The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, had been making munitions, armaments and aeroplanes.[1]
Two English Electric aircraft designs became landmarks in British aeronautical engineering; the Canberra and the Lightning. In 1960, English Electric Aircraft (40%) merged with Vickers (40%) and Bristol (20%) to form British Aircraft Corporation.
In 1968 English Electric's operations were merged with GEC's,[2] the combined business employing more than 250,000 people.[3]
Aiming to turn their employees and other assets to peaceful productive purposes, the owners of a series of businesses decided to merge them forming The English Electric Company Limited in December 1918.[1]
ComponentsEdit
English Electric was formed to acquire ownership of:
The owners of the component companies took up the shares in English Electric.[1]
Planned activities of the combined businessesEdit
John Pybus was appointed managing director in March 1921[4] and chairman in April 1926.[5] Initially J H Mansell of Coventry Ordnance Works, John Pybus of Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing and W Rutherford of Dick, Kerr were joint managing directors.[6] The five previously independent major operations under their control had these principal capabilities:
Coventry Ordnance Works: the plant was built for the production of heavy armaments but was suitable for the manufacture of large generating units[6]
Phoenix Dynamo Works: during the war production was shells and aeroplanes but by July 1919 had been returned to electric motors[6]
Dick, Kerr and United Electric Car: special war work[6] munitions, aeroplanes and metallic filament lamps, prior to the war locomotives and tram cars
Willans & Robinson: made steam turbines, condensers and diesel motors, there was a foundry[6]
Together these businesses covered the whole field of electrical machinery from the smallest fan motor to the largest turbo-generator.[6]
However, there was no post-war boom in electrical generation. Though English Electric products were indeed in heavy demand, potential buyers were unable to raise the necessary capital funds. In 1922, a drastic reorganisation of the works was carried through and that managed to halve overheads. The Coventry Ordnance Works was practically closed down. Cables, lamps and wireless equipment were then in buoyant demand, but that would have been a new field for the company to enter. English Electric's business was in heavy electrical and mechanical plant.[9] Both the 1926 general strike and the miners strike caused heavy losses.[10] In 1929 part of the Coventry Ordnance Works was sold and the pattern shop at Preston, neither of which was required.[11]
By the end of 1929, it was clear the only solution to English Electric's financial difficulties was a financial restructure. The restructure acknowledged the loss of much of the shareholders' capital and brought in new capital to re-equip with new plant and machinery. In the event, an American syndicate fronted by Lazard Brothers and Co. bankers came up with the new capital, but left control in the hands of the previous shareholders.[12]
In June 1930, four fresh directors were appointed, filling four new vacancies.[13]
Ten days later, there was a formal announcement of an American arrangement. "English Electric, with works at Preston, Stafford, Rugby, Bradford and Coventry, had entered into a comprehensive arrangement" with Westinghouse Electric International Company of New York and Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company of East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania US, whereby there would be an exchange of technical information between the two organisations on steam turbines and electrical apparatus. It was made clear that this technical and manufacturing link did not carry with it any control from America. In recognition of the exchange arrangement, Westinghouse had offered to provide further capital, which would be less than 10% of the total, including that new capital organised earlier by Lazard Brothers.[14]
George NelsonEdit
Seven weeks later the chairman, Lionel Hichens, who had temporarily replaced John Pybus in 1927, retired at the end of July 1930 and was replaced by Sir Holberry Mensforth as a director and as chairman.[15] It was then announced that George H. Nelson had been appointed to the board and would take up the position of managing director early in October.[16] Mensforth had been taken away from his position as general manager of American Westinghouse Trafford Park Manchester, where George Nelson had been his apprentice, in 1919 by the Minister of Transport. The minister had given Mensforth the responsibility of easing the transition of the nation's munitions businesses back into peacetime industry. It was Mensforth who had arranged the technical exchange agreement and extra capital with Westinghouse.[17] They began to reorganise.
RelocationsEdit
The main base of the company's operation was moved from London to Stafford including the sales departments, general and factory accounts and the principal executives previously in London. The managing director was to divide his time between the various works but would be mainly in Stafford or in London[8]
On 30 December 1930 the engineering shops at Preston closed leaving the following distribution:[8]
Preston: specialists in high-tension direct-current railway electrification, rolling stock and trolley buses Dick, Kerr
Stafford: medium-sized electrical plant, transformers and switchgear and (from Preston) large turbo-alternator work Siemens
Rugby: prime movers, steam turbines and condensing plant, Fullagar and Diesel engines and (from Preston) water turbine plant Willans & Robinson
Bradford: small motors and control gear and (from Preston) traction motor and traction control work Phoenix
Coventry: engineers small tools (stopped in 1931), zed fuse (cartridge type) transferred to Stafford in 1931 C.O.W.
