Britain's Glorious Aircraft Industry : 100 Years of Success, Setback and Change.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hodgson, J. Paul.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aircraft industry.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (498 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Havertown : Pen & Sword Books Limited, 2021.

Summary:

Great Britain's aircraft industry started in 1908, with the first formally registered organization in the world to offer to design and build an aeroplane 'for commercial gain'. This was when the Short brothers, Oswald, Eustace and Horace, decided that aeroplanes would overtake balloons as a business opportunity in the aeronautical world and formed the partnership 'Short Brothers'.From this start, the UK aircraft industry expanded and grew rapidly, going on throughout the rest of the twentieth century to achieve many 'firsts' in the aeronautical world, with some remarkable technical successes and gaining a reputation to match. There were also setbacks along the way.This book tells the complete story of the 110 years since the start, all the companies formed and the aircraft they produced, highlighting the advances in aeronautical ambition and technology. Itis the story of the creation, survival and decline of all one hundred and twenty-three of the aircraft design and construction companies formed between 1908 and 2018.The exhilaration of success and the magic of aviation technology are vividly illustrated by the technical and political birth stories of iconic projects, such as the Cirrus/Gypsy Moths, the Tiger Moth, the flying boats of Imperial Airways, Spitfire, Lancaster, Viscount, Vulcan, Harrier, Buccaneer and many more.The rotary wing industry is not forgotten. The birth of the jet turbine engine and the quest for supersonic speed is included. The stories of the disappointments of failure and disaster, such as the Brabazon, Comet, Princess, Rotodyne and TSR-2, and the growth of international collaboration in Concorde, Tornado, Airbus, Eurofighter Typhoon and other projects are included, in the context of the international scene and domestic politics. The conclusion highlights the prominent reminiscences and speculates on the future of the aircraft industry in Britain.

Contents:

Intro

Title

Copyright

Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Aeronautical Terminology

Introduction: About this Book

Chapter 1 The Very Beginnings

Chapter 2 From 1908 to 1939

Chapter 3 The Second World War, 1939 to 1945

Chapter 4 About Aircraft Engines - The Changes To Come

Chapter 5 The Post-Second World War Years, 1946 to 1959

Chapter 6 Turbulent Years, 1960 to 1975

Chapter 7 International Collaboration, 1960 to 1975

Chapter 8 More Turbulence, 1976 to 2010

Chapter 9 Industry Technical Progress and Commercial-Political Issues

Chapter 10 Late Additions, Even More Turbulence, the Mistakes

Chapter 11 "Glory" and Conclusions

Post Scriptum

Bibliography

Appendix 1: The Thirty British Aircraft Industry Companies of 1946

Appendix 2: The British Aircraft Industry/Government Interaction Timeline (1940 Onwards)

Appendix 3: British Air Ministry Aircraft Specification Process

Appendix 4: Plowden Report on the British Aircraft Industry, 1965

Appendix 6: The Boeing-Airbus Dispute on Trade Subsidies to Aircraft

Appendix 5: USA Offshore Procurement Contracts for Aircraft in Europe Programmes

Appendix 7: British Military and Civil Aircraft 1900-1919

Appendix 8: British Military And Civil Aircraft 1920-1929

Appendix 9: British Military and Civil Aircraft 1930-1939

Appendix 10: British Military and Civil Aircraft 1940-1949

Appendix 11: British Military and Civil Aircraft 1950-1959

Appendix 12: British Military and Civil Aircraft 1960-1969

Appendix 13: British Military and Civil Aircraft 1970-2019

Appendix 14: British Experimental Aircraft 1919-2019.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9781526774699

1526774690

9781526774675

1526774674

OCLC:

1314609178