Folland Aircraft

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Folland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturing company.

[edit] History

A privately owned Folland Gnat previously used by the RAF Red Arrows airshow team. It has been painted as an aircraft of the earlier Yellowjacks display team, a forerunner of the Red Arrows.

British Marine Aircraft Ltd was formed in February 1936 to produce Sikorsky S-42-A flying boats under licence in the UK. The company built a factory on the western side of the Hamble peninsular with a slipway to Southampton Water. The Sikorsky deal came to naught, however, and the company was sold to Henry P. Folland , formerly Chief designer for Gloster Aircraft Company, who renamed it Folland Aircraft Limited on December 24, 1937. Folland began aircraft assembly at Hamble making parts for Bristol Blenheim and Beaufort bombers. Folland later took on sub-contract work making parts for de Havilland Mosquitos and Vickers Wellingtons.

The company flew the first aircraft of its own design, the Folland 43/47 (Design number FO 108) in 1940.

W. E. W. Petter, who had designed the Westland Lysander, English Electric Canberra and English Electric Lightning, joined the company as managing director in 1950. He designed the Folland Midge, which first flew August 11, 1954, and the Folland Gnat training jet (July 18, 1955). Both were built at Hamble until the 1960s. In 1959 Folland was acquired by Hawker Siddeley who dropped the Folland name in 1963. Ultimately, Folland became part of British Aerospace (BAe). Although Hamble airfield closed in 1986, BAe continued to use the premises there for the production of major assemblies for Harrier and Hawk jets.

Timeline of British aerospace companies, 1955-present

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1950s					1960s										1970s										1980s										1990s										2000s
5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	0	1	2	3	4
Handley Page

F. G. Miles							Beagle Aircraft

Auster

Scottish Aviation ^[1]																						British Aerospace																						BAE Systems

Hawker Siddeley ^[2]						Hawker Siddeley Aviation

Blackburn

Avro

de Havilland

Folland

Vickers-Armstrongs					British Aircraft Corporation ^[4]

English Electric ^[3]

Bristol

Hunting

The General Electric Company (GEC)													The Marconi Company																				GEC-Marconi/Marconi Electronic Systems

The English Electric Company ^[5]																																												Marconi plc

Purchased rights for various Beagle and Handley-Page designs from the liquidator. Comprising Hawker Aircraft, Gloster Aircraft Company and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. English Electric Aircraft, a subsidiary of the English Electric Company. BAC comprised the aviation interests of the companies that formed it, and wholly-owned Hunting Aircraft. GEC purchased EE and with it The Marconi Company and EE's shareholding in BAC, through its subsidiary EE Aircraft.