Talk:Vickers

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The Vickers story is long and complex, being split up and combined again. I reckon it could do with splitting down into the various units. So Vickers would run until Vickers Armstrong, then shipbuilding would split off etc. GraemeLeggett 16:14, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)

Vickers, Sons & Maxim Ltd. is the firm in an earlier guise. It needs to be mentioned either in this article or in a link to another, since it was from this that firm described developed and VSM was the original producer of the Vickers machine gun. That in turn, was a development of the Maxim gun. The Vickers' Company preceded VSM, having exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition. It originated in the late 18th century in the name of Naylor. The name of Vickers entered into its title in 1829. (RJP 19:59, 3 August 2005 (UTC))

My statement above, is not exactly true. Of course, the Maxim gun had been produced before it was associated with the name 'Vickers'. See below. (RJP 15:59, 11 August 2005 (UTC))

[edit] Shipbuilding Timeline of the Vickers name

'1897: Vickers Sons & Maxim Limited bought The Barrow Shipbuilding Company Ltd'

Quotations below are from the Vickers publicity book; Anon, Vickers, sons and Maxim Limited (1898) (reprinted from Engineering) page 5. Vickers, Sons & Maxim was the earliest connection between the Vickers name and the maxim-type guns, in other words, the Vickers machine gun. Of course, Maxim guns had been produced before this - "Later in the same year which saw the acquisition of the Barrow Works [1897], a further step was taken when Messrs. Vickers acquired, by amalgamation, the Maxim-Nordenfelt Guns and Ammunition Company, Limited, with works at Erith and the neighbourhood, Birmingham, and other places, ..."

According to the 1898 book, the shipbuilding company bought in 1897 was "the Naval Construction and Armaments Company (Limited), at Barrow-in -Furness". This looks like the one noted in the Wikipedia article but I wonder what the Barrow company was in fact, called.

It can be seen from the Maxim-Nordenfelt quotation above, that the shipyard was bought just before the amalgamation which gave rise to the name Vickers, Sons and Maxim. Therefore, both the names in the first line of 'Shipbuilding Timeline of the Vickers name' section need further consideration. (RJP 15:59, 11 August 2005 (UTC))