Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company, or Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, was a British

aircraft manufacturer An aerospace manufacturer is a company or individual involved in the various aspects of designing, building, testing, selling, and maintaining aircraft, aircraft parts, missiles, rockets, or spacecraft. Aerospace is a high technology indust ...

History

Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft was established as the Aerial Department of the Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Company engineering group in

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

in 1912, and from c. 1914 to 1917 employed the Dutch aircraft designer

Frederick Koolhoven Frederick (Frits) Koolhoven (11 January 1886 – 1 July 1946) was an aircraft designer in Britain and his native Netherlands. Koolhoven was born in Bloemendaal, Netherlands. After training as an engineer in Liège and Antwerp, he worked from 19 ...

(hence the "F.K." models).Tapper 1988, pp. 5–10. Gloster Meteor NF

In 1920, Armstrong Whitworth acquired the

engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gen ...

and automobile manufacturer

Siddeley-Deasy The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile, aero engine and aircraft company based in Coventry in the early 20th century. It was central to the formation, by merger and buy-out, of the later Armstrong Siddeley Motor ...

. The engine and automotive businesses of both companies were spun off as

Armstrong Siddeley Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines. The company was created following ...

and the aircraft interests as the Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company.Tapper 1988, pp. 17–18. When

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

and Armstrong Whitworth merged in 1927 to form

Vickers-Armstrongs Vickers-Armstrongs Limited was a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets of Vickers Limited and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Company in 1927. The majority of the company was nationalised in the 1960s and 1970s, w ...

, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft and Armstrong Siddeley were bought out by J. D. Siddeley and did not join the new grouping.Tapper 1988, pp. 25–26. This left two aircraft companies with Armstrong in the name – Vickers-Armstrongs (usually known as just "Vickers") and "Armstrong-Whitworth". The most successful aircraft made by Armstrong-Whitworth in the inter-war period was the

Siskin The name siskin when referring to a bird is derived from an adaptation of the German dialect words ''sisschen'', ''zeischen'', which are diminutive forms of Middle High German (''zîsec'') and Middle Low German (''ziseke'', ''sisek'') words, which ...

which first flew in 1919 and remained in RAF service until 1932, with 485 produced.Tapper 1988, pp. 25–26. In 1935, J. D. Siddeley retired and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft was purchased by

Hawker Aircraft Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer that was responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history. History Hawker had its roots in the aftermath of the First World War, which resulted in the bank ...

, the new group becoming

Hawker Siddeley Aircraft Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...

. The component companies of Hawker Siddeley co-operated, but operated as individual entities.Tapper 1988, p. 34. In March 1936, the first

Armstrong Whitworth Whitley The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley was a British medium bomber aircraft of the 1930s. It was one of three twin-engined, front line medium bomber types that were in service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) at the outbreak of the Second World ...

bomber aircraft made its maiden flight and a total of 1,814 were produced for the RAF, ending in July 1943.Tapper 1988, pp. 38–41. During the war, Armstrong Whitworth also produced 1,328

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

s and designed the Armstrong Whitworth Albemarle reconnaissance bomber which was then made by A. W. Hawksley Ltd, part of the Hawker Siddeley group.Tapper 1988, p. 42. Armstrong Whitworth built 281

Avro Lincoln The Avro Type 694 Lincoln is a British four-engined heavy bomber, which first flew on 9 June 1944. Developed from the Avro Lancaster, the first Lincoln variants were initially known as the Lancaster IV and V; these were renamed Lincoln I and ...

s at Baginton from 1945 to 1951.Tapper 1988, p. 357. Then, during the 1950s Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft built many

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

,Tapper 1988, pp. 358–362. Hawker Seahawk,

Hawker Hunter The Hawker Hunter is a transonic British jet-powered fighter aircraft that was developed by Hawker Aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It was designed to take advantage of the newly developed Rolls-R ...

and

Gloster Javelin The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined T-tailed delta-wing subsonic night and all-weather interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s. The last aircraft design to bear the Gloster name ...