Radiators and cookersEdit
Manufacture of domestic apparatus got underway at both Stafford and Bradford during 1931.[18] They were followed in 1934 by a range of household meters of various kinds. In the same report to shareholders, the chairman pointed out that every day 330 more homes adopted electricity for heating cooking and lighting and between 1929 and 1935 the production of electricity in Britain had increased by 70 per cent.[19]
RecoveryEdit
1933 proved to be the first of four years of real achievement. At the beginning of July 1933, Mensforth stepped down and George Nelson took up the post of chairman. Nelson remained managing director.[20] Mensforth kept a seat on the board from which he later retired at the end of 1936.[21]
English Electric's recovery was noted by commentators as remarkable. During 1936, past preference dividends had been brought up to date: they were English Electric's first dividend since a 1924 dividend on ordinary shares. The balance sheet at the end of 1936 showed liquidity was in a strong position[22] and the chairman told shareholders that the rate of production in the factories for the last three months of the year was double the rate of production in the first three months.[23]
During 1938, the first dividend was paid on ordinary shares since 1924.[24]
In the summer of 1938, a large display advertisement confidently declared:
ENGLISH ELECTRIC PLANT AND EQUIPMENT in operation throughout the world. With its historical achievements and the wealth of experience of its several Associated Companies the English Electric Company continues to maintain its reputation as Manufacturers and Suppliers of electrical and allied products for Home and Overseas markets:
Three English Electric 7SRL Diesel alternator sets being installed the Saateni Power Station, Zanzibar 1955
The first steps to strengthen the Royal Air Force had been taken in May 1935 and English Electric was brought into the scheme for making airframes[26] working in conjunction with Handley Page.[27] The chairman reported to shareholders that though both Dick, Kerr and Phoenix were involved in the aircraft business during and shortly after the previous war the problems had so changed they were now completely new to the company. He also noted as he ended his address that the demand for domestic appliances including cookers, breakfast cookers, washing machines and water heaters was growing progressively.[28]
The Preston works without subcontracting made more than 3,000 Hampden and Halifax aircraft.[29][30]
Aero enginesEdit
Napier Deltic engine, cut away for displayde Havilland Vampire T11
In December 1942, English Electric bought the ordinary shares of D. Napier & Son Limited. Mr H G Nelson, son of English Electric chairman George H Nelson, was appointed managing director.[31]
Tanks, locomotives, submarines, ships, power generationEdit
The Stafford works made thousands of Covenanter, Centaur and Cromwell tanks as well as precision instruments for aircraft, electric propulsion and electrical equipment. The Rugby works made Diesel engines for ships, submarines and locomotives, steam turbines for ships and turbo-alternator sets for power stations. Bradford made electric generators for ships' auxiliaries and a wide variety of other naval and aviation material.[29][30]
EmployeesEdit
In April 1945, English Electric employed 25,000 persons in its four main works.[30] Subsequently the chairman revealed that the peak employment number during wartime had been 45,000 when including Napier's people.[32]C. P. Snow was appointed director of scientific personnel in 1944. Later he was physicist-director, a position he held until 1964.[33]
de Havilland VampireEdit
In September 1945, details were released of the Vampire jet, the fastest British aircraft with a top speed of 548 mph. The aircraft was built by English Electric at its Preston works, the Frank Halford designed Goblin jet engine, the world's most powerful, by de Havilland in London.[34]
PeacetimeEdit
TramsEdit
From 1912 to 1924, United Electric and English Electric (with assistance from Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock) supplied second- and third-series tramcars for Hong Kong Tramways. These cars were eventually retired from 1924 to 1930 as the fourth Generation cars were being introduced.[citation needed]
RailwaysEdit
Preserved 1927 EN80 English Electric tram, the last example of a fleet of 20 once used by the Warsaw Commuter Railway
In 1923, English Electric supplied the EO electric locomotives for the New Zealand Railways for use between Arthurs Pass and Otira, in the Southern Alps. Between 1924 and 1926, they delivered nine box-cab electric (B+B) locomotives to the Harbour Commissioners of Montreal (later the National Harbours Board); later they were transferred to Canadian National Railways, where four of them ran until 1995. In 1927, English Electric delivered 20 electric motor cars for Warsaw's Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa. During the 1930s, equipment was supplied for the electrification of the Southern Railway system, reinforcing EE's position in the traction market, and it continued to provide traction motors to them for many years.
In 1936, production of diesel locomotives began in the former tramworks in Preston. Between the late 1930s and the 1950s, English Electric supplied electric multiple unit trains for the electrified network in and around Wellington, New Zealand. In 1951 English Electric supplied 3 & 5 car articulated Diesel Electric multiple units to the Egyptian State Railways Egyptian-thumpers. Between 1951 and 1959, English Electric supplied the National Coal Board with five 51-ton, 400 hp electric shunting locomotives for use on the former Harton Coal Company System at South Shields (which had been electrified by Siemens in 1908) to supplement the existing fleet of ten ageing Siemens and AEG locomotives. English Electric took over Vulcan Foundry and Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns, both with substantial railway engineering pedigrees, in 1955.
