WesWorld

This is an attempt to make an overview of the entire industy and is pretty long and in-depth. It attempts to chart the future a little and what each firm is capable of while pondering future policy and developments.

Flight
‘The State of the British Aero Industry: 1941 and Beyond’

Part I: The 'Big Three'

Hawker Siddeley Group
Since its formation in September 1935 the Hawker Siddeley Group is the largest and most powerful of the “Big Three” conglomerates in the British aeronautical industry. Currently it has over 2,000,000sq feet of factory space. It controls the interests of four aircraft manufacturers and one aero engine manufacturer and has a large slice of the nation’s aviation private R&D facilities and spending. It also controls Air Service Training Ltd and Avro Canada in Canada which builds products to Canadian Specification as well as Avro products.

A.V. Roe has just opened its new £1 million factory at Chadderton and retains its Woodford site as well. This expansion was brought about not only by the Avro 683 Lancaster contract but also Avro will concentrate on designing and building all multi-engined civil and military aircraft within the Hawker Siddeley Group. Avro’s fortunes seem certain with several large programmes underway. The Avro 683 Lancaster developed by Roy Chadwick as part of the ‘Ideal Bomber’ programme as an ‘Interim Bomber’ is on course to enter service with RAF Bomber Command in 1941 and has had a remarkable trouble-free development programme. Since the cancellation of the Bristol 159 Manchester ‘Ideal Bomber’ it seems assured that the Lancaster will become the main heavy bomber alongside the Boulton Paul P.90 Birmingham and possibly up to 400 Lancasters may be built by 1944. This is the only military programme currently underway although designs for an aerial-tanker variant of the Avro 683 for RAF use have been put forward. On the civil side the Avro 652 (also produced as the armed Anson) is still in limited production at Woodford in the latest 652D/ Anson IV variant with an all-metal wing with 420hp Cheetah XV radials with variable-pitch propellers. This has picked up useful orders from British airlines wanting a small short-range airliner for regional use and the 652 fills a useful niche in an otherwise empty corner of the market but it is no Dragon Rapide replacement which seems to be the next big concept for the industry. At the other end of the scale is the new Avro 685 York which should fly next year. Ordered by British European Airways (BEA), Roy Chadwick used the 683 wing to cut development time and risk and a new spacious fuselage has been designed with a capacity of up to 56 passengers, although BEA is only likely to seat 36. Maximum range is nearly 3,000 miles. BEA has an initial order for ten but sees a requirement for at least 25 for its new long-range routes. The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) is another potential customer. In the longer term Chadwick has begun work on a new four-engined airliner more tailored to BOAC’s needs, the Avro 688, also making use of Avro 683 technology. It may fly as soon as 1942.

Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Kingston-on Thames, Surrey, specialises in single-engined fighters and its Chief Designer Sidney Camm is well regarded for his work in this area. Nearly a thousand Hurricane fighters have been built for the RAF and export and now the production line has finally closed. Hawker sees a market for as many as 300 refurbished Hurricanes within the next four years and this work will be undertaken by Armstrong Whitworth. They have recently undertaken the first such work for the Irish Air Corps. The current types in production are the Hawker Tornado, and powered by the Rolls-Royce Vulture H-24 engine, and the Hawker Typhoon powered by the new Napier Sabre I-24 engine. Both were developed to Spec F.18/35 as a Hurricane and Spitfire replacement. Currently orders for the two types stand at a thousand with about 400 now in service. Further development was planned by the development of the Tempest has halted these plans and the only variants are the 20mm cannon-armed Tornado IIA and Typhoon IIA for the RAAF. Both have been troubled by engine development problems, the Tornado is now largely cured but the Typhoon remains troubled by its Sabre engine. Both fighters are large and cumbersome and have been less than ideal. Thus the RAF has ordered more Spitfires and rumours still circulate that the production contracts will be cut back. However, the new Hawker P.1012 Tempest is an improvement of the Tornado/ Typhoon series with new thinner elliptical wings, a stronger tail unit, the engine has been moved forwards to fit in another fuel tank and reduced-drag wing leading-edge radiators will be fitted. Three Tempest prototypes are now flying and service entry should be in 1943-44. Development hasn’t been trouble-free but the Tempest is showing exceptional performance and seems likely to become a success story. It will be built in three variants powered by the Napier Sabre V, Rolls-Royce Griffon III and Royce Vulture IV with a potential order total of 600 of all types. Sidney Camm continues work on the rejected P.1020 ‘Super Tempest’ as the P.1022 ‘Tempest Light Fighter’ which is being modified with the assistance of Gloster for naval use. An official Specification seems likely next year and it is likely that Gloster will build the production aircraft. The sole non-fighter product of Hawker is the Hawker Henley dive-bomber which shares its wing with the Hurricane. The Hawker Henley B.Mk.III entered service this year armed with four 20mm cannon but production is sub-contracted to Armstrong-Whitworth.

Gloster Aircraft Ltd at Hucclecote has become the naval specialist of the Hawker Siddeley Group, although it had little practical experience at first the Sea Gladiator and Gannet fighters have built up experience although it is open to question whether it can withstand the pressure of Fairey and Blackburn to win future orders. Gloster also built the Avro Canada Skipper under licence with several changes and developed the SS.42 Skipper II fighter-bomber variant on its own for the Fleet Air Arm. Gloster Gannet production ended two years ago and an improved variant lost out to the Fairey Firefly. A ‘Sea Typhoon’ was also rejected in 1939. The Gloster G.39 Gunner F.Mk.II twin-engined fighter is still in production for the RAF and Gloster also developed the related Gloster SS.44 Reaper, a two-seat variant of the G.39 for the RAAF. Since all twin-engined RAF fighters would now fall under Hawker’s remit Gloster seems confined to naval and experimental work. Gloster has the responsibility of handling the Hawker Siddeley Group’s research programmes, partly due to its available production space. So far this work has produced the two Gloster SS.43 variable-incidence wing research aircraft for the Admiralty (with perhaps future prospects of a torpedo-bomber production types based on the SS.43) which was designed by Henry Folland. Also under construction is one, possibly two, Gloster G.40 fighters, presumably also an experimental type designed by George Carter. In addition Gloster carried out the pressure-cabin research and development for the Westland P.14 Welkin fighter. Gloster has won Specification F.9/40 which seems unusual as most RAF fighters would be handled by Hawker. It is thought it may well be a development of the G.40. Gloster has developed Schneider Trophy racers on an ad-hoc basis based from their fighter work but it seems likely that the Hawker Siddeley Board will leave such competition to Vickers-Supermarine in the future. Only a potential Hawker P.1022 contract for the FAA provides any future hope for what seems likely to be a dwindling firm marginalised to becoming a sub-contractor or perhaps discarding all production for R&D work.
Armstrong Whitworth Ltd is charged with concentrating on other military types and sub-contract work for the rest of the Hawker Siddeley Group. To this end it has built around 400 Hurricanes and 200 Henleys so far at its Coventry factory and seemingly has submitted no recent designs of its own. The Ensign and Whitely being the last Armstrong Whitworth types. As mentioned earlier work was undertaken for Ireland to convert several Hurricanes with the Hurricane III wing with 20mm cannons and tropical equipment and it also undertook work to fit, and clear, the new 40mm Vickers ‘S’ gun on the Hurricane. Such work may also be undertaken on the Henley. Armstrong Whitworth seems likely to be a sub-contractor for Lancaster sub-assemblies, Tempest fighters and Hurricane/ Henley modifications and refurbishments for export. The recent resurgence of interest in airships by the Fleet Air Arm has landed Armstrong Whitworth a contract to build the prototype Submarine Scout Pusher (SSP), HMAS No.3 based on the Great War Submarine Scout Zero type. If successful it may well prove an profitable side-line for the firm.

Vickers-Supermarine
This, the second largest Group in terms of output and development potential, comprises the firms of Vickers Aircraft Ltd and Supermarine Ltd. It falls within the expansive Vickers-Armstrong concern.

Vickers has its main factory at Weybridge with smaller factories at Blackpool, Brooklands and Wisley. The cancellation of the troubled Warwick bomber, again due to engine development problems, was seen as a blow to Vickers but not one that was too serious given the on-going work on other projects and the amount of work for all the factories. The Vickers Wellington which first flew in 1932 is seen by some to be an obsolete design and despite its Geodetic construction developed by Barnes Wallis is seen as an increasingly archaic design by its competitor firms. Yet Vickers Blackpool factory is still building the type in large numbers. The Wellington B.Mk.IV which entered service this year is built from DTD646 light alloy to increase maximum loaded weights and has several aerodynamic, electrical and undercarriage refinements. At least a hundred will be built. A variant of the B.Mk.IV for Coastal Command with radio-location gear also entered production at Blackpool this year and more seem likely to follow until at least 1942. At Wisley work is on-going to meet Spec B.23/39, a high-altitude development of the Wellington with a new pressure-cabin powered by turbocharged Bristol Hercules or Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. The first prototype should fly next year with perhaps a production order by 1944. Also at Weybridge work is being undertaken by Rex Pierson and Barnes Wallis on the Vickers 447 Windsor to Specification B.3/39 to replace the defunct Warwick programme. This large four-engined bomber may well replace the Avro 683 Lancaster from 1944 onwards and a large production order seems likely and a tanker version may also win a potential Specification. So the future of Vickers seems sound enough from a long-term viewpoint, although the cancellation of two major bomber programmes by the Air Ministry in recent years must be a worry to the Vickers board as must be the lack of civil aircraft.

Supermarine has its main factory in Southampton and is very much a specialist in flying boats with a lesser experience in carrier-based types and in the Spitfire a whole new line of successful development which rivals Hawker’s efforts in this field. The Supermarine Spitfire was built as stop-gap fighter between the Hawker Hurricane and Tornado/ Typhoon series but has proved so successful that it has been in production now for two years and seems likely to remain so until at least 1944. They Spitfire is labour-intensive to build so rates are still low but have improved. Currently the main production variant is the F.Mk.III with the new Rolls-Royce Merlin V with a two speed supercharger and a revised armament of two 20mm Oerlikon cannon and four .303in Browning MGs. Work on fitting the Merlin VII with a new two-stage two-speed supercharger should result in the F.Mk.IV fighter which should fly for the first time next year. Exports have been made to Bulgaria and Turkey in large numbers. The Chief Designer Reginald Mitchell is currently in semi-retirement owing to illness and soon his post may be filled by Joseph Smith, his able deputy. Both men have undertaken work, which is on-going, on the Spitfire’s eventual successor, the Vickers-Supermarine Spiteful. Developed to meet Spec F.6/39 the Spiteful has laminar flow wings, the first in a British aircraft, and will be powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon II V-12 engine. The first flight should be in June 1943 and an enormous amount of research work is being undertaken on the laminar flow wings with the assistance of the RAE. An order for 200 will keep the factory busy until at least 1946. The Spitfire itself is by no means dead and another successful contract awarded this year is to develop the Vickers-Supermarine Seafang to Spec N.7/40. Surprisingly the Supermarine design team beat off competition from Gloster and Fairey and Westland (Fairey also has an order for the Firefly Mk II) to develop a new carrier-based fighter. The Seafang is based on the Spitfire but powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon with modified folding elliptical wing with a new inward retracting undercarriage, a taller fin with an arrestor hook, a bubble canopy and new radiators. The first flight is planned for mid-1942 and 200 are on order for entry into service during late 1943. Mention must be also made of Supermarine’s success at building winners for the Schneider Trophy and so far this firm remains the only real contender to win the next event. Production of the Supermarine Stranraer has now ended at 120 aircraft while the Sea Otter production line is likely to close in late 1941 on completion of the 210th aircraft. So far there are no further flying boat designs (the Type 328 Southport fast flying boat was cancelled in 1939) and it appears likely that Supermarine will lose ground in this field to Saunders-Roe and Shorts. The two Type 323 variable wing-incidence research aircraft for the RAE are still flying and are now working alongside the later Gloster SS.43. Supermarine has it seems become mainly a fighter producer but in the long term over the next ten years it seems unlikely that Hawker and Supermarine will receive orders for new types at the same time as procurement costs force the RAF to select single types in larger numbers.

AIRCO
The third and newest conglomerate formed on March 6 1938 when Handley Page Ltd merged with de Havilland under the AIRCO umbrella but both operate as separate firms pooling resources and splitting contracts to avoid harming each other’s export and domestic sales chances. Handley Page Ltd was in financial difficulties resulting from cost overruns by the Hampden and Hereford programmes and the lack of other military and civil orders. To some extent this has not changed. In August this year Fairey joined AIRCO. AIRCO now controls Handley Page Ltd, The de Havilland Company Ltd, de Havilland Australia Pty Ltd, de Havilland Canada Ltd, the de Havilland Forge Ltd, the de Havilland Engine Co. Ltd, de Havilland Propellers Ltd, The Hearle-Whitley Engineering Co. Ltd, Airspeed Ltd, The Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd, the Fairey-Reed Ltd and Avions Fairey in Belgium. This mix of firms gives AIRCO a broad base and offers perhaps a greater mix than even Hawker Siddeley. For example de Havilland Engines offers a much wider range than Armstrong-Siddeley and thus is well placed to supply engines for AIRCO designs. Under the AIRCO agreement Handley Page develops large multi-engined civil airliners and military transports and bombers; de Havilland concentrates on light civilian aircraft and small airliners, experimental models, and other military aircraft while Fairey brings AIRCO it’s wide naval and fighter experience. All three firms have wide-ranging experience of constructing large and small aircraft of all types and it seems likely AIRCO will dominate the civilian market into the mid-40s pushing Hawker-Siddeley aside from the market.

Airspeed Ltd based at Portsmouth Airport is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of de Havilland and all its future products will be labelled under the DH designation. Production of the Airspeed AS.5 Courier and Airspeed AS.6 Envoy has now ended leaving their sole civilian product, the Airspeed AS.7 Consul six-seater variant of the Oxford trainer in production. Production of the AS.10 Oxford Mk II began in 1939 with an order for 86 aircraft. This order will be completed in mid-1940 but it is likely to be followed by another order and certainly the RAF wishes to keep the production line ready for more orders. The Airspeed AS.45 trainer was rejected in 1937, Airspeed attempted to enter the fighter arena with the AS.56 to Spec F.6/39 but this effort failed. The Portsmouth design team led by A.E. Hagg is now working on a twin-engined medium/short range airliner for BEA.

The de Havilland Company Ltd under the helm of Geoffrey de Havilland is a well-known international builder of aircraft with several famous types to its credit. The main factory is at Hatfield alongside an Aeronautical Technical School. De Havilland Engines is located at Stag Lane, Edgware along with the de Havilland Propeller works. The de Havilland D.H.89 Dragon Rapide has been a hugely successful type and now as airlines begin to think about its replacement it is certain that de Havilland will be in the forefront to develop a successor and indeed work on this task has already begun. The de Havilland D.H.95 Flamingo first flew on 23 December 1937 and since then has been built in series with fifty delivered so far. Work is now nearly complete on the Flamingo Mk II with a single tail, longer cabin, improved wing, stronger fuselage and new engines. The whole structure is stronger to give a new all-up weight and BEA seems likely to place an order soon. The D.H.95A Hertfordshire is the RAF transport variant of the Flamingo. In 1939 another 30 were ordered and nearly all of these have now been delivered. Production of older types also continues with another 250 D.H. 82A Tiger Moth II having been ordered in 1939. Military types are relatively rare for de Havilland since the Great war but work is now on-going on two such types. The wooden monocoque construction and lack of self-defence armament raised eyebrows at the Air Ministry but the DH.98 Mosquito is the world’s fastest bomber and a potent aircraft. It is now in full scale production for the RAF in two variants with another two planned. It seems likely to be built until at least 1945. The De Havilland D.H.103 Hornet is a private-venture based on the Mosquito technology with Specification F.12/40 written around it. The Hornet is a single-seat twin-engined long-range fighter of wooden monocoque fuselage with two 2,375hp RR Griffon II engines. The first flight is planned for July 1941 and the RAF has 192 on order so far with FAA interest in a carrier-based variant. Production could last to 1946 and it seems certain with the Mosquito taking production resources at Hatfield that the Hornet will be built at Airspeed’s works at Portsmouth. So it can be seen that while de Havilland has lost ground in the light aircraft category to Miles and Percival over the years that it retains a slice of the airliner market and now has made a successful entry (potentially two entries) into the military market not only bringing much needed income but also stealing the thunder of firms like Bristol. The subsidiary firms of de Havilland Australia Pty Ltd and de Havilland Canada Ltd build de Havilland types under licence in those two countries.

Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd based at Hayes, with a second factory at Hamble, is one of the premier suppliers of aircraft to the Fleet Air Arm. The Fairey-Reed propeller company is a subsidiary of Fairey. The Fairey Barracuda is still in production at Hamble in the TBR.Mk.II model and it seems likely that production will end by 1942 if further orders are not received. Some exports have been made to Greece. The land-based Balmoral bomber is also in production and again by 1942 the current contracts will be fulfilled. The Fairey Firefly is just completed production but export orders from Bulgaria and Romania for a de-navalised version has kept the line open. The Firefly FN.Mk.II has now been ordered by the FAA and Romania and should enter production soon keeping the line open until at least 1944. Fairey won Specification S.11/40 to replace the Barracuda and work is now well underway on the detail design and construction of the first prototype should begin in late 1941 for a first flight in 1943. With potential large orders this type should see Fairey making large numbers of aircraft until the late 1940s. Avions Fairey in Belgium has licences to build Balmoral bombers and Firefly fighters under licence and Chief Designer Marcel Lobelle works for both companies.

