A breech ring turns, screwed by Ruby Loftus

Date

1943

Description

Creator of the image: Laura Knight
Date of the image creation: 1943
Medium: Oil on canvas
Person depicted: Ruby Loftus

In 1943 the British Ministry of Supply was concerned at the level of disaffection and absenteeism of the women who worked in the armament factories. As a result, the War Artists Advisory Committee commissioned Laura Knight (1877–1970) to create an artwork that could reverse this trend and bolster female recruitment into the ordnance factories. Knight’s artwork Ruby Loftus Screwing a Breech Ring was the result. It depicts Ruby Loftus (1921–2004) working an industrial lathe to fashion a component of a double-barrelled anti-aircraft gun. This was quite a technically demanding task, for any lack of precision in its production could cause the weapon, which was designed to fire twenty-five rounds per minute, to explode upon firing. This was clearly dangerous, as was operating such a machine without safety goggles.

Apparently, during peacetime such a complicated task would only be performed by a man with upwards of eight years experience, yet apparently the 21-year-old Loftus mastered in in just a year or two. This ability was considered a great publicity coup at the time, however it has been suggested that she was placed at this specific machine precisely for that reason. Much as Loftus was depicted proving herself in a traditionally male environment, Knight had not previously attempted to paint industrial machinery, and her artwork was praised for its technical accuracy. The artwork was immediately very popular, and was reproduced in print and in newsreels, with Knight being interviewed by the BBC. She achieved instant fame. The artwork is now a part of the collection at Britain’s Imperial War Museum.

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