Lantern Slides and Photographic Prints of Aircraft

Formed in 1910 as the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, this early British aircraft manufacturer was founded when that business was liquidated and the assets transferred to The Bristol Aeroplane Company Limited. The company designed and manufactured aircraft frames as well as engines. The company is perhaps best known for its 'Blenheim' aircraft, but was also involved in the early work that led to the supersonic Concorde airliner.

In 1956 the company was split into Bristol Aircraft and Bristol Aero Engines. In 1959 the businesses merged along with a number of aviation companies to form the British Aircraft Corporation. In 1977 BAC was nationalised and became part of British Aerospace (BAe). This successor company was ultimately privatised and became BAE Systems.

Handley Page Limited was an aircraft manufacturers based in Cricklewood, and later Radlett, founded by Frederick Handley Page. Prior to establishing his company Handley Page had experimented with several aircraft designs, being fired from his pervious employed for conducting these on their premises. As a result, on 17th June 1909, he established his own company in order to manufacture and sell his designs, making it the first company in Britain established to manufacture aircraft. Initially the company was based in Barking, but it would later move to Cricklewood, where the company had an airfield from which aircraft could be flown.

During the First World War the company produced the Type O bombers which were designed to attach German Zeppelin yard, with the later intent of bombing Berlin. The first of these to enter service was the O/100 which was followed by the O/400 in 1918. The company also produced the V/1500 which was capable of attacking Berlin from East Anglia but was not used due to the end of the war. At the time these aircraft were the largest to be produced in Britain and were some of the largest in the world.

Following the end of the war a Handley Page V/1500 was shipped to Newfoundland in order to attempt the first trans-Atlantic flight. This aircraft, named ‘Atlantic’, would miss out on this as Alcock and Brown would complete the feat in June 1919 using a Vickers Vimy. It would be later used to transport the first airmail from Canada to the United States. Also at this time, the company would adapt a number of its O/400s for passenger use. These would be employed on the London to Paris route, operated by Handley Page Transport Ltd, also established by Frederick but not part of the aircraft manufacturing business, and which would later be merged with other operators to form Imperial Airways.

A final development that occurred during 1919 was the introduction of the company’s first purpose built airliner, the Type W. This was a development of the wartime O/400, as the V/1500 was deemed to large although some of its components were used on the design. This had a fully enclosed passenger compartment but with an open cockpit and would continue in service until 1931.

During the 1920s the majority of the Handley Page’s revenue was generated from the licence fees paid by other companies for the use of their design of slat. This was mounted on the front of an aircrafts main wing and was designed to improve airflow at high angles of attack. Gustav Lachmann would also develop this at the same time would be later employed by the company.

In 1929 the Cricklewood Aerodrome would be closed in favour of a new one constructed at Radlett, where all testing and final assembly would be completed. The factory at Cricklewood would be retained in order to manufacture aircraft components until 1964.

During 1931 the company would produce a pair of airliner designs to a specification issued by Imperial Airways. These were the HP.42, designed for use on the long range routes to the far east, and the HP.45, for use on shorter European routes. These were the largest aircraft in regular service at the time and were all given names beginning with H.

Despite the numerous designs the company produced during the inter-war year it would not be very profitable as the airliners it produced were only ordered in very limited numbers. This would change with the raise in European tensions in the late 1930s, which would see the company returning to production of military aircraft. Initially this was the HP.52 Hampden and HP.54 Harrow, both of which saw service in the early stages of the Second World War before being transferred to use as transports. These would be followed by the HP.57 Halifax, which was developed from a unsuccessful twin engine design, and would become the second most widely used four engine bomber, following the Avro Lancaster. It would also be employed as a transport and glider tug. The company would also work on the HP.75 Manx, which was a twin engine tailess aircraft, but this would suffer a series of issues that would mean it was scrapped after only 17 hours flight.

In 1947 Handley Page purchased the assets of Mile Aircraft, which had gone bankrupt, including the designs, tools and jigs for the Miles M.52 Supersonic aircraft. The company also acquired the Woodley site and began operations as a subsidiary, Handley Page (Reading) Ltd, which also took over the remaining assets of the dormant Handley Page Transport Ltd. The company would produce the Herald airliner with the HRP model number.

