Vickers-Armstrongs

For the modern day New Zealand aircraft company, seeVickers Aircraft Company.For other companies using the "Vickers" name, seeVickers.

Vickers-Armstrongs Limited

Industry	Manufacture of basic iron and steel and of ferro-alloys Manufacture of military fighting vehicles arms industry building of ships and floating structures metal industry vehicle construction
Predecessor	Vickers
Founded	1927
Defunct	1977
Fate	Assets split and majority nationalised
Successor	Vickers plc British Aircraft Corporation(est. 1960) British Shipbuilders British Steel Corporation
Headquarters	Vickers House,Westminster,London
Key people	George Edwards Rex Pierson
Parent	Vickers Limited Armstrong Whitworth
Subsidiaries	Metropolitan-Vickers Canadian Vickers Whitehead & Company John Brown & Company Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval Supermarine Aviation Works(est. 1928)

Vickers-Armstrongs Limitedwas a British engineering conglomerate formed by the merger of the assets ofVickers LimitedandSir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Companyin 1927. The majority of the company wasnationalisedin the 1960s and 1970s, with the remainder being divested asVickers plcin 1977.

It featured among Britain's most prominent armaments firms.

History

Vickers merged with theTyneside-based engineering companyArmstrong Whitworth,founded byWilliam Armstrong,to become Vickers-Armstrongs. Armstrong Whitworth and Vickers had developed along similar lines, expanding into various military sectors and produced a whole suite of military products. Armstrong Whitworth were notable for their artillery manufacture atElswickand shipbuilding at a yard atHigh Walkeron theRiver Tyne.

Vickers-Armstrong Works inScotswood

1929 saw the merger of the acquired railway business with those ofCammell Lairdto formMetropolitan Cammell Carriage and Wagon (MCCW);Metro Cammell.

In 1935, before rearmament began, Vickers-Armstrongs was the third-largest manufacturing employer in Britain, behindUnileverandICI.

In 1956Dorothy Hatfieldbecame the first female engineering apprentice at Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft),Brooklands,followed in 1958 byJanet Gullandwho was the first female graduate apprentice at the company.

Break-up

In 1960 the aircraft interests were merged with those ofBristol,English ElectricandHunting Aircraftto form theBritish Aircraft Corporation(BAC). This was owned by Vickers, English Electric and Bristol (holding 40%, 40% and 20% respectively). BAC in turn owned 70% of Hunting. The Supermarine operation was closed in 1963 and the Vickers brand name for aircraft was dropped by BAC in 1965. Under the terms of theAircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977BAC was nationalised to become part ofBritish Aerospace(laterBAE Systems).

The Aircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act also led to the nationalisation of Vickers' shipbuilding division as part ofBritish Shipbuilders.This division was privatised asVickers Shipbuilding & Engineeringin 1986, later passing toGECas part of Marconi Marine and survives to this day as part ofBAE Systems Submarines.

Vickers Container and Packaging Machinery Division, including the Vickers Stitcher andVickers Hardness Machinebusiness, was bought by Fords Industrial Products, part of Barry Wehmiller in 1986. In 1991 the Vickers Hardness Machinery business was bought by the then field engineers, and continues today as UK Calibrations Limited based inKidderminster.The Vickers Stitcher was still being manufactured in India as recently as 2005.

The steelmaking division became part ofBritish Steel Corporationand the remaining interests were divested as the public companyVickers plc,whose various components were later split. The Vickers name ceased to exist in 2003 whenRolls-Roycerenamed its acquisitionVinters Engineering.

Businesses

Armaments

Vickers-Armstrongs inherited theVickers machine gunof 1912 used in World War I from Vickers Limited. There were other Vickers machine guns aside from the regular water-cooled model (known universally as the "Vickers" ): theVickers-Berthier(VB) machine gun used by theIndian Army,theVickers "K".303aircraft machine gun developed from it, and theVickers "S"40 mm aircraft gun. An unusual machine gun also made was theVickers Higson.

Vickers produced larger weapons such as theOrdnance QF 2-poundergun used on tanks. In 1948 Vickers bought the Australian business of Charles Ruwolt Ltd for £750,000 following Ruwolt's death in 1946. During World War II Ruwolt's firm produced armaments for the Australian Government, including field artillery such asmortarsandhowitzercannon.

