The Air Ministry was created to oversee the formation of the Royal Air Force an amalgamation of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Naval Air Service. As well as overseeing and managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force it also issued specifications for aircraft to aircraft companies. The prototype aircraft would be tested by the Ministry who would then assigned it with a name.

Vickers-Armstrongs (Aviation) Ltd emerged from the reorganisation of Vickers (Aviation) Ltd and Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd in 1938. Within the new company, both the Vickers works and the Supermarine works continued to brand their products under their original names. The parent company, Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd, was formed by the merger of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. Vickers Limited had established its Aviation Department in 1911. In 1928, the Aviation Department was reconstituted as Vickers (Aviation) Limited. Around the same time, Vickers (Aviation) Limited acquired the Supermarine Aviation Works, which built the Spitfire fighter plane, renaming them the Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd. In 1960 Vickers-Armstrong (Aircraft) Ltd was one of the companies involved in the formation of British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) formed as a result of the merger of Vickers-Armstrong (Aviation) Ltd, Bristol Aviation, English Electric and Hunting. The Vickers brand name was eventually dropped by BAC in 1965.