English Electric Aircraft and their Predecessors

194 Pages·1987·156.969 MB·English

by  Stephen Ransom & Robert Fairclough

English Electric
Aircraft
and their Predecessors
Stephen Ransom
Robert Fairclough
I I
TheCanberra,oneofthemostbeautifulaeroplaneseverbuilt,madeitsfirstflighton13May,
1949,and establishedEnglishElectricinthefront rankofaircraftmanufacturers.Morethan
1,300Canberraswere builtandthetype has beeninserviceforwelloverthreedecades.The
example illustrated is the Canberra T Mk 4, which first flew on 12 June, 1952. PUTNAM
(Charles E. Brown, Courtsey The English Electric Co Ltd)
-
CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgements vii
'I am of the opinion that the
Introduction ix
aircraft industry is ahead of others in the
The Company's History l
application of science.'
Howard Wright-Capone Helicopters 74
W.O. Manning (1925)
Moore-Brabazon Powered Glider 79
Howard Wright 1909 Biplane 79
The Barber and Aeronautical Syndicate Monoplanes 83
'It seems probable that no other
Howard Wright Glider 85
single industry would have such a pervasive
Cooke Monoplane 85
effect on the technological progress of the
Howard Wright 1909 Monoplane and Lascelles Ornis 88
nation.'
Scottish Aeroplane Syndicate Avis 89
Plowden Committee on Aviation (1965)
Howard Wright 1910 Monoplane 92
Howard Wright Demoiselle-pattern Monoplane 94
Howard Wright Monoplane (Enlarged Avis) 94
Howard Wright BU:riot XII-pattern Monoplane 95
Poynter Monoplane 95
Howard Wright Curtiss-pattern Biplane 96
Howard Wright 1910 Biplane 96
Coventry Ordnance Works Military Trials Biplanes 102
Coventry Ordnance Works Admiralty Type 54 110
Phoenix P.5 Cork 110
English Electric S.I Wren 125
Engl~sh Electric P.5 Kingston 134
Engl~sh Electric M.3 Ayr. 146
Engl~sh Electric Canberra 152
~n.ghsh Electric Lightning 217
ntish Aircraft Corporation TSR.2 270
~ppend~x A: S~b-eontracted Production 300
APpendix B: Licensed Production 314
ppend~x C: Projected Aircraft.. 330
tptendlx D: Summary of Aircraft Production and Service Use 349
n ex 369
ISBN 0 85177 806 2
©Stephen Ransom and Robert S Fairclough 1987
Typeset by Witwell Ltd, Liverpool
Printed in Great Britain for
Putnam, an imprint of
Conway Martime Press Ltd,
24 Bride Lane, Fleet Street
London EC4Y 8DR
by R J Acford, Chichester
First Published 1987
v
Acknowledgements
The authors cannot claim to have initiated this history although they
have very considerably enlarged upon and entirely rewritten beyond
recognition the original work by H. Bonney and G.L.c. King, who began
their research in 1954. They produced a first draft ofthe book but were
unable to complete the history owing to pressure of work and other
commitments. In 1964, the combined mutual interests ofthe present and
past authors led to a decision to continue writing the history. Harry
Bonney and Geoffrey Kinggenerouslydonatedtheirownmaterialandthis
was used as the basis for this book. The authors thank them for their
assistance and those who helped them with their research.
Although this history has remained a private venture throughout the
period in which it was written, the authors haveofnecessity had recourse
to the records and facilities available within British Aerospace, Warton
Division. The authors gratefully acknowledge the Division's directors for
giving their permission to obtainaccess to relevantdocuments and for the
use ofthe various facilities. In particular, they thank the former directors
F.D. Crowe and W. Shorrock, Senior, for their constant support and
encouragement. The authors wish to state, however, that the views
.expressed in the book are their own and are not necessarily those held by
the companies concerned in this history.