English Electric produced nearly 1000 diesel and electric locomotives, of nine different classes, for British Rail as part of the Modernisation Plan in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of these classes of locomotive gave long service to British Rail and its successor train operating companies, some still being active well into the 21st century.
Both Dick, Kerr & Co. and the Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company built aircraft in the First World War, including flying boats designed by the Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe, 62 Short Type 184 and 6 Short Bombers designed by Short Brothers. Aircraft manufacture under the English Electric name began in Bradford in 1922 with the Wren but lasted only until 1926 after the last Kingston flying boat was built.
With War in Europe looming, English Electric was instructed by the Air Ministry to construct a "shadow factory" at Samlesbury Aerodrome in Lancashire to build Handley Page Hampden bombers. Starting with Flight Shed Number 1, the first Hampden built by English Electric made its maiden flight on 22 February 1940 and, by 1942, 770 Hampdens had been delivered – more than half of all the Hampdens produced. In 1940, a second factory was built on the site and the runway was extended to allow for construction of the Handley Page Halifax four-engined heavy bomber to begin. By 1945, five main hangars and three runways had been built at the site, which was also home to No. 9 Group RAF. By the end of the war, over 2,000 Halifaxes had been built and flown from Samlesbury.
In 1942, English Electric took over D. Napier & Son, an aero-engine manufacturer. Along with the shadow factory, this helped to re-establish the company's aeronautical engineering division. Post-war, English Electric invested heavily in this sector, moving design and experimental facilities to the former RAF Warton near Preston in 1947. This investment led to major successes with the Lightning and Canberra, the latter serving in a multitude of roles from 1951 until mid-2006 with the Royal Air Force.
At the end of the war, English Electric started production under licence of the second British jet fighter, the de Havilland Vampire, with 1,300 plus built at Samlesbury. Their own design work took off after the Second World War under W. E. W. Petter, formerly of Westland Aircraft. Although English Electric produced only two aircraft designs before their activities became part of BAC, the design team put forward suggestions for many Air Ministry projects.
The aircraft division was formed into the subsidiary English Electric Aviation Ltd. in 1958, becoming a founding constituent of the new British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1960; English Electric having a 40% stake in the latter company. The guided weapons division was added to BAC in 1963.
Industrial ElectronicsEdit
The Industrial Electronics Division was established at Stafford. One of the products produced at this branch was the Igniscope, a revolutionary design of ignition tester for petrol engines. This was invented by Napiers and supplied as Type UED for military use during World War 2. After the war, it was marketed commercially as type ZWA.[35]
Mergers, acquisitions and demiseEdit
In 1946, English Electric took over the Marconi Company, a foray into the domestic consumer electronic market. English Electric tried to take over one of the other major British electrical companies, the General Electric Company (GEC), in 1960 and, in 1963, English Electric and J. Lyons and Co. formed a jointly owned company – English Electric LEO Company – to manufacture the LEO computer developed by Lyons.
English Electric System 4 (1965) – the System 4–50 and System 4–70 were based on the RCA Spectra 70 series, built under licence. The latter were almost the same as IBM System /360 range, differing only in their real-time facilities, with four processor states and multiple sets of general-purpose registers.