Handley Page Ltd under the reins of Sir Frederick Handley Page at Cricklewood with a factory at Radlett has had a dwindling order book and monetary problems for several years and these problems have not gone away for the firm despite the AIRCO merger. Handley Page lost the B.1/37 ‘Ideal Bomber’ specification and tried to get the result changed but in view of the recent cancellation of B.1/37 it seems a fortuitous outcome. Handley Page then offered a design on Volkert’s High Speed Bomber proposal to B.7.38 for a Blenheim replacement. They lost out to de Havilland’s Mosquito but even Blackburn with their B.28 has tasted export success. Handley Page is now working on a large aerial tanker to meet a likely Specification next year to build on Flight Refuelling Ltd.’s successful work so far. Work has also begun on a new pressurised airliner with tricycle undercarriage which may be designated the H.P.66. There are currently no production aircraft for Handley Page. The only actual construction work is being undertaken on the H.P.75 Manx aircraft developed by Handley Page’s designer Dr Gustav Lachmann as a flying testbed for a ‘rider plane’. It will be the first tailless aircraft to fly in Britain and the first flight is due in 1941. So while the two projects now under way may result in some modest orders from the RAF and BOAC at the moment Handley Page is close to closing except for the Air Ministry keeping it open to preserve its design talent. Handley Page has long-term plans to rival Avro but at the moment it appears that Avro has a long lead and there is no doubt that despite the talented engineering team Handley Page is falling behind in experience.

Part Two: Independent Firms
There are many independent firms in business and they will now be assessed in alphabetical order.

Blackburn Aircraft Ltd is based Brough in East Yorkshire and is a naval aircraft specialist with just as much design experience in the field as Fairey. In 1936 a new factory was opened at Dumbarton run jointly by Blackburn and the famous William Denny & Bros. Ltd shipbuilders. Sir Maurice Denny joined the Board of the Blackburn Company. In 1938 the German firm of Ernest Heinkel A.G. brought a 20% stake in Blackburn as both firms co-operated on the B.44 programme. Subsequently the German Navy has cooled towards the concept and after the recent Aerobank scandal Heinkel A.G. has been forced to divest its shares in Blackburn. The company also controls the Cirrus Engine Section of Blackburn Aircraft Ltd, also based at Brough, which is emerging as a competitor to de Havilland Engines Ltd. Recently the main technical research of the company has been directed towards the retractable hull pontoon as fitted to the B.20 and the B.44. Work to further develop this technology to give flying boats much more aerodynamic shapes to improve range and fuel consumption. The B.20 Boston is still in production with around 38 out of an order of 50 B.20 Boston Mk II flying boats still to complete. The novel Blackburn B.44 Firebrand developed to meet Spec N.2/39 for a floatplane fighter and designed by Major J.D. Rennie has now flown but problems with the pontoon in regards to spray and water flow are hampering progress and the RAE is now undertaking an in depth research investigation into the problem. Hopefully the B.44 should enter service in 1942 still but the pulling out of Germany will not only affect the incoming capital but will reduce any order book. Indeed any change in the FAA or Air Ministry in regards to the B.44 could lead to a cancellation. One success story is the B.28 fast bomber. Although it lost out the D.H. 98 Mosquito it has now secured a large Brazilian contract allowing the test programme by the sole RAF ordered prototype B.28 to be completed and there is a potential for large follow-on orders during the remainder of the early 1940s. Blackburn has been very active in the draught office submitting the B.30 to Spec B.1/37 for the ‘Ideal Bomber’; the B.32 to Spec R.5/37 for a fast flying boat; the B.37 fighter which nearly won N.8/37 for a new carrier-fighter with plans to order a batch of 25 Blackburn B.37 fighters for experimental use rejected on cost grounds. The B.47 this year failed to win Spec S.11/40. So fortunes are mixed but the factories remain busy and work continues on developing the B.20, B.28 and the B.37 fighter and further naval requirements will be worked on. Blackburn may well push keep Gloster out of the naval procurement picture and secure for itself a sound place beside Fairey which cannot hope to meet all future FAA requirements on its own.

Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd moved from its old Norwich home to Wolverhampton in 1934 when it was formed from the old Aircraft Department of Boulton Paul Ltd together with one-third of the issued capital of ATS Ltd. ATS Ltd holds a large number of patents relating to metal construction pooled by Boulton & Paul Ltd, Gloster Aircraft Co., Sir W.G. Armstrong Aircraft Ltd, and the Steel Wing Co. Ltd. Boulton Paul is one of the country’s foremost suppliers of powered turrets after Frazer-Nash and is undertaking development of new types. The Wolverhampton factory is very active with the last few P.94 Resistant fighters being assembled with potential new orders awaited. The P.90 Birmingham bomber has proved less than stellar in service with problems with the ‘dumbbell’ rear turrets, the Napier-Paxman diesel engines and the rotating magazine carriers which have now been removed. A planned Mk II with Rolls-Royce Merlins has been abandoned and it seems like the Avro Lancaster will now be the future main type. The P.97 Nighthawk is one of the world’s first purpose-built night fighters and is to be equipped with the latest airborne radio-location and infra-red detection systems along with a powered dorsal turret and the new Napier Sabre engines. Service entry has been delayed but is imminent despite some development setbacks. This has been one of the most technical challenges in the industry apart from the ‘Ideal Bomber’ and the Westland Welkin high-altitude fighter and Boulton Paul’s good handling of the development has won it acclaim within the Air Ministry. 150 are on order and should see the type in production until late 1943 at least and rumours indicate that Boulton Paul may be allocated half of any possible RAF order for the private-venture Martin-Baker M.B.5. Both firms do work together closely. Boulton Paul’s designer J.D North has designed a series of radical pusher and swept wing ground-attack proposals which led nowhere but it is understood that work is now underway on a new basic trainer design and a fighter. Boulton Paul has the design flair and engineering talent but lacks the facilities and funds to seriously compete in the long-term independently.

The Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd has a large works at Filton near Bristol and also comprises a large aero engine factory of which its products are of world renown. So far Bristol has not attempted to form a partnership with any other firm although a possible Bristol-Fairey linkup was planned but fell through. Bristol has for many years been one of the most productive firms in Britain and although production has slackened it still retains a sound base. The major project was the Type 159 Manchester developed as the ‘Ideal Bomber’ which has pushed the technical boundaries of aircraft design in almost all spheres. Bristol’s design and engineering teams have learnt a great deal and will continue to do so. The shock cancellation of the programme recently has dealt a great blow to Bristol who were hoping for large production orders. The prototype will be used for trials until 1943 so it will continue to serve as an educational tool for designers building even better very-large aircraft. The prospects for mass-production now rest on the Bristol Type 163 Buckingham. Developed as a Blenheim replacement the first two prototypes are now flying and service entry should be in late 1941. The RAF has 250 on order but Bristol believes at least 500 may be built although the Mosquito may well cut future orders if the ‘Speed Bomber’ concept proves superior to the conventional medium bomber. The Type 150 Beaufort first flown in November 1935 has had export success and is still in production as the Beaufort Mk II. Future production for Coastal Command seems assured with no replacement in sight. As with Vickers the sole concentration on military types in recent years is a worry as civil experience wanes the current providers like Avro and de Havilland will amass a head-start in technology that Bristol and Vickers will find very hard to tackle.

Chilton Aircraft based at Heston Airport was formed in 1936 and builds an ultra-light single-seat monoplane powered by a Carden converted Ford Ten engine. Chilton now owns the stock of Carden Aero-Engines Ltd. Another version is powered by a 40hp Train piston engine and this won the 1939 Folkestone Trophy Race. A two-seat cabin monoplane prototype is under construction and is designed for a 90hp engine. Several other projects are being studied including a five-seat twin-engined cabin monoplane. Whether Chilton can amass the sales and finance to fund these developments and seriously carve a niche in the light market away from Miles and Percival is open to question and at the moment seems unlikely.

Chrislea Aircraft Co. Ltd also based at Heston was also formed in 936 to build light aircraft. The L.C.1 monoplane has now been certified and is for sale.

Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft Ltd was formed in 1937 at Swaythling, Southampton to market build Burnelli Lifting Fuselage aircraft in Great Britain using Burnelli patents. Design work has begun on the O.A. Mk I powered by two 900hp Bristol Perseus radials. There is a larger O.A. Mk II on the drawing boards as well. So far no orders have been received although interest in such aircraft is growing. Some foresee a large colonial market but generally cargo-carrying aircraft are a very small market indeed and growth seems unlikely within five years.

Flettner UK Ltd. is the British agent for sales of the Flettner series of helicopters designed and built in Germany. The firm has no production facilities although local servicing and modifications may be handled by the firm in future if the RAF and FAA decide to buy helicopters in numbers.

General Aircraft Ltd has its works at The London Air Park, Feltham, Middlesex. This firm has done much experimental and sub-contract work. At the moment sub-contract work for Hawker Siddeley forms the basis of their work. Sales of the Monospar family have been lower than hoped for. General Aircraft is one of the pioneers of pressure-cabins and have done much research work on ground-rigs and flying prototypes. A Monospar was converted as a pressure-cabin testbed and this work led to the rejected General Aircraft GAL.46 fighter design and a contract to work with Gloster the development of the pressure cabin of the Westland Welkin. As larger firms master this technology General Aircraft seems likely to be absorbed as a useful subsidiary firm and its future as an independent aircraft builder seems short.

Heston Aircraft Co. Ltd was formed as Comper Aircraft in 1929 but was changed to the present name in 1934. Heston is based at Heston Airport, Middlesex. The Phoenix five-seat cabin monoplane is still in production and recently two training aircraft have been built in prototype form to hopefully gain official Air Ministry contracts.

Luton Aircraft Ltd. was formed in November 1935 by C.H. Latimer-Needham to build ultralight aircraft at Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire.

Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd was formed as a partnership Mr Martin and Capt. Baker to design and build aircraft of a novel steel-tube construction devised by Mr James Baker. A factory has been built at Higher Denham near Uxbridge and so far only the single M.B.1 has been built and flown although some fighters have been offered to the Air Ministry. It is thought that the recent M.B.5 design is being continued as a private-venture with support from Boulton Paul. Martin-Baker has won sizable sub-contracts from several large firms and this has offered profitability but paradoxically has reduced the floor space, time and resources from building its own designs. The long-term future for Martin-Baker seems much the same as General Aircraft’s, absorption by a larger conglomerate for its additional factory space and expertise.

Miles Aircraft Ltd. at Reading is now Britain’s leading light aircraft producer having pushed de Havilland out of this arena since 1935 when it took over the assets of Philips & Powis Aircraft (Reading) Limited. The current product line-up for commercial sale includes the M.17 Monarch, an improved M.11 Whitney Straight, the M.18 based on the Magister and the brand-new Miles M.28 Messenger designed as a replacement for the M.11 and M.17 designed by Ray Bournon under the supervision of George Miles. The M.9 Master has now become the standard RAF advanced trainer and has boosted profitability and has brought a series of export orders. Further variants are planned including a dedicated target-tug which will keep the line up until at least 1947. The M.14 Magister line has now almost closed but has been a successful aircraft in RAF service and has gone some way to replacing the Tiger Moth. The three-seat cabin variant, the M.16 Mentor had a more brief production life and seems to have lost out of further orders to the Percival Proctor. Their design experience led to the offering of a twin-engined fighter to the Air Ministry in 1937 and the recently flown unusual Miles M.35 developed for tandem wing research. A new four-engined small airliner is now under development in an effort to extend Miles market further into de Havilland territory as it attempts to find a solution to replacing the Dragon Rapide. The long-term prospects for Miles look extremely good with potential further large trainer orders and a growing modern line of civil aircraft and small airliners to increase its market share and Miles looks set to continue to give de Havilland a challenge in the forthcoming years.

Parnall Aircraft Ltd. was formed in 1935 to take over the former George Parnall & Co. and the patents, patent rights and designs of the aircraft and armament firm Nash & Thompson Ltd. and the patents, patent rights, designs and licences of the Hendy Aircraft Co. A few light aircraft are built each year but the main sector of the business is the turrets and armaments of Nash & Thompson Ltd.

Percival Aircraft Ltd has a newly built factory at Luton Airport. Some of its aircraft like the Gull have made record-breaking flights and its gained publicity and sales as a result. The Q.6 Petrel hasn’t sold as well as hoped putting the firm’s long-term civil market plans back a little but the Vega Gull is making modest sales and the types selection by the RAF for the communications role as the Proctor has seen the production line expand to keep up with demand. Further training variants are under development as is a new twin-engined design to replace the Q.6 along with further mini-airliner aircraft. While it remains to be seen whether Percival can survive without extensive RAF contracts when the Proctor contracts have been fulfilled there is no doubt that if they continue to have modest successes that they will begin to catch up with Miles and put unwelcome additional pressure on de Havilland in the light civil sector and the small airliner sector.

Pobjoy-Short was originally called Pobjoy Airmotors & Aircraft Ltd and was formed in 1930 as an aero engine builder but in 1935 became a public company and brought a licence to build the Short Scion as the Pobjoy-Short Scion. In 1937 the Scion Senior was added to the licence. In March 1938 Shorts acquired a large proportion of the shares and now the firm largely undertakes sub-contract work for Shorts. The Pobjoy engines will be examined later.

Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, designs and builds mainly flying boats and seaplanes, ground and marine equipment including trailers, trolleys, beaching chassis, arming and refuelling tenders, ammunition hoists etc. It was formed by Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe when he left A. V. Roe. Design work on new designs continues but the A.27 London was the last production type several years ago. In design experience and ability they have fallen far behind Shorts, and even Supermarine, and thus are suffering from a lack of orders and investment. It is understood that Hawker Siddeley has eyes on Saro, partly to gain its varied portfolio of ground equipment, partly to gain a proper marine expertise with which to challenge Shorts (a job for which Saro badly needs new investment anyway) and partly to unite Sir Verdnon-Roe’s investments with his prior creation. With only limited future RAF ad BOAC requirements for new flying boats Saro may well lose out on the contracts and that would realistically be the end Saro’s aircraft business.

Short Brothers (Rochester & Bedford) Ltd is the country’s oldest aircraft manufacturer dating back to 1910. Its main works are at Rochester, Kent. Shorts has built up and maintained a lead in the production of the flying boat for both civil and military use. Production of the S.23 Empire C Class has now ended and the S.26 G Class ended at three built but work is now starting on the new Short S.35 S Class. This is being developed for BOAC to replace the G Class they made an initial order of ten passenger and five cargo aircraft just recently. Efforts will probably soon begin to design a successor to the C Class within the next couple of years. Production of the S.25 Sunderland for the RAF continues with further improvements and since several attempts to replace it have failed it seems likely production will continue to at least 1943. The Short S.32 Sandringham is Britain’s first large modern four-engined airliner and has achieved modest success but the development of a pressurised cabin variant has been lengthy and costly and will probably not enter serviced much before 1943. Avro’s new Type 685 York will now compete in this area but will not be offered as a pressurised variant, that will be included the future Type 688 so Shorts has a lead on all the other manufacturers in this country able to build such aircraft. Shorts has become a contender for the Fleet Air Arm’s new airship programme alongside Armstrong Whitworth and have built three prototype airships. These are the two Reconnaissance Scout Class (RS) airships HMAS No.4 & No.5 which are a development of the Great War North Sea Class. Also built was the prototype Semi-Rigid Scout Class (RSR), HMAS No.6 based on work undertaken by Italy during the Great War, especially the SR.1 built for Great Britain in 1918. If future orders are received, which seems likely if the FAA is allowed to expand its fleet, then such work is earmarked for Short & Harland Ltd. It will bring much needed work to Belfast and give Shorts another type of aerial craft to boost its profitability.
Short & Harland Ltd. was formed in 1933 as a joint venture between Short Brothers (Rochester & Bedford) Ltd and the shipbuilding form Harland & Wolff Ltd to create a new factory in Belfast. It has built Handley Page Hampden and Bristol Bermuda aircraft and now mainly builds Short S.25 Sunderland flying boats. It also undertakes other engineering projects.

Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Ltd was formed by Mr Alexander Lance, a member of the County Flying Club, who purchased licence rights to the American Taylorcraft light aircraft. The factory is the Britannia Works, a converted shed at the Crowthers textile mill in Thurmaston, Leicester. The Taylorcraft Plus C is based on the American Model B with an imported 55hp Lycoming O-145-A2. Import taxes and the desire to make further changes has led to the 90hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor I in the newer Plus D. This small firm has gained several orders in the light aircraft market from buyers keen to fly a true lightweight type with minimal maintenance and good handling. As orders grow it seems likely the firm will need to move as its current premises are small.