In the post war years Handley Page was most well-known for its involvement in the producing of one of the three V-bombers introduced in the 1950s. These were the British nuclear deterrent and were developed to Specification B.35/46, which aimed to replace the piston engine powered Lancasters and Lincolns then in service. In response the company developed the HP.80, a crescent wing four engine design, which became the Victor and was first flown in 1952. During 1956 one of these aircraft underwent tests during which it broke the sound barrier, one of the largest aircraft to achieve this at the time. Following this type would enter service in 1958 and would remain in service until 1993, although they had been converted to airborne tankers in the late 1960s when they were deemed surplus to requirements.

In 1961 the company produced the HP.115, which was designed to test the low speed handling of a delta wing aircraft. This was part of the research that led to the production of Concorde and would be used until 1974. During 1970 this aircraft would be flown by Neil Armstrong, after he had been previously refused the opportunity by NASA in 1962.

During the late 1960 Handley Page resisted government pressure to merge with other aircraft manufacturers. As a result, it did not become part of the two main manufacturers, Hawker Siddeley and the British Aircraft Corporation, but it also meant that it was unable to compete for government contracts or produce large commercial aircraft on a the same scale as these two companies. Although they developed the Jetstream as a commuter aircraft this was not enough to prevent the company going bankrupt. In March 1970 it went into voluntary liquidation and was wound up. The Jetstream continued to by produced by Scottish Aviation and later British Aerospace.

A V Roe and Co Ltd, more commonly known as Avro, was an aircraft manufacturer based in Manchester. One of the first manufacturers of aircraft, the company operated from 1910 until 1963. Avro was founded by brothers Alliott and Humphrey Verdon Roe and was based originally in the basement of the Everards Elastic Webbing Company's factory at Brownsfield Mill in Ancoats, Manchester. Avro also rented a shed at Brooklands airfield, where the finished aircraft were sold.

Alliott Verson Roe was the aircraft designer, having already constructed a successful aircraft, the Roe I Triplane, in 1909. The Roe I was the first aircraft completely built from British components. Previous aircraft designs had used parts imported from overseas.

Humphrey Verdon Roe was the managing director of the company, bringing funding for the new enterprise from the family webbing company that he also ran.

In 1911 Roy Chadwick joined the company as Alliott’s personal assistant, working as a draughtsman. Chadwick became the firm's Chief Designer in 1918.

The Avro 500, or Avro E, was the company's first mass produced aircraft. It took its first flight in March 1912. Eighteen of these were built, with most of them entering service with the Royal Flying Corps. In the same year, Avro prototyped the Avro F and Avro G, which were the world's first aircraft with fully enclosed crew accommodation, but neither went into production.

September 1913 saw the first flight of the Avro 504. This was a development of the Avro 500 and was purchased by the War Office. As a result, it would see front line service during the early years of the First World War, but was later used primarily for training pilots. The Avro 504 was manufactured for a period of 20 years, with 8,340 being produced in total. The success of the Avro 504 led the company to move to a factory in Miles Platting, Manchester, followed in 1914 by an extension to the company's new works at Newton Heath, which was completed in 1919.

Following the end of the First World War the lack of new orders caused severe financial problems for Avro and in August 1920 68.5% of the company’s shares were acquired by Crossley Motors, who needed additional factory space to build automobile bodies. Avro continued to operate, building aircraft at the Newton Heath works, and testing them at Alexandra Park Aerodrome in South Manchester until 1924, when flight testing moved to Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire.

In 1928, Crossley Motors sold their stake in Avro to Armstrong Siddeley in order to pay off losses they had incurred on other projects. Avro became part of the Armstrong Siddeley Development Company, prompting Alliott Verdon Roe's resignation from the company. Chief Designer Roy Chadwick remained at Avro, overseeing the production of training aircraft. Chadwick designed the Avro Tutor in 1930, followed by the twin engine Avro 652, which was later developed into the multirole Avro Anson. The Tutor was bought in large quantities by the RAF.

In 1935, Avro became a subsidiary of Hawker Siddeley.

As tensions in Europe increased, resulting in the outbreak of the Second World War, Avro returned to the production of military aircraft, producing the Avro Manchester, Lancaster and Lincoln bombers. The twin engine Manchester was unsuccessful, partly due to its Vulture engines. Replacing the Vultures with four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines resulted in the more successful Lancaster. 7,377 of these were produced and saw active service during the war. In 1944, the Lancaster was further developed into the Lincoln, the last piston engine bomber in Royal Air Force service.

In order to meet rising demand Avro opened a new factory at Greengate, Chadderton, in 1938, where almost half of all Avro Lancasters were produced, with final assembly at Woodford Aerodrome. The following year, Avro also established an experimental department at RAF Ringway, now known as Manchester Airport, and a shadow factory at Yeadon Aerodrome, now Leeds-Bradford Airport. The Yeadon factory produced 5,500 aircraft including Ansons, Lancasters, Yorks and Lincolns.