Shipbuilding

After the 1927 merger, the company possessed a major yard on each coast of Britain; the Naval Construction Yard of Vickers atBarrow-in-Furnessin Cumbria and the Naval Yard of Armstrong Whitworth atHigh Walkeron theRiver Tyne.Vickers-Armstrongs was one of the most important warship manufacturers in the world. These interests were renamed as Vickers-Armstrongs Shipbuilders in 1955, changing again to Vickers Limited Shipbuilding Group in 1968. The Barrow yard wasnationalisedand became part ofBritish Shipbuildersin 1977, was privatised asVSELin 1986 and remains in operation to this day asBAE Systems Submarines.Meanwhile, the Naval Yard atHigh Walkeron theRiver Tynepassed toSwan Hunterin 1968,was nationalised and became part ofBritish Shipbuildersin 1977, was privatised still asSwan Hunterin 1986 but closed down during the 1980s.

Vickers-Armstrong also built the VA-3hovercraft.

Military vehicles

The company was also known for itstankdesigns, starting with the widely usedVickers 6-Ton.It also produced the influential, if never actually produced,Independent A1E1tank. One of the company's most important designs was theValentineInfantry Tank, produced in the thousands in World War II. The military vehicle manufacturing interests were divested intoVickers plc,and would later pass toAlvis Vickers,now part ofBAE Systems Land and Armaments.

Notable Vickers-Armstrongs military vehicles include;

• Carden Loyd tankette
• Cruiser Mk I
• Cruiser Mk II
• Vickers 6-ton
• Light Tank Mk VI
• Valentine
• Vickers MBT(and under licence in India asVijayanta)

Aviation

Vickers formed its Aviation Department in 1911. The aircraft interests of Armstrong Whitworth were not acquired in the merger and later passed to theHawker Aircraftgroup. In 1928 the Aviation Department becameVickers (Aviation) Ltdand soon after acquiredSupermarine Aviation Works,which became theSupermarine Aviation Works (Vickers) Ltdand was responsible for producing the revolutionarySpitfirefighter. In 1938, both companies were re-organised asVickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft) Ltd,and a new 'art deco' headquarters designed by architectC. Howard Cranewas built at itsBrooklandsfactory in Surrey although the former Supermarine and Vickers works continued to brand their products under their former names. In 1960 the aircraft interests were one of the founding companies merged to form BAC. The hovercraft activities of Vickers-Armstrongs were merged with those of theWestland Aircraftcompany (including those ofSaunders-Roe) to form theBritish Hovercraft Corporationin 1966 with Vickers holding 25% of the new company. Westland bought out Vickers interest along with other partners in 1970.

Vickers formed a subsidiary, the Airship Guarantee Company, under the direction of CdrDennis Burneysolely for the purpose of producing theR100airship for the government.

Between 1911 and 1970, just over 16,000 aircraft were built under the Vickers name; together the 11,462Wellingtonand 846Warwickaircraft (which were structurally similar) make up over 75% of this total.

Military aircraft

Vickers became renowned as a manufacturer of large aircraft at its main factory atBrooklandsin Surrey. In theinterwar period,the company produced theWellesley,designed byRex Piersonusing thegeodetic airframeprinciple of structural engineerBarnes Wallis.This would later evolve into the famousWellingtonbomber,a mainstay ofRAF Bomber CommandandRAF Coastal CommandduringWorld War II.TheCold War-eraValiantV bomberwas another Vickers product.

Military aircraft with the Vickers brand:

• Vickers R.E.P. Type Monoplane
• Vickers E.F.B.1
• Vickers F.B.5
• Vickers E.S.1
• Vickers E.F.B.7
• Vickers E.F.B.8
• Vickers F.B.11
• Vickers F.B.12
• Vickers F.B.14
• Vickers F.B.16
• Vickers F.B.19
• Vickers F.B.24
• Vickers F.B.25
• Vickers Vampire
• Vickers Vimy
• Vickers VIM
• Vickers Viking
• Vickers Vagabond
• Vickers Vendace
• Vickers Vixen
• Vickers Viget
• Vickers Valparaiso
• Vickers Venture
• Vickers Type 131 Valiant
• Vickers Type 123
• Vickers Type 141
• Vickers Type 143– a.k.a. Bolivian Scout
• Vickers Jockey
• Vickers Type 161
• Vickers Type 163
• Vickers Type 177
• Vickers Vespa
• Type 121 Wibault Scout
• Vickers Vireo
• Vickers Vellore
• Vickers Virginia
• Vickers Vanox
• Vickers Valentia– 1918 flying boat
• Vickers Type 264 Valentia– 1934 cargo aircraft
• Vickers Vernon
• Vickers Victoria
• Vickers Vildebeest
• Vickers Vincent
• Vickers Type 207
• Vickers Type 253
• Vickers Wellesley
• Vickers Venom
• Vickers Wellington
• Vickers Wellington LN514
• Vickers Warwick
• Vickers Type 432– WWII high altitude interceptor
• Vickers Windsor
• Vickers Valetta
• Vickers Varsity
• Vickers Valiant