english, electric, other, uses, disambiguation, company, limited, british, industrial, manufacturer, formed, after, armistice, world, amalgamating, five, businesses, which, during, been, making, munitions, armaments, aeroplanes, company, limitedtypeprivateindu. For other uses see English Electric disambiguation The English Electric Company Limited EE was a British industrial manufacturer formed after the armistice of World War I by amalgamating five businesses which during the war had been making munitions armaments and aeroplanes 1 The English Electric Company LimitedTypePrivateIndustryTransportPredecessorList Coventry Ordnance Works Phoenix Dynamo Co Dick Kerr amp Co FoundedDecember 1918 as The English Electric Company Limited Defunct1968 55 years ago 1968 FateMerged with General Electric in 1968SuccessorList General Electric British Aircraft International ComputersHeadquartersStrand London England UKProductsElectric motors Transformers Locomotives Diesel engines Steam turbines consumer electronics Nuclear reactors Guided missiles Military aircraft Mainframe computersSubsidiariesList D Napier amp Son 1942 68 Marconi Company 1948 68 Vulcan Foundry 1955 68 Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns 1955 68 EE Aviation 1958 68 EE Leo Marconi 1964 68 It initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers locomotives and traction equipment diesel motors and steam turbines Its activities were later expanded to include consumer electronics nuclear reactors guided missiles military aircraft and mainframe computers Two English Electric aircraft designs became landmarks in British aeronautical engineering the Canberra and the Lightning In 1960 English Electric Aircraft 40 merged with Vickers 40 and Bristol 20 to form British Aircraft Corporation In 1968 English Electric s operations were merged with GEC s 2 the combined business employing more than 250 000 people 3 Contents 1 Foundation 1 1 Components 1 1 1 Planned activities of the combined businesses 2 George Nelson 2 1 Relocations 2 2 Radiators and cookers 2 3 Recovery 3 World War II 3 1 Airframes 3 2 Aero engines 3 3 Tanks locomotives submarines ships power generation 3 4 Employees 3 5 de Havilland Vampire 4 Peacetime 4 1 Trams 4 2 Railways 4 3 Aviation 4 4 Industrial Electronics 4 5 Mergers acquisitions and demise 5 Some products 5 1 Electrical machinery 5 2 Military equipment 5 2 1 See also 5 3 Computers 5 4 Railways and traction 6 References 7 External linksFoundation EditAiming to turn their employees and other assets to peaceful productive purposes the owners of a series of businesses decided to merge them forming The English Electric Company Limited in December 1918 1 Components Edit English Electric was formed to acquire ownership of Coventry Ordnance Works of Coventry which retained a separate identity and their ordnance works at Scotstoun which was later sold to Harland and Wolff in April 1920 Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company of Bradford Dick Kerr amp Co of Preston founded 1880 and its subsidiaries United Electric Car Company of Preston Willans amp Robinson of Rugby which retained a separate identity not wholly owned The owners of the component companies took up the shares in English Electric 1 Planned activities of the combined businesses Edit John Pybus was appointed managing director in March 1921 4 and chairman in April 1926 5 Initially J H Mansell of Coventry Ordnance Works John Pybus of Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing and W Rutherford of Dick Kerr were joint managing directors 6 The five previously independent major operations under their control had these principal capabilities Coventry Ordnance Works the plant was built for the production of heavy armaments but was suitable for the manufacture of large generating units 6 Phoenix Dynamo Works during the war production was shells and aeroplanes but by July 1919 had been returned to electric motors 6 Dick Kerr and United Electric Car special war work 6 munitions aeroplanes and metallic filament lamps prior to the war locomotives and tram cars Willans amp Robinson made steam turbines condensers and diesel motors there was a foundry 6 Together these businesses covered the whole field of electrical machinery from the smallest fan motor to the largest turbo generator 6 In November 1919 English Electric bought the Stafford works of Siemens Brothers Dynamo Works Ltd 7 In 1931 Stafford became English Electric s centre 8 Locomotiva 1449 English Electric Sorefame N º UIC 9094 110 1449 3 Takargo Rail However there was no post war boom in electrical generation Though English Electric products were indeed in heavy demand potential buyers were unable to raise the necessary capital funds In 1922 a drastic reorganisation of the works was carried through and that managed to halve overheads The Coventry Ordnance Works was practically closed down Cables lamps and wireless equipment were then in buoyant demand but that would have been a new field for the company to enter English Electric s business was in heavy electrical and mechanical plant 9 Both the 1926 general strike and the miners strike caused heavy losses 10 In 1929 part of the Coventry Ordnance Works was sold and the pattern shop at Preston neither of which was required 11 By the end of 1929 it was clear the only solution to English Electric s financial difficulties was a financial restructure The restructure acknowledged the loss of much of the shareholders capital and brought in new capital to re equip with new plant and machinery In the event an American syndicate fronted by Lazard Brothers and Co bankers came up with the new capital but left control in the hands of the