Shorts Aircraft Factory Tunnels in Rochester

Rochester has a wealth of World War Two history, with a lot of it located beneath your feet in tunnels.

Short Brothers, the aircraft manufacturers, started life in the area. Shorts constructed a series of tunnels where part of the factory’s work could continue when the expected air raids started. The production capacity of the underground factory was primarily used for the manufacture of sensitive aircraft instruments was.

The smaller tunnels were used as an air raid shelter for the factory’s staff. It was also used to store duplicate copies of important plans both of important infrastructure in the local area and of the components which the factory produced.