The English Electric Company Limited (EE) was a British industrial manufacturer formed after

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

by amalgamating five businesses which, during the war, made munitions, armaments and aeroplanes. It initially specialised in industrial

electric motor An electric motor is a machine that converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. Most electric motors operate through the interaction between the motor's magnetic field and electric current in a electromagnetic coil, wire winding to gene ...

s and

transformer In electrical engineering, a transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple Electrical network, circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces ...

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

s and traction equipment,

diesel motors The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

and

steam turbine A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

s. Its products were later expanded to include

consumer electronics Consumer electronics, also known as home electronics, are electronic devices intended for everyday household use. Consumer electronics include those used for entertainment, Communication, communications, and recreation. Historically, these prod ...

, nuclear reactors,

guided missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of Propulsion, self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a targ ...

military aircraft A military aircraft is any Fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing or rotorcraft, rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary military of any type. Some military aircraft engage directly in aerial warfare, while others take on su ...

and

mainframe computer A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...

s. Two English Electric aircraft designs became landmarks in British aeronautical engineering; the

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and the

Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

. In 1960, English Electric Aircraft (40%) merged with

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public in 18 ...

(40%) and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

(20%) to form

British Aircraft Corporation The British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) was a British aircraft manufacturer formed from the government-pressured merger of English Electric, English Electric Aviation Ltd., Vickers-Armstrongs, Vickers-Armstrongs (Aircraft), the Bristol Aeroplane ...

. In 1968 English Electric's operations were merged with GEC's, the combined business employing more than 250,000 people.

Foundation

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.City Notes. ''The Times'', Wednesday, 1 January 1919; pg. 13; Issue 41986

Components

English Electric was formed to acquire ownership of: *

Coventry Ordnance Works Coventry Ordnance Works was a British manufacturer of heavy guns particularly naval artillery jointly owned by Cammell Laird & Co of Sheffield and Birkenhead, Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company of Govan, Glasgow and John Brown & Comp ...

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, which retained a separate identity, and their ordnance works at

Scotstoun Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...

which was later sold to

Harland and Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

in April 1920. *

Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company Limited of Hubert Street, Leeds Road, Bradford, Yorkshire, electrical engineers, manufactured small and large motors, alternators and generators at their Thornbury works. They briefly manufactured major aircra ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

* Dick, Kerr & Co. of Preston founded 1880 and its subsidiaries: **

United Electric Car Company The United Electric Car Company was a tramcar manufacturer from 1905 to 1917 in Preston, Lancashire, England. History The Electric Railway and Tramway Carriage Works was formed in 1897 registered on 25 April 1898 to acquire works at Preston ...

of Preston **

Willans & Robinson Willans & Robinson Limited manufacturing engineers of Thames Ditton, Surrey. Later, from 1896, at Victoria Works, Rugby, Warwickshire, England. They were manufacturers of stationary reciprocating steam engines then steam turbines, diesel motors an ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby union: 15 players per side *** American flag rugby *** Beach rugby *** Mini rugby *** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side *** Rugby tens, 10 players per side *** Snow rugby *** Tou ...

which retained a separate identity—not wholly owned. The owners of the component companies took up the shares in English Electric.

Planned activities of the combined businesses

John Pybus Sir Percy John Pybus, 1st Baronet, (25 January 1880 – 23 October 1935) was a British Liberal Party politician. Business career Having completed an engineering apprenticeship John Pybus joined electrical engineers Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing ...

was appointed managing director in March 1921 and chairman in April 1926. Initially J H Mansell of Coventry Ordnance Works, John Pybus of Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing and W Rutherford of Dick, Kerr were joint managing directors.Prospectus, English Electric Company, Limited. ''The Times'', Wednesday, 16 July 1919; pg. 18; Issue 42153
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 * Phoenix Dynamo Works: during the war production was shells and aeroplanes but by July 1919 had been returned to electric motors * Dick, Kerr and United Electric Car: special war work 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 Together these businesses covered the whole field of electrical machinery from the smallest fan motor to the largest turbo-generator. In November 1919, English Electric bought the

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

works of Siemens Brothers Dynamo Works Ltd. In 1931 Stafford became English Electric's centre. 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. Both the 1926 United Kingdom general strike, 1926 general strike and the miners strike caused heavy losses. In 1929 part of the Coventry Ordnance Works was sold and the pattern shop at Preston, neither of which was required. 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. In June 1930, four fresh directors were appointed, filling four new vacancies. 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 The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse and headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was ...

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.

George Nelson

Seven weeks later the chairman,

Lionel Hichens William Lionel Hichens (1 May 1874–14 October 1940) was a British industrialist, chairman of Cammell Laird from 1910. Early life He was the second, posthumously-born son of John Ley Hichens, army surgeon, and his wife, Catherine Bacchus (1843� ...

, 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. 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. 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. They began to reorganise.

Relocations

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 LondonThe English Electric Company. ''The Times'', Friday, 17 April 1931; pg. 21; Issue 45799 On 30 December 1930 the engineering shops at Preston closed leaving the following distribution: *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 cookers

Manufacture of domestic apparatus got underway at both Stafford and Bradford during 1931. 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.