previous shareholders 12 In June 1930 four fresh directors were appointed filling four new vacancies 13 Ten days later there was a formal announcement of an American arrangement English Electric with works at Preston Stafford Rugby Bradford and Coventry had entered into a comprehensive arrangement with Westinghouse Electric International Company of New York and Westinghouse Electric amp Manufacturing Company of East Pittsburgh Pennsylvania US whereby there would be an exchange of technical information between the two organisations on steam turbines and electrical apparatus It was made clear that this technical and manufacturing link did not carry with it any control from America In recognition of the exchange arrangement Westinghouse had offered to provide further capital which would be less than 10 of the total including that new capital organised earlier by Lazard Brothers 14 George Nelson EditSeven weeks later the chairman Lionel Hichens who had temporarily replaced John Pybus in 1927 retired at the end of July 1930 and was replaced by Sir Holberry Mensforth as a director and as chairman 15 It was then announced that George H Nelson had been appointed to the board and would take up the position of managing director early in October 16 Mensforth had been taken away from his position as general manager of American Westinghouse Trafford Park Manchester where George Nelson had been his apprentice in 1919 by the Minister of Transport The minister had given Mensforth the responsibility of easing the transition of the nation s munitions businesses back into peacetime industry It was Mensforth who had arranged the technical exchange agreement and extra capital with Westinghouse 17 They began to reorganise Relocations Edit The main base of the company s operation was moved from London to Stafford including the sales departments general and factory accounts and the principal executives previously in London The managing director was to divide his time between the various works but would be mainly in Stafford or in London 8 On 30 December 1930 the engineering shops at Preston closed leaving the following distribution 8 Preston specialists in high tension direct current railway electrification rolling stock and trolley buses Dick Kerr Stafford medium sized electrical plant transformers and switchgear and from Preston large turbo alternator work Siemens Rugby prime movers steam turbines and condensing plant Fullagar and Diesel engines and from Preston water turbine plant Willans amp Robinson Bradford small motors and control gear and from Preston traction motor and traction control work Phoenix Coventry engineers small tools stopped in 1931 zed fuse cartridge type transferred to Stafford in 1931 C O W Radiators and cookers Edit Manufacture of domestic apparatus got underway at both Stafford and Bradford during 1931 18 They were followed in 1934 by a range of household meters of various kinds In the same report to shareholders the chairman pointed out that every day 330 more homes adopted electricity for heating cooking and lighting and between 1929 and 1935 the production of electricity in Britain had increased by 70 per cent 19 Recovery Edit 1933 proved to be the first of four years of real achievement At the beginning of July 1933 Mensforth stepped down and George Nelson took up the post of chairman Nelson remained managing director 20 Mensforth kept a seat on the board from which he later retired at the end of 1936 21 English Electric s recovery was noted by commentators as remarkable During 1936 past preference dividends had been brought up to date they were English Electric s first dividend since a 1924 dividend on ordinary shares The balance sheet at the end of 1936 showed liquidity was in a strong position 22 and the chairman told shareholders that the rate of production in the factories for the last three months of the year was double the rate of production in the first three months 23 During 1938 the first dividend was paid on ordinary shares since 1924 24 In the summer of 1938 a large display advertisement confidently declared ENGLISH ELECTRIC PLANT AND EQUIPMENT in operation throughout the world With its historical achievements and the wealth of experience of its several Associated Companies the English Electric Companycontinues to maintain its reputation as Manufacturers and Suppliers of electrical and allied products for Home and Overseas markets Three English Electric7SRL Diesel alternator sets being installedthe Saateni Power Station Zanzibar 1955STEAM TURBINES WATER TURBINES OIL ENGINES GENERATORS SWITCHGEAR TRANSFORMERS RECTIFIERS ELECTRIC MOTORS ELECTRIC AND DIESEL ELECTRIC TRACTION EQUIPMENTS MARINE PROPULSION EQUIPMENT DOMESTIC APPLIANCESComplete Electrification Schemes Undertaken 25 World War II EditAirframes Edit Two Hampden bombers pictured on 9 April 1940The first steps to strengthen the Royal Air Force had been taken in May 1935 and English Electric was brought into the scheme for making airframes 26 working in conjunction with Handley Page 27 The chairman reported to shareholders that though both Dick Kerr and Phoenix were involved in the aircraft business during and shortly after the previous war the problems had so changed they were now completely new to the company He also noted as he ended his address that the demand for domestic appliances including cookers breakfast cookers washing machines and water heaters was growing progressively 28 The Preston works without subcontracting made more than 3 000 Hampden and Halifax aircraft 29 30 Aero engines Edit Napier Deltic engine cut away for display de Havilland Vampire T11In December 1942 English Electric bought the ordinary shares of