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WWII Decoy Factory Fooled Bombers, Saved Britain
7 Mar
Summary
- A decoy factory disguised real buildings from German bombers.
- It supplied 60% of aircraft needs until 1942.
- The decoy housed livestock before it was bombed.
During World War Two, a clever deception played out in Banbury, Oxfordshire, as a decoy factory fooled German bombers. On October 3, 1940, a German aircraft targeted the Northern Aluminium Company's Art Deco buildings. However, the bombs struck "Dummy Ally," a wooden imitation constructed by Elstree Film Studios on farmland near Great Boughton.
This decoy operation was vital, allowing the actual Northern Aluminium Company factory to continue its critical work uninterrupted. This facility, which also worked with an aluminium recycling plant processing metal from crashed aircraft, was essential to the war effort. At its peak, it employed approximately 4,000 people, many of whom were women.
The decoy factory served a dual purpose, even providing shelter for local farmers' livestock, including pigs and chickens, during inclement weather. Tragically, these animals were killed when the decoy was bombed. The actual factory, crucial for supplying 60% of the aircraft industry's needs until 1942, was later camouflaged to ensure its continued operation.
Frederick Mitman Sr., who ran the real factory, was later awarded a CBE for his contributions. A letter from Lord Beaverbrook, then minister of aircraft production, underscored the factory's importance, stating that its bombing could have significantly altered the course of World War Two.
