Dr Ferranti’s War
There is an exhibition about this at MOSI The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
In Summary
At the start of WW1 Dr Ferranti saved Ferranti Ltd from closure (as proposed by the board) and partly converted a large part of it to the production of munitions.
He continued the normal production of Ferranti Ltd - but on a smaller scale.
He continued the spinning development work.
He was also a Member of Government's Inventions Panel and the Munitions Inventions Branch
During WW1 Dr Ferranti improved the factory plant and manufacturing methods so that Hollinwood became the factory with the highest output put per worker of any shell factory in the UK
He discarded many of the accepted methods of manufacture and introduced automatic machinery and thus improved the efficiency of the whole plant, speeded up production and saved valuable time on each operation
1915 to 1918 He managed to increase efficiency levels
From 500 shells per week to 4,500
And
From 800 18-pounder shells per week to 6000
1918 He patented his own method of forging and manufacturing shells
He introduced automatic machinery for production
From 1916-1917 There were no patents for new inventions – he was too busy
For more detail of what he and his 2 sons did in the war ;-
Follow the below links to find more about Dr Ferranti and his 2 older sons during WW1
Dr Sebastian de Ferranti
His oldest son Basil de Ferranti who was killed in action.
His next son Vincent de Ferranti who briefly returned from war in Galipolli to help his father in the works.
There is an exhibition about this at MOSI The Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester
In Summary
At the start of WW1 Dr Ferranti saved Ferranti Ltd from closure (as proposed by the board) and partly converted a large part of it to the production of munitions.
He continued the normal production of Ferranti Ltd - but on a smaller scale.
He continued the spinning development work.
He was also a Member of Government's Inventions Panel and the Munitions Inventions Branch
During WW1 Dr Ferranti improved the factory plant and manufacturing methods so that Hollinwood became the factory with the highest output put per worker of any shell factory in the UK
He discarded many of the accepted methods of manufacture and introduced automatic machinery and thus improved the efficiency of the whole plant, speeded up production and saved valuable time on each operation
1915 to 1918 He managed to increase efficiency levels
From 500 shells per week to 4,500
And
From 800 18-pounder shells per week to 6000
1918 He patented his own method of forging and manufacturing shells
He introduced automatic machinery for production
From 1916-1917 There were no patents for new inventions – he was too busy
For more detail of what he and his 2 sons did in the war ;-
Follow the below links to find more about Dr Ferranti and his 2 older sons during WW1
Dr Sebastian de Ferranti
His oldest son Basil de Ferranti who was killed in action.
His next son Vincent de Ferranti who briefly returned from war in Galipolli to help his father in the works.