D Napier amp Son Limited Mr H G Nelson son of English Electric chairman George H Nelson was appointed managing director 31 Napier s Sabre engines were used in Typhoon and Tempest aircraft and Lion engines in Motor Torpedo Boats 29 30 Tanks locomotives submarines ships power generation Edit The Stafford works made thousands of Covenanter Centaur and Cromwell tanks as well as precision instruments for aircraft electric propulsion and electrical equipment The Rugby works made Diesel engines for ships submarines and locomotives steam turbines for ships and turbo alternator sets for power stations Bradford made electric generators for ships auxiliaries and a wide variety of other naval and aviation material 29 30 Employees Edit In April 1945 English Electric employed 25 000 persons in its four main works 30 Subsequently the chairman revealed that the peak employment number during wartime had been 45 000 when including Napier s people 32 C P Snow was appointed director of scientific personnel in 1944 Later he was physicist director a position he held until 1964 33 de Havilland Vampire Edit In September 1945 details were released of the Vampire jet the fastest British aircraft with a top speed of 548 mph The aircraft was built by English Electric at its Preston works the Frank Halford designed Goblin jet engine the world s most powerful by de Havilland in London 34 Peacetime EditTrams Edit From 1912 to 1924 United Electric and English Electric with assistance from Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock supplied second and third series tramcars for Hong Kong Tramways These cars were eventually retired from 1924 to 1930 as the fourth Generation cars were being introduced citation needed Railways Edit Preserved 1927 EN80 English Electric tram the last example of a fleet of 20 once used by the Warsaw Commuter RailwayIn 1923 English Electric supplied the EO electric locomotives for the New Zealand Railways for use between Arthurs Pass and Otira in the Southern Alps Between 1924 and 1926 they delivered nine box cab electric B B locomotives to the Harbour Commissioners of Montreal later the National Harbours Board later they were transferred to Canadian National Railways where four of them ran until 1995 In 1927 English Electric delivered 20 electric motor cars for Warsaw s Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa During the 1930s equipment was supplied for the electrification of the Southern Railway system reinforcing EE s position in the traction market and it continued to provide traction motors to them for many years In 1936 production of diesel locomotives began in the former tramworks in Preston Between the late 1930s and the 1950s English Electric supplied electric multiple unit trains for the electrified network in and around Wellington New Zealand In 1951 English Electric supplied 3 amp 5 car articulated Diesel Electric multiple units to the Egyptian State Railways Egyptian thumpers Between 1951 and 1959 English Electric supplied the National Coal Board with five 51 ton 400 hp electric shunting locomotives for use on the former Harton Coal Company System at South Shields which had been electrified by Siemens in 1908 to supplement the existing fleet of ten ageing Siemens and AEG locomotives English Electric took over Vulcan Foundry and Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns both with substantial railway engineering pedigrees in 1955 English Electric produced nearly 1000 diesel and electric locomotives of nine different classes for British Rail as part of the Modernisation Plan in the 1950s and 1960s Most of these classes of locomotive gave long service to British Rail and its successor train operating companies some still being active well into the 21st century Aviation Edit English Electric Canberra PR 9 of the RAF 2006Both Dick Kerr amp Co and the Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company built aircraft in the First World War including flying boats designed by the Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe 62 Short Type 184 and 6 Short Bombers designed by Short Brothers Aircraft manufacture under the English Electric name began in Bradford in 1922 with the Wren but lasted only until 1926 after the last Kingston flying boat was built With War in Europe looming English Electric was instructed by the Air Ministry to construct a shadow factory at Samlesbury Aerodrome in Lancashire to build Handley Page Hampden bombers Starting with Flight Shed Number 1 the first Hampden built by English Electric made its maiden flight on 22 February 1940 and by 1942 770 Hampdens had been delivered more than half of all the Hampdens produced In 1940 a second factory was built on the site and the runway was extended to allow for construction of the Handley Page Halifax four engined heavy bomber to begin By 1945 five main hangars and three runways had been built at the site which was also home to No 9 Group RAF By the end of the war over 2 000 Halifaxes had been built and flown from Samlesbury In 1942 English Electric took over D Napier amp Son an aero engine manufacturer Along with the shadow factory this helped to re establish the company s aeronautical engineering division Post war English Electric invested heavily in this sector moving design and experimental facilities to the former RAF Warton near Preston in 1947 This investment led to major successes with the Lightning and Canberra the latter serving in a multitude of roles from 1951 until mid 2006 with the Royal Air Force At the end of the war English Electric started production under licence of the second British jet fighter the de Havilland Vampire with 1 300 plus built at Samlesbury Their own