jet fighters at their Bitteswell and Baginton factories for delivery to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

and the Royal Belgian Air Force. The

Armstrong Whitworth Apollo The Armstrong Whitworth AW.55 Apollo was a 1940s British four-engine turboprop airliner built by Armstrong Whitworth at Baginton. The aircraft was in competition with the Vickers Viscount but was beset with engine problems and only two were bui ...

airliner was unsuccessfulTapper 1988, p. 307. and the company was eventually merged with another Hawker Siddeley company,

Gloster Aircraft Company The Gloster Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1917 to 1963. Founded as the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company Limited during the First World War, with the aircraft construction activities of H H Martyn & Co Ltd of Chelte ...

, to form Whitworth Gloster Aircraft in 1961. In 1963 Hawker Siddeley dropped the names of the component companies from its products, the last Armstrong Whitworth product, the Argosy, becoming the Hawker Siddeley Argosy.Tapper 1988, p. 326.

Products

Aircraft

Date of first flight in parenthesis. ;Armstrong Whitworth Aerial Department * Armstrong Whitworth F.K.1 (1914) – "Sissit" * Armstrong Whitworth F.K.3 (1915) *Armstrong Whitworth F.K.4 (1915) – gondola for

SS class airship SS (''Submarine Scout'' or ''Sea Scout'') class airships were simple, cheap and easily assembled small non-rigid airships or "blimps" that were developed as a matter of some urgency to counter the German U-boat threat to British shipping during ...

* Armstrong Whitworth F.K.6 (1916) – Escort fighter triplane * Armstrong Whitworth F.K.8 (1916) – "Big Ack" (1,200 built) * Armstrong Whitworth F.K.9 (1916) * Armstrong Whitworth F.K.10 (1917) – "Quadriplane" (8 built) *

Armstrong Whitworth Armadillo The Armstrong Whitworth Armadillo was a British single-seat biplane fighter aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth. Development and design The Armadillo was designed in 1917 by Armstrong Whitworth's new chief designer, Fred Murphy, as a priva ...

(1918) (One built) * Armstrong Whitworth Ara (1919) * Armstrong Whitworth Tadpole *

Armstrong Whitworth Siskin The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a biplane single-seat fighter aircraft developed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It was also the first all-metal fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RA ...

(1919) (485 built) ;Armstrong-Siddeley Aircraft * Armstrong-Siddeley Siniai (1921) – Bomber (1 built)"The Armstrong-Siddeley Sinaia"
''FLIGHT'' page 605, 8 September 1921 ;Armstrong-Whitworth Aircraft * Armstrong Whitworth Awana (1923) * Armstrong Whitworth Wolf (1923) *

Armstrong Whitworth Atlas The Armstrong Whitworth Atlas was a British single-engine biplane designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It served as an army co-operation aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) in the 1920s and 1930s. It was the first purpose-desi ...

(1925) * Armstrong Whitworth Ajax (1925) * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.14 Starling * Armstrong Whitworth Ape (1926) *

Armstrong Whitworth Argosy The Armstrong Whitworth Argosy was a three-engine biplane airliner designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It was the company's first airliner. The Argosy was developed during the early-to-mid ...

(1926) * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.15 Atalanta (1932) *

Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 (or A.W.XVI) was a British single-engine biplane fighter aircraft designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. A number were sold to the Chinese ''Kwangsi'' Air Force. Development The A.W.16 was develo ...

(1930) * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.17 Aries (1930) *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.18 – heavy bomber project *

Armstrong Whitworth A.W.19 The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.19 was a two/three-seat single-engine biplane, built as a general-purpose military aircraft in the mid-1930s. A newer, monoplane aircraft was preferred and only one A.W.19 was built. Development Multi-tasking "gene ...

(1934) *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.20 – monoplane day bomber project *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.21 – monoplane fighter project *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.22 – monoplane project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.23 (1935) *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.24 – monoplane day bomber project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.27 Ensign (1938) *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.28 – single-seat biplane fighter project *

Armstrong Whitworth A.W.29 The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.29 was a British bomber aircraft built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Design and development It was built to satisfy Air Ministry specification P. 27/32, which was for a single-engined long-range day bomber. The A ...