Tipsy Aircraft Co. Ltd. was formed in 1937 to build Tipsy aircraft under licence from Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd who were the original designers of the Tipsy. The factory is at Hanworth Air Park, Feltham, Middlesex.

G. & J. Weir Ltd. are helicopter pioneers based in Glasgow. The engine division of the firm has been sold to raise capital and so far only the Weir W.5 first flown in 1938 and the Weir W.6 first flown October 1939 have been successful. The firm lacks any serious research funds and has no official backing so it’s attempts are largely more akin to the freelance activities of the pre-Great War era. Weir’s continued existence seems unlikely.

Westland Aircraft Ltd. in July 1935 took over the aircraft division of Petters Ltd., the Westland Aircraft Works which has been involved in aircraft production since 1915. The shipbuilders John Brown & Co. Ltd. and Associated Electrical Industry Ltd. have brought most of Petters Ltd stake in the firm. It has a modern works at Yeovil, Somerset. Westland has been involved in several sub-contracts for other firms since 1935 but has developed a range of advanced designs of its own with its genius designer W.E.W Petter. The Lysander with its unique wing is coming to the end of its production run but has achieved export success and now the firm is turning to building the new P.14 Welkin high-altitude fighter in series. The pressure-cabin was developed by Gloster and General Aircraft. This contract was a big gamble for the Air Ministry to award to such a small firm and likewise a gamble for Westland to succeed. It has offered several fighter and bomber designs to recent Specifications but has so far not succeeded with its newer designs. It is currently turning to a series of new civil airliner designs to hopefully increase the profitability of the firm. W Petter himself continues to refine his ideas on naval aircraft and fighters. Westland’s future seems mixed, a continued existence outside the big three seems unlikely for the long-term but like Boulton-Paul it has shown itself as a capable independent firm with good prospects if the Air Ministry cares to look outside of the big groups for its future aircraft. However the more technical new aircraft get the further behind Westland and Boulton Paul will fall behind as they lack the R&D funds and facilities to match the big groups.

Foster, Winker Aircraft Co. Ltd. has a small works at Southampton Airport and was formed in 1936 to build the two-seat Wicko light aircraft designed by an Australian, Mr G. N. Wicker. It is powered by a 130hp DH Gipsy Major engine. The Wicko Warferry with an extra third seat is also now in production.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
Hopefully the B.44 should enter service in 1942 still but the pulling out of Germany will not only affect the incoming capital but will reduce any order book. Indeed any change in the FAA or Air Ministry in regards to the B.44 could lead to a cancellation.

The Chilean Navy grumbles quietly in their corner, as they very much want to buy the B.44.

In fact, the French might be interested if the Germans are pulling out...

Part Three: Engine Firms

A.B.C. Motors Ltd. has its works at Walton-on-Thames. This firm has been producing aero engines since 1911. It has produced the 34hp Scorpion two-cylinder and the 75hp Hornet four-cylinder engines. No new engine design has been produced since 1929. At the request of the Air Ministry A.B.C. is now concentrating on producing auxiliary power-units like the A.B.C. Type I now in production and the Type II now in design. These are horizontally-opposed two cylinder engines used in flying boats for maintain accumulator charge, running the fuel pump to fill the tanks from an external source, running the bilge pump and the air compressor.

Aero Engines Ltd. is based at Kingswood, Bristol and was formed in 1935 incorporating and taking over the Bristol works of William Douglas (Bristol) Ltd who were makers of motorcycle and aero engines. In 1938 the firm brought the engine patents and designs and the production rights of G. & J. Weir Ltd of Glasgow. The firm currently builds the 40hp Dryad two cylinder opposed air-cooled engine, the similar 23hp Sprite and the former Weir 50hp Pixie four cylinder inverted inline air-cooled engine. It is a niche producer and some of its engines have seen use in experimental helicopters.

Alvis Ltd. at Elton, Bury, Lancashire, have entered the aircraft engine business largely to expand the power output range of British engines to 1,500-2,000hp. By the end of 1937 a new aero engine factory had been erected and the firm took out a licence from the French firm of Societe des Moteurs Gnôme-et-Rhône to licence build the 14K radial. All the Alvis types have achieved Air Ministry 50-hour civil type tests but none have yet entered production. The line-up at the moment is; 430-450hp Leonides 9-cyl radial with a single-speed medium supercharger, 650hp Maeonides Major 14-cyl two-row radial with supercharger, 1,000hp Pelides 14-cyl two-row radial with a single-speed medium supercharger, 1,000hp Pelides Major with full supercharger and the 1,300-1,500hp Alcides 18-cyl two-row radial heavily based on the Pelides. A 1,800hp Alcides is currently under test. The Air Ministry has shown interest in the Leonides to replace the A.S. Cheetah series of radials but otherwise none of the others have been adopted by aircraft manufacturers, partly because Alvis is an unknown in this field and partly because the big aero-engine firms have pushed their products and threatened to pull out of certain projects if the airframer’s brought the new engines. Not only is this short-sighted but underhand. Alvis can only hope for success with the improved Leonides with a Hobson fuel-injection system fitted and export success with the rest of the range.

Anzani (British/ Luton) Ltd. is a branch of Luton Aircraft Ltd. which was formed in November 1935 by C.H. Latimer-Needham to build ultralight aircraft. In 1938 Luton Aircraft Ltd. brought the manufacturing rights to the Anzani inverted Vee-twin engine which then was modified with a new ignition and valves.

Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd. at Coventry is a member of Hawker Siddeley Ltd. This famous firm has built many successful radial engines which have seen widespread use and numerous British aircraft of all types. Most of the old types have now been withdrawn from production and current types are the; 145hp Genet Major (in very low-rate production) and the Cheetah series of radial rated from 310hp to the latest 420hp Cheetah XV of 1939. A new 385hp model is under development with a modified constant-speed unit and automatic boost. The 1,115hp Deerhound 21-cyl three-row radial engine has flown but was abandoned in early 1940 due to cooling problems and the availability of other higher-rated radial engines from Bristol for Air Ministry needs. Rumours are circulating that Armstrong Siddeley is working on reaction jet engines. Certainly this firm has lost its crown to Bristol and is declining in importance. If the Alvis Leonides replaces the Cheetah then the future of this firm is at stake.

Aspin F.M. & Co. Ltd. was formed in 1937 to build a new type of engine. Each cylinder has a rotating conical head containing a valve port which opens the inlet and exhaust alternately. The engine runs at high speed and has a compression ratio of 10:1. The Aspin engine is a four cylinder horizontally-opposed engine. Aspin is also developing small auxiliary power-units for strategic bombers under Air Ministry contract.

Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. Cirrus Engine Department, based at Brough was formed in 1936 when Blackburn acquired the Cirrus-Hermes Engineering Company. Since then it has launched a new series of four cylinder inverted inline engines beginning with the 82hp Cirrus Minor in 1937, the 55hp Cirrus Midget of 1937 and the 145hp Cirrus Major II of 1937. A 135hp version of the Major is now in development. In a short time this series of engines has taken several large orders for engines which have taken orders from de Havilland which builds similar engines.

Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. Aero Engine Department, this firm traces its roots to Brazil Straker via Cosmos Engineering and the genius engineer Roy Fedden has been the lynchpin of the firm’s success. It is now perhaps the largest and most technically competent manufacturer in the country. The poppet-valve engines which began with the Jupiter of 1918 has led to the Mercury series which is still in production today. The latest model is the 825hp Mercury XV of 1938 and the 810hp XXX of the same year. The Pegasus which began as a long-stroke Mercury is still in production too in small quantities. The last new model was the 805hp XXVII introduced in 1939 as a civil engine based on the 1,010hp XXVI. The last production type is the XXVII LR of 800hp for the Fairey Swordfish of the Irish Air Corps incorporating improvements made for the RAF Long Range Development Unit and their Vickers Wellesleys. In 1927 Roy Fedden began work on using the Burt-McCollum type of sleeve-valve in aero engines and today this long and arduous research and production effort has borne fruit in a number of powerful and successful engines. The initial sleeve-valve engine was the 9-cyl Perseus radial which remains in low-rate production but which has never achieved much commercial success. A new 950hp Perseus XVII should be ready for series production next year. The Taurus 14-cyl two-row radial has also seen little use apart from the Bristol Beaufort, and the Gloster Gunner in supercharged form, but the latest model is the 985hp Taurus XII although the highest rated is the 1,250hp Taurus X. By far the biggest and most successful so far is the Hercules 14-cyl two-row radial and this year saw the 1,615hp Hercules V come into production. Work is underway on new 1,700hp rated variants and others with high-altitude turbo-superchargers. Civil engines will also soon be produced. A production licence was sold to China for the older Hercules IV in 1938. Taking the next step is the vastly important Centaurus series. This 18-cyl two-row radial has seen a long and protracted development which is not yet over and its lateness has killed at least two aircraft programmes. Designed for an output of 2,520hp the Centaurus will be developed to at least 2,700hp in the future and will replace the Hercules series and possibly will fly in fighters, bombers and airliners. It is the only radial engine in this country able to complete with the new 24 cylinder inline engines of Rolls-Royce and Napier. Bristol Engines still refuses to comment on whether György Jendrassik is employed by the firm full time but it seems likely that he is undertaking research work there, possibly on reaction jet engine technology. Bristol seems well placed to benefit from research investment and official support to deliver large numbers of engines well into the decade and beyond. It could well swallow some smaller firms as it needs to expand production capacity.

British Salmson Co. was formed in 1930 to licence-build French Salmson air-cooled radial engines at New Malden, Surrey. Production now seems very low and possibly has stopped.

Carden Aero Engines Co. was formed in 1935 to build engines for ultralight aircraft based on the Ford Ten car engine. It produces the 40hp S.P.1 and the original 31hp Carden-Ford. The Chilton Aircraft based at Heston Airport now owns the stock of Carden Aero-Engines Ltd.

The de Havilland Engine Co. Ltd mainly concentrates on engines for smaller aircraft and its products power many de Havilland aircraft. The newest engines are; the 95hp Gipsy Minor II with work underway on a more powerful variant, the 160hp Gipsy Major III with the related 197hp Gipsy Major V now undergoing testing. The supercharged 295hp Gipsy Six IIIS is a development of the Gipsy Queen series which itself is under further development. The 425hp Gipsy Twelve 12 cylinder inverted-Vee engine is still available and is the biggest engine the firm builds. The firm is now entering the high-power end of the market with a new series of engines handed over from Fairey upon its entrance into AIRCO. Fairey’s engineers had developed a 24 cylinder engine which was unique in that it could fly with one half of engine shut down for extra safety or economy. In essence it gives a single engined aircraft twin reliability. The lack of official Air Ministry support and lack of funds halted development and several flaws became clear although the prototype 16 cylinder H-16S Prince did fly in 1938. Attempts to find a builder for the engine in this country and abroad failed for a variety of reasons but now de Havilland have taken the project on as a means of rivalling Rolls-Royce and Napier. Work is now underway on the full scale 24 cylinder design known as the Monarch and it should fly in 1942 and offer 2,240hp. Much more powerful engines with over 3,000hp are planned within five years. It is a big gamble for the firm but under Mr Halford’s expert eye the engine should mature into an interesting engine and the Fleet Air Arm has expressed interest more than once in the design. Whether enough interest from the airframe manufacturers can sustain a production line is still open to question.

Jameson Aero Engines Ltd. of Ewell, Surrey is the newest engine builder in the country being formed earlier this year. Its Chief Designer Mr A.E. Moser is developing a four cylinder four-stroke engine for light aircraft. It should attain at least 100hp and the firm hopes by 1943 the engine will complete the 100-hour Air Ministry Development Test and then pass a Type Test by 1945. Whether the firm can become a player in such an overcrowded market remains to be seen.

D. Napier & Sons Ltd. is a well-established firm of international standing and is most famous for its Lion series of engines which were used in 59 different aircraft designs. The appointment of F.N. Halford in 1929 began the new Dagger ‘H’ layout engines which has led to the Sabre, perhaps the most technical engine yet attempted in Britain. The Sabre is a 24-cyl horizontally-opposed H-shaped engine with the Burt-McCollum sleeve-valve. Production problems with the sleeve-valves has seriously slowed production and the test schedule and Bristol, who have great experience with sleeve-valves, was brought in the remedy the situation. The first Sabre I was rated at 2,000hp but was unreliable but the latest Sabre III is largely over its teething troubles and produces a maximum of 2,300hp. A 2,500hp variant is now in test and Napier hopes to increase the output to around 2,600hp by 1944 with modified fuel-injection and superchargers. The Air Ministry back in 1935 selected the Rolls-Royce Vulture and the Napier Sabre along with the Bristol Centaurus radial as the future high-powered engines for the next generations of fighters and bombers. The Sabre came close to cancellation but now the Sabre is largely over its growing pains Napier has great hopes of large future orders. This year Napier, its subsidiary Napier-Paxman and the diesel producer Paxman merged with English Electric to form a conglomerate engineering firm, National Electronic Engineering Ltd. (NEE). Napier at the moment has no other engine design in production and it’s open to question to what will happen when the Sabre line finally closes in the late 1940s.

Napier-Paxman Aircraft Engines Ltd. is a joint venture by Napier and the marine diesel firm of Paxman. Napier had wanted to licence-build the Junkers Jumo in 1934 but Paxman, who is a world-leader in marine diesel engines, wanted to break into the emerging diesel aircraft engine market and so both firms formed a joint venture. The new factory is located in Colchester, Essex and Napier owns a 40% stake in the firm. Napier-Paxman is now part of National Electronic Engineering Ltd. (NEE). The first engine, which was a basic copy of the Jumo concept, was the 1,100hp Pilates of 1936. It is a 24-cyl H-Shaped engine based roughly on the Dagger. A two-speed supercharger was added in 1937 and last year the final development was the 1,650hp Pilates III. RAF interest was high which drove the development programme but in service on flying boats and bombers fuel consumption has been higher than expected, there have been problems with vibration and the fuel injection system. No further orders of Pilates-equipped aircraft have been made and so production has fallen off. The 700hp Promos I of 1938 was a related development for the civil market but few have been sold but an improved 775hp engine has now passed its Type Test with a new Bosch fuel injection system. The main project Napier had its eye on was an engine to power a new generation of trans-Atlantic airliners and flying boats. Such aircraft would need excellent fuel economy and would be massive enough to accommodate heavier engines. Since 1938 work has begun on a 24 cylinder X-shaped engine, being in essence two V-banks joined together. Dubbed Prometheus it is hoped the first engine will fly in late 1942 or early 1943 and it is designed for an output of 3,580hp. Napier is hoping that this engine will win orders away from Rolls-Royce’s Vulture and Bristol’s Centaurus for the new large airliners likely by 1950. The Prometheus looks set to become the most powerful British engine and the most technically demanding to develop.

Pobjoy-Short was originally called Pobjoy Airmotors & Aircraft Ltd and was formed in 1930 as an aero engine builder but in 1935 became a public company and brought a licence to build the Short Scion and later became a subsidiary of Shorts. The Pobjoy engine factory at Hooton Park is still open. Current types are the 85hp 7-cyl radial Niagara III, the 98hp Niagara IV and the 130hp Niagara V along with the similar 80-98hp Cataract series. This firm has made some useful niche sales but the success of similar power inline engines has harmed sales. D.R. Pobjoy is also working with Rotol on auxiliary accessory gearboxes. It seems sub-contract work from Rotol and other aviation firms will replace the manufacture of its own designs.

Rolls-Royce Ltd. has three large factories at Derby, Crewe and Glasgow. This famous firm has a long heritage of producing aero engines back to 1915. The long-running and very successful Kestrel line, via the evaporative-cooled Goshawk and the supercharged Peregrine, resulted in the private venture P.V.12 V-12 engine. With official sanction this became the Merlin and today it powers most of the major fighter and bomber types of the RAF and has made great impact on the export market. The initial Merlin I was rated at 1,030hp but the new Merlin VII with a new two stage two speed supercharger is altogether a different beast capable of 1,650hp. The VII supercharger fitted to a revised Merlin VI will form the new 1,280hp Merlin VIII. Other Merlin developments are a civil VIII, a more powerful 1,400hp model and a high-performance Merlin with 1,770hp. Now the Merlin is gaining civil orders it seems likely that despite the existence of the Griffon and Vulture that the Merlin seems assured a production run to at least 1948. The special ‘R’ type racing engines for the Schneider Trophy racers have brought about many technical improvements and have needed exotic ‘cocktail’ fuels and chargers. The offshoot of this development work is the Griffon series of V-12 engines. The first appeared in 1939 rated at 2,035hp. The development has been smoother than any other engine of its size in Britain and the 2,375hp Griffon II is early ready for service use and a further variant with 2,420hp seems likely by 1943. Eventually a two-stage two-speed supercharger will be fitted and the engine has a niche role in powering fighters but the Merlin still seems the favoured choice by the Air Ministry, probably owing to its more compact size and weight. It is hoped 2,500hp will be attained by 1945. The Vulture, which was nearly cancelled owing to its development problems. These were varied and included vibration, fatigue failures, poor lubrication in the lower cylinders and coolant pump design flaws. Now the engine seems to be over these troubles and is in service in a handful of types offering 2,500hp. The test stands now have a 3,000hp Vulture in them but further problems have been discovered. It seems likely that the vulture will be the first production 3,000hp engine in Britain but the type lacks further development potential. Rolls-Royce has now turned to a new 24 cylinder horizontally-opposed H-shaped engine with sleeve-valves known as the 46H. The first production engine should appear by 1943 and is based on Vulture experience but is a totally new engine hopefully producing 3,500hp. Rolls-Royce is hoping this engine will replace the Griffon and Vulture and will steal orders from Napier and Bristol. Work is also underway on a coupled-Merlin project and a novel two-stroke V-12 but details are sketchy. In 1939 production of reaction-jet engines handed over from Power Jets Ltd. to Rolls-Royce for mass production leaving Power Jets as a research company only. At the moment this is a moot point as there are no production engines yet but it should give Rolls-Royce another profitable product line and the firm is studying its own jet designs.

