MG Quiz

Designed by bouncing bomb inventor Sir Barnes Wallis, the Longbridge hangar featured the biggest unsupported roof in Europe at the time it was built in the 1930s. Among the planes made inside was the Hawker Hurricane, which played a crucial role in the Battle of Britain. :yesnod:


The building known as the Flight Shed in Cofton Lane was where the airframes received their final quality check and wings were fitted to Hurricane fighters. Lancaster wings were fitted as the aircraft left the shed. Hurricanes were lifted up the raised airfield on a motorised skid. The skids were still there at the rear of the Flight Shed during the 1980s. Lancaster bombers were transported by road to RAF Elmdon for flight testing. :yesnod:

East Works


What a lot of "digging" in more ways than one :woohoo:

rayb, you're a star, what a great question. In researching the answer I have learnt so much.

Well here goes..... Aaaaaaahhh :rant: Mr Forgetful where did you come from :omg: :nonod: :pinch:

Too late, I'll not mention all the interesting facts I discovered, they will wait for another day :evil:

The whole of East Works stands on land outside the former Warwickshire county boundaries (now the West Midlands), in the parish of Cofton Hackett, part of Bromsgrove Rural District in Worcestershire.
The site is defined by this boundary and the line of Lowhill Lane and was formerly farm land. The East Works was built upon a l5 acre site bounded by Groveley Lane and Lowhill Lane from 1936 onwards, as part of the Government's Shadow Factory Scheme which Lord Austin was in charge of from its inception that year.

It included an under-ground factory built under Groveley Lane where aircraft engines and associated components were assembled during the Second World War. By March 1940 tunnels were also constructed to link to other parts of the works site. These underground tunnels were capable of accommodating 10,000 workers mainly in South Works.

Austin's first aeroplane was the Fairey Battle, completed examples flying direct from Longbridge.

The main East Works building, with its high, double-storey roof creates an unencumbered space which was ideal for the packing of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits which would be sent overseas for final assemble at the many factories that Austin had around the world. Later on the large door at the western end where the aircraft used to be tow out and up a ramp across Groveley Lane to the Flight Shed was removed. A block were the aero engines were tested was changed into a research block and called East Research.


Well done Mr Forgetful (mumbles something inaudible under breath) :whistle:

Just out of interest here is the first type of aircraft produced at Longbridge, the Fairey Battle

Paul - I agree - a super question if you managed to find the relevant info on the web it makes you realise there is soooooooooooooo much we (probably most of us) don't know/didn't realise was involved. :silly: Mind you I'm not too sure about the MG link ? (Goes off to see if his dinner is in the oven, fridge, freezer or dog) :coat:

the building is eastworks the ramp was used to tow bombers across the rd to the flightshed then put on the airfield to be flown to other airfields in england. the mg link is that the k series engine was built there and the flight shed is where they carried out secret r and d of the mgf. the flight shed was indeed Designed by bouncing bomb inventor Sir Barnes Wallis and was a masterpiece in its own right sadly a few weeks ago developers pulled it down even tho there was a petition to try and save flight shed. the tunnels stretch all over longbridge and during my time there i did venture down and you would never believe me the stuff what was down there from old cars to bits of areoplane..ooops going off the beaten track a bit with the quiz

So who won?

my mistake you both did so its a draw

rayb, please don't stop with your history, the idea of this MG Quiz is to find out something we never knew and keep the old grey matter active. Once again thanks for a great question

As regards a winner, I think I only put a bit of icing on the cake. Mr Forgetful was in there with the answer before me.

Go for it Ted. :thumbsup:

Paul - you are a gentleman (somebody inspect his coat elbows!!) :whistle:

I hope this, continuing from the picture quiz before, requires a little research so is not too easy but that, at the same time, it gives a further little insight to MG

1 + 2 - What is the connection
3 + 4 - What is the connection
5 + 6 - The final clue to the above which gives the final part of - Answer 1
And thus having found the common link in the pictures why is this inappropriate to either FC7900 or the MGF - Answer 2



Not too complicated is it

no1 is the name of the factory runner round car the old speckled hen not sure on the others :ohmy:

rayb - it might require a little "light blue" thinking (I am a bit convoluted) :silly: but all the 6 pictures link in one way

Ideally, I would like the reasoning between them - speckled hen you have described in part, link with the others and thus the final picture may appear :evil:

I rate it a victory when, having read the questions set by Mr Forgetful several times, I actually understand the question being asked :silly: