Folland AIRCRAFT COMPANY
Hamble and Chilbolton - Hants
The Govenment of the day wanted to stop the Folland Aircraft Company selling Gnats to the Finnish Airforce, this was one of the reasons The British Aircraft Corp was formed, and hence the death of the British Aircraft Industry ..
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.
Henry Phillip Folland (1889–1954) was an English aviation engineer and aircraft designer who was the chief designer at Gloster Aircraft Company until he bought British Marine Aircraft Ltd. and renamed it Folland Aircraft Limited. Before joining Gloster he had worked at the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough where he was the lead designer on the SE5 during World War I.
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, and ultimately 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.
The Folland Gnat was an exceptionally small swept-wing subsonic jet trainer and light fighter aircraft originally developed for the British Royal Air Force. It was designed by W. E. W. Petter, and first flew in 1955. Its design was such that it could be built without specialised tools, hence by countries that were not necessarily in the first rank of industrialisation. Although it was never used as a fighter by the British Royal Air Force (RAF), it did achieve success with the RAF in its "Gnat T.1" trainer version, as well as wide recognition as the mount for the RAF Red Arrows aerobatic team.
The Gnat also achieved export success, particularly with India, which was the largest user of the Gnat and manufactured the aircraft under license. In fact, Indians found the Gnat so capable that they designed and built their own improved version, the "Ajeet".
The prototype flew for the first time on August 11, 1954. One built.
A soaring spirit
Friday 7th Mar 2003.
THERE is one name still fondly remembered in and around Southampton, especially by Hamble people, when they look back over the decades and that is, Folland's.
It is a name that will be forever linked with Great Britain's aircraft industry and the man who gave the company its name, Henry Folland.
The factory played a central role in the area not only by providing jobs for hundreds of families but also taking the lead in many activities at the heart of the community.
So much was the factory part of the local area that on its last gala open day in the summer of 1963, just before the company became known as Hawker Siddeley Aviation, more than 3,000 people flocked through the works gates at Hamble.
The Folland Aircraft Sports and Social Club was most active back in the 1950s and 1960s when it included sections for bowls, horticulture, a debating society and a flying group.
The organisation also organised dances at the Southampton Guildhall as well as staging children's parties and sports days for employees.
Folland's was a place where many staff tended to stay for their whole career and this was underlined in March 1962 when the factory held a special presentation ceremony to reward a total of 50 members of staff each with at least 25 years' continuous service.
Folland's made a strong impact on the surrounding community, however its input into the country as a whole was simply enormous.
A new book, Spirit of Hamble, Folland Aircraft by Derek N James charts this huge contribution both in times of peace and war and traces the factory, now known as the Hamble Group, from its beginnings right up to modern times.
The author also highlights the role Hamble itself has played over the decades in the history of British aviation.
"This comparatively modest-sized peninsula, bounded by the Hamble River and Southampton Water, originally contained three separate airfields, all cheek by jowl with each other,'' says the author.
"Between 1913 and 1984, six aircraft manufacturers occupied factories at Hamble and no less than 11 civil or military flying and engineering training organisations were based there.
"Countless fighters and bombers, flying boats and airliners, floatplanes and trainers have been built, assembled, serviced or first got airborne here, and hundreds of pupils have Hamble in their logbooks as the place from where they made their first nail-biting solo flights or cross-country navigation exercises.''
Packed with scores of photographs from past years the book recalls aircraft such as the Brabazon, Dove, Vampire, Gnat and Midge as well as the work of Henry Folland himself.
It was in 1937 that Mr Folland, one of the big names in British flying heritage, who died in 1954 three years after he stepped down as managing director, established the company.
An apprentice to British motor manufacturers before the First World War, he quickly switched to aircraft in the pioneer days and was the only designer to have aircraft flying in both world wars.
One of his best known contributions in the first phase of his career was the SE5, which was responsible for gaining air superiority over the Germans on the Western Front in 1917. This type was flown by four VCs, Captains Ball, Mannock, Bishop and McCudden.
When the Second World War started there was another Folland fighter waiting to take on the enemy. His Gloucester Gladiator fought at Narvik, Greece and Crete, distinguished itself in the early, critical days in the Western Desert, and had its finest hour in Malta, when it played a prominent part of beating off the Germans and helping to gain the George Cross for the island.
Spirit of Hamble, Folland Aircraft by Derek N James is published by Tempus Publishing Limited and costs £10.99.
http://www.thisishampshire.net
© Newsquest Media Group 2003
I have much more information on the company , if you have any interest on this subject, please write to me. My father, Bill Meyer, worked for Follands both at Hamble and Chilbolton, and as a lad I worked weekends and school holidays around the hanger, helping sweep up and filing in Tech Records.
JOHN MEYER - ANVIL FARM - LITTLE HALLINGBURY - ESSEX - CM22 7RD ..
