Folland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturing company which was active between 1937 and 1963.

History

British Marine Aircraft Limited was formed in February 1936 to produce Sikorsky S-42-A

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fuselag ...

s under licence in the UK. The company built a factory on the western side of the Hamble peninsula with a slipway to Southampton Water. The construction of one Sikorsky based aircraft was started at Hamble, however the company ran out of money and liquidators were appointed. Mergers with other British aircraft companies were considered, including one with Westland Aircraft, but none was followed up.Fagan, Dave. 'Hamble' ''Aviation in Hampshire UK 1900 to 2000''
Retrieved 20 May 2005 In 1937

Henry Folland Henry Philip Folland OBE (22 January 1889 – 5 September 1954) was an English 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.18 ...

, chief designer of Gloster Aircraft, was looking for a new opportunity to pursue his own ideas without management hindrance. He left Gloster, took over the British Marine site and set up the Folland Aircraft Company. He took the positions of both managing director and aircraft designer. Folland began aircraft assembly at Hamble making parts for

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until ...

and

Beaufort Beaufort may refer to: People and titles * Beaufort (surname) * House of Beaufort, English nobility * Duke of Beaufort (England), a title in the peerage of England * Duke of Beaufort (France), a title in the French nobility Places Polar regions * ...

bombers. Follands also made 15,000 rear portions out of the 22,000 constructed for the Supermarine Spitfire. Folland later took on sub-contract work making parts for

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...

s and

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington was a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson; a key feature of the aircraft is its ...

s.Haselden, Derek. ''Aviation at Hamble''
(8 January 2005) Retrieved 20 May 2005 The first aircraft of its own design to fly was the Folland Fo.108 in 1940. Designed and built to meet the

Air Ministry The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of Stat ...

Specification 43/37 for a flying engine testbed it was generally known as the 43/47 or by the nickname "Folland Frightful" from its unusual appearance. The Folland F.115 and F.116 designs were tendered to meet Specification E.28/40 for a research aircraft to investigate the issues of landing weight for aircraft operating from carriers. The F.116 design was powered by a Centaurus radial and used a variable incidence wing on an airframe estimated at around 18,250 lb (8,300 kg). Two prototypes were ordered but the project was cancelled in 1943 as most of the problems had already been overcome, and neither prototype was completed.Buttler ''British Secret Projects: Fighters and Bombers 1935–1950''. Appendix 2 W. E. W. Petter, who had designed the

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operation role, the aircraft' ...

English Electric Canberra The English Electric Canberra is a British first-generation, jet-powered medium bomber. It was developed by English Electric during the mid- to late 1940s in response to a 1944 Air Ministry requirement for a successor to the wartime de Havil ...

and

English Electric Lightning The English Electric Lightning is a British fighter aircraft that served as an interceptor during the 1960s, the 1970s and into the late 1980s. It was capable of a top speed of above Mach 2. The Lightning was designed, developed, and manufa ...

, joined the company as

managing director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...

in 1950.'Folland', ''British Aircraft Directory''
(1 May 2004) Retrieved 1 July 2017 He designed the Folland Midge as an unarmed proof-of-concept demonstrator for a lightweight jet fighter which first flew 11 August 1954. This was followed by 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 ...

, the prototype of which, serial number ''G-39-2'', flew on 18 July 1955. Although RAF interest in the possibilities for using the Gnat as a fighter had waned, Folland identified another potential use for the type as an advanced trainer aircraft. The prototype Gnat Trainer conducted its maiden flight on 31 August 1959. Both were built at Hamble until the 1960s with the final Gnat T.1 for the RAF being delivered in May 1965. Follands used an airfield at Chilbolton formerly RAF Chilbolton where they Flight Tested the Folland Midge and the versions of the

. In 1959 Folland was acquired by

Hawker Siddeley Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...

who dropped the Folland name in 1963. Ultimately, Folland became part of

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

(BAe). Although Hamble airfield closed in 1986, BAe continued to use the premises there for the production of major assemblies for Harrier and

Hawk Hawks are birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. This subfa ...

jets.

Aircraft

* Folland Fo.108 * Folland Midge *

Missiles

Red Dean Red Dean, a rainbow code name, was a large air-to-air missile developed for the Royal Air Force during the 1950s. Originally planned to use an active radar seeker to offer all-aspect performance and true fire-and-forget engagements, the valve- ...

Vessels

* Ground Effect Research Machine or hovercraft 1960 – 1 demo only and no commercial production

Sport

The factory also had its own football team created by the workers in 1938. The team is still playing under the name of Folland Sports.

References

External links

The Folland E.28/40
a 1946 ''Flight'' article {{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Former defence companies of the United Kingdom Hawker Siddeley Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1936 1936 establishments in England Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1963 1963 disestablishments in England 1959 mergers and acquisitions British companies disestablished in 1963 British companies established in 1936