When the authors commencedtheir research theywere surprisedand to
some degree saddened to find that authentic records pertaining to the
company's early history were virtually non-existent. On reflection, they
realised English Electric's history was such that the various events which
led to its formation and expansion, that is, mergers, take-overs and
liquidations, inevitably created problems of storage of even essential
documents. Generally these papers were destroyed intentionally to make
way for currenttransactions. Others were lostaccidentally, asfor instance
in the fire at the Dick, Kerr Works at Preston, in the 1930s which
destroyed personnel records, the drawing office and, it is believed,
remnants ofaircraft components dating back to the early 1920s. To have
relied solely on readily accessible information would have beena mistake
because a number of errors would then have been perpetuated. The
authors, in search of historical accuracy, therefore, attempted to trace
original material which they believed to be held in private and public
archives. This arduous and lengthy task was rewarded bythe location ofa
great many hitherto unknown documents and photographs and the
privilege of meeting and corresponding with a number of former
employees, whose vivid memories helped to untangle many a Gordian
knot. Records concerning the more recent phase ofthe company'shistory
havebeen preservedand theproblems involvedincompilingthese,though
complex, have proved less difficult. However, muchinformationwasagain
obtained from private sources in order to presentas completea pictureas
Possible.
Vll
/
We especially wish to thank: James Barton, Leonard B~\,wn, Jack
Bruce, William Garlick, Victor Gaunt, Michael Goodall, Phlhp Jarrett,
Henry Knowler, Stuart Leslie, Dennis Manning,MrsElfridaManningand
Bruce Robertson. Without theirgenerousassistancetheearlyhistorycould
not have been written. Introduction
We also acknowledge with gratitude the unstinting help received from:
H.B. Adams; Air Britain; A Alexander; J.G. Arbuthnot; RP. Beamont
CBE, DSO,. DFC; Birmingham Public Library; R Boddington; RC. The Englis~ Electric Company was not established solely to
Bowyer; AT.E. Bray; British Aerospace, Warton Division, Photographic ma~ufacture .alrcraft. It was incorporated in 1918 to amalgamate the
and Publicity Departments, Technical Libraryand Technical Publications vanous elect~lCaland mechanicalengineeringinterests offive firms. These
Department; British Insulated Callender's Cables; British Museum concerns-Dick, Kerr& Co, th~ Phoenix D~namo Manufacturing Co, the
Newspaper Library; Burnley News & Clitheroe Advertiser; Cammell Laird Coventry Ordnance.Works, Willans & Robmson and the United Electric
& Co Ltd; G. Cooke; Coventry Central Library; R.E CreaseyaBE; F.J. Car Co-were each m t~e forefront oft?eir own spheres ofindustry, both
Crumpler; R. Dickson; Dudley Public Library; G.R Duval; AE. at ~ome and abro~d. Alrc~aft and ancillary items were just one facet of
Eastham; W. Eaves; Flight International Photographic Library; F. Fort; t~elr work a~d thiS o~cupled them all for a short period only of their
The General Electric and English Electric Cos Ltd;A. Green; B.a. Heath history. E~glIsh Electnc formed its own aircraft department Soon after
aBE; G.M. Hobday aBE; Imperial War Museum; Institution of amalgam~tlOn but Gover~mentecon?mies affecting the strength of the
Mechanical Engineers Library; Miss L.M. Keates; R.W. Kenworthy; Royal Air Force led t~ ItS closure m 1926. It was reformed in 1938,
Lancashire Evening Post; P.M.L. Lewis; L.A Liggins; Grp Capt G.E. however, to. ~elp expedite the Government's plans for rearmament. In
Livock DFC, AFC, RAFRet'd;M.D. Manton;E.Marshall;E.B. Morgan; 1959, a subSidiary company, English Electric Aviation Ltd, wasformed to
N. Parker; T.e. Pattinson DFC; H.J. Penrose aBE: EL. Petch; S. Platt; encompass th~ parent ~o~pany'saviation interests. Five years later, the
Public Record Office; W.W. Ransom; J.W. Robertson; N. Rosbottom; na!De ofEnglIsh Ele~~nc dl~appeared from t~e aircraft industry, its place
RAE, Farnborough, Main Library; Royal Aeronautical Society Library; bemg taken by Br~t~sh Aircraft CorporatIOn, Preston Division, and
Mrs E. Shorland (nee Herschel); Short Bros & Harland Ltd; The subsequently by Bntlsh ~ero~pace, Warton Division. Aircraft design,
Shuttleworth Trust; South Shields Central Library; J.W.C. Squier; RA. ~evelopment a~d produc.tIOn d~d no.t end with a change ofname: Warton
Whyte; AF. Wilkinson; G. Williams; the publications of numerous IS now deeply mvolved I~ vanous. mter,:a~ional. collaborative projects.
