Henry Philip Folland OBE (22 January 1889 – 5 September 1954) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

aviation engineer and aircraft designer.

Early years

Folland was born on 22 January 1889 to Frederick and Mary Folland at 2 King Street, Holy Trinity, Cambridge.1891 Cambridge Census RG12/1287, Folio 64, p. 5. His father was listed as a Stonemason.

Aviation career

In 1905, Folland became an apprentice at the

Lanchester Motor Company The Lanchester Motor Company Limited was a car manufacturer located until early 1931 at Armourer Mills, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, and afterwards at Sandy Lane, Coventry England. The marque has been unused since the last Lanche ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

, he then joined the design staff at Swift Motor Company and then in 1908 he became a draughtsman at the

Daimler Company The Daimler Company Limited ( ), prior to 1910 The Daimler Motor Company Limited, was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H. J. Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The compan ...

. It was at Daimler that he developed his interest in powered flying machines. Folland worked at the

Royal Aircraft Factory Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a c ...

at Farnborough from 1912,''Flight'' 10 September 1954, p. 395. where he was lead designer on the S.E.4 and later S.E.5. The S.E.4 was the fastest aircraft known in 1914, and the S.E.5 was a major fighter aircraft during 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 ...

. He also designed the Royal Aircraft Factory's "Aerial Target" (built by Ruston Proctor), an anti-

Zeppelin A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin () who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874Eckener 1938, pp ...

pilotless aircraft designed to use A M Low's radio control systems.Lewis 1978, p. 101. Folland left the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1917, joining the Nieuport & General Aircraft company as chief designer.,Lewis 1978, p. 120. designing the

Nieuport Nighthawk The Nieuport Nighthawk was a British fighter aircraft developed by the Nieuport & General Aircraft company for the Royal Air Force towards the end of the First World War. Although ordered into production before the aircraft first flew, it did ...

, which was adopted as a standard fighter by 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) an ...

but did not enter service owing to the problems in development of its

ABC Dragonfly The ABC Dragonfly was a British radial engine developed towards the end of the First World War. It was expected to deliver excellent performance for the time and was ordered in very large numbers. It proved, however, to be extremely unreliable ...

engine.Lewis 1978, p. 133. Not long after starting at Nieuport, Folland was joined by Howard Preston – a design and stress man – who was also to work with him later at Gloster and Follands. Nieuport & General ceased operations in 1920 ''Flight'' 19 August 1920. and his services were taken up by the

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 ...

, who had built Nighthawks under licence during the

, joining them in 1921.James 1971, pp. 7–9. Folland was the chief designer for Gloster for many years, producing a range of successful fighter aircraft such as the

Grebe Grebes () are aquatic diving birds in the order Podicipediformes . Grebes are widely distributed freshwater birds, with some species also found in marine habitats during migration and winter. Some flightless species exist as well, most notably ...

Gamecock A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...

, Gauntlet and finally the

Gloster Gladiator The Gloster Gladiator is a British biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) (as the Sea Gladiator variant) and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. Developed private ...

Folland Aircraft Ltd.

Folland left the company in 1937, following the takeover of Gloster by

Hawker Hawker or Hawkers may refer to: Places * Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Hawker, South Australia, a town * Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia * Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...

, feeling that Hawker designs would be favoured over his own. Folland purchased the British Marine Aircraft Company at

Hamble Hamble may refer to: * The River Hamble in Hampshire, England * Hamble aerodrome on the banks of the River Hamble. ** Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble * Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Sou ...

, near

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, renaming it Folland Aircraft Limited.James 1971, p. 38. Initially, Folland Aircraft was mainly involved in sub-contract work for other aircraft manufacturers particularly during the Second World War. Some 45 civil and military projects were offered by Follands to meet Air Ministry requirements. Only one – the Fo.108 – a flying engine testbed nicknamed the "Frightful" from its appearance, was accepted and 12 of these were built.

Later years

By July 1951, Folland was suffering from severe ill health and resigned as Managing Director being succeeded by the designer W. E. W. Petter who had left English Electric. Nonetheless he remained on the Board until his death on 4 September 1954. Three weeks earlier, Petter's

Folland Midge The Folland Midge was a small, swept-wing British subsonic light fighter aircraft prototype originally developed as a concept demonstrator for the successful Folland Gnat. Design and development The Midge and Gnat were the creation of W.E.W ...

, the precursor to the

Folland Gnat The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it wa ...

had made its first flight.James 2007, p. 160. In his book, ''Sky Fever'', Sir

Geoffrey de Havilland Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer. The aircraft company he founded produced the Mosquito, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built, ...

describes Folland as becoming a recluse after he retired as managing director.

References

Notes

Bibliography

* James, Derek N. ''Gloster Aircraft since 1917''. London: Putnam, 1971. . * James, Derek N. ''Fighter Master Folland and the Gladiators''. Stroud, UK: Tempus, 2007. * Lewis, Peter. ''The British Fighter Since 1912''. London:Putnam, 1979. .
"Mr H.P Folland".
''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'', 10 September 1954, p. 395.
"Our Designing Staffs and Their Future: A Word of Warning".
''

'', 20 August 1919, p. 907. {{DEFAULTSORT:Folland, Henry Phillip 1889 births 1954 deaths English aerospace engineers Aircraft designers 20th-century British businesspeople People from Cambridge Officers of the Order of the British Empire