Vickers also competed for contracts with designs such as:

• Victory Bomber
• Vickers Type 559– 1950s high altitude supersonic interceptor
• Vickers Type 010 Swallow– 1950s supersonic interceptor
• Vickers Type 581 - 1950s swing-wing bomber project

Vickers Canada

• Canadian Vickers Vancouver
• Canadian Vickers Vanessa
• Canadian Vickers Varuna
• Canadian Vickers Vedette
• Canadian Vickers Velos
• Canadian Vickers Vigil
• Canadian Vickers Vista

Missiles and other weapons

• "Upkeep" and "Highball"bouncing bombs
• Tallboy bomb
• Grand Slam bomb
• UB.109T– Company designation was Vickers 825.
• Blue Boar– Air-to Surface television-guidedglider bombfrom the 1950s.
• Green lizard – Surface-to-air missile project from the 1950s.
• Orange William – Anti-tank missile project from the late 1950s.
• Red Dean– Air-to-air missile project.
• Red Hebe– Air-to-air missile project.
• Vickers Vigilant
• R.A.E. - Vickers Transonic Research Rocket

Civilian aircraft

Vickers was a pioneer in producingairliners,early examples being converted fromVimybombers. Post-WWII, Vickers went on to manufacture the piston-enginedVickers VC.1 Vikingairliner, theViscountandVanguardturboprop airliners and (as part of BAC) theVC10jet airliner, which was used inRAFservice as anaerial refuellingtankeruntil 2013.

• Vickers Vimy Commercial
• Vickers Vulcan(1920s)
• Vickers Type 170 Vanguard(1923)
• Vickers Viastra
• Vickers Vellox
• Vickers VC.1 Viking
• Vickers Viscount
  • Vickers Viscount variants
• Vickers Vanguard
• Vickers V-1000– not completed
• Vickers VC10

Marine engines

Vickers-Armstrongs was one of the few British manufacturers of marinediesel engines,notably forRoyal NavyS,T-classandEstonianKalev-classsubmarines during World War II.

Civilian Target and Sporting Rifles

After the Great War Vickers needed to diversify when the military contracts ended. Between WWI and the Second World War they introduced ranges of target and sporting rifles and shotguns, the most successful of which were their small-bore.22 rimfire target rifles. These were serious competitors to the Birmingham Small Arms equivalent products, and Vickers.22 target rifles were at the top of the major competitions' results for more than a decade. Initially these rifles were named solely for Vickers, but, after the 1927 amalgamation with Armstrongs, they became Vickers Armstrongs' products. See referenceVickers and Vickers-Armstrongs Martini target rifles and Sporting guns

In fiction

• InThe Adventures of TintincomicThe Broken Ear,the role of Vickers-Armstrongs in theChaco Waris parodied as "Viking Arms Co. Limited", with their salesmanBasil Zaharoffselling cannon and ordnance to both warring countries.

• A handgun described in a trial ofWalter Mitty's alter ego is a.50 caliber Webley-Vickers revolver.

See also

• Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
• Basil Zaharoff

Bibliography

• Andrews, C.F. (1969).Vickers Aircraft since 1908.Putnam.
• Johnston, Ian; Buxton, Ian (2013).The Battleship Builders – Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships(Hardback).Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN978-1-59114-027-6.
• Lynch, Brendan.Yesterday We Were in America - Alcock and Brown - First to fly the Atlantic non-stop.Yeovil, England: Haynes Publishing, 2009ISBN978 1 84425 681 5
• Scott, J.D. (1962).Vickers: A History.London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.

External links

• Vickers and Vickers-Armstrongs Martini Target Rifles and Sporting Guns
• Vickers Golden JubileeFlight1961
• Vickers Photographic Archive