1940s
Typically, when people think about United Kingdom history in the 1940s, the war is inevitably at the forefront of their minds.
Typically, when people think about United Kingdom history in the 1940s, the war is inevitably at the forefront of their minds.
Little is known about Turnbull & Scott in this decade, so we encourage anyone with stories, information or anything to share your story.
One remarkable story which we can tell from the 1940s relates to an interesting tool which we discovered in our factory (pictured right). This is an engine gasket punch and if you look closely, you can see the infamous swastika symbol etched onto the bottom. This marking tells us that it was commissioned by, or during the time of, the Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion. We can therefore deduce that this punch was likely recovered by a Turnbull & Scott employee, or someone who knew a Turnbull & Scott employee, while in Germany at the end of World War 2. This was common for soldiers at the time who took the opportunity to take any materials or equipment which they felt could be of use when back in the UK.
A 1940s Gasket Punch
It’s a 36mm diameter punch, so was either for a shaft to pass through a sealed assembly or a water passage between parts of an assembly – 36mm is too big for an oil passage on all but the largest of engines. The application was most likely for tank engines but could also have been a Zeppelin engine.
Maybach made tank engines at Friedrichshafen, so it could have come from there, even though the tooling marks are from Stuttgart. Maybach also licensed tank engine production to other engine builders later in the war to prevent a single source being bombed and killing the supply chain, so there is a possibility it was collected from elsewhere in Germany.
We no longer have use for the gasket punch in question but have kept it to remember the incredible history which Turnbull & Scott has and to never forget the sacrifice which so many people made during the 1940s.
An infamous marking on this 1940s Gasket Punch