Vickers

Vickers, founded as the Vickers Company in 1828, was a British manufacturer, primarily of military equipment. The name Vickers has lasted through until the 20th Century, albeit by a series of takeovers and mergers.

Aviation

Vickers (Aviation) Ltd acquired Supermarine in 1935, renaming it Supermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltd. In 1938, it was then incorporated into Vickers-Armstrongs Ltd.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Airships

Vickers Sons and Maxim began work on a rigid airship for the British Admiralty in mid 1909 in a dock at Walney Island, Cumbria, sadly it disintegrated upon its second trip out of a floating hangar on the evening of 23 September, 1911. Further designs and difficulties followed although non-rigid machines including Sea Scouts (popularly called blimps) proved generally less troublesome than the larger rigid examples. Some models featured floating cars slung beneath them. Much experience in mooring techniques and swivelling motors was gathered despite the pressures of wartime. The last airship built at the Walney Island dock was a small non-rigid reconnaissance machine for the Japanese government that first flew on 27 April, 1921. A subsidiary called the Airship Guarantee Company Limited was formed under Sir Dennis Burney from 29 November 1923 (lasting until 30 November 1935) specifically to participate in the building of a massive six-engined commercial airship, the R100 in competition withe ill-fated R101. Their buildings were at Howden in Yorkshire. The R100 flew initially on 16 December, 1929 and achieved some trans-Atlantic flights before scrapping in November 1931 by Elton, Levy and Company.

Related Topics:
1909 - Walney Island - Cumbria - 23 September - 1911 - Blimp - 27 April - 1921 - Sir Dennis Burney - 29 November - 1923 - 30 November - 1935 - Airship - R100 - Howden - Yorkshire - 16 December - 1929

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Military Aircraft

Vickers produced one of the first aircraft designed to carry a machine gun, the FB5 (fighting biplane) Gun Bus. It also built the first aircraft to cross the Atlantic Ocean non-stop, a converted World War I RAF Vickers Vimy bomber. (See 1919 in aviation.)

Related Topics:
Aircraft - Machine gun - Gun Bus - Atlantic Ocean - World War I - RAF - Vickers Vimy - 1919 in aviation

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1928 Vickers Aviation took over Supermarine, later to be creators of the Spitfire.

Related Topics:
Supermarine - Spitfire

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the interwar years, Vickers produced the Wellesley and Wellington, using Barnes Wallis geodetic construction ideas.

Related Topics:
Wellesley - Wellington - Barnes Wallis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Civilian Aircraft

Vickers was a pioneer in producing airliners, early examples being converted from Vimy bombers, and went on to manufacture the piston-engined Vickers VC.1 Viking airliner and Varsity military crew trainer, the Viscount and Vanguard turboprop airliners, and the stylish though noisy VC-10 jet airliner, which remains in RAF service as an aerial refuelling tanker. The Valiant V bomber was another Vickers design. The company later shifted its focus to military vehicles and weapons.

Related Topics:
Airliner - Vickers VC.1 Viking - Varsity - Viscount - Vanguard - VC-10 - Aerial refuelling - Tanker - Valiant - V bomber

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

There is currently a move by the Campaign Against the Arms Trade to get the National Audit Office to investigate how Government money was used to help AV sell military products to Indonesia.

Related Topics:
Campaign Against the Arms Trade - Indonesia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~