design work took off after the Second World War under W E W Petter formerly of Westland Aircraft Although English Electric produced only two aircraft designs before their activities became part of BAC the design team put forward suggestions for many Air Ministry projects English Electric LightningThe aircraft division was formed into the subsidiary English Electric Aviation Ltd in 1958 becoming a founding constituent of the new British Aircraft Corporation BAC in 1960 English Electric having a 40 stake in the latter company The guided weapons division was added to BAC in 1963 Industrial Electronics Edit The Industrial Electronics Division was established at Stafford One of the products produced at this branch was the Igniscope a revolutionary design of ignition tester for petrol engines This was invented by Napiers and supplied as Type UED for military use during World War 2 After the war it was marketed commercially as type ZWA 35 Mergers acquisitions and demise Edit In 1946 English Electric took over the Marconi Company a foray into the domestic consumer electronic market English Electric tried to take over one of the other major British electrical companies the General Electric Company GEC in 1960 and in 1963 English Electric and J Lyons and Co formed a jointly owned company English Electric LEO Company to manufacture the LEO computer developed by Lyons English Electric took over Lyons half stake in 1964 and merged it with Marconi s computer interests to form English Electric Leo Marconi English Electric LM The latter was merged with Elliott Automation and International Computers and Tabulators ICT to form International Computers Limited ICL in 1967 36 In 1968 GEC recently merged with Associated Electrical Industries AEI merged with English Electric the former being the dominant partner the English Electric name was then lost Some products EditElectrical machinery Edit London Post Office RailwayComplete electrification schemes Polish State Railways London Post Office Railway London Post Office Railway 1927 Stock and London Post Office Railway 1962 Stock Wellington N Z suburban railway systemSteam turbines Munmorah Power Station Churchill class submarines St Laurent class destroyers originally by licensee John Inglis and Company Restigouche class destroyers Hinkley Point A nuclear power station Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station Wylfa Nuclear Power Station Sizewell nuclear power stationsWater turbines Queen Elizabeth Power StationOil engines Generators English Electric Generator Washing machineUltimo Power Station Tallawarra Power Station Monowai Power Station White Bay Power Station Blyth Power StationSwitchgear transformers rectifiers Drax power station HVDC Kingsnorth Nelson River DC Transmission SystemElectric motors British Porpoise class submarineElectric and Diesel electric traction equipment Blackpool tramway English Electric Balloon tram New Zealand Railways Department see Diesel Traction Group NZ Marine Propulsion equipment Oberon class submarines HMAS Oxley S 57 HMAS Orion GMV AranuiDomestic appliances Military equipment Edit Aircraft English Electric Lightning UKEnglish Electric P 5 Phoenix Cork 1918 37 Wren 1923 Ayr 1923 Kingston 1924 Canberra 1949 English Electric P1A Lightning prototype Lightning 1954 English Electric P 10 unbuilt supersonic bomber to OR 330 R 156 38 Manned spacecraft MUSTARD Rear view of English Electric Thunderbird MK I anti aircraft missile at Anti Aircraft Museum Tuusula FinlandGuided weapons Thunderbird 1959 surface to air missile Blue Water cancelled 1962 short range ballistic missileTanks A13 Covenanter A33 ExcelsiorSee also Edit Aerospace industry in the United KingdomComputers Edit Luton Analogue Computing Engine English Electric DEUCE 1955 English Electric KDN2 English Electric KDF6 English Electric KDF8 English Electric KDF9 1963 English Electric KDP10 English Electric System 4 1965 the System 4 50 and System 4 70 were based on the RCA Spectra 70 series built under licence The latter were almost the same as IBM System 360 range differing only in their real time facilities with four processor states and multiple sets of general purpose registers Railways and traction Edit Train in Retiro station of Belgrano Norte line 1959 Alycidon English Electric Type 5 British Rail Class 55 at the National Railway Museum York UK British Rail Class 83 E3035 on display at Doncaster Works open day on 27 July 2003 British Rail Class 50 50035 Ark Royal at Doncaster Works on 27 July 2003 A New Zealand Railways EO class locomotive at Ferrymead Engines Main article English Electric diesel engines English Electric 6CSRKT diesel English Electric 6SRKT diesel English Electric 8SVT 1000 hp fitted to Class 20 English Electric 8CSV 1050 hp at 750 rev min Typically used for Generation English Electric 12SVT 1470 hp retro fitted to Class 31 English Electric 12CSVT 1750 hp fitted to Class 37 English Electric 12CSV English Electric 16SVT 2000 hp Mk II version fitted to Class 40 English Electric 16CSVT 2700 hp fitted to Class 50 The 3250 hp Ruston Paxman 16RK3CT fitted to the Class 56 s was effectively an improved version of the Class 50 16CSVT power unit Napier Deltic Makers D Napier and Son were an English Electric subsidiary company from 1942 Locomotives and multiple units Tasmanian Government Railways Za class locomotive at Bell Bay in February 1978 Westrail C1702 at Busselton with a Hotham Valley Railway tour train in March 1986CGR class S1 Ceylon Government Railway Class T1 Indian locomotive class WCM 1 Indian locomotive class WCM 2 British Rail Class 08 British Rail Class 09 British Rail Class 11 British Rail Class 12 British Rail Class 13 modified Class 