William Oke Manning (20 October 1879 – 2 April 1958) was an English

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...

. Although none of his aircraft were built in large numbers he is remembered for his

English Electric Wren The English Electric Wren was a 1920s British ultralight monoplane built by the English Electric Company Limited at Lytham St Annes, Lancashire. History The Wren, designed by W. O. Manning, was a lightweight motor-glider. Manning was a des ...

ultralight and his flying-boats.

Early life

Manning was born on 20 October 1879 at

Staines, Middlesex Staines-upon-Thames is a market town in northwest Surrey, England, around west of central London. It is in the Borough of Spelthorne, at the confluence of the River Thames and Colne. Historically part of Middlesex, the town was transferred to ...

the son of Herbert Lane Manning and Alice Manning (née Allenby). He was educated at

St Paul's School, London (''By Faith and By Learning'') , established = , closed = , type = Independent school Public school , religion = Church of England , president = , he ...

and served as an apprentice with Callender's Company. He became an electrical engineer and in 1907 or 1908 he met Howard T. Wright who had a firm dealing with electricity generating installations and had built some early aircraft. Manning and Wright both had an interest in aviation and Manning joined his firm in December 1908.

Howard Wright

The company soon established itself as the foremost aircraft constructor in the United Kingdom and Manning became the Chief Designer. The company made aircraft for private individuals and other companies, more than nine in the last few months in 1909 and another six were completed in early 1910. The most successful design was a biplane (later called the

Howard Wright 1910 Biplane The Howard Wright 1910 Biplane was an early British aircraft built by Howard T. Wright to a design by W.O. Manning. One was used by Thomas Sopwith for his early record-breaking flights. Another made the first powered flight in New Zealand. De ...

) which, flown by

Thomas Sopwith Sir Thomas Octave Murdoch Sopwith, CBE, Hon FRAeS (18 January 1888 – 27 January 1989) was an English aviation pioneer, businessman and yachtsman. Early life Sopwith was born in Kensington, London, on 18 January 1888. He was the eig ...

, won a £4,000 prize for the longest flight starting in Britain and ending in mainland Europe. By 1911 business had declined and production of aircraft had ceased and after June Wright sold his aviation interests to the

Coventry Ordnance Works Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns particularly naval artillery jointly owned by Cammell Laird & Co of Sheffield and Birkenhead, Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Glasgow and John Brown & Compa ...

. Manning continued to design aircraft, including the two

biplanes A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...

for the War Office Aeroplane Competition in 1912.

Royal Navy

On 27 November 1914 Manning left COW and was commissioned in the

Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

. He was posted to the Royal Naval Air Service experimental base at Port Victoria. In September 1916 he moved to the Bradford works of the

Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Limited of Hubert Street, Leeds Road, Bradford, Yorkshire, electrical engineers, manufactured small and large motors, alternators and generators at their Thornbury works. They briefly manufactured major aircra ...

as technical representative for the Admiralty. The company had a number of contracts to build aircraft for the Royal Naval Air Service. Learning of Manning's background he was approached to be chief designer for the company; he was released by the Admiralty on 5 October 1916 and took up the position.

Phoenix and English Electric

Manning's first design for Phoenix was the P.1 a pusher seaplane although it was not built. In November 1917 the company was awarded a contract to design an experimental flying-boat. His fifth design was to become the

Phoenix P.5 Cork The English Electric P.5 Kingston was a British twin-engined biplane flying boat built by English Electric. When the English Electric Company was formed in 1918 from several companies, the Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company brought with it ...

although it did not enter production. With the completion of the order it was decided to close the aviation department. Manning continued with his design work particularly an idea for a civil flying boat which he named the ''Eclectic''. With the lack of work caused by the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

a number of companies including Phoenix merged in December 1918 to form

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 ...

. Manning was appointed chief aircraft designer; at first interested in designing civil flying boats, he soon produced the M.3, a three-seat coastal patrol flying boat and expanded his design team. In October 1922 Manning was invited to a gliding competition at Itford on the Sussex Downs. This inspired him to look at designs for a very small single-seat monoplane that could be powered by a motor-cycle engine. It soon was completed as the

and was an early example of what would be now called an ultralight. The first of three Wrens flew on 5 April 1923. After the last Manning-designed

English Electric Kingston The English Electric P.5 Kingston was a British twin-engined biplane flying boat built by English Electric. When the English Electric Company was formed in 1918 from several companies, the Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company brought with it ...

flying boat flew, the company announced that it was to close the aviation department and Manning was made redundant in 1926. For a couple of years he became a consultant to FIAT in Italy with the design of racing seaplanes. From 1935 to 1939 he ran the airworthiness department of the British Gliding Association before moving to the Royal Aircraft Establishment at Farnborough. He later moved to Flight Refuelling Limited where he was co-inventor of a probe-mounted refuelling valve. Manning retired in 1946 and died at Farnham in Surrey on 2 March 1958.

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manning, William Oke 1879 births 1958 deaths English aerospace engineers Royal Navy officers People from Staines-upon-Thames People educated at St Paul's School, London Royal Navy officers of World War I Military personnel from Middlesex