[3] At the outbreak of World War II, the factory and its supply chain were switched to produce parts for the Supermarine Spitfire.

Recognised as an important part of the British war effort, it was bombed on a number of occasions by the German Luftwaffe, the first in September 1940.

[3] In 2002, Ford stopped producing passenger cars in the UK, leaving the Southampton-made Transit as their only British-made vehicle.

[1] In September 2011, Ford of Europe confirmed that Southampton would continue to make the short and medium wheelbase, and Tourneo minibus versions, of the Transit for two more years.

Workers who had not accepted either redundancy or early retirement were redeployed to:[2] Demolition of the Southampton plant began in 2015[6] and by September 2017, the factories on the site had been completely demolished.