Scott Motorcycle Co. Ltd. based in Shipley has been building the 28hp Flying Squirrel 2-cyl inverted inline engine for light aircraft since 1935 with some success.

Villiers-Hay Development Ltd. was set up by Amherst Villiers and he has designed and built the Villiers 4-L-318 120hp four cylinder inverted inline air-cooled poppet-valve engine. It is a smooth running engine and a more powerful version is also available but the competition from de Havilland and Blackburn Cirrus is proving too much for this small firm to overcome.

Foster, Winker Aircraft Co. Ltd. has a small works at Southampton Airport and was formed in 1936 to build the two-seat Wicko light aircraft designed by an Australian, Mr G. N. Wicker. It has also developed a 40hp modified Ford V-8 engine but few have been built and none have been sold.

Wolseley Motors Ltd. has now largely stopped producing aero engines and the last products were the 225hp Aries Mk III and the 250hp Scorpio which saw some success on the Airspeed Envoy but this firm is now turning its attention to its much more successful car business.


*****

Well that's the lot guys. Feel free to ask any questions or queries. Remember this is a work that mixes OOC and IC elements. It has my thoughts behind it but also opens up some OOC thoughts on what might be. It gives a few hints to the future and some dead-ends.

Brock, the B.44 looks on shaky ground from an outsiders viewpoint but Blackburn notes well Chile's interest. I remembered I've worked out a two-seater variant too!
If France wants to view a test then I suggest they drop me a PM to arrange a venue and date.

Well done, Hood. A lot of information to go through - I have to admit I mostly skimmed through for the most interesting stuff, though.

Nice that the Spitfire keeps receiving its proper traction.

ADDENDA 1941

Hawker Siddeley Group
In February 1941 Hawker Siddeley acquired the flying boat and ground handling equipment builder Saunders-Roe (Saro). Saro is now a wholly-owned subsidiary although Mr Alliot Verdon-Roe still retains a share of Saro.
The Avro 683 Lancaster developed by Roy Chadwick as part of the ‘Ideal Bomber’ programme as an ‘Interim Bomber’ is on course to enter service with RAF Bomber Command this year and production is increasing pace at the new Chadderton works. This production will move soon however as on April 16 Avro opened its new factory at Yeadon, Yorkshire, built to construct the Lancaster and its York airliner cousin. This huge factory covers 1,494,711 sq feet. This gives Avro two of the biggest aircraft factories in Europe and pushes Hawker Siddeley firmly into the number one manufacturer slot in the country. The Avro 685 York prototype made its maiden flight in July with firm orders from British European Airways (BEA) and BOAC has ordered five for use on its African routes. Roy Chadwick continues to make progress with the Avro 688 (rumoured to be called the Tudor) and it has been confirmed that the engines will be four 1,650hp Napier-Paxman Pilates III diesels.
At Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Kingston-on Thames, Surrey, the new Hawker P.1012 Tempest continues development and now six Tempest prototypes are flying and service entry should be in 1943-44. Development is still slower than expected but the Tempest seems likely to become a success story with a potential order total of 600 of all types. Sidney Camm continues work on the P.1022 ‘Tempest Light Fighter’ which is being modified with the assistance of Gloster for naval use. Specification N.7/41 has now been issued to provide official funding and the Admiralty has placed an order for two prototypes and 100 fighters off the drawing board and Gloster is to produce all the production machines.
Gloster Aircraft Ltd at Hucclecote has had a busy year with experimental aircraft. The little turbojet-powered E.28 has taken to the air and is the world’s first practical jet-propulsion testbed. Its Power Jets W.1 turbojet has performed flawlessly and experience gained from its construction and operation is proving of great use to designer George Carter as he refines his secret high-speed fighter to Spec F.9/40. It is still unknown what type of engine powers this new and highly-secret design.
Armstrong Whitworth Ltd is continuing in its sub-contract role building Henley bombers and making other sub-assemblies for other Hawker Siddeley firms. So far it has not received an order for more Submarine Scout Pusher (SSP) airships.

Vickers-Supermarine
Wellington B.Mk.IV production continues at Blackpool this while at Wisley work is on-going to meet Spec B.23/39, a high-altitude development of the Wellington with a new pressure-cabin powered by turbocharged Bristol Hercules or Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. Both Wellington V prototypes have flown this year but this complex research programme will probably take two years to complete and a whole host of technical problems with the cabin and the engines remain to be overcome. At Weybridge work is being undertaken by Rex Pierson and Barnes Wallis on the Vickers 447 Windsor long-range four-engined bomber to Specification B.3/39 to replace the defunct Warwick programme. Vickers hopes to fly the first of two prototypes in mid-1942 and 300 Windsors are on order.
Supermarine in March flew the Spitfire F.Mk.IV with its new 1,650hp Merlin VII with a new two speed supercharger and production will soon shift to this new Mark which should continue into 1943. The Chief Designer Reginald Mitchell has now retired owing to ill health and his post has been taken over by Joseph Smith, his former deputy. Developed to meet Spec F.6/39 the Spiteful fighter has laminar flow wings, the first in a British aircraft, and will be powered by a Rolls-Royce Griffon II V-12 engine. The first flight should be in June 1943 and an enormous amount of research work is still being undertaken on the laminar flow wings with the assistance of the RAE. At the same time the firm is still developing the Vickers-Supermarine Seafang to Spec N.7/40 based on the Spitfire. The first flight is planned for mid-1942 and 200 are on order for entry into service during late 1943.

AIRCO
Airspeed Ltd based at Portsmouth Airport is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of de Havilland and all its future products will be labelled under the DH designation. The Portsmouth design team led by A.E. Hagg won Spec P.1/41 for a medium-range airliner with its DH.97 Ambassador design powered by two Bristol Centaurus radial engines. The first flight is planned in 1944.
The de Havilland Company Ltd under the helm of Geoffrey de Havilland has now begun production of the Flamingo Mk II which has flown and testing period was very short and fault-free being based on an established designed. BEA has issued orders for twenty which will enter service next year. The DH.98 Mosquito continues in production, this year the PR.Mk.II entered service equipped with cameras and powered by two 1,650hp Rolls-Royce Merlin VII engines. Next year a bomber variant with additional underwing bomb racks will be produced for the RAF with the same engines as the PR.Mk.II. The D.H.103 Hornet private-venture made its first flight from Hatfield right on schedule in July. The RAF has 192 of these fighters on order but even before the first flight Brazil placed a large order of 100 Hornets off the drawing board, so impressed were they over the estimated performance figures. Testing is on-going but speeds of over 400mph have been achieved. Spec P.3/41 for a small feederliner resulted in de Havilland winning the official competition with the D.H.104 Dove. This is a conventional twin-engined type with two 330hp DH Gipsy engines with capacity for two pilots and eight passengers. It should fly as early as next year. De Havilland have received Spec E.6/41 to begin turbojet research work at Hatfield in response to some private-venture work it has been undertaking in both aircraft and engine design.
Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd based at Hayes continues production of the Barracuda and Balmoral but the production line is winding down. Development work is underway with a prototype Barracuda re-engined with a Rolls-Royce Griffon V-12. Official interest is growing and next year the type may be ordered as a stop-gap for the FAA and RAF. Greece has ordered twenty-four Mk. II Barracudas but plans to convert the existing forty-eight Mk. Is to Mk. II standard were abandoned. Design work continues on the new naval bomber to Spec S.11/40 and two prototypes are now under construction. The Firefly FN.Mk.II remains in production for the FAA and Romania and Greece has recently ordered a hundred of the Mk II.
Handley Page Ltd have won Spec C.11/41 for an aerial tanker with their HP.57 submission. This large four-engined aircraft will be powered by four 1,615hp Hercules V radials with a wingspan of 104.2ft. Range with maximum load will be 1,100 miles and maximum take-off weight would be 65,000lbs. The lower fuselage would carry four 650 gallon tanks and the aircraft’s wing tanks could also be plumbed into the tanker fuel system to increase capacity. Design work is now underway and a prototype may fly as soon as the end of next year if all goes well. Work has also begun on a new pressurised airliner with tricycle undercarriage under development for BOAC in both 50 passenger and 17,800lbs cargo variants. The HP.66 should make its first flight during late 1942 and will be powered by four 1,690hp Bristol Hercules IX radials. It is understood that the wings will be based on those of the HP.57 tanker. It is a lucky break for the firm who otherwise may have been forced to close. The H.P.75 Manx aircraft developed Dr Gustav Lachmann is the first tailless aircraft to fly in Britain and is now in the hands of the RAE.

Blackburn Aircraft Ltd is based Brough in East Yorkshire continues development of the B.44 Firebrand floatplane fighter. RAE experimental work has now gone some way to solving the problems with spray and water flow and service entry looks on track to be in 1942. Chile has shown in the type too. Even so the work continues on shaky ground given the withdrawal of German support. Production of the B.20 Boston and B.28 bomber continues.

Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd has now completed production of the P.90 Birmingham bomber. The P.97 Nighthawk is one of the world’s first purpose-built night fighters and is equipped with the latest airborne radio-location and infra-red detection systems. Service entry has now been achieved and much work has been undertaken this year to meet Brazilian requirements for a multi-purpose aircraft suitable as a night fighter and ground attack type. Boulton Paul is now marketing the Martin-Baker M.B.5.

The Bristol Aeroplane Co. has worked out the last snags in the Bristol Type 163 Buckingham and the first of 250 on order have now entered RAF service. The basic design of the Type 163 has led to the Type 166 fast three-seat twin-engined advanced trainer which won Spec T.13/41. It is planned to fly a prototype next October. Beaufort production continues at a trickle but Coastal Command will receive a new mark of Beaufort next year with radio-location gear added.

Flettner UK Ltd. is the British agent for sales of the Flettner series of helicopters designed and built in Germany. The Air Ministry has now placed orders for the RAF and FAA, all of which will be built in Germany. The firm will handle local servicing and modifications in future when the company finds suitable premises.

General Aircraft Ltd has set up a joint company with Westland, Normalair, with Westland (which see) and the only other activity is the new GAL.45 Owlet trainer based on the GAL. 42 Cygnet II cabin monoplane.

Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd has flown the prototype Martin-Baker M.B.5 R2496 under the control of Captain Valentine Baker. It testing programme is progressing well but some issues need rectifying and a new tail will be fitted soon. Boulton Paul is now marketing the fighter and hopes to build any production aircraft. Official backing is growing but still seems very lukewarm.

Miles Aircraft Ltd. at Reading continues work the their four-engined small airliner project which won Spec P.2/41. The four-engined airliner will be powered by four DH Gipsy series engines with a high-wing and twin-tail and should fly in 1943. Miles failed to win Spec P.1/41 for a medium-range airliner. Miles has also been issued Spec C.12/41 for a variant of Master trainer for target towing as the Martinet and Spec Q.10/41 for a radio-controlled target variant of Martinet for the FAA as the Queen Martinet. On the export side Greece has placed orders with Miles for 48 Miles M.14 Magister and 12 Miles M.16 Mentors with the 200hp DH Gipsy Six engine.

Percival Aircraft Ltd has won Spec T.23/41 for a three-seat basic trainer to replace the Tiger Moth. The Percival Prentice was the winning design and the firm hopes to fly a prototype in late 1943 or early 1944. This design will potentially be built in large numbers.

Short Brothers (Rochester & Bedford) Ltd should fly the prototype Short S.32 Sandringham II with a pressurised cabin before the end of the year. It will be the first British production airliner with such a feature. BOAC has an order for 20 and the first commercial routes should be flown in March next year. A normal crew of seven (including cabin crew) and 36 passengers will be carried over 3,400 miles. Production of the S.25 Sunderland for the RAF continues. Production orders for the Reconnaissance Scout Class (RS) airships or the Semi-Rigid Scout Class (RSR) have not yet materialised.

G. & J. Weir Ltd. have unveiled a plan to build three new experimental helicopters before 1945. The first helicopter will tackle the problems of torque compensation and control of the rotor. It is hoped to fly this helicopter by 1944. The second type will be a development of the W.6 designed for heavy lifting for a variety of commercial roles. The third will be a production two-seat helicopter to replace the likely German-built helicopters that will be in use within the next few years. G. & J. Weir has received finance and backing to develop its range of helicopters from

Westland Aircraft Ltd. and General Aircraft have formed Normalair Ltd to pool their expertise on pressure-cabins. Normalair Limited was established on the Westland site in Yeovil with a 51% shareholding held by Westland with General Aircraft holding the other 49%. Ted Boulger was appointed general manager with J. Fearn appointed as Westland Board Director with responsibility for the new company. The P.14 Welkin high-altitude fighter is now in production but the rate continues to be slow and the RAF has temporarily grounded the type due to compressibility issues in dives. The pressure-cabin was developed by Gloster and General Aircraft and although fairly simple it has seen larger maintenance requirements than first thought. Although an advanced type it will take time for the Welkin to become a reliable type due to its novel features.

Engine Firms

A.B.C. Motors Ltd. at the request of the Air Ministry is now concentrating on producing auxiliary power-units like the A.B.C. Type I now in production and the Type II now in development. These are horizontally-opposed two cylinder engines used in flying boats for maintain accumulator charge, running the fuel pump to fill the tanks from an external source, running the bilge pump and the air compressor.

Alvis Ltd. at Elton, Bury, Lancashire, have still failed to gain any export orders with any of its engines and no home-grown orders are forthcoming either. Work this year has been spent on finishing the test programme of the 1,800hp Alcides which is nearing certification. With Air Ministry interest in the Leonides to replace the A.S. Cheetah series of radials development of this type continues. Bench tests have begun on a 520hp model which should reach production sometime next year if testing goes well. The Leonides is now fitted with a Hobson fuel-injection system.

Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd. at Coventry is a member of Hawker Siddeley Ltd. Development of the Cheetah line continues with the new 385hp model under development with a modified constant-speed unit and automatic boost also being refined as a 475hp type. This latter engine may well enter production before the 385hp model to stave off the Leonides for the time being. Rumours are circulating that Armstrong Siddeley is working on reaction jet engines and more recently it is thought the designation ASX is linked with this work.

Aspin F.M. & Co. Ltd. continues to develop small auxiliary power-units for strategic bombers under Air Ministry contracts.

Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. Cirrus Engine Department, based at Brough was formed in 1936 when Blackburn acquired the Cirrus-Hermes Engineering Company. The 135hp version of the Major is still in development. A refined Cirrus Minor is also under development with power increased from 82hp to 100hp with a higher compression ratio. Both engines are likely to enter series production next year.

Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. Aero Engine Department traces its roots to Brazil Straker via Cosmos Engineering and the genius engineer Roy Fedden has been the lynchpin of the firm’s success. It is now perhaps the largest and most technically competent manufacturer in the country. All further development of its older poppet-valve engines has now ceased and all future efforts are linked to the Hercules and Centaurus range of radial engines. Two high-altitude models of the Hercules are currently undergoing development and testing, both on the stands and in the air. The Hercules VI is rated at 1,650hp and has a single-speed medium supercharger and an auxiliary high-altitude single-speed ‘S’ supercharger giving a maximum of 1,100hp at 32,000ft. Efforts are under way to further increase this to 40,000ft. The 1,725hp Hercules VII is a two-speed fully/medium supercharged engine with the supercharger locked in ‘M’ gear, a reduced 12in impeller and single-lever carburettor. It is thought that the XXI and XXII will be civil variants of these engines. The two Centaurus engines under development are the 2,300hp Centaurus IV and the 2,500hp Centaurus V, the latter having interconnected throttle/ propeller controls. Bristol Engines still refuses to comment on whether György Jendrassik is employed by the firm full time but it seems likely that he is undertaking research work there, possibly on reaction jet engine technology. It is thought efforts are underway to combine a reaction jet with propeller drives.

The de Havilland Engine Co. Ltd mainly concentrates on engines for smaller aircraft and its products power many de Havilland aircraft. The newest engines are; the 197hp Gipsy Major V, the supercharged Gipsy Six IIIS 295hp and the production ready former Fairey engine the 1,540hp H-16S Prince 3. Development work this year includes a 145hp Gipsy Major for the RAF with sodium-cooled exhaust valves and cartridge starter and a further Gipsy Major development with new valve seats and electric starter etc. Two further Gipsy Queen models of 240-250hp are also entering early development. Although the 16 cylinder H-16S Prince has passed its tests and could be put into production work is still underway on the full scale 24 cylinder design known as the Monarch and it should fly in 1942 and offer 2,240hp. Mr Halford’s design team has also moved into the reaction jet business with official Air Ministry approval with airframe work likely as well. No word has yet come officially from de Havilland’s but it seems likely that bench tests have already begun on a partly private-venture basis.

