Machine tool capacity applied to a unique problem: machining the hull of the Australian Cruiser Tank in the government annex at Bradford Kendall Ltd.

The beginning of World War II saw Australian munitions production in a poor state to meet the incredible increase in demand for the wide variety of munitions demanded by the three services. Although various government factories formed the nucleus of the production effort, they were simply not geared up for both the volume and diversity of munitions required for the war effort. The private manufacturing industry was contracted from the first moment to swing over to munitions production. But, even these resources were not enough to meet the demand, particularly in the more specialised areas of manufacture. State based boards of area management were set up to control the competing demands, allocate priorities and manage contracts placed with companies.

Many companies did not have experience in manufacturing munitions, but were still awarded contracts on the basis of the production capacity of machines they controlled, and their experience in the peacetime manufacture of similar products. The Union Can Company in Melbourne , for example, swung into producing No.75 Mk.1 anti-tank grenades, while the Adelaide arm of the company manufactured Mk.V contact anti shipping mines. The Tasmanian Railways Workshops in Launceston built mortar bombs, while their counterparts in Victoria manufactured 17-pdr artillery projectiles. Many regional companies, some as small as a local garage with a lathe and a milling machine, were called upon to manufacture components under sub-contract, feeding a steady stream of parts to major coordinating contractors who assembled the final product. In this way, all available manufacturing capacity was utilised for the war effort.

While many companies had expertise in like types of manufacturing, they were lacking the necessary tool capacity to produce the munitions required. Particularly where a munition such as a tank, for example, had simply never been produced in this country before and required very specialised tools. The Government came up with a unique partnership arrangement of extending the capacity of the private company by building and equipping an ‘annex’ to the company’s manufacturing plants. Companies did not necessarily have to be large to attract a government annex, only offer expertise that could be utilised and re-directed into war production. Many companies moved outside their normal manufacturing sphere in running a government annex. Amalgamated Wireless Australasia Ltd were already manufacturing radios and radar components in their main plant area, while the government annex established as part of their Ashfield, New South Wales (NSW) complex turned out artillery fuzes. Australia ’s most experienced electric furnace foundry company before the war, Bradford Kendall Ltd’s government annex at Alexandria , NSW produced cast aircraft bomb assemblies and the major hull castings of the Australian Cruiser tank. The ambitious Australian Cruiser tank project utilised a number of government annexes, including the final assembly shop at Chullora, operated by the NSW Government railways.

The Government annex system offered a unique solution to the demands of the war effort. It married a private company’s manufacturing expertise and management with government provided increased production capacity in order to satisfy the immense demands of the nation during wartime. While the system was by no means perfect, it provided vital increases in manufacturing capacity that wouldn’t have been available otherwise. It was a unique partnership that produced great results for the nation.

A completed Australian Cruiser tank climbs the short hill to the initial production test area adjacent to the government-built final tank assembly annex operated by the New South Wales Railways at Chullora. This annex was planned and built to incorporate the most modern tank assembly practices available.