Towards the end of the Second World War, Avro put into production a number of civil airliners, in order to make up for a drop in military orders. One of these designs was the Lancastrian, which was a conversion of the Lancaster bomber. The second was the Avro York, which was also based on the Lancaster but used a different fuselage. Production of this would be limited until 1944 due to the focus on military aircraft. The final design that the company produced was the Tudor. This used many components from the Lincoln but suffered from the fact that it wasn’t sufficiently advanced when compared to existing designs and as a result it did not achieve many orders. Despite this both the York and Tudor were used in the Berlin Airlift.

On 23rd August 1947 Roy Chadwick was killed in a crash involving a prototype Tudor 2 that was undergoing testing. Despite this his impact on the company continued, as he had already begun design work on a number of aircraft that Avro went on to produce.

In 1948 Avro produced the Tudor 8 which was powered by four Nene jet engines. This design retained the tail wheel undercarriage, which placed the engine exhausts close to the ground. As a result, the company replaced this with a tricycle undercarriage for the Tudor 9. The design became known as the Avro Ashton, which first flew in 1950. Although this was one of the first jet transport aircraft it was primarily used for research and it was not intended to enter service.

On 30th August 1952 the Avro 698 made its first flight. This was a four engine jet bomber that had been developed to replace existing piston engine designs. Further development of the design resulted in the Avro 707 and the Avro 710. The 710 was not put into full production as it was considered too time consuming to develop. The 698 entered service in 1956 under the name Vulcan, with an improved B.2 version introduced in 1960. The Avro Vulcan was retired in 1984 after having only being using in combat once, during the 1982 Falklands War.

During the late 1950s the company developed the 748 turbo-prop airliner. This successful design was sold around the world and was later developed into the Ashton transport by Hawker Siddeley. The same period also saw the company’s weapons research division begin development of the Blue Steel nuclear missile.

During 1963, parent company Hawker Siddeley restructured its aviation subsidiaries. Each subsidiary had operated under its own brand name, but from July 1963 all subsidiaries were merged into Hawker Siddeley's Aviation Division, which was operated as a single brand. The missile division of the company would become part of the Dynamics Division. Avro as a company ceased to exist, but the Avro was later reused by British Aerospace for their 146 regional airliner, known as the Avro RJ.

The De Havilland Aircraft Company was formed as a result of the of the sale of Airco, where Geoffrey De Havilland had been chief designer, to BSA. Due to the financial difficulty that Airco was in when it became part of BSA the decision was taken to liquidate it and the company’s assets were placed for sale. They were bought by de Havilland, with the help of an investment by George Holt Thomas, who was able to use them to found his own company at the Stag Lane Aerodrome, near Edgware. Initially work was focused on maintaining and providing spares for surplus DH.4 and DH.9 aircraft that had been produced by Airco and were being operated by various civil organisations. Beyond this the company focused on the growing civilian market by continuing with the development of the DH.18 airliner, which had also begun by Airco.

During 1924 Alan Samuel Butler became chairman of the De Havilland Aircraft Company Ltd following a large investment that had result from an aircraft the company had built for him. At this time, the company was producing DH.9 and DH.9A aircraft as well as experimental designs for the Air Ministry and the DH.50 four passenger aircraft. It was also work on designs for what would become the DH.54.

On 22nd February 1925 the first flight of the DH.60 Cirrus Moth, a small two seater biplane, was undertaken. This design would lead to a series of successful aircraft that were popular with private aviators and the Air Ministry. The success of this design also led to the development by De Havilland of their own engine design, as the war surplus designs they had been making use of were running out. This would become the Gipsy and was used to produce the DH.60 Gipsy Moth. The new engine development also led to the establishment of the company’s engine division in 1926.

During March 1928, a new subsidiary was formed known as the De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. This was based in Toronto and built Moth aircraft as well trained Canadian aircrew. Soon after the De Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd was established in Melbourne. In 1929 the De Havilland Aircraft Company was listed as a public company, with de Havilland himself continued in his role as technical director. At this time, the company was concentrating on the production of single and two seat biplanes, many of which were continuations of the work of Airco but which also included the Gypsy Moth, one of which was flown by Amy Johnson to Australia in 1930. They had already expanded production to include several models of airliner which included the DH84 Dragon, DH84B Dragon Express and DH89 Dragon Rapide. It had also established additional overseas facilities, beyond those in Australia and Canada, in India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States of America.