Jameson Aero Engines Ltd. of Ewell, Surrey is the newest engine builder in the country being formed in 1940. Its Chief Designer Mr A.E. Moser is developing a four cylinder four-stroke engine for light aircraft. It should attain at least 100hp and the firm hopes by 1943 the engine will complete the 100-hour Air Ministry Development Test and then pass a Type Test by 1945. Whether the firm can become a player in such an overcrowded market remains to be seen.

D. Napier & Sons Ltd. in 1940 with its subsidiary Napier-Paxman and the diesel producer Paxman merged with English Electric to form a conglomerate engineering firm, National Electronic Engineering Ltd. (NEE). The 2,240hp Sabre V is now in production with work on the 2,500hp Sabre IV with altered ignition and plugs an S.U. carburettor nearing the end of flight testing. The 2,600hp Sabre VI with increased boost, redesigned supercharger and induction system with RAE fuel injection is still at least two years away from production.

Napier-Paxman Aircraft Engines Ltd. is still experiencing slack production although the selection of the Pilates III for the forthcoming Avro 688 Tudor has raised the firm’s hopes. Since 1938 work has been underway on a 24 cylinder X-shaped engine, being in essence two V-banks joined together. Dubbed Prometheus it is hoped the first engine will fly in late 1942 or early 1943 and it is designed for an output of 3,580hp. Bench tests this year have been satisfactory. The Prometheus looks set to become the most powerful British engine and the most technically demanding to develop.

Pobjoy-Short under D.R. Pobjoy is working with Rotol on auxiliary accessory gearboxes. It seems sub-contract work from Rotol and other aviation firms will replace the manufacture of its own designs.

Rolls-Royce Ltd. has three large factories at Derby, Crewe and Glasgow. This famous firm has a long heritage of producing aero engines back to 1915. The Merlin VIII rated at 1,280hp fitted with the two-stage two-speed supercharger of the VII is now entering production and has been ordered in some numbers for the Spitfire F.Mk.IV. The 1,280hp Merlin X is the new civil version of the VI intended for four-engined airliners. Other Merlin developments are a more powerful 1,400hp model, the XI, and a high-performance Merlin with 1,770hp. The Griffon series of engines has gained the 2,375hp Griffon II in production with no less than three others now undergoing development. The 2,420hp Griffon III will have a three-speed two-stage supercharger, the IV will have a two-speed single-stage supercharger, revised fuel injection and automatic gear change to produce 1,815hp. The Griffon VII will be based on the IV but with contra-rotating propeller gear and other changes. The 3,000hp Vulture V has passed its trials and has been certified and is now ready for production. Rolls-Royce is developing a new 24 cylinder horizontally-opposed H-shaped engine with sleeve-valves known as the 46H. The first production engine should appear by 1943 with early bench tests completed by the end of this year. In 1939 production of reaction-jet engines was passed over from Power Jets Ltd. to Rolls-Royce for mass production leaving Power Jets as a research company only. However this has enabled Rolls-Royce fledgling jet propulsion team to get a head start over the other British companies (Armstrong Siddeley and de Havilland) and this year has seen a reaction jet of wholly Rolls-Royce design bench tested. It is believed to be of similar configuration to Mr Whittle’s designs and has produced about 1,000lb

ADDENDA 1942

Hawker Siddeley Group
The Hawker Siddeley Group remains Britain’s largest aircraft conglomerate.
The Avro 683 Lancaster developed by Roy Chadwick as part of the ‘Ideal Bomber’ programme as an ‘Interim Bomber’ has entered service with RAF Bomber Command and production has now reached full speed at the Chadderton and Yeadon works. The Avro 685 York prototype made its maiden flight in July 1941 and is now in production with firm orders from British European Airways (BEA) for ten and BOAC for five for use on its African routes. BEA may order another fifteen this year. The Royal Iraqi Air Force will also receive one example this year as a VIP aircraft. Work continues on the Avro 688 Tudor which should fly in July this year. Development is mainly for BOAC as a long-range airliner for its Colonial routes and the North Atlantic route. Accommodation is provided for 24 passengers in day/ night berths or 60 day passengers in a pressurised cabin. Four 1,650hp Napier-Paxman Pilates III diesel engines provide a maximum speed of 340mph and a range of 4,200 miles. Twenty-four are on order for BOAC but so have efforts to find exports abroad have failed. Work has begun on a Mark II variant which should fly next year powered by Bristol Hercules radial engines with an increased span wing. BEA is looking to replace its Yorks with the new Tudor II from 1944. The new airline British South American Airways made a very large order of 19 Avro 685 Yorks, 7 Avro 688 Tudors, 6 Avro 689 Tudor IIs and two Avro 689 Tudor II equipped as freighters and one Avro 652D. Roy Chadwick’s team is currently working on several design projects. They are looking at designs for a ‘Giant Bomber’ to replace the ‘Ideal Bomber’ from the late 1940s to Spec B.1/42. Also Chadwick has taken the refined wing of the Tudor (based on that of the York which is that of the Lancaster) and begun designing a refined Lancaster with Rolls-Royce Griffon engines. A first flight could be made during the summer of 1943 but although RAF interest is strong there is still no official approval to go ahead with orders. Also on the drawing board is the Avro 700 feederliner. It should fly in 1943 and is a replacement for the Avro 652 series. It will seat up to 12 passengers and will be powered by Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah or Alvis Leonides radials.
At Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Kingston-on Thames, Surrey, the new Hawker P.1012 Tempest continues development and now all twelve Tempest prototypes are flying pre-production has begun. Service entry of the Rolls-Royce Griffon powered Tempest II should be in mid-1943. Sidney Camm continues work on the P.1022 Sea Fury which is being modified with the assistance of Gloster for naval use under Specification N.7/41. The Admiralty has placed an order for two prototypes and 100 fighters off the drawing board and Gloster is to produce all the production machines. The first flight was undertaken in February 1942. Production of the current Tornado and Typhoon lines is now coming to an end.
Gloster Aircraft Ltd at Hucclecote has had another busy year. The little turbojet-powered E.28 continues its research programme and two more are now entering final assembly. The Power Jets W.1 turbojet has performed flawlessly and experience gained from its construction and operation is proving of great use to designer George Carter as he refines his secret high-speed fighter to Spec F.9/40. It is still unknown what type of engine powers this new and highly-secret design and no date has been given for a first flight. Gloster is now tooling up for production of the Sea Fury.
Saunders-Roe (Saro) have undertaken little aeronautical work so far but its new and expanding design team is working on two projects. The first is a massive flying boat designed to meet Spec P.4/42 to carry 200 day passengers or 50 night passengers on transcontinental flights. The other project is a smaller amphibian. The Hawker Siddeley Board want to make Saro the nation’s leading flying boat builder and continues to invest heavily in the firm. In 1942 Saunders-Roe undertook a re-organisation of the commercial and administrative sides of its business. The marine section, consisting of the shipyard and boat building business was transferred to a new company, Saunders Shipyard Ltd., all of the shares of which are owned by Saro. Secondly, the plywood section of the business at the factory on Medina River was transferred to a new company, Saro Laminated Wood Products Ltd., in consideration for a majority of the shares. Laminated Wood Products Ltd., which markets most of the plywood products, has also merged its interests into the new company. The managing director Major Darwin has left the company. Mr Broadsmith continues as director and general manager.
Armstrong Whitworth Ltd is continuing in its sub-contract role building Henley bombers and making other sub-assemblies for other Hawker Siddeley firms. The Henley line will close by the end of the year but its Hawker Hurricane modification work for export nations has proved a welcome boost. AWA’s chief designer John Lloyd is working on a laminar-flow flying wing aircraft research programme in conjunction with the RAE and a scale-model glider, the A.W.51, has been built. So far AWA has not received an order for more Submarine Scout Pusher (SSP) airships.

AIRCO
AIRCO is now the second-largest group in Britain.
The de Havilland Company Ltd under the helm of Geoffrey de Havilland continues to expand. The DH.95 Flamingo Mk II airliner is now in full scale production and there are outstanding orders for 31. The new DH.97 Ambassador design powered by two Bristol Centaurus radial engines continues development at Portsmouth (previously Airspeed) under the direction of A.E. Hagg. A first flight is still planned for 1944. The DH.98 Mosquito continues in production, this year the B.Mk.II entered service powered by two 1,650hp Rolls-Royce Merlin VII engines with additional underwing bomb racks. The Irish Air Force’s experiments with nose mounted armament has led to the development of the Mk.IV which will house a formidable armament of four 20mm cannon and four machine-guns. Firing trials will begin later this year. The D.H.103 Hornet fighter continues its successful trials programme. The RAF has 192 of these fighters on order with another 100 for Brazil. Spec N.5/42 has been raised to cover a naval carrier-based variant for the strike fighter role for the FAA. Fairey will be responsible for the modifications needed for folding wings and arrestor gear. 100 are on order and a first flight will be made this year, all will be built by Fairey. The D.H.104 Dove feederliner and executive aircraft powered by two 330hp DH Gipsy engines its first flight was during September. De Havilland continues work under Spec E.6/41 on turbojet research work at Hatfield in both aircraft and engine design.
Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd based at Hayes faces some major structural changes this year. The compulsory purchase of its Hounslow factory by the Air Ministry has resulted in its flight test department planning a move elsewhere. The two choices are either moving to Heston Aerodrome or de Havilland’s Hatfield facilities. The latter seems most likely. A new facility may eventually be built at White Waltham where the de Havilland flying school is located. Fairey continues production of the Barracuda and Balmoral but the production line has now all but ceased. Development work is underway with a prototype Barracuda re-engined with a Rolls-Royce Griffon V-12. Official interest is growing and next year the type may be ordered as a stop-gap for the FAA and RAF as flight trials have proved successful. Design work continues on the new naval bomber to Spec S.11/40 and two prototypes are now under construction for a first flight due in 1943. The Firefly FN.Mk.II remains in production for the FAA, Romania and Greece. Fairey are now preparing a DH.103 sea Hornet production line.
Handley Page Ltd continues work on the H.P.57 aerial tanker to Spec C.11/41. This large four-engined aircraft will be powered by four 1,615hp Hercules V radials with a wingspan of 104.2ft. Range with maximum load will be 1,100 miles and maximum take-off weight would be 65,000lbs. The lower fuselage would carry four 650 gallon tanks and the aircraft’s wing tanks could also be plumbed into the tanker fuel system to increase capacity. A hose drum unit is installed in the rear fuselage and aft of this is a BSA projector which fires the contact line across the receiver line from the receiver. This is then winched on-board and then the receiver line is attached to the hose which is then winched back into the tail of the receiver. And the end of the refuelling operation a weak link breaks the line. The prototype flew this year and the RAF has now placed an order for fifty and Flight Refuelling Ltd. has also ordered two aircraft of their own. The Handley Page H.P.66 Hermes airliner with a pressurised cabin and tricycle undercarriage has been developed for BOAC in both 50 passenger and 17,800lbs cargo variants. A first flight will be achieved later this year. It will be powered by four 1,690hp Bristol Hercules IX radials. Further exports have so far failed to materialise but work has begun on a new variant for the RAF. The H.P.67 Hastings is a long-range transport carrying 50 troops or 30 troops plus cargo or 32 litters and 28 seated casualties or all-cargo. It should fly next year. The H.P.75 Manx aircraft developed Dr Gustav Lachmann is the first tailless aircraft to fly in Britain and is now in the hands of the RAE. Sir Frederick Page is also undertaking work under Spec B.1/42 issued for a ‘Giant Bomber’ for the latter 1940s. All in all the fortunes of Handley Page slowly seem to be turning around and heading toward potentially quite a productive next few years.

Vickers-Supermarine
Production of the Wellington B.Mk.IV at Blackpool has winding down although a Rolls-Royce Merlin powered prototype has been seen recently perhaps indicating a possible new sub-type for the RAF. At Wisley work is continuing on the high-altitude development of the Wellington with a new pressure-cabin powered by turbocharged Bristol Hercules or Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. Both Wellington V prototypes are now flying but this complex research programme will probably take two years to complete and a whole host of technical problems with the cabin and the engines remain to be overcome. A production order seems very unlikely. At Weybridge work is being undertaken by Rex Pierson and Barnes Wallis on the Vickers 447 Windsor long-range four-engined bomber to Specification B.3/39 to replace the defunct Warwick programme. Vickers flew the first of two prototypes during the summer and 300 are on order. The first commercial Vickers aircraft for several years is now on the drawing board at Weybridge. The V.C.1 has been designed to fulfil a BEA requirement for a new airliner this all-metal monoplane will carry 27 passengers. Powered by two Bristol Hercules it will have a range of 1,700 miles. This puts the V.C.1 in direct competition with the de Havilland Flamingo and should fly sometime during early 1943.
Supermarine is now undertaking full-scale production of the Spitfire F.Mk.IV. The Spitfire PR.Mk.V is an unarmed F.Mk.IV with fittings in the fuselage for one vertical and one oblique camera; sixteen will be converted during 1942 by Vickers at Wisley. Developed to meet Spec F.6/39 the Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered Spiteful fighter has laminar flow wings, the first in a British aircraft. The first flight should be in June 1943 and an enormous amount of research work is still being undertaken on the laminar flow wings with the assistance of the RAE. The Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered Seafang developed to Spec N.7/40 is based on the Spitfire and the prototype is now flying.200 are on order for entry into service during late 1943 although the Sea Fury is an unwelcome rival.

Blackburn Aircraft Ltd is based Brough in East Yorkshire continues development of the B.44 Firebrand floatplane fighter. RAE experimental work has solved many of the problems with spray and water flow and service entry is imminent. Spec S.11/42 has been raised to cover development of a two-seat version which the firm optimistically hopes will fly this year. Several export drives have so far met with little success but Chile still holds some interest in the type. Production of the B.20 Boston and B.28 bomber will end this year. A new type will be the B.48 developed to meet Spec N.7/42 for a single or two-seat carrier-based ‘strike-fighter’ with a speed of at least 350mph. George Petty’s single-seat B.48 is broadly based on the B.37 with a Centaurus radial with contra-rotating propeller and new 44ft 11in span laminar flow wings to increase speed and cut wing drag and weight by as much as 900lb. Maximum speed is 380mph at 19,000ft. Armament is four 20mm cannon and the B.48 capable of steep dive-bombing and can carry a torpedo or two 500lb bombs or eight 3in RPs. A first flight should take place early next year.

Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd has had another successful year. The P.97 Nighthawk looks set to end production at the end of 1942 unless further orders are forthcoming. Boulton Paul is now marketing the Martin-Baker M.B.5 and Spec N.6/42 was issued to Martin Baker and Boulton Paul for development of the carrier-based variant of the M.B.5. Boulton Paul is the main contractor for the folding wings and naval fittings. It will build all the production carrier-based M.B.5 and has secured half of the RAF order for the M.B.5 which means 100 will be built by Boulton Paul. J.D. North’s P.105 failed to win Spec N.7/42. Boulton Paul’s other engineering interests and turret manufacture have continued to thrive. They are now working on a new generation of remote-controlled barbettes and turrets and more streamlined housings.

The Bristol Aeroplane Co. has begun to get its production programmes underway while rumours of a future merger with Vickers-Supermarine continue to circulate. The Type 163 Buckingham is now in full production, the Type 166 Buckmaster fast three-seat twin-engined advanced trainer will fly in October and tooling has already begun. Beaufort production continues at increased rate with the GR.Mk.III equipped with ASV Mk.III RDF and no beam guns. The Type 170 Freighter private-venture is on the drawing board as a large freight carrier with nose doors. It should fly at the end of 1943 and the RAF has noted interest in the design.

Chilton Aircraft based at Heston Airport has flown its latest design, a side-by-side two-seat light cabin monoplane, the D.W.2. Airworthiness certification should be achieved by the end of the year. Work has also begun on a sailplane called the Chilton Cavalier.

Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft Ltd. at Swaythling, Southampton has now flown the Burnelli-designed lifting fuselage aircraft prototype powered by two 900hp Bristol Perseus radials. There is a larger O.A. Mk II on the drawing boards as well. So far no orders have been received although interest in such aircraft is growing. Some foresee a large colonial market but generally cargo-carrying aircraft are a very small market indeed and growth seems unlikely within five years. The firm has been engaged in repair and modification work for Supermarine.

Flettner UK Ltd. is the British agent for sales of the Flettner series of helicopters designed and built in Germany. The Air Ministry has now placed orders for the RAF and FAA, all of which will be built in Germany. The firm will handle local servicing and modifications in from its new premises at Heston aerodrome.

Heston Aircraft Co. Ltd has kept in business by a few modest sales of its Phoenix aircraft and sub-contract work to Vickers-Supermarine. It is believed that work has re-started on the Type 5 racer powered by a Napier Sabre engine. It briefly flew in 1940 but the second example was not completed before the project fell through owing to lack of funding and technical issues.

Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd has now secured a production contract for the M.B.5 fighter for 200 for the RAF. Boulton Paul has a fifty-percent sub-contract. Deliveries to the RAF should begin in July 1943. In the short-term it seems certain that Boulton Paul will take a majority stake in the firm.

Miles Aircraft Ltd. at Reading continues work their four-engined small airliner project which won Spec P.2/41, it has now been named as the M.60 Marathon. The four-engined airliner will be powered by four DH Gipsy series engines and should fly in 1943. The success of its new airliner could propel Miles into a new market and increase the profitability of the firm. A hundred need to be ordered in order to make a profit on the development and production costs, so far the State airlines have pledged to buy a total of seventy. The prototype Miles M.25 Martinet two-seat target tug based on the M.9 Master II is in final assembly and will fly in April. By the end of the year production will begin for the RAF and FAA. A new twin-engined development of the M.28 Messenger four-seat touring aircraft is on the drawing board and may fly next year. Work on the M.35 tandem-wing research aircraft is on-going but further orders seem unlikely.
Other products in which Miles has interests include photocopiers and bookbinding machinery produced by a specifically formed company, the Western Manufacturing Estate Ltd, and Biro pens through an associated company, the Miles Martin Pen Co Ltd.

Percival Aircraft Ltd has mainly concentrated on development of the Percival Prentice was the winning design and the firm hopes to fly a prototype in late 1943 or early 1944. This design will potentially be built in large numbers.

Short Brothers (Rochester & Bedford) Ltd are now beginning production of the Short S.32 Sandringham II with a pressurised cabin. It is the first British production airliner with such a feature. BOAC has a total order for 20. The issuing of Spec R.8/42 for an improved Sunderland Mk V will keep the Sunderland production line open for several more years. The new variant will have a higher gross weight of 75,000lbs with a new wing and tailplanes and rudder will be powered by four 1,770hp Hercules VIII radials. The hull will have flared chines and a deeper step. Meanwhile production of the S.25 Sunderland is continuing at a reduced pace. Shorts has lost out on Spec P.4/42 for flying boat complement to carry 200 day passengers or 50 night passengers on transcontinental flights to its rival, Saro. Meanwhile the Short S.35 S Class developed for BOAC to replace the G Class continues in development. BOAC made an initial order of ten passenger and five cargo aircraft. The prototype is now under construction and should fly next year. The S.45 Solent; based on the Sunderland Mk V design, to replace the C Class flying boats has now flown and should enter full scale production on the Sunderland line for BOAC deliveries in 1943. The Solent will be brought in three variants; Solent 1 for 30 day passengers, Solent 2 for 24 day/night or 30 day passengers and the Solent 3 for 39 day passengers. A total of 37 are on order. Production orders for the Reconnaissance Scout Class (RS) airships or the Semi-Rigid Scout Class (RSR) have not yet materialised.

G. & J. Weir Ltd. continue to work on three new experimental helicopters with first flights planned before 1945. The first helicopter will tackle the problems of torque compensation and control of the rotor. It is hoped to fly this helicopter by 1944 and work has now begun officially to Spec E.18/42. The second type will be a development of the W.6 designed for heavy lifting for a variety of commercial roles design work has now begun in earnest. The third will be a production two-seat helicopter to replace the likely German-built helicopters that will be in use within the next few years.

Westland Aircraft Ltd. has had a mixed year. Development problems with the Welkin high-altitude fighter have slowed production and the RAF may cancel the outstanding aircraft. Westland has mainly devoted its efforts this year to solving these problems. The joint company formed with General Aircraft, Normalair Ltd to produce pressure-cabins is a vital part of this process. The RAF has lifted the temporarily grounding due to compressibility issues in dives but the problem does remain. There has been a design effort to design an improved and modernised Lysander but this work has been suspended. Some wind tunnel work was undertaken on tandem wing designs. A re-engined version may be produced as the RAF has yet failed to choose a superior successor. W.E.W. Petter had been working on the W.34 to meet Spec N.7/42 for a carrier-based strike fighter but the submission was unsuccessful. Petter is now further refining the design but a future production order seems unlikely at a time when the FAA has ample fighter and bomber designs now entering development and production. Westland’s future prospects outside of the major groups now looks increasingly glum unless a profitable programme or sub-contract can be found.

Engine Firms

A.B.C. Motors Ltd. Walton-on-Thames. This firm has been producing aero engines since 1911 A.B.C. now on produces auxiliary power-units; these are the A.B.C. Type I and the new Type II. These are horizontally-opposed two cylinder engines used in flying boats for maintain accumulator charge, running the fuel pump to fill the tanks from an external source, running the bilge pump and the air compressor.

Aero Engines Ltd. is based at Kingswood, Bristol. The firm still builds the 40hp Dryad two cylinder opposed air-cooled engine, the similar 23hp Sprite and the former Weir 50hp Pixie four cylinder inverted inline air-cooled engine. It is a niche producer and some of its engines have seen use in experimental helicopters.

Alvis Ltd. at Elton, Bury, Lancashire, have entered the aircraft engine business largely to expand the power output range of British engines to 1,500-2,000hp. All the Alvis types have achieved Air Ministry 50-hour civil type tests but none have yet entered production. The lack of success has forced the Maeonides Major, Pelides, Pelides Major and Alcides lines to be held in abeyance until an export order is received. The Air Ministry has shown interest in the Leonides to replace the A.S. Cheetah series of radials. The Leonides is now fitted with a Hobson fuel-injection system and the 520hp Leonides II is now ready for production. A 540hp model is now in development.

Anzani (British/ Luton) Ltd. is a branch of Luton Aircraft Ltd. In 1938 Luton Aircraft Ltd. brought the manufacturing rights to the Anzani inverted Vee-twin engine which then was modified with a new ignition and valves.

Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd. at Coventry is a member of Hawker Siddeley Ltd. This famous firm has built many successful radial engines which have seen widespread use and numerous British aircraft of all types. Certainly this firm has lost its crown to Bristol and is declining in importance. If the Alvis Leonides replaces the Cheetah then the future of this firm is at stake. Development of the Cheetah line continues with the new 385hp XVII model with a modified constant-speed unit and automatic boost being bench tested. The similar 475hp XX entered production this year and a direct-drive XVII, the XIX, is also under consideration. It is believed the firm is working on reaction jet engine of around 1,500lb thrust.

Aspin F.M. & Co. Ltd. continues to develop and produce small auxiliary power-units for strategic bombers under Air Ministry contract.

Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. Cirrus Engine Department, based at Brough was formed in 1936 when Blackburn acquired the Cirrus-Hermes Engineering Company. Since then it has launched a new series of four cylinder inverted inline engines beginning with the 82hp Cirrus Minor in 1937, the 55hp Cirrus Midget of 1937 and the 145hp Cirrus Major II of 1937. A 135hp version of the Major is now in development. In a short time this series of engines has taken several large orders for engines which have taken orders from de Havilland which builds similar engines.
Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. Cirrus Engine Department, based at Brough was formed in 1936 when Blackburn acquired the Cirrus-Hermes Engineering Company. The 135hp Cirrus Major III and the refined 100hp Cirrus Minor II are now in series production.

Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. Aero Engine Department traces its roots to Brazil Straker via Cosmos Engineering and the genius engineer Roy Fedden has been the lynchpin of the firm’s success. It is now perhaps the largest and most technically competent manufacturer in the country. All further development of its older poppet-valve engines has now ceased and all future efforts are linked to the Hercules and Centaurus range of radial engines. Two high-altitude models of the Hercules are currently undergoing development and testing, both on the stands and in the air. The Hercules VI is rated at 1,650hp and has a single-speed medium supercharger and an auxiliary high-altitude single-speed ‘S’ supercharger giving a maximum of 1,100hp at 32,000ft. Efforts are under way to further increase this to 40,000ft. This engine has now passed its type testing and is ready for production, as is the 1,725hp Hercules VII with a two-speed fully/medium supercharged engine with the supercharger locked in ‘M’ gear, a reduced 12in impeller and single-lever carburettor. The XXI and XXII are civil variants of these engines. Further developments are the 1,770hp Hercules VIII based on the VII but with a Hobson-RAE injector and a HE-11MT turbo-supercharger. It is currently undergoing bench tests as is the IX civil version rated at 1,675hp. Time between overhaul of this engine is expected to exceed 2,000 hours. Longer-term developments will include torquemeter-type reduction gearing to increase fuel economy and revised superchargers.

The Centaurus IV and V have now entered production and are rated at 2,300hp and 2,500hp respectively. Two further Centaurus engines under development; the 2,300hp Centaurus VI with a revised epicyclic propeller reduction gear, twin-turbine entry supercharger and a Hobson-RAE injector. It will have a vertically-mounted starter motor and interconnected throttle-propeller controls. The other model is the 2,470hp VIII and its associated IX civil variant, with a full/medium supercharger but otherwise as the VII. Work is beginning on a 36-cylinder version, basically two Centaurus placed in tandem driving a contra-rotating propeller via a common driveshaft. The engine should be ready for 1945.
Bristol Engines still refuses to comment on whether György Jendrassik is employed by the firm full time but it seems likely that he is undertaking research work there, possibly on reaction jet engine technology. It is thought efforts are underway to combine a reaction jet with propeller drives. Bristol seems well placed to benefit from research investment and official support to deliver large numbers of engines well into the decade and beyond. It could well swallow some smaller firms as it needs to expand production capacity.

Carden Aero Engines Co. was formed in 1935 to build engines for ultralight aircraft based on the Ford Ten car engine. It produces the 40hp S.P.1 and the original 31hp Carden-Ford. The Chilton Aircraft based at Heston Airport owns the stock of Carden Aero-Engines Ltd.

The de Havilland Engine Co. Ltd mainly concentrates on engines for smaller aircraft and its products power many de Havilland aircraft. The newest engines are; the 145hp Gipsy Major VII and the former 2,240hp Fairey P-24 Monarch. Development of the Gipsy line continues with testing underway on the 145hp Gipsy Major X with an aluminium head, improved and satellited valve seats, splined propeller shaft, generator and vacuum pump and it will run on 80-octane fuel. The 240hp Gipsy Queen V and the 250hp Gipsy Queen VI are also being tested and undergoing bench testing is the 380hp Gipsy Queen VII with a medium supercharger, this has been specially designed for civil use in small airliners. Work also continues on the P-24 Monarch but still without an official order despite much promise. Mr Halford’s design team has also moved into the reaction jet business with official Air Ministry approval with airframe work likely as well. No word has yet come officially from de Havilland’s but it seems likely that bench tests have already begun on a partly private-venture basis.

Jameson Aero Engines Ltd. of Ewell, Surrey under its Chief Designer, Mr A.E. Moser, is developing a four cylinder four-stroke engine for light aircraft. It should attain at least 100hp and the firm hopes by 1943 the engine will complete the 100-hour Air Ministry Development Test and then pass a Type Test by 1945. Whether the firm can become a player in such an overcrowded market remains to be seen.

D. Napier & Sons Ltd. is a well-established firm of international standing. In 1940, with its subsidiary Napier-Paxman and the diesel producer Paxman, it merged with English Electric to form a conglomerate engineering firm, National Electronic Engineering Ltd. (NEE).
The 2,500hp Sabre IV is now in production with work on the 2,600hp Sabre VI with increased boost, redesigned supercharger and induction system with Hobson-RAE fuel injection is now in flight test. A 3,000hp and a 3,500hp variant is now under development for flight tests to start during 1944.

Napier-Paxman Aircraft Engines Ltd. is still experiencing slack production although the selection of the Pilates III for the forthcoming Avro 688 Tudor has raised the firm’s hopes. Since 1938 work has been underway on a 24 cylinder X-shaped engine, being in essence two V-banks joined together. Dubbed Prometheus it has entered flight testing and it is designed for an output of 3,580hp. The Prometheus looks set to become the most powerful British engine and the most technically demanding to develop.

Pobjoy-Short under D.R. Pobjoy is working with Rotol on auxiliary accessory gearboxes. It seems sub-contract work from Rotol and other aviation firms has replaced the manufacture of its own designs.

Rolls-Royce Ltd. has three large factories at Derby, Crewe and Glasgow. This famous firm has a long heritage of producing aero engines back to 1915. The 1,390hp Merlin XI is now entering production as is the 1,770hp Merlin IX. Further development work on the Merlin lien now seems to have ended as work focuses on a newer generation of aero engines. The Griffon series of engines continues to grow as no less than three types entered flight test this year, the 2,420hp Griffon III, the 1,815hp IV and the 2,245hp VII. A further type undergoing bench tests is the 1,960hp VI. The Griffon III has a three-speed two-stage supercharger, the IV has a two-speed single-stage supercharger, revised fuel injection and automatic gear change. The Griffon VII is based on the IV but with contra-rotating propeller gear and other changes. The VI is similar to the IV but with a 13.8in RG.23SM supercharger, pedestal-type crankcase feet and electric starting. Rolls-Royce is developing a new 24 cylinder horizontally-opposed H-shaped engine with sleeve-valves known as the 46H Eagle. The first production engine should appear by 1943 and flight tests have now begun. The production Eagle I two-stage supercharged engine should attain 3,200hp. In 1939 production of reaction-jet engines was passed over from Power Jets Ltd. to Rolls-Royce for mass production leaving Power Jets as a research company only. However this has enabled Rolls-Royce fledgling jet propulsion team to get a head start over the other British companies (Armstrong Siddeley and de Havilland) and this year has seen the reaction jet of wholly Rolls-Royce design continuing to be bench tested. It is believed to be of similar configuration to Mr Whittle’s designs and has produced over 1,000lbs of thrust and is called the Welland. An improved engine, the Derwent is also under development.

Scott Motorcycle Co. Ltd. based in Shipley has been building the 28hp Flying Squirrel 2-cyl inverted inline engine for light aircraft since 1935 with some success.

Villiers-Hay Development Ltd. was set up by Amherst Villiers and he has designed and built the Villiers 4-L-318 120hp four cylinder inverted inline air-cooled poppet-valve engine. It is a smooth running engine and a more powerful version is also available but the competition from de Havilland and Blackburn Cirrus is proving too much for this small firm to overcome.

Foster, Winker Aircraft Co. Ltd. has developed a 40hp modified Ford V-8 engine but few have been built and none have been sold.

Wolseley Motors Ltd. has now stopped producing aero engines and is now concentrating on its much more successful car business.

Quoted

Originally posted by Hood
Handley Page Ltd continues work on the H.P.57 aerial tanker to Spec C.11/41. This large four-engined aircraft will be powered by four 1,615hp Hercules V radials with a wingspan of 104.2ft. Range with maximum load will be 1,100 miles and maximum take-off weight would be 65,000lbs. The lower fuselage would carry four 650 gallon tanks and the aircraft’s wing tanks could also be plumbed into the tanker fuel system to increase capacity. A hose drum unit is installed in the rear fuselage and aft of this is a BSA projector which fires the contact line across the receiver line from the receiver. This is then winched on-board and then the receiver line is attached to the hose which is then winched back into the tail of the receiver. And the end of the refuelling operation a weak link breaks the line. The prototype flew this year and the RAF has now placed an order for fifty and Flight Refuelling Ltd. has also ordered two aircraft of their own.

It's much too early for such inflight refueling work, in my opinion. I know there was some experimentation with it before the war, but I still think it's pushing the envelope too far ahead...

I wouldn't say so from what was acheived OTL and the rough 3+ development in WW.

The book 'History of Air-to-Air Refuelling' by Richard M. Tanner MBE (a Flight Refuelling Ltd engineer from 1949 to the late 80s) offers in intersting insight, that rather paints a different picture.

The very first trials with aerial refuelling were made in 1923 in America. The French and British followed in 1924, in 1927 the Belgain AF broke a world record keeping a DH.9 aloft for 60 hrs 7.5 mins. 1929 Carl Spaatz in a Fokker broke the record with 150 hours, by 1930 the record was 647.5 hours and in 1934 653.5 hours.

In 1930 Sqn Leader Atcherley began developing the 'Cross-Over Contact Method' where the receiver trails a line while the tanker flies from side to side astern with a line and grapnel and hooks the receiver line. The tanker then hauls in the receiver line and the passes a fuel line back to the receiver by the receiver hauling back its own line attached to the end of the fuel line. This basic system was further developed by Flight Refuelling Limited as the Looped Hose Method (see below) and was the basic system employed by them until after the Second World War when jet technology and in particular the need to refuel single-seat fighters meant the hose and drogue method we know so well was devised as a simplier method.

Atcherley's system was tested but offered no real improvement over the current system then in use so the RAF abandoned it around 1935. By the Alan Cobham had already gotten involved. He attempted to fly non-stop England-India in 1934 in an Airspeed Courier but near Malta the throttle control of the Courier broke and the attempt was abandoned. The same year he formed Flight Refuelling Limited. Trials took place with Vickers B19/17 and Boutlon Paul Overstrands, Hawker Harts and Wallaces and the refeulling method was refined as the 'Looped Hose Method' in this method the reciever hose had a weighted end with a grapnel and the contact line was fired across the reciever line which then was caught by the grapnel at the end and winched back to the tanker to attach the fuel line. The above system is used by the WW tanker.

