ABC Motors Limited ("All British (Engine) Company") of Hersham, Surrey, England was a manufacturer of cars, aircraft, motor scooters, and engines for road and air. Established by Ronald Charteris in Hersham, Surrey in 1912, its chief designer was the young and talented Granville Bradshaw.[1] It was absorbed into Vickers in 1951 and the factory finally closed in the 1970s. Last occupied by Ian Allan Publishing as Hersham's Riverdene Industrial Estate, the factory was demolished around 2017-2018 and redeveloped as a Lidl supermarket (opened February 2019) with flats above.
The ABC radial aero engines of the World War I period were extremely advanced for their time, and were initially thought to be very promising indeed. Unfortunately they were all more or less plagued by problems – and although a number of types for the Royal Air Force were designed around ABC engines (especially the ill-fated Dragonfly) none saw squadron service with the RAF.
ABC also made a large number of engines for electrical generators and other purposes – mostly with a flat twin cylinder layout and unusual exhaust-over-inlet valve configuration. These smaller ABC engine have the distinction of being possibly the first airborne APUs- the Coastal class blimp (first flown in 1916) had a 1.5-horsepower unit installed to provide electricity for the onboard wireless set, whilst a similar engine was used to power the searchlight of the Supermarine Nighthawk 'Zeppelin killer' of 1917.
Aero enginesedit
ABC 6 hp Midge (1951) National Archives Kew (AIR 10/7172)
Lumsden, Alec (1994) 'British Piston Aero Engines and Their Aircraft' (Airlife, Shrewsbury)
January 01, 1970
motors, limited, british, engine, company, hersham, surrey, england, manufacturer, cars, aircraft, motor, scooters, engines, road, established, ronald, charteris, hersham, surrey, 1912, chief, designer, young, talented, granville, bradshaw, absorbed, into, vic. ABC Motors Limited All British Engine Company of Hersham Surrey England was a manufacturer of cars aircraft motor scooters and engines for road and air Established by Ronald Charteris in Hersham Surrey in 1912 its chief designer was the young and talented Granville Bradshaw 1 It was absorbed into Vickers in 1951 and the factory finally closed in the 1970s Last occupied by Ian Allan Publishing as Hersham s Riverdene Industrial Estate the factory was demolished around 2017 2018 and redeveloped as a Lidl supermarket opened February 2019 with flats above ABC MotorsIndustryEngineeringFounded1912Defunct1951FateAbsorbed into VickersHeadquartersHersham Surrey EnglandKey peopleRonald Charteris Founder Granville Bradshaw Designer ProductsCars motorcycles and aero engines Contents 1 Products 1 1 Aero engines 1 2 Aircraft 1 3 Automotive 2 See also 3 References 3 1 Notes 3 2 BibliographyProducts edit nbsp Lt Ronald Charteris 7th from left standing with fellow officers of the Royal Flying Corps c 1913 The ABC radial aero engines of the World War I period were extremely advanced for their time and were initially thought to be very promising indeed Unfortunately they were all more or less plagued by problems and although a number of types for the Royal Air Force were designed around ABC engines especially the ill fated Dragonfly none saw squadron service with the RAF ABC also made a large number of engines for electrical generators and other purposes mostly with a flat twin cylinder layout and unusual exhaust over inlet valve configuration These smaller ABC engine have the distinction of being possibly the first airborne APUs the Coastal class blimp first flown in 1916 had a 1 5 horsepower unit installed to provide electricity for the onboard wireless set whilst a similar engine was used to power the searchlight of the Supermarine Nighthawk Zeppelin killer of 1917 Aero engines edit nbsp The Wasp engine ABC 6 hp Midge 1951 National Archives Kew AIR 10 7172 ABC 8 hp 1923 ABC 30 hp 1912 ABC 60 hp 1912 ABC 100 hp 1912 ABC Dragonfly 1918 ABC Gadfly 1920 ABC Gnat 1916 ABC Mosquito 1916 ABC Hornet 1929 ABC Scorpion 1923 ABC Wasp 1918 Aircraft edit ABC Robin Automotive edit ABC 1920 automobile ABC Supersports ABC Skootamota ABC motorcyclesSee also editABC motorcycles Related lists List of aircraft engine manufacturersReferences editNotes edit Lumsden 2003 p 51 Bibliography edit Lumsden Alec 1994 British Piston Aero Engines and Their Aircraft Airlife Shrewsbury Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title ABC Motors amp oldid 1130562659, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,