aviation enthusiast societies; and many other contributors. .The first phase of~nghshElectnc's aViatIOnhistory had its origin inan
Our thanks are also due to Robert Thornley, whose photographic skill aircraftfactory estabhshed by HowardT. Wrightat Battersea, London,in
preserved a large number of the photographs used to illustrate the 1907, a~d revolves around the work ofW.O. Manning, a pioneer ofthe
company's early history, and Mrs Barbara Smith, who typed the original present md~stry. Fr0!D.1908, when Manning joined Wright until the time
manuscript. he l~ft ~nghsh ~lect~lc m 1926, ~here is a continuous line ofdevelopment
Finally, special mention must be made ofMrs Stephanie Ransom, who ofhiS wlde-rangmg Ideas. Manmng became in turn chiefaircraft designer
greatly assisted with the research for, the preparation and editing ofand to ~oventry ~rdnance Works (COW), the Phoenix Dynamo Co and
the final typing of this history. Enghsh Electnc.
The sec.ond phase ofthe company's historyinmanyrespectsmirrors the
SR April 1987 RSF first. l?urmg t~e 1914-1918 war, large contracts were placed with COW,
Bremen, FRG Blackburn, UK Pha:mx an~ Dlc~, Kerr. I~ can be saidthat these contracts pavedthe way
wor~ whlc~
for m EnglIsh Electric was to excel, namely the mass
productIOn of. airframes under sub-contract. English Electric
recomm~nced ~Ircraft production in 1938 with this type of work. Sub
Eont~actmgdU~I?gbo~h the first ~nd secondphasesledtotheformation of
nghsh Electr~c s deSign teams m 1918 and again in 1944. The second
ph~se e.nd~d
m the 1960s, when the Government's measures for the
~~hOn~hsatl(:>n.of the British aircraft industry took effect, and English
Aectnc AViatIOn became part of the British Aircraft Corporation
notherera ofdevelopment and success was to follow but thatisanothe;
story. '
VllI
IX
The Company's History
Early Days
I
Howard Theophilus Wright was born at Dudley, Worcestershire, in
1867, the second child ofGrace Elizabeth and Joseph Wright. He hadan
elder sister, Grace Ellen, and two younger brothers, WarwickJosephand
Walter Stanford. He was educated at Manor House Schoolandservedan
apprenticeship at his father's works, Joseph Wright & Co, which was
alongside thecanal at Tipton, Staffordshire. In 1889,the partoftheworks
known as the Boiler Yard was sold to Hiram S. Maxim (later Sir), an
entrepreneur of many interests including aviation, and Howard Wright
became its manager. This led, on 6 May, 1899, to the formation of the
Maxim Electrical & Engineering Export Ltd, and Howard continued as
manager of its engineering department. At the turn of the century the
Wright family moved to London. By then Howard was actively assisting
Maxim with designs for steam generators and boilers and with Maxim's
aerodynamic experiments using a whirling arm, and he interested himself
in turbines. Meanwhile, Warwick and Walter Wright had formed an
agency to promote their interests in motor cars.