In 1936 two Vickers Virginia's conducted trials which impressed Imperial Airways. In 1937 trials began with Armstrong Whitworth AW.23 and the Handley Page HP51 (prototype Harrow). By 1936 planning began for a trans-atlantic air post route to Canada by Britain, Canada, Newfoundland and the Irish Republic. In 1936 reciprocal rights were agreed between Imperial Airways and PanAm for a route. This was the start of the Shorts C-Class trials which aimed to boost the range of the 7600mile range aircraft to cross the Atlantic. Those were admittedly stripped down to tare weight and were not practical for commerical use, but the Shorts Mayo Composite developed for the same need proved cumbersome and less than ideal too. By Jan 1938 using the HP51 and AW 23 tankers 17 hook-up trial flights had been undertaken in various weather conditions successfully.

The Harrow tanker conversion added three 125 Imp-Gallon tanks and the horizontal ejector gun in the aft fuselage and a hose drum in the foward fuselage. Using the aircraft's own fuel tanks 1,434 gallons could be carried, of which 960 gal was available for transfer.

During 1939 16 refuelled crossings of the Atlantic were made operating a weekly service. The outbreak of war stopped the service. The conclusions from the 1939 trial proved the system and equipment was safe and reliable, the average time spent refuelling was 5 mins from contact to hook-up, then 7-8 mins to deliver 800 gallons by gravity.

In 1940 the French asked Flight Refuelling Ltd to look at equiping a Latecoere flying boat as a receiver and a Farman F.2234 bomber as a tanker. The Fall of France ended this work. The team only just got bck to England on one of the last boats from Le Havre. Meanwhile in 1938 the RAF had requested an investiagtion of refuelling of bombers and in 1939 requested a study of fitting receiver equipment to a Short Sterling. A reception coupling was fitted below the tail turret and a fuel pipe which led to both innner distributor boxes. The hauling line would now be hydraulicly powered. No trials were carried out though and no aircraft was fitted with the equipment. At the time Flught Refeulling also drew up plans for a DH.91 Albatross tanker with four 308 gallon tanks in the former cabin (1,234 gal available for transfer) and a hose drum in the forward fuselage and the ejector gun in the aft fuselage. None was ever converted. Afterall in 1940-41 there were other pressing prorities but it would have been interesting to see the effect increased payloads over Germany would of had in respect to targets beyond the Rhur valley.

In early 1942 the USAAF ordered one set of equipment to equip a B-17 receiver and a B-24 tanker. Trials commenced in April 1943, increasing the B-17's range to 5,800 miles. A plan was raised to bomb Tokyo from the Aleutians with one outbound refeulling and then landing in China. The time needed to convert enough bombers and tankers and crew training scuppered the project. And of course the B-29 superseded these plans.

In 1943 the RAF began planning to bomb Japan from Burma and in 1944 Flight Refuelling began studying Lancaster conversions. Two tanker proposals were drawn up, both nearly indentical but the second had the line-throwing gear moved forwards. Two 640 gallon tanks would be carried. A third proposal had a rear-mounted mounted hose drum unit. This was the tanker chosen to equip the Tiger Force. Orders were placed for 50 tanker and receiver sets. By November 1944 a prototype of the tanker and receiver had flown but by then the war situation had changed and there was no-need of a flight refuelled force. Tests showed refuelling could be carried out at 160mph at any reasonable altitude and even in cloud or at night.

By the end of the war the firm employed C.H. Latimer to study a range of airliner proposals to show how flight refuelling would be more economical for the Brabazon projects then underway. They could be smaller, have less gross weight, yet carry more payload as a percentage of total weight. The emphasis shifted from extending range to extending payload by topping off the fuel tanks after take-off. It was estimated the BOAC Stratocruisers would be able to fly fully loaded trans-atlantic non-stop rather than the much lower payloads (sometimes as few as 36 passengers) with intermediate stops and the extra wear and tear on the undercarriage and engines that entailed and airframe stress.

Therefore given the above I don't see it as too early, but more roughly inline with OTL expectations.

ADDENDA 1943

Hawker Siddeley Group
The Hawker Siddeley Group remains Britain’s largest aircraft conglomerate.
The Avro 683 Lancaster developed by Roy Chadwick as part of the ‘Ideal Bomber’ programme as an ‘Interim Bomber’ has entered service with RAF Bomber Command and production is at full speed at the Chadderton and Yeadon works. The Avro 685 York prototype made its maiden flight in July 1941 and is in full production with firm orders from British European Airways (BEA) for ten and BOAC for five for use on its African routes and nineteen for BSAA. BEA have now cancelled their requirement for twenty-five more due to the appearance of the 689 Tudor II.
Production of the Avro 688 Tudor is now ramping up. Accommodation is provided for 24 passengers in day/ night berths or 60 day passengers in a pressurised cabin. Four 1,650hp Napier-Paxman Pilates III diesel engines provide a maximum speed of 340mph and a range of 4,200 miles. Twenty-four are on order for BOAC and seven for BSAA but so far efforts to find exports abroad have failed. The 689 Tudor II first flew during February, this is a revised design for BEA with four 1,770hp Bristol Hercules XXII radials, new broad-chord fin, a 108ft span wing, an increased all-up weight of 80,000lbs and capacity for 60 passengers. BEA has ordered for twenty and BSAA for six plus two freighters. Deliveries began in November after a smooth development programme. Further variants optimised for export markets are likely soon and Chadwick feels the basic design still has growth potential in it.
Avro’s latest commercial design, the Avro 700 has been named Ashton. It was first flown on 9 March. The 700 is a replacement for the Avro 652 series of light airliners. It can seat up to 12 passengers and is powered by two 475hp Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah XX radial (or the 540hp Alvis Leonides III can be fitted). The AUW is 15,000lbs and a tricycle undercarriage is also fitted. Maximum speed 235mph; range 800 miles and service ceiling 23,500ft.
Roy Chadwick’s team is currently working on several design projects. They still working on designs for a ‘Giant Bomber’ Spec B.1/42. Also Chadwick has taken the refined wing of the Tudor to design a refined Lancaster with Rolls-Royce Griffon engines. A first flight could be made within eight months but although RAF interest is strong there is still no official approval to go ahead with orders and export overtures to several nations have also failed so far. Generally the high design workload of late seems to have settled down.
At Hawker Aircraft Ltd at Kingston-on Thames, Surrey, the new Hawker P.1012 Tempest has entered the final stages of development and now all twelve Tempest prototypes are flying and production has begun. 200 each of the Tempest I & II and 100 Tempest III were ordered during 1943. Service entry with the RAF was mid 1943 for the Tempest II and future planned dates are February 1944 for the Tempest I and July 1944 for the Tempest III.
The P.1022 Sea Fury which was ordered off the drawing board is now in initial production at Gloster, who will build all 100 production fighters. Sidney Camm is now turning his attentions to a new fighter to fulfil Spec F.4/43 for a new day interception fighter to utilise the new 3,500hp Rolls-Royce Eagle H-24 piston engine which ultimately may replace the Tempest series beyond 1945.
Gloster Aircraft Ltd at Hucclecote has had another busy year. The turbojet-powered E.28 continues its research programme and two have now flown. The first prototype was refitted with a 1,160lb W.1A in February 1942, the second has a 1,200lb W.2 engine began flying during early 1943. The third prototype will be fitted with a 1,600lb Rolls-Royce RB.23 Welland, and will fly later in 1943. The Power Jets W.1 turbojet has performed flawlessly and experience gained from its construction and operation is proving of great use to designer George Carter as he refines his secret high-speed fighter to Spec F.9/40. It is thought that the first prototype, possibly the G.41, flew earlier this year. The fighter seems to be powered by two turbojet engines, probably the RB.23. It is thought that Gloster is also working on a twin-engined fighter-bomber for the FAA, possibly related to the G.41. Gloster is now producing the Hawker Sea Fury.
Saunders-Roe (Saro) have undertaken little aeronautical work so far but its new and expanding design team is working on two projects. The first is the SR.45, a massive flying boat designed to meet Spec P.4/42 to carry 200 day passengers or 50 night passengers on transcontinental flights. The other project is a smaller amphibian, although work on this has slowed as the company gears its full efforts to producing the giant SR.45. Saro’s other work on plywood elements and ground handling gear has proved profitable this year.
Armstrong Whitworth Ltd is continuing in its sub-contract role making other sub-assemblies for other Hawker Siddeley firms. The Henley line has closed and the Hawker Hurricane modification work for export nations has wound down. AWA’s chief designer John Lloyd is working on a laminar-flow flying wing aircraft research programme in conjunction with the RAE and a scale-model glider, the A.W.51, is now flying. AWA fitted a Hawker Hurricane with new laminar-flow outer-section wings for flight trials during 1942, which have continued with some success. AWA has not received an order for more Submarine Scout Pusher (SSP) airships.

AIRCO
AIRCO is now the second-largest group in Britain.
The de Havilland Company Ltd under the helm of Geoffrey de Havilland continues to expand. The DH.95 Flamingo Mk II airliner is in full scale production and there are outstanding orders for 19. Further export success has eluded the type despite several customers evaluating the type. The new DH.97 Ambassador design powered by two Bristol Centaurus radial engines continues development at Portsmouth (previously Airspeed) under the direction of A.E. Hagg. A first flight is still planned for 1944. The DH.98 Mosquito continues in production, the main production variant is the B.Mk.II powered by two 1,650hp Rolls-Royce Merlin VII engines with additional underwing bomb racks. The Irish Air Force’s experiments with nose mounted armament has led to the development of the Mk.IV which houses a formidable armament of four 20mm cannon and four machine-guns. After completing the successful trials the type will enter production during 1943 for the RAF. Another new variant is the Mk.V which is powered by 1,770hp Merlin IX engines for a maximum speed of 415mph. A bomber version will enter production next year but it is thought a reconnaissance version will enter service later this year. The DH.103 Hornet has now entered production. The RAF has 192 of these fighters on order with another 100 for Brazil. Brazil has also ordered 40 of an unspecified variant believed to have been specially developed for Brazilian needs. Spec N.5/42 has been raised to cover a naval carrier-based variant for the strike fighter role for the FAA. The prototype first flew on July 28 1942 from Hatfield. The FAA has 100 on order and Fairey will undertake production from early next year. The DH.104 Dove feederliner and executive aircraft powered by two 330hp DH Gipsy engines has just begun production and sales have been brisk amongst private owners and small corporations. Marking an end of an era, the DH.89 Dragon Rapide production line will close these year after a long and successful production run. An unexpected source of work for the Portsmouth factory, and for de Havilland’s profits was the ordering of large numbers of the former Airspeed design, the Oxford. The RAF have ordered 200 Oxford T.Mk.III and 200 Oxford T.Mk.V fitted with 420hp Cheetah XV radials with constant-speed Rotol propellers as crew trainers and navigation trainers respectively. This work is expected to continue until 1946. De Havilland continues work under Spec E.6/41 on turbojet research work at Hatfield in both aircraft and engine design. It is thought a prototype will fly mid-year.
Fairey Aviation Co. Ltd based at Hayes faces some major structural changes this year. The compulsory purchase of its Hounslow factory by the Air Ministry has resulted in its flight test moving to de Havilland’s Hatfield facilities. A new facility may eventually be built at White Waltham where the de Havilland flying school is located. Fairey continues production of the Barracuda and Balmoral and production is switching to the modernised Barracuda and Balmoral re-engined with a 2,420hp Rolls-Royce Griffon III V-12. Design changes are few in most of the structure so the reduction in output has been quite low. Design work continues on the new naval bomber to Spec S.11/40 and two prototypes are now under construction for a first flight due in July 1943. The Firefly FN.Mk.II remains in production for the FAA, but the line is winding down unless further export orders are received. Fairey are now preparing a DH.103 sea Hornet production line to begin operation early next year and at the moment prototypes are flying or under construction.
Handley Page Ltd continues work on the H.P.57 aerial tanker to Spec C.11/41. The prototype of the H.P.57 Halifax flew last year and the RAF has now placed an order for fifty and Flight Refuelling Ltd. has also ordered two aircraft of their own. Initial production has now begun and the RAF should have four serviceable tankers by year end. The Handley Page H.P.66 Hermes airliner with a pressurised cabin and tricycle undercarriage has been developed for BOAC in both 50 passenger and 17,800lbs cargo variants. The two prototypes are now undergoing testing and certification and deliveries will start in 1943 or perhaps by the end of the year. The H.P.67 Hastings is a long-range transport carrying 50 troops or 30 troops plus cargo or 32 litters and 28 seated casualties or all-cargo has been developed for the RAF, it first flew this year but already the RAF ordered 50 and issued Spec C.6/43 to cover them. Therefore for the first time in many years Handley Page’s order book is overflowing and production may take some time to flow smoothly given the expansion in manpower and tooling required, even though all three types share some common components. The H.P.75 Manx aircraft developed Dr Gustav Lachmann is the first tailless aircraft to fly in Britain and is now in the hands of the RAE. Sir Frederick Page is also undertaking detailed work under Spec B.1/42 issued for a ‘Giant Bomber’ for the latter 1940s.

Bristol Vickers Aircraft Company (BCAC)
Formed in March this year, the long awaited merger of Vickers-Supermarine and Bristol (and Bristol engines, has created a third powerful conglomerate within the industry. Over time it is hoped to consolidated design teams and production facilities. It has been decided that all Bristol designed commercial aircraft will be marketed under the BC Label and Vickers commercial aircraft VC.
Production of the Wellington B.Mk.IV at Blackpool has given way to the GR.Mk.VIII equipped with ASV II RDF for Coastal Command. The bomb bay can carry either two 21in torpedoes or 3,500lbs of bombs or depth-charges and is powered by two Hercules 1,770hp VIII for a speed of 250mph and 1,750 mile range. Two Vickers ‘K’ beam guns are also re-introduced. This should see the production line through well into 1944. This remarkable aircraft has had a much longer service life than expected. At Wisley work is continuing on the high-altitude development of the Wellington with the new pressure-cabin equipped, turbocharged Bristol Hercules or Rolls-Royce Merlin engined Wellington V prototypes. Both are now in the hands of the RAE but it is believed that a limited-production variant is now underway at Wisley for the RAF with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines. At Weybridge work is being undertaken by Rex Pierson and Barnes Wallis on the Vickers 447 Windsor long-range four-engined bomber to Specification B.3/39 to replace the defunct Warwick programme. Vickers flew the third prototype this year and 300 are on order. Production will probably begin by the end of the year for service entry in 1944. The first commercial Vickers aircraft for several years, the VC.1 Viking, has flown. It has been designed to fulfil a BEA requirement for a new airliner; this all-metal monoplane will carry 27 passengers. Powered by two Bristol Hercules it will have a range of 1,700 miles. This puts the V.C.1 in direct competition with the de Havilland Flamingo and should be certified for airline use by the end of 1944. BCAC have remained tight-lipped about sales so far. Further development of the airframe is the Type 607 medium-range transport. The RAF have ordered 200 under Spec C.9/43 as the Valetta. The Type 607 has a strengthened floor and cargo door on the port side and can carry 34 troops or 8,000lbs of freight. It should enter service in 1946.
Supermarine is now winding-down production of the Spitfire F.Mk.IV. The Spitfire PR.Mk.V is an unarmed F.Mk.IV with fittings in the fuselage for one vertical and one oblique camera; sixteen were converted during 1942 by Vickers at Wisley. Several T.Mk.VI trainers have been built for export. Developed to meet Spec F.6/39 the Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered Spiteful fighter has laminar flow wings, the first in a British aircraft. The first flight was in June and research work is still being undertaken on the laminar flow wings with the assistance of the RAE. Around 200 are on order for the RAF but service entry is still a year away and questions are being raised on why it has taken three years just to get to the prototype stage. The Rolls-Royce Griffon-powered Seafang developed to Spec N.7/40 is based on the Spitfire and the Spitfire line is converting to Seafang production to meet an order for 200. It is hoped to have full-scale production running by February 1944.
The Bristol Aeroplane Co. at Filton is now very busy with military orders. The Type 163 Buckingham and the Type 166 Buckmaster fast three-seat twin-engined advanced trainer are now in full production. Beaufort production us now almost finished and then Filton will be turned over to complete production of the Type 163 and 166 which share a common wing. Work has begun on a maritime patrol version of the Buckingham to meet Spec M.3/43 to replace the Beaufort. The Type 170 Freighter private-venture is on the drawing board as a large freight carrier with nose doors. Although it won’t fly until the end of 1943 the RAF has issued Spec G.9/43 to cover 50 production aircraft under the name Wayfarer. Also design work is underway to meet Spec P.2/42 for a pressurised transatlantic airliner for BOAC to operate non-stop between London and New York (3,000nm) from prepared runways. Accommodation is to be provided for 50 sleeping or 100 day passengers. Bristol is thought to be basing its design on a theoretical 100-ton bomber design powered by four 5,000hp Bristol Twin Centaurus radial engines buried in the wings. This is a conventional aircraft in design but much larger than anything yet attempted in Britain.

