Ford Of Britain 100: Image Of The Week - 4/52

BRENTWOOD, UNITED KINGDOM – January 27, 2011: To celebrate the centenary of Ford of Britain in 2011, the company is exploring its photo archive to reveal rarely seen images.

Ford's British roots will be illustrated each week by a specially selected picture.

Seventy years ago Ford's attention was not on style, cost and driveability but the potential invasion by wartime enemies at the height of their power. At the request of the government Ford opened a factory at Urmston, Manchester to produce Rolls-Royce Merlin aero engines. Ford's exacting standards meant that over 30,000 engines, like those featured in this week's image of the week, were built with every one passing the RAF's stringent acceptance tests.