#Landmark
Daimler Factory
The Daimler Factory on Sandy Lane, Coventry, is one of several sites linked to wartime production. Originally founded in 1886 as a British motor manufacturer, in wartime its manufacturing facilities were used for the war effort.
Following the end of the First World War, during which Daimler manufactured engines for the Mark IV tanks, the company returned to car production. However, that peacetime activity ceased once again with the outbreak of the Second World War, when operations shifted to the manufacture of armaments and other military equipment.
During this period Daimler produced the ‘Dingo’ armoured scout car and supplied components for tanks and firearms. The company also manufactured aircraft engines and other vital aviation parts. Its Coventry operations included a gun-turret factory in Radford on Middlemarch Road and Sandy Lane, along with a large site on Browns Lane, later associated with Jaguar.
During the Second World War, at peak production the Daimler work force numbered over 16,000 employees. Women made up a large proportion of this force.
On the night of 14 November 1940, during the Luftwaffe’s (German Air Force) bombing raid, codenamed ‘Moonlight Sonata’, the Daimler facilities escaped serious damage and production continued. However, in April 1941, Coventry suffered what became known as the ‘forgotten blitz’, which had a far greater impact on the company.
At 22:00 on 8 April 1941, a Luftwaffe raid struck the city centre. Multiple incendiary bombs fell on the Radford factory, igniting the gun-turret shop, pattern shop, stores, foundry, and canteen. Soon afterward, high-explosive bombs followed, striking several additional locations within the Daimler works.
Within an hour, firefighters were on site battling the flames as bombs continued to fall. A direct hit near the main gates killed five firemen and destroyed eighteen fire hoses that were in use, allowing the blaze to rage unchecked. By the time the attack ended, the factory was gutted, with only skeletal steel beams left standing.
The nearby shadow factory suffered as well, hit by five high-explosive bombs and around 150 incendiary bombs. Just two nights later, on 10 April, the Luftwaffe returned, again targeting Coventry’s industrial capacity. This time the Bren-gun shop and foundry were struck. A massive 1,000kg bomb penetrated the roof and embedded itself five metres underground, requiring six days for specialists to safely remove the unexploded ordnance.
These repeated attacks effectively ended Daimler’s production in Coventry. Manufacturing was relocated to other sites across Britain, ensuring that war-effort operations could continue despite the devastation at the company’s historic home.