Blackburn Aircraft Ltd is based Brough in East Yorkshire continues production of the B.44 Firebrand floatplane fighter. Spec S.11/42 had been raised to cover development of a two-seat version but it seems a lack of official interest since then has halted progress. Several export drives have so far met with little success. Production of the B.20 Boston and B.28 bomber has ended. However design work has begun on a maritime patrol version of the B.28 to meet Spec M.3/43 to replace the Beaufort. A new type is the B.48 developed to meet Spec N.7/42 for a single or two-seat carrier-based ‘strike-fighter’ with a speed of at least 350mph. George Petty’s single-seat B.48 is broadly based on the B.37 with a Centaurus radial with contra-rotating propeller and new 44ft 11in span laminar flow wings to increase speed and cut wing drag and weight by as much as 900lb. A first flight took place 1st April 1943. Service entry is expected in mid-1945.

Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd has had another successful year. The P.97 Nighthawk has ended production. Boulton Paul is now marketing the Martin-Baker M.B.5 and Spec N.6/42 was issued to Martin Baker and Boulton Paul for development of the carrier-based variant of the M.B.5. Boulton Paul is the main contractor for the folding wings and naval fittings. It will build all the production carrier-based M.B.5 and has secured half of the RAF order for the M.B.5 which means 100 will be built by Boulton Paul. Boulton Paul’s other engineering interests and turret manufacture have continued to thrive. They are now working on a new generation of remote-controlled barbettes and turrets and more streamlined housings. Also this year company acquire a half share in Martin-Baker.

Chilton Aircraft based at Heston Airport is marketing its latest design, the side-by-side two-seat light cabin monoplane, the D.W.2. Work has also begun on a sailplane called the Chilton Cavalier.

Chrislea Aircraft Co. Ltd based at Heston in September 1943 flew their new CH.3 Super Ace. It is a high-wing four-seat cabin monoplane with fixed tricycle undercarriage, twin fins and powered by a 145hp DH Gipsy Major 10. The smaller CH.2 Ace is powered by an imported 125hp Lycoming O-290 piston engine and seats only two. Both have Chrislea’s unusual steering wheel control system.

Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft Ltd. at Swaythling, Southampton has failed to sell the Burnelli-designed lifting fuselage aircraft or the larger O.A. Mk II still on the drawing board. The firm is engaged in repair and modification work for BCAC.

Flettner UK Ltd. is the British agent for sales of the Flettner series of helicopters designed and built in Germany. The Air Ministry has now placed orders for the RAF and FAA, all of which are built in Germany. The firm handles local servicing and modifications from its premises at Heston aerodrome.

Heston Aircraft Co. Ltd has kept in business by a few modest sales of its Phoenix aircraft and sub-contract work to Vickers-Supermarine. It re-started work on the Type 5 racer in 1942. It has completed the second example, G-AFOL. New wings and a 2,500hp Napier Sabre IV have been fitted. On 23 May 1943 the aircraft first flew. It is hoped to reach speeds of 480mph during trials next year. Also design work has begun on a small spotter aircraft to meet Spec A.2/43: A small Aerial Observation Post. These projects are the first for this small firm for quite some time and hopefully these Air Ministry contracts will give some welcome funding to this company, which probably will succumb to becoming a sub-contractor in the near future.

Martin-Baker Aircraft Co. Ltd has now secured a production contract for the M.B.5 fighter for 200 for the RAF. Boulton Paul has a fifty-percent sub-contract. Deliveries to the RAF began in July 1943. During the summer Boulton Paul brought a majority stake in the firm.

Miles Aircraft Ltd. at Reading continues work their four-engined small airliner project, the M.60 Marathon. The four-engined airliner powered by four DH Gipsy series engines fly during May. The success of its new airliner could propel Miles into a new market and increase the profitability of the firm. A hundred need to be ordered in order to make a profit on the development and production costs, so far the State airlines have pledged to buy a total of seventy. Production of the M.19 Master series has switched to the T.Mk.III. This is broadly identical to the Mk II but has a revised cockpit layout and new radios. 450 were ordered in 1942.The Miles M.25 Martinet two-seat target tug based on the M.9 Master II is now in production. Spec C.17/43 has been issued for the RAF to cover its purchases of an undisclosed number of M.28 Messengers. A new twin-engined development of the M.28 Messenger, the M.65 Gemini four-seat touring aircraft is now under prototype construction and it should fly later this year. George Miles is also working on a design of a small cargo-carrying aircraft. With large RAF orders Miles at the moment is stretched to capacity and some further growth seems likely and the balance books are firmly in the black putting this company far beyond the level of its main competitor, Percival Aircraft Ltd.

Percival Aircraft Ltd has mainly concentrated on development of the Percival Prentice was the winning design and the firm hopes to fly a prototype in late 1943 or early 1944. This design will potentially be built in large numbers. Another single P.30 Proctor II radio-trainer has been supplied to Iraq this year. Work has also begun on a private venture 5-seat feederliner with high-wing and tricycle undercarriage powered by two 300hp DH Gipsy Queen 51 engines. A prototype should fly early next year and hopefully it will revive this company’s commercial fortunes.

Short Brothers (Rochester & Bedford) Ltd should complete production of the Short S.32 Sandringham II with a pressurised cabin for BOAC this year. It is the first British production airliner with such a feature. The issuing of Spec R.8/42 for an improved Sunderland Mk V will keep the Sunderland production line open for several more years. The new variant will have a higher gross weight of 75,000lbs with a new wing and tailplanes and rudder will be powered by four 1,770hp Hercules VIII radials. The hull will have flared chines and a deeper step. A prototype has flown and production has begun after some retooling. Meanwhile production of the S.25 Sunderland has now ended. Meanwhile the Short S.35 S Class developed for BOAC to replace the G Class continues in development and the prototype should first fly in June. BOAC has made an initial order of ten passenger and five cargo aircraft. The S.45 Solent; based on the Sunderland Mk V design, to replace the C Class flying boats has now flown and full scale production has begun on the former Sunderland line for BOAC. The Solent will be brought in three variants; Solent 1 for 30 day passengers, Solent 2 for 24 day/night or 30 day passengers and the Solent 3 for 39 day passengers. A total of 37 are on order. Production orders for the Reconnaissance Scout Class (RS) airships or the Semi-Rigid Scout Class (RSR) have not yet materialised.

Auster (formerly Taylorcraft Aeroplanes (England) Ltd.) was formed by Mr Alexander Lance, who purchased licence rights to the American Taylorcraft light aircraft. The factory was the Britannia Works, in Thurmaston, Leicester. The Taylorcraft Plus C was based on the American Model B with an imported 55hp Lycoming O-145-A2. Import taxes and the desire to make further changes led to the 90hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor I powered Plus D. This year the company has moved to bigger premises at Rearsby Aerodrome in Leicestershire and the name of the company has been changed to Auster. With the greater model line-up and new facilities the future of this small firm now seems more assured.
The Model D has now been renamed simply, Auster. Work has been undertaken on two further developments of the Auster. The J-1 Autocrat is an improved Auster with three-seats (two side-by side with another aft) and a 90hp Blackburn Cirrus Minor II engine. The J-1A is a four-seat version with higher all-up weight. The J-2 Arrow is a two-seat aerobatic Autocrat and 400lbs lighter and reverts to an imported engine, the 75hp Continental C-75-12. Both will fly this year and orders have been taken for both models already. Also work has started on a modified Auster to meet Spec A.2/43 for a light observation spotter.

G. & J. Weir Ltd. continue to work on three new experimental helicopters with first flights planned before 1945. The first helicopter, the W.9 will tackle the problems of torque compensation and control of the rotor. It is hoped to fly this helicopter in July and work has been completed to Spec E.18/42. The W.9 has a hydraulic powered tilting hub controlled rotor with automatic collective pitch control and torque reaction control using jet efflux. The torque compensation uses air blown by an engine-driven fan in its hollow tail boom. The other novel feature is the hydraulically powered shaft-driven tilting rotor hub with rotational speed variation to give automatic collective pitch control. The second type, the W.11 has evolved into a much large design, perhaps with multiple rotor assemblies.

Westland Aircraft Ltd. has had a mixed year. Development problems with the Welkin high-altitude fighter have slowed production but improvements made so far have stopped RAF plans to cancel the outstanding aircraft. The RAF has lifted the temporarily grounding due to compressibility issues in dives but the problem does remain and strict limits have been imposed on the fighter in dives. There has been a design effort to design an improved and modernised Lysander but this work has been suspended. Instead a production order was placed late last year for 200 GR.Mk.III. This is an improved variant with a 950hp Bristol Perseus XVII radial, new radios, improved rear armament of single .303in Browning MG and the provision for an external ventral fuel tank. W.E.W. Petter had designed the W.34 to meet Spec N.7/42 for a carrier-based strike fighter but the submission was unsuccessful. Petter is further refining the design and remarkably the company has secured two official development contracts. Spec F.13/43 has been issued to Westland for an improved Rolls-Royce Eagle H-23 powered W.34 Strike Fighter as a single-seat escort-fighter for the RAF. The FAA also rekindled some interest with the revised W.34 design and Spec N.12/43 has been issued for an identical Rolls-Royce Eagle powered W.34 Strike Fighter as a single-seat torpedo-fighter. First flights for both are planned for latter 1944, perhaps an overly ambitious timescale given the scale of the work to be done and the lack of an airworthy Rolls-Royce Eagle so far.


Engine Firms

A.B.C. Motors Ltd. Walton-on-Thames. This firm has been producing aero engines since 1911. A.B.C. now only produces auxiliary power-units; the A.B.C. Type II horizontally-opposed two cylinder engine used in flying boats to maintain accumulator charge, running the fuel pump, the bilge pump and the air compressor.

Aero Engines Ltd. is based at Kingswood, Bristol. The firm builds the 40hp Dryad two cylinder opposed air-cooled engine, the similar 23hp Sprite and the former Weir 50hp Pixie four cylinder inverted inline air-cooled engine. It is a niche producer and some of its engines have seen use in experimental helicopters.

Alvis Ltd. at Elton, Bury, Lancashire, have entered the aircraft engine business largely to expand the power output range of British engines to 1,500-2,000hp. All the Alvis types have achieved Air Ministry 50-hour civil type tests but none have yet entered production. The lack of success has forced the Maeonides Major, Pelides, Pelides Major and Alcides lines to be held in abeyance until an export order is received. The Air Ministry has shown interest in the Leonides to replace the A.S. Cheetah series of radials. The Leonides is now fitted with a Hobson fuel-injection system and the 520hp Leonides II is now ready for production. A 540hp model is now in development.

Armstrong Siddeley Motors Ltd. at Coventry is a member of Hawker Siddeley. This famous firm has built many successful radial engines which have seen widespread use and numerous British aircraft of all types. Certainly this firm has lost its crown to Bristol and is declining in importance. It has entered the reaction-jet market slightly behind Rolls-Royce and de Havilland and one must wonder whether the market it big enough for three players. If the Alvis Leonides replaces the Cheetah then the future of this firm is at stake. Development of the Cheetah line continues with the new 385hp XVII model with a modified constant-speed unit and automatic boost entering production. The direct-drive variant, the XIX, is now under development. During 1943 the firm finally confirmed that it is working on reaction jet engine of advanced design around 3,000lb thrust.

Aspin F.M. & Co. Ltd. continues to develop and produce small auxiliary power-units for strategic bombers under Air Ministry contract.

Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. Cirrus Engine Department, based at Brough was formed in 1936 when Blackburn acquired the Cirrus-Hermes Engineering Company. The 135hp Cirrus Major III and the refined 100hp Cirrus Minor II are now in series production.

Bristol Aeroplane Co. Ltd. Aero Engine Department traces its roots to Brazil Straker via Cosmos Engineering and the genius engineer Roy Fedden has been the lynchpin of the firm’s success. It is now perhaps the largest and most technically competent manufacturer in the country and now is part of the BCAC. The high-altitude 1,725hp Hercules VII with a two-speed fully/medium supercharged engine with the supercharger locked in ‘M’ gear, a reduced 12in impeller and single-lever carburettor is now ready production as are the. The XXI and XXII are civil variants. Other production engines are the new 1,770hp Hercules VIII and the 1,675hp IX civil version. Time between overhaul of this engine exceeds 2,000 hours. New developments will include torquemeter-type reduction gearing to increase fuel economy and revised superchargers with redesigned epicyclic drives and a 150hp accessory drive. This will be the 1,950hp Hercules X and 1,675hp XXIII is also in testing with a redesigned rear cover with increased power accessory drive and a single-speed medium supercharger.
The 2,300hp Centaurus VI with a revised epicyclic propeller reduction gear, twin-turbine entry supercharger and a Hobson-RAE injector has entered production. The 2,470hp Centaurus VIII and its associated IX civil variant, with a full/medium supercharger are still about a year from production. Work is beginning on a 2,625hp series of Centaurus engines, the military X and civil XI and XII engines. The 36-cylinder version, basically two Centaurus placed in tandem driving a contra-rotating propeller via a common driveshaft continues in early development. The engine should be ready for 1945.
Bristol Engines still refuses to comment on whether György Jendrassik is employed by the firm full time but it seems likely that he is undertaking research work there, possibly on reaction jet engine technology. It is thought efforts are underway to combine a reaction jet with propeller drives.

The de Havilland Engine Co. Ltd mainly concentrates on engines for smaller aircraft and its products power many de Havilland aircraft. The newest engines are; the 145hp Gipsy Major X, 240hp Gipsy Queen V and the 250hp Gipsy Queen VI. A medium-supercharged 380hp variant is under development as the Gipsy Queen VII. A special Gipsy Major is being developed for use in helicopters. Work also continues on the P-24 Monarch but still without an official order despite much promise. Mr Halford’s design team has also moved into the reaction jet business with official Air Ministry approval. During the year de Havilland acquired Halford’s design consultancy business to strengthen its design position in the new field. The H-1 Goblin has now flown and production engines have been ordered to equip the new DH.100 fighter. This has given the firm an excellent platform alongside Rolls-Royce.

Jameson Aero Engines Ltd. of Ewell, Surrey under its Chief Designer, Mr A.E. Moser, is developing a four cylinder four-stroke engine for light aircraft. It produces 100hp and this year the engine completed its 100-hour Air Ministry Development Test. They hope to undertake the Type Test by 1945. Whether the firm can become a player in such an overcrowded market remains to be seen.

D. Napier & Sons Ltd. is a well-established firm of international standing. In 1940, with its subsidiary Napier-Paxman and the diesel producer Paxman, it merged with English Electric to form a conglomerate engineering firm, National Electronic Engineering Ltd. (NEE).
The 2,600hp Sabre VI is now in production with work on the 3,000hp and a 3,500hp variants is now under development for flight tests to start during 1944. These will have a Hobson-RAE NS4 fuel injector and will be similar to the VI but with stronger components and water/ methanol injection for take-off and combat power.

Napier-Paxman Aircraft Engines Ltd. is still experiencing slack production despite the selection of the Pilates III for the Avro 688 Tudor. The massive 3,580hp 24-cyl X-layout diesel Prometheus is now production ready and is the most powerful British engine currently.

Pobjoy-Short under D.R. Pobjoy is working with Rotol on auxiliary accessory gearboxes. Sub-contract work from Rotol and other aviation firms has replaced the manufacture of its own designs.

Rolls-Royce Ltd. has three large factories at Derby, Crewe and Glasgow. This famous firm has a long heritage of producing aero engines back to 1915. The final Merlin in development is the 1,760hp XII which is a civil Merlin IX. The Griffon series of engines continues to grow as no less than three types entered production this year, the 2,420hp Griffon III, the 1,815hp IV and the 2,245hp VII. A further type undergoing bench tests is the 1,960hp VI similar to the IV but with a 13.8in RG.23SM supercharger, pedestal-type crankcase feet and electric starting. Another type just beginning development is the three-speed supercharged 2,500hp Griffon V which should be ready in 1945. Rolls-Royce is developing a new 24 cylinder horizontally-opposed H-shaped engine with sleeve-valves known as the 46H Eagle. The first production engines have now begun construction for a few prototype programmes. The 3,200hp Eagle I has a two-stage supercharger. Work is now on-going on the 3,315hp Eagle II which has several modifications and counter-rotating tractor-drive. The definitive 3,500hp Eagle III is still probably two years away from production.
In 1939 production of reaction-jet engines was passed over from Power Jets Ltd. to Rolls-Royce for mass production leaving Power Jets as a research company only. However this has enabled Rolls-Royce fledgling jet propulsion team to get a head start over the other British companies (Armstrong Siddeley and de Havilland) and this year has seen the reaction jet of wholly Rolls-Royce design, the RB.26 Derwent, entering flight test. The RB.23 Welland is now entering production and work has begun on a more efficient development, the propeller-turbine RB.50, perhaps stealing Bristol’s thunder on such work.

Villiers-Hay Development Ltd. was set up by Amherst Villiers who designed and built the Villiers 4-L-318 120hp four cylinder inverted inline air-cooled poppet-valve engine. It is a smooth running engine but the competition from de Havilland and Blackburn Cirrus is proving too much for this small firm to overcome and they have now ceased all development.