In November 1904, Howard Wright's association with Maxim ended
when Howard bought backhis owngoodwill uponliquidationofMaxim's
company. On 31 July, 1905,the various businessesofthe Wright brothers
were brought under the control of one company-Howard T. Wright
Brothers Ltd. The company was registered with an office at Belgravia
Chambers, 72 Victoria Street, London, S.W. 1, and an authorisedcapital
of£10,000. Howard Wright and James Nicholson, anengineer, werejoint
managing directors, Warwick was appointed manager, and Walter,
secretary, Henry Claude Walker being elected chairman. In November
1905,J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon, later Lord Brabazon ofTara, waselecteda
director. However, the company was short-lived, a resolution for
voluntary liquidation being passed in October 1907. In the meantime, on
28 November, 1906, a new concern named Warwick Wright Ltd hadbeen
established with an office at 110 High Street, Marylebone, N.W. 1, anda
capital of £26,000, to act as motor car agents and manufacturers. The
brothers again held predominant interests in the company and Moore
Brabazon was appointed its vice-chairman.
Early 1907 saw an event of far-reaching consequences when a letter
addressed to the defunct Maxim company was forwarded to Howard for
his attention. The letter signed by Federico Capone, an Italian inventor,
asked whether a special flying machine could be made for him. The
ensuing correspondence resulted in Capone sending sketches of a twin
rotorhelicopterandenquiring thecostofitsconstruction.Howardstudied
the design during thesummerand, ondecidingthathecouldundertakethe
work, a contractwas drawnupandthecostagreedat£2,500. Construction
of the helicopter was started in November in a shed on the Marylebone
premises and completed in the following March at Battersea, where a
workshop had been acquired by Warwick Wright Ltd early in 1907. The
workshop occupied one of several large arches beneath the London
Brighton and South Coast Railway, overlookingthe gasworks adjacent to
Queenstown Road.
II
.Over the workshops, trains carried passengers between London and its
southern environs: electrification of the line was to take place within the
nextfew years. Asupplierofelectricalequipmentforthisprojectwas Dick,
Kerr & Co Ltd, a firm associated with railways since itsformation in 1875
by two Glasgow merchants, W.B. Dick and John Kerr. Bytheend ofthe
century, the company was supplying not only railway and tramway
equipmentbut also was engagedintheheavyengineeringindustryandwas
exporting its products world wide. In November 1883, Dick left the firm
because ofotherinterests. His name, nevertheless, was retained in the title
WestStrandRoad, later renamedStrandRoad,Preston,intheearly1900s.Ontheleftisthe
factoryacquuedbyDick,Kerr& CofromTheEnglishElectricManufacturingCoandonthe
nght, the Carnage Works. (The English Electric Co Ltd)
In 1897, Dick, Kerr acquireda disused factory ontheeastsideofStrand
Road, Preston, for ~he p.roduction of electric tramcars. A separate
~ompany, Th.e Elec~nc Railway & Tramway Carriage Works Ltd, was
Incorporatedm Apnl 1898 to manage the works whichwereextendedand
modernized. At its peak, reached in the early 1900s, the factory produced
800 tr~mcars annual~y and employed 600-800 men. Shortly after the
formatIOn ofthe Carnage Works, a newfactory was built on the westside
of Strand .Road. This.was the property of The English Electric
Man~factunng.Co Ltd m~orporated in November 1899, for making
electncal machmery for radways and tramways. Not unnaturally this
concern, the Carriage Works and Dick, Kerr co-operated closely and
betwe~n them were able to offer complete tramway installations. The co
operatIOn ~ed to. Dick, Kerr taking over The English Electric
.00
I""""""""" ~anufa<:tunngCo m 1903. In the followingyearDick,Kerrtransferredall
It~ electncal work to Preston and concentratedits mechanical products at
Dick, Kerr & Co Ltd's Works, c 1918. Kilmarnock. In June 1905, the name ofthe Carriage Works was changed
to the United Electric Car Co Ltd.
