Arthur Davenport F.R.Ae.S (9 July 1891 for Yeovil, Somerset, TNA ref: RG101/7054A/018/1 Letter Code: WOVP – 31 August 1976) was a British aircraft engineer working for

Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. Du ...

Yeovil Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...

, Somerset. When the Westland Aircraft Works was created by the Petter twins in 1915, Arthur was one of the first draughtsman to be recruited from Petter's Ltd. He was chief designer from 1919, working under the direction of

Teddy Petter William Edward Willoughby "Teddy" Petter (8 August 1908, Highgate in Middlesex – 1 May 1968, Béruges) was a British aircraft designer. He is noted for Westland's wartime aeroplanes, the Canberra, the early design of the Lightning, and his la ...

from May 1934 until 1944, when Petter left (to join

English Electric N.º UIC: 9094 110 1449-3 (Takargo Rail) The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the Armistice of 11 November 1918, armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during th ...

) and Davenport became technical director. According to

Harald Penrose Harald Penrose, O.B.E, CEng, F.R.Ae.S, A.M.I.N.A (12 April 1904 – 31 August 1996) was the chief test pilot at Westland Aircraft between 1931 and 1953, a naval architect, and an aviation author. His flying experience ranged from man carryin ...

, he was made the scapegoat for the late delivery of the

Wyvern A wyvern ( , sometimes spelled wivern) is a legendary winged dragon that has two legs. The wyvern in its various forms is important in heraldry, frequently appearing as a mascot of schools and athletic teams (chiefly in the United States, Unit ...

and headed into retirement in March 1952. In the 1920s, when most aircraft were biplanes, Arthur was a strong proponent of the monoplane. Most of his monoplane designs were high-winged or parasol, culminating in the Lysander. During his career he was involved in the design of the following fixed-wing aircraft. *

Westland Limousine The Westland Limousine was a 1920s British single-engined four-seat light transport aircraft built by Westland Aircraft. History At the end of World War I, the prospect of an expanding aviation market led Westland Aircraft to design a light ...

Chief draughtsman *

Westland Wagtail The Westland Wagtail was a prototype British fighter aircraft of the First World War. A single-engined tractor biplane, the Wagtail was a failure owing to the unreliability of its engine, only five being built. Development and design The West ...

Chief draughtsman/Designer *

Westland Weasel The Westland Weasel was a prototype British two-seat fighter/reconnaissance aircraft of the First World War. Designed to replace the Bristol Fighter, the Weasel was a single engined tractor biplane. Four prototypes were built, but no productio ...

Chief draughtsman/Designer *

Westland Woodpigeon __NOTOC__ The Westland Woodpigeon was a British two-seat light biplane designed to compete in the 1924 Lympne light aircraft trials. Design and development The Woodpigeon was a conventional wooden biplane powered by a 32 hp (24 kW) ...

* Westland Widgeon Chief designer *

Westland Wizard The Westland Wizard was Westland Aircraft's first attempt to produce a monoplane fighter. The project was privately funded and the prototype design was done in the spare time of the company's engineers. This all happened during 1926, with high- ...

* Westland Wapiti/Wallace *

Westland Interceptor The Westland Interceptor was a fighter developed by the British company Westland Aircraft to Air Ministry Specification ''F.20/27''. When tested in 1929 and 1930, it showed unsatisfactory handling characteristics and was rejected by the RAF in ...

Westland Wessex The Westland Wessex is a British-built turbine-powered development of the Sikorsky H-34 (in US service known as Choctaw). It was developed and produced under licence by Westland Aircraft (later Westland Helicopters). One of the main changes ...

* Westland PV.3 *

Westland Wallace The Westland Wallace was a British two-seat, general-purpose biplane of the Royal Air Force, developed by Westland as a follow-on to their successful Wapiti. As the last of the interwar general purpose biplanes, it was used by a number of frontl ...

* Westland PV.7 * Westland F.7/30 *

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft's ...

Westland Whirlwind Westland or Westlands may refer to: Places *Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya * Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme *Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila, ...

Westland Welkin The Westland Welkin was a British twin-engine heavy fighter from the Westland Aircraft Company, designed to fight at extremely high altitudes, in the stratosphere; the word ''welkin'' meaning "the vault of heaven" or the upper atmosphere. Firs ...

Westland Wyvern The Westland Wyvern was a British single-seat carrier-based multi-role strike aircraft built by Westland Aircraft that served in the 1950s, seeing active service in the 1956 Suez Crisis. Production Wyverns were powered by a turboprop engine dri ...

Technical director In the early 1930s he worked with

Juan de la Cierva Juan de la Cierva y Codorníu, 1st Count of la Cierva (; 21 September 1895 in Murcia, Spain – 9 December 1936 in Croydon, United Kingdom) was a Spanish civil engineer, pilot and a self taught aeronautical engineer. His most famous accomplish ...

to develop the Cierva C.29 and Cierva CL.20 autogyros. It was this interest in rotary winged aircraft that would lead Westland to manufacture Sikorsky helicopters in the early 1950s.

Patents

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Arthur English aerospace engineers British aerospace engineers 1891 births 1976 deaths