08 shunters semi permanently coupled in pairs English Electric Type 1 British Rail Class 20 English Electric Type 2 British Rail Class 23 English Electric Type 3 British Rail Class 37 English Electric Type 4 British Rail Class 40 English Electric Type 4 British Rail Class 50 English Electric Type 5 British Rail Class 55 British Rail Class 73 components assembled by BR British Rail Class 83 British Rail Class 86 British Rail Class 487 British Rail D0226 Diesel Prototype 1 or Deltic led to the Class 55 British Rail DP2 Class 55 body re engined with an E E 16csvt led to the British Rail Class 50 British Rail GT3 gas turbine CP Class 1400 Portugal CP Class 1800 Portugal JNR ED17 electric locomotive JNR EF50 electric locomotive Keretapi Tanah Melayu Class 15 shunter Keretapi Tanah Melayu Class 20 Keretapi Tanah Melayu Class 22 MRWA G class Nigerian Class 1001 NIR 1 Class NS 500 Class NS 600 Class New Zealand DE class locomotive New Zealand Railways DF class not to be confused with the DF class of 1979 New Zealand Railways DG class New Zealand Railways DI class DM D class electric multiple units New Zealand Railways EC class NZR ED class one with components for a further nine supplied to New Zealand Railways New Zealand E class locomotive 1922 New Zealand Railways EO class New Zealand Railways EW class PKP class EU06 PKP class EN80 Electric Multiple Unit Queensland Railways 1200 class Queensland Railways 1250 class Queensland Railways 1270 class Queensland Railways 1300 class Queensland Railways 2350 class Queensland Railways 2370 class Rhodesia Railways class DE2 Rhodesia Railways class DE3 Tasmanian Government Railways X class Tasmanian Government Railways Y class supplied parts local construction Tasmanian Government Railways Z class Tasmanian Government Railways Za class Victorian Railways L class electric Victorian Railways F class Western Australian Government Railways C class Western Australian Government Railways H class Western Australian Government Railways K class Western Australian Government Railways R class Goldsworthy railway 1 class Goldsworthy railway 3 classSeveral industrial diesel and electric locomotive types were also built for UK and export use References Edit a b c City Notes The Times Wednesday 1 January 1919 pg 13 Issue 41986 English Electric and GEC plan biggest merger in Britain The Times London Saturday 7 September 1968 pg 1 Issue 57350 Payroll of 250 000 for the new giant The Times London Saturday 14 September 1968 pg 13 Issue 57356 City News in Brief The Times Friday 11 March 1921 pg 17 Issue 42666 English Electric Company The Times Thursday 22 April 1926 pg 21 Issue 44252 a b c d e f Prospectus English Electric Company Limited The Times Wednesday 16 July 1919 pg 18 Issue 42153 City News in Brief The Times Saturday 15 November 1919 pg 19 Issue 42258 a b c The English Electric Company The Times Friday 17 April 1931 pg 21 Issue 45799 English Electric Company chairman s address to shareholders The Times Thursday 31 March 1927 pg 21 Issue 44544 English Electric Company The Times Tuesday 1 May 1928 pg 25 Issue 44881 English Electric Company The Times Saturday 19 April 1930 pg 16 Issue 45491 English Electric Scheme The Times Tuesday 4 February 1930 pg 20 Issue 45428 English Electric Directorate The Times Tuesday 10 June 1930 pg 18 Issue 45535 English Electric The Times Thursday 12 June 1930 pg 20 Issue 45537 English Electric The Times Wednesday 30 July 1930 pg 18 Issue 45578 English Electric Directorate The Times Friday 26 September 1930 pg 21 Issue 45628 Geoffrey Tweedale Mensforth Sir Holberry 1871 1951 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 English Electric Company The Times Friday 4 March 1932 pg 24 Issue 46073 English Electric Company The Times Tuesday 7 April 1936 pg 23 Issue 47343 City News in Brief The Times Monday 10 July 1933 pg 21 Issue 46492 Business Changes The Times Saturday 2 January 1937 pg 17 Issue 47572 City Notes The Times Wednesday 17 February 1937 pg 20 Issue 47611 City Notes The Times Thursday 25 February 1937 pg 19 Issue 47618 City Notes The Times Thursday 10 February 1938 pg 19 Issue 47915 The English Electric Company Limited The Times Tuesday 9 August 1938 pg 51 Issue 48068 Air Defences From Our Aeronautical Correspondent The Times Thursday 2 February 1939 pg 13 Issue 48219 City Notes The Times Wednesday 8 February 1939 pg 20 Issue 48224 English Electric Company The Times Wednesday 22 February 1939 pg 22 Issue 48236 a b c War achievements English Electric Company The Times Friday 2 March 1945 pg 9 Issue 50081 a b c d From Tramcars To Bombers The Times Monday 9 April 1945 pg 2 Issue 50112 The offer of the English Electric Company The Times Tuesday 29 December 1942 pg 7 Issue 49429 Company Meeting The Times Friday 1 March 1946 pg 10 Issue 50389 C P Snow facts information pictures Encyclopedia com articles about C P Snow www encyclopedia com Encyclopedia com Three New British Aircraft The Times Thursday 20 September 1945 pg 2 Issue 50252 Instruction manuals and advertising brochures for the Type UED and Type ZWA versions Oral history interview with Arthur L C Humphreys Charles Babbage Institute University of Minnesota Flight 13 March 1924 Chris Gibson Vulcan s Hammer p35External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to English Electric English Electric Traction Ads www flikr com 29 January 2018 English Electric Traction advertisements and corporate brochures English Electric Archive englishelectric zenfolio com English Electric locomotive images Clippings about English Electric in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title English Electric amp oldid 1169848157, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