Recovery

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. Mensforth kept a seat on the board from which he later retired at the end of 1936. 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 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. During 1938, the first dividend was paid on ordinary shares since 1924. In the summer of 1938, a large display advertisement confidently declared:

World War II

Airframes

Handley Page Hampden - Waddington - Royal Air Force 1939-1945- Bomber Command C1180

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 working in conjunction with

Handley Page Handley Page Limited was a British aerospace manufacturer. Founded by Frederick Handley Page (later Sir Frederick) in 1909, it was the United Kingdom's first publicly traded aircraft manufacturing company. It went into voluntary liquidation a ...

. 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. The Preston works without subcontracting made more than 3,000 Hampden and Halifax aircraft.War achievements, English Electric Company. ''The Times'', Friday, 2 March 1945; pg. 9; Issue 50081From Tramcars To Bombers. ''The Times'', Monday, 9 April 1945; pg. 2; Issue 50112

Aero engines

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. Napier's

Sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

engines were used in

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

and Tempest aircraft and

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

engines in Motor Torpedo Boats

Tanks, locomotives, submarines, ships, power generation

The Stafford works made thousands of

Covenanter Covenanters were members of a 17th-century Scottish religious and political movement, who supported a Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the primacy of its leaders in religious affairs. It originated in disputes with James VI and his son C ...

Centaur A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...

and

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially a ...

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.

Employees

In April 1945, English Electric employed 25,000 persons in its four main works. Subsequently the chairman revealed that the peak employment number during wartime had been 45,000 when including Napier's people.

C. P. Snow Charles Percy Snow, Baron Snow (15 October 1905 – 1 July 1980) was an English novelist and physical chemist who also served in several important positions in the British Civil Service and briefly in the UK government.''The Columbia Encyclop ...

was appointed director of scientific personnel in 1944. Later he was physicist-director, a position he held until 1964.

de Havilland Vampire

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 Major Frank Bernard Halford CBE FRAeS (7 March 1894 – 16 April 1955) was an English aircraft engine designer. He is best known for the series of de Havilland Gipsy engines, widely used by light aircraft in the 1920s and 30s. Career Educate ...

designed

Goblin A goblin is a small, grotesque, monster, monstrous humanoid creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearan ...

jet engine, the world's most powerful, by

de Havilland The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited (pronounced , ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of North London. Operations were later moved to ...

in London.

Peacetime

Trams

From 1912 to 1924, United Electric and English Electric (with assistance from

Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock was a Hong Kong dockyard, once among the largest in Asia. History The Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock Company was founded in 1866 by Douglas Lapraik and Thomas Sutherland. It was located on the west Kowloon coast betwee ...

) 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.

Railways

In 1923, English Electric supplied the EO electric locomotives for the New Zealand Railways for use between

Arthurs Pass Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explori ...

and Otira, in the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

. 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 The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue an ...

, where four of them ran until 1995. In 1927, English Electric delivered 20 electric motor cars for Warsaw's

Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa Warsaw Commuter Railway (, WKD) is a light rail commuter line in Poland's capital city of Warsaw. The line, together with its two branches, links Warsaw with the municipalities of Michałowice, Pruszków, Brwinów, Podkowa Leśna, Milanówek an ...

. 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 locomotive A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover (locomotive), power source is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is con ...

s began in the former tramworks in Preston. Between the late 1930s and the 1950s, English Electric supplied

electric multiple unit An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple-unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number o ...

trains for the electrified network in and around

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand. In 1951 English Electric supplied 3 & 5 car articulated Diesel Electric multiple units to the Egyptian State Railway
Egyptian-thumpers
Between 1951 and 1959, English Electric supplied the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

with five 51-ton, 400 hp electric shunting locomotives for use on the former Harton Coal Company System at

South Shields South Shields () is a coastal town in South Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England; it is on the south bank of the mouth of the River Tyne. The town was once known in Roman Britain, Roman times as ''Arbeia'' and as ''Caer Urfa'' by the Early Middle Ag ...

(which had been electrified by Siemens in 1908) to supplement the existing fleet of ten ageing Siemens and

AEG The initials AEG are used for or may refer to: Common meanings * AEG (German company) ; AEG) was a German producer of electrical equipment. It was established in 1883 by Emil Rathenau as the ''Deutsche Edison-Gesellschaft für angewandte El ...

locomotives. English Electric took over

Vulcan Foundry The Vulcan Foundry Limited was an English locomotive builder sited at Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire (now Merseyside). History The Vulcan Foundry opened in 1832, as Charles Tayleur and Company to produce girders for bridges, switches, crossi ...

and

Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns Ltd (RSH) was a locomotive builder with works in North East England. History The company was formed in September 1937, when Darlington based Robert Stephenson and Company took over the locomotive building depar ...

, both with substantial railway engineering pedigrees, in 1955. English Electric produced nearly 1000 diesel and electric locomotives, of nine different classes, for

British Rail British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Comm ...

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

Both Dick, Kerr & Co. and the Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company built aircraft in the First World War, including

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

s designed by the

Seaplane Experimental Station The Seaplane Experimental Station, formerly RNAS Felixstowe, was a British aircraft design unit during the early part of the 20th century. Creation During June 1912, surveys began for a suitable site for a base for Naval hydro-aeroplanes, with ...

