Q&A ยท 2:57:56

Britain's heavy presses and wartime industry

Britain had major forging and extrusion presses before and during the war, although German facilities included some larger examples.

Question

What difference would German-style heavy presses have made to British wartime aircraft production?

Short answer

Britain already had significant press capability, though Germany had some larger installations; presses supported the broader British aircraft and industrial effort.

Notes

The live answer develops through an on-stream source check rather than treating the first recollection as settled. Britain did possess major forging and extrusion presses, although Germany had some larger installations. A paper on British aircraft-production planning cites requirements above 10,000 tons for forging and 5,000 tons for extrusion during the 1930s. A machine called a heavy press by contemporary standards may not meet a later comparison using much larger postwar equipment. The evidence supports substantial British capability while preserving a terminology and scale caveat instead of claiming exact industrial equivalence.