Spartan Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1930 to 1935. It was formed by reinvestment in Simmonds Aircraft which had suffered financially.
History
In 1928
Oliver Simmonds
Sir Oliver Edwin Simmonds, FRAeS (22 November 1897 – 26 July 1985) was a British aviation pioneer, aircraft engineer and Conservative Party politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Duddeston from 1931 to 1945.
Early li ...
designed and built a prototype aircraft, the
Simmonds Spartan
The Simmonds Spartan is a 1920s British two-seat biplane trainer/tourer aircraft built by Simmonds Aircraft Limited.
History
Not happy with the high cost of manufacturing light aircraft, O.E. Simmonds designed and built a wooden two-seat bip ...
, in a factory at
Woolston, Hampshire
Woolston is a suburb of Southampton, Hampshire, located on the eastern bank of the River Itchen. It is bounded by the River Itchen, Sholing, Peartree Green, Itchen and Weston.
The area has a strong maritime and aviation history. The former ...
. The design was a success with over 50 aircraft built. Following financial difficulties and investment from
Whitehall Securities Corporation Ltd Simmonds Aircraft Limited changed name in 1930 to Spartan Aircraft Limited.
The first aircraft from the renamed company was the
Spartan Arrow
The Spartan Arrow is a British two-seat biplane aircraft of the early 1930s, built by Spartan Aircraft Limited.
History
Built as a successor to the company's first design the Simmonds Spartan, the Arrow was a two-seat biplane with a spruce ...
a two-seat biplane of which 15 were built.
[Jackson, 1974, p. 180] The next design was a three-seat open-cockpit biplane the
Spartan Three Seater. The company ceased to build aircraft in 1935.
In January 1931
''Flight'' magazine revealed that Whitehall Securities had acquired a substantial holding in
Saunders Roe
Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight.
History
The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a ...
Ltd. and arising out of this investment Spartan was effectively merged into Saunders Roe. Spartan Aircraft's final product was the
Spartan Cruiser a three-engined light airliner developed from the Saro-Percival Mailplane.
Aircraft
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Simmonds Spartan
The Simmonds Spartan is a 1920s British two-seat biplane trainer/tourer aircraft built by Simmonds Aircraft Limited.
History
Not happy with the high cost of manufacturing light aircraft, O.E. Simmonds designed and built a wooden two-seat bip ...
*
Spartan Arrow
The Spartan Arrow is a British two-seat biplane aircraft of the early 1930s, built by Spartan Aircraft Limited.
History
Built as a successor to the company's first design the Simmonds Spartan, the Arrow was a two-seat biplane with a spruce ...
– first flight 1930, 15 built
*
Spartan Three Seater – first flight 1931, 25 built
*
Spartan Cruiser – passenger, first flight 1932 17 built
*
Spartan Clipper – 1 built 1932
See also
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Spartan Air Lines
Notes
References
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External links
Simmonds/Spartan production
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Companies based in Southampton
British companies established in 1930
Manufacturing companies established in 1930
1930 establishments in England