.of the company when a new partnership was formed between Kerr and
Frederick Manuelle. The following years saw Dick, Kerr enter and play III
;increasingly important parts in electric traction schemes throughout the
liaiso~
-country. These and the firm's other commitments inevitably led to its d Mean.while a on certain electrical engineering contracts was
reconstruction and on 31 May, 1890, Dick, Kerr & Co Ltd was e~elopmg between Dick, Kerr and Willans & Robinson Ltd of Rugby.
incorporated as a public company with a capital of £160,000. This companywas founded in October 1880atKingston-upon-Thames,as
2 3
Theornate archite~tu:ald.esignofWillans& RobinsonLtd'sworksatRugbywasinfluenced
by thepnncipalbUlldillgsInthetown,.namelythoseofRugbySchool.TheVictoriaWorksis
shown as it appeared ill 1900. (The English Electric Co Ltd)
Tram manufacturewas oneofPreston's principalindustries.Thiswasthesceneduringpeak
production in the car assembly shop ofthe Carriage Works. (The English Electric Co Ltd)
a partnership between PeterWilliam Willans and Mark Heaton Robinson
to build Willans' patent three-crank steam engine. Rapid expansion of
their company resulted in their acquisition of premises, which became
known as the Ferry Works, at Thames Ditton on the river bank opposite
Hampton Court. Here, steam engine production was supplemented by a
boat-building business.
In 1884, Willans wasgranteda patentfor thecentral-valvesteamengine
which was to play the major part in the company's fortunes in the
following years. When developed further the engine was found to be
particularly suitable for the direct driving of dynamos.
By 1890, it was recognised that work accumulated in connection with
more powerful central-valve engines would require a factory larger than
the Ferry Works. Subsequently, it was decided to build an entirely new
factory at Rugby. Itcame into operation in 1896andtheFerryWorkswas
closed down five years later. Meanwhile, in March 1894, Willans &
Robinson Ltd had been incorporated as a public company. At the
beginning ofthe century the company was producing steam turbines and
oil engines.
IV
In 1903, an electrical generator coupled to a Willans & Robinson Centralv I . d'
central-valve engine was installed at a colliery at Dewsbury in Yorkshire. - aveengmepro uctlOnatRugbyattheturnofthecentury.(TheEnglishElectricCo
Ltd)
4
5
incorporated with a capital of £60,000 for the purpose of making low
power, rotating electrical machinery. Three years later the firm was
employing about 100 men and had become well known to the textile
industry. In September 1907, a man who was to have considerable
influence on the company's fortunes joined it as works manager. He was
Percy John Pybus.
v
In March 1908,the completed Caponehelicopter was testedat Norbury
Golf Links, which were then alongside the road to Croydon. These and
subsequent trials were not successful. The helicopter was despatched to
Italy before the endofthe yearand became Britain's first heavier-than-air
aircraft export.
Howard Wright also undertook to install an engine in Moore
Brabazon'sShort-builtbiplaneglider. Thenecessaryalterationsweremade
at Brooklands during May 1908, but the end product again was not a
ThePhrenixDynamoManufacturingCo'sworksatLeedsOldRoad,Bradford,in1903.(The
English Electric Co Ltd) success.
Throughout 1907 and 1908, however, Howard Wright was primarily
The colliery was owned by Charles Brook Crawshaw and the generator concerned with the mechanical aspects of electricity generating
was made bythe Phrenix Dynamo Manufacturing CoLtd,ofBradford,of installations. It was while engaged in this work that he met William Oke
which Crawshaw was a director and principal shareholder. The earliest Manning, an electrical engineer employed by Callender's Cable and
reference to the PhrenixDynamoCoappears in 1895whenittookoverthe Construction Co Ltd. Manning was born at Staines, Middlesex, on 20
Wray Electrical Engineering Co, of Soho Works, Thornton Road, October, 1879,the eldest son ofAliceAllenbyandHerbertLaneManning.
Bradford. By 1903 the companyhad movedintothepremisesat LeedsOld He was educated at St Paul's School, London, and served a general
Road, Thornbury, it was to occupyfor the restofitsexistence. On 11 June engineering apprenticeship with Callender's Company. It is possible that
of that year, the Phrenix Dynamo Manufacturing Co Ltd was when he and Wright met they discovered a mutual interest in aviation,
because, in December 1908, Manning started work for Howard Wright.