In 1931 the Gipsy Moth was redesigned to meet an RAF specification for a training aircraft. This was the DH.82 Tiger Moth. De Havilland also designed a number of aircraft with enclosed cockpits as both he and his wife were tired of travelling in open designs.

In 1932 the De Havilland Aircraft Company moved to Hatfield, although the Stag Lane site was retained for the production of aircraft engines, and in 1935 De Havilland Propellers was established as a subsidiary. This was established to construct Hamilton Standard variable pitch propellers under licence. The production of these would be undertaken at a newly established facility in Lostock. Also, during the late 1930s the company would work on the development and production of the Albatross and Flamingo airliners. Production of these designs would be interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War, although the limited number produced would find use in the Royal Air Force and BAOC.

During the war, de Havilland undertook a great deal of work in repairing battle damaged Hurricanes and also produced 150 Airspeed Oxfords. In additions to this October 1939 saw the beginning of design work on an unarmed bomber that would subcontract work to furniture and coachbuilding companies, which would otherwise have a limited role in the war effort. On 3rd October 1940, the Hatfield site suffered its only direct damage of the war when four bombs hit one of the workshops killing 21 and injuring a further 70. In response the work undertaken here was later dispersed. Later in 1940 the Mosquito undertook its first flight and would later enter service with the RAF in July 1941.

Also at this time, the company developed both the Goblin jet engine and the Vampire which it was used in. This would undertake its first flight on 20th September 1943 and achieved a speed of 500mph in 1944, but production would not begin until after the end of the conflict. In addition to this it would be the first jet powered aircraft to land on an aircraft carrier in December 1945 when Lt Cdr Eric ‘Winkle’ Brown landed one on HMS Ocean.

De Havilland’s development of civilian airliners would also continue during this period. In late 1944 it would begin design work on a small aircraft to meet the type 5B specification that had resulted from the Brabazon Committee. This would become the Dove, which would first fly on 25th September 1945, on the 25th anniversary of the company, and would be later developed into the larger Heron. Both of these would be constructed at a new site, acquired in 1948, at Hawarden Airport also known as Broughton.

During 1946 the company also undertook work aimed at breaking the sound barrier. In order to do this a new design, the tailless DH.108 Swallow, was produced and this was first flown on 15th May 1946. Although it would be the first aircraft outside North America to fly supersonic, achieving this on 7th September 1948, it only achieved this after one of the aircraft broke up in flight on 26th September 1946 killing the company’s chief test pilot, Geoffrey De Havilland Junior.

On 27th July 1949 the first flight of the jet powered Comet airliner was undertaken. This had been initially developed to meet the type IV specification from the Brabazon Committee, for a high speed transatlantic mail plane, but had been changed to a passenger aircraft. The design entered service on 2nd May 1952 as the world first commercial jet airliner. 1949 also saw the first flight of the Venom fighter, which was based on the previous Vampire design but with a more powerful engine.

In 1951 the De Havilland Aircraft Company the first prototype DH.110 Vixen was completed. This was a larger RADAR equipped fighter design that was developed for use by both the Fleet Air Arm and the Royal Airforce. On 6th September 1952 it would be demonstrated at the Farnborough Air Show. After breaking the sound barrier it turned towards the crowd but broke up during the maneuverer killing both the aircrew aboard and 29 members of the public on the ground. 60 more would be injured and following the accident stricter regulations relating to aerial displays were introduced.

The company would also suffer further losses during the early 1950s when three Comets would break up during flight. This would lead to a series of inquiries into these losses, as well as the grounding of all the Comets then in service. Although the design would be improved to produce the Comet 4, by the time this was introduced other designs had been introduced and orders were severely limited.

During 1955 the company underwent a major reorganisation. The De Havilland Aircraft Company, De Havilland Engine Company and De Havilland Propellers Ltd all became subsidiaries of De Havilland Holdings Ltd.

In the late 1950s the company would be involved in the development of the Blue Streak rocket and also formed a joint venture with Hunting Aircraft and Fairey Aviation in order to produce the DH.121 Trident, under the name Airco. This would be the last airliner developed independently by the De Havilland Company as in 1960 it would be acquired by Hawker Siddeley to form part of their aviation division. Although it would continue to operate under its own name for a short period, during which it acquired S.G. Brown from the Admiralty, this would only last until 1963 when Hawker Siddeley took the decision to discontinue the use of the various names it was using in favour of a single Hawker Siddeley brand.