRODUCTION WORKERS TRAINED FAST (British Official Wireless.) Reed. 9 a,,m. RUGBY, Aug. 8. In naming the latest 16-ton cruisertype tank, “Covenanter,” the Minister of Supply, Lord Beaverbrook, recalled that in 1638 the Covenanters, doughty fighters, triumphed in their struggles to secure religious freedom for . the Scottish people. A visitor to the factory was told that when the company responsible for the manufacture of the tanks was asked to take on the work a certain period of time was suggested as sufficient. ■ The company replied that they believed they were capable of producing the tank in little over half that time. So great was the enthusiasm of the workers, however, that even this time was halved. 3000 Parts Required Because of the heavy work that is an essential part of the tanks' task in modern warfare, every part has to fit with micrometrical exactitude, and there are over 3000 component parts of each Covenanter. In addition, in the base alone, 1200 rivets hold stout armour plating in position. In the tank assembly line, many workers have been trained and become proficient in from four to six weeks. Men and women, who were doing a variety of peace-time jobs a few weeks ago, are now working lathes, power presses and punching in rivets like veterans. Among the previous occupations of the workers are commercial travellers, bus conductors, milkmen, butchers, insurance agents, dental mechanics and salesmen. There is also a prison warder who is the storekeeper and the head lad from a racing stable who is the chief test driver when the tanks are taken out for a 70-mile driving test before transportation to the ordnance depot where the guns are fitted. A lion tamer is now a riveter. All the machines work 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the workers have a rota giving them one day or one night off in six.