At that time also, Seton-Karr had asked Howard to build him an
aircraft on which he could learn to fly. The resultant pusher biplane was
the fifth machine to be constructed at Battersea, Howard having
An early example ofcollaboration. This Phrenix Dynamo 240 kW generator coupled to a
Willans & Robinson central-valve engine was installed in C. B. Crawshaw's colliery at
Dewsbury, Yorkshire, in 1903. (The English Electric Co Ltd) Howard Theophilus Wright, 1867-1944 (left) and William Oke Manning, 1879-1958.
6 7
previously made an aeroplane for Horatio Barber and a secondhelicopter
for Capone. Seton-Karr's biplane was finished shortly before the opening
ofthe 1909 OlympiaAero Showwhere it was exhibitedand acclaimedfor
its outstanding workmanship and several novel features. After the show
the biplane was tested at the aerodrome founded by Pemberton-Billingat
Fambridge, Essex. Itwasprobablyat FambridgethatManningalsotaught
himself to fly, although he never qualified for the Royal Aero Club's
Aviator's Certificate. Howard Wright qualifiedfor his certificate,No. 331,
at Sopwith's School of Aviation, Brooklands, on 15 October, 1912.
After a brief sojourn at Fambridge, Howard Wright, in his search for
more suitable flying grounds, acquired one ofthe eighteen sheds built at
Eastchurch as well as premises at Larkhill, on Durrington Down,north of
Salisbury, and, in 1910, one of the newly-erected sheds at Brooklands.
Howard Wright's original drawing of the swivelling propeller mechanism for Maj Baden
Powell's aeroplane.
had.c?incidedwith the completionofa third helicopterfor Capone. Upon
receivmg another requestfrom Baden-powell to constructthe mechanism,
Howard firmly replied on 8 October: 'Under ordinary circumstances I
should have been. very pleased to construct anything for you but, at
present, I am so busythat Ifindadifficultyingivingthetimenecessaryfor
drawing up a rather special apparatus and to speak candidly I am a bit
afraid of it. If of course you could make the drawings it would not take
very long to get it together. I am sorry I do not know anyone who has a
large experience in this class ofwork or I would have beenverypleased to
recommend someone.' Nevertheless, on Howard's return from Naples, on
8November, where he had attended the trials ofthe secondhelicopter he
had built for Capone, a letter from Baden-Powell awaited him. The letter
as~ed Howard's advice as to the cost oftesting the engine for driving the
Howard Wright's workshop at Battersea in January 1910. In the foreground is Boyle's
SWivelling propellers. Howard replied immediately: 'With reference to the
Anzani-powered Avis and on the right Lascelles' Ornis under construction
~est ?fyour engine, as I havepreviouslypointedout,inordertohaveatest
it Will be necessary to make a propeller and this will cost £20. There will
This period also saw Howard Wright emerge as one of Britain's also be the further cost ofsettingup the apparatus necessaryfor the tests.
foremost aircraft constructors and W.O. Manning established as his chief You will remember when you raised this point before I pointed out that
designer. Not only did they undertake the manufacture of their own perhaps the cheapestwayfortestingtheenginewouldbeinyouraeroplane
designs but also those ofprivate individuals and other companies. Bythe w~en you have it completed. However, I should be pleased to hear your
end of 1909, Howard was employing ten men and his workshop at wishes.' At thisjuncture,further correspondenceonthissubjectapparently
Batterseawas so full ofaircraft in variousstagesofcompletionthathewas ceased.
regretably refusing additional orders. One ofthese was arequestfrom Maj In the remaining months of 1909, no less than nine aircraft were
RF.S. Baden-Powell to undertake the construction of a swivelling completed. Of these, the Anzani-powered Avis monoplane built for the
propeller mechanism which he (Baden-Powell) intended to install in an Sco.ttish Aeroplane Syndicate was to prove one of the best known of
aircraft he was currently building at Dagenham. Baden-Powell's request Wnght's products. Under construction were six more aircraft ofvarious
8 9