Roundhay - nuclear weapon production facility

[grumpytramp]

In a couple of weeks were I spent a few hours flicking through the soviet era Russian maps on old-maps.co.uk and reading about the hightened political tension over the alleged Iranian ambitions for nuclear weapons; it cames a bit of a shock just how close I lived to a centre of nuclear weapon production.Now I knew that the Blackburn Aircraft factory on Roundhay Road the Olympia Works (when I was wee still decorated with a camaflarge roof but now I think the site of a Tesco) had been used for WW2 production for a range of military aircraft including the Fairy Swordfish, Barracuda torpedo bombers, the Supermarine Sea Otter air-sea rescue flying boat and the Blackburn Firebrand.At some point around the end of WW2 the site appears to have been taken over by Hudswell, Clarke & Co Ltd who of course are best known for their industrail railway shunters. At the Roundhay Road site Hudswell, Clarke & Co were responsible for the manufacture of the airframe (ie shell & casing) of the first generation of UK nuclear weapons:Blue Danube see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Danub ... pon)andRed Beard see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Beard_ ... weapon)See for example http://www.secretprojects.co.uk/forum/i ... ic=10419.0 for discussion on the subject! I note the blue plaque there doesn't mention this ........ wonder why?