(1936) – competing design for Specification P.27/32 for a day bomber *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.30 – twin-engined monoplane bomber project *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.31 – single-seat biplane fighter project *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.32 – braced two-seat monoplane project *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.33 – twin-engined two-seat monoplane turret fighter project *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.34 – twin-engined fighter project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.35 Scimitar (1935) * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.36 – two-seat Army co-op biplane project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.37 – two-seat general purpose biplane project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley (1936) * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.39 – heavy bomber project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.40 – monoplane mail carrier project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.41 Albemarle (1940) * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.43 – monoplane airliner project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.44 – four-engine bomber project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.45 – monoplane medium bomber (and/or recce?) project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.48 – medium (heavy?) bomber project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.49 – twin-boom, laminar wing bomber (low level attack) project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.50 – tailless monoplane project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.51 – two-seat tailless glider project *

Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.52 was an early flying wing aircraft designed and produced by British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. The A.W.52 emerged out of wartime research into the laminar flow airfoil, which indicated th ...

(1947) – flying wing, prototypes only meteor wm167 arp

* Armstrong Whitworth A.W.53 – twin-engined fast torpedo scout (bomber?) project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.54 – naval reconnaissance aircraft project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.55 Apollo (1949) * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.56 – flying wing medium bomber project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.57 – medium-range 4-engine passenger transport project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.58 – advanced 59° swept wing Mach 1.2 research aircraft project * Armstrong Whitworth A.W.59 – variable wing-sweep research aircraft proposal * Armstrong Whitworth Argosy (AW.650 / 660) (1959) *

Armstrong Whitworth AW.681 The Armstrong Whitworth AW.681, also known as the Whitworth Gloster 681 or Hawker Siddeley HS.681, was a projected United Kingdom, British long-range STOL military transport aircraft design of the early 1960s. Developed by manufacturer Armstr ...

– proposed STOL military transport aircraft design *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.690 – proposed VTOL version of

Nord Noratlas The Nord Noratlas was a dedicated military transport aircraft, developed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Nord Aviation. Development commenced during the late 1940s with the aim of producing a suitable aircraft to replace the nu ...

transport *Armstrong Whitworth A.W.168 – proposed tactical bomber design * Armstrong Whitworth AW.169 – proposed design for

Operational Requirement F.155 Operational Requirement F.155 was a specification issued by the British Ministry of Supply on 15 January 1955 for an interceptor aircraft to defend the United Kingdom from Soviet high-flying nuclear-armed supersonic bombers. Discussion about th ...

high altitude supersonic interceptor *

Armstrong Whitworth AW.171 __NOTOC__ The Armstrong Whitworth AW.171 was a British project of the 1950s to develop a supersonic VTOL flying wing aircraft. It was planned to investigate the extremely low aspect ratio delta wings proposed by Professor A.A. Griffith for su ...

– supersonic VTOL flying wing *

Hawker Sea Hawk The Hawker Sea Hawk is a British single-seat jet day fighter formerly of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), the air branch of the Royal Navy (RN), built by Hawker Aircraft and its sister company, Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. Although its design origina ...

– produced as part of Hawker Siddeley Aircraft * Armstrong Whitworth Meteor NF.11 – redesign of the Gloster Meteor produced as part of Hawker Siddeley Aircraft

Airships

* R25r airship * R29 – airship * R33 – airship

Missiles

Seaslug (missile) Seaslug was a first-generation surface-to-air missile designed by Armstrong Whitworth (later part of the Hawker Siddeley group) for use by the Royal Navy. Tracing its history as far back as 1943's LOPGAP design, it came into operational service in ...

References

Notes

Bibliography

* Tapper, Oliver. ''Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft since 1913''. London:Putnam, 1988. .

External links

The History of Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Limited
{{Authority control Armstrong Whitworth Companies based in Warwickshire Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Guided missile manufacturers Hawker Siddeley History of Warwickshire Manufacturing companies established in 1912 Science and technology in Warwickshire 1912 establishments in England Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1961 1961 establishments in England