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town and civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest Containerization, containe ...

, 62

Short Type 184 The Short Admiralty Type 184, often called the Short 225 after the power rating of the engine first fitted, was a British two-seat reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo carrying folding-wing seaplane designed by Horace Short of Short Brothers. It ...

and 6

Short Bomber The Short Bomber was a British two-seat long-range reconnaissance, bombing and torpedo-carrying aircraft designed by Short Brothers as a land-based development of the very successful Short Type 184 (of which more than 900 were built and many exp ...

s designed by

Short Brothers Short Brothers plc, usually referred to as Shorts or Short, is an aerospace company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Shorts was founded in 1908 in London, and was the first company in the world to make production aeroplanes. It was particu ...

. Aircraft manufacture under the English Electric name began in Bradford in 1922 with the

Wren Wrens are a family, Troglodytidae, of small brown passerine birds. The family includes 96 species and is divided into 19 genera. All species are restricted to the New World except for the Eurasian wren that is widely distributed in the Old Worl ...

but lasted only until 1926 after the last

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

flying boat was built. With War in Europe looming, English Electric was instructed by 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 and civil aviation that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the ...

to construct a "shadow factory" at

Samlesbury Aerodrome Samlesbury Aerodrome is a disused airfield at Balderstone, Lancashire, Balderstone near Samlesbury and Blackburn in the Ribble Valley district of Lancashire. The aerodrome is owned by defence company BAE Systems which uses the site for the manu ...

in Lancashire to build

Handley Page Hampden The Handley Page HP.52 Hampden is a British twin-engine medium bomber that was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was part of the trio of large twin-engine bombers procured for the RAF, joining the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Vickers ...

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 The Handley Page Halifax is a British Royal Air Force (RAF) four-engined heavy bomber of the Second World War. It was developed by Handley Page to the same specification as the contemporary twin-engine Avro Manchester. The Halifax has its or ...

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 W, or w, is the twenty-third letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''double-u'',Pronounced in formal situations ...

near Preston in 1947. This investment led to major successes with the

and

, the latter serving in a multitude of roles from 1951 until mid-2006 with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

. At the end of the war, English Electric started production under licence of the second British jet fighter, the

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

, with 1,300 plus built at

Samlesbury Samlesbury ( ''or locally'' ) is a village and civil parish in South Ribble, Lancashire, England. Samlesbury Hall, a historic house, is in the village, as is Samlesbury Aerodrome and a large modern brewery owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. The pop ...

. Their own design work took off after the Second World War under W. E. W. Petter, formerly of

Westland Aircraft Westland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturer located in Yeovil, Somerset. Formed as a separate company by separation from Petters Limited just before the start of the Second World War, Westland had been building aircraft since 1915. Du ...

. 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

(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

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.

Mergers, acquisitions and demise

In 1946, English Electric took over the

Marconi Company The Marconi Company was a British telecommunications and engineering company founded by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi in 1897 which was a pioneer of wireless long distance communication and mass media broadcasting, eventually becoming on ...

, 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. J, or j, is the tenth letter of the English alphabet. J may also refer to: * Palatal approximant in the International Phonetic Alphabet * J, Cyrillic letter Je Astronomy * J, a provisional designation prefix for some objects discovered be ...

formed a jointly owned company – English Electric LEO Company – to manufacture the

LEO computer The LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) was a series of early computer systems created by J. Lyons and Co. The first in the series, the LEO I, was the first computer used for commercial business applications. The prototype LEO I was modelled closely ...

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 Elliott Brothers (London) Ltd was an early computer company of the 1950s and 1960s in the United Kingdom. It traced its descent from a firm of instrument makers founded by William Elliott in London around 1804. The research laboratories were o ...

and

International Computers and Tabulators International Computers and Tabulators or ICT was a British computer manufacturer, formed in 1959 by a merger of the British Tabulating Machine Company (BTM) and Powers-Samas. In 1963 it acquired the business computer divisions of Ferranti. It ...

(ICT) to form

International Computers Limited International Computers Limited (ICL) was a British computer hardware, computer software and computer services company that operated from 1968 until 2002. It was formed through a merger of International Computers and Tabulators (ICT), English Ele ...

(ICL) in 1967. In 1968 GEC, recently merged with

Associated Electrical Industries Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British holding company formed in 1928 through the merger of British Thomson-Houston (BTH) and Metropolitan-Vickers electrical engineering companies. In 1967 AEI was acquired by GEC, to create the UK ...

(AEI), merged with English Electric; the former being the dominant partner, the English Electric name was then lost.

Products

Electrical machinery

Complete

electrification Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...

schemes *

Polish State Railways The Polish State Railways ( , abbr.: PKP S.A.) is a Polish state-owned holding company (legally a sole-shareholder company of the State Treasury) comprising the rail transport holdings of the country's formerly dominant namesake railway oper ...

London Post Office Railway The Post Office Railway, known since 1987 as Mail Rail, is a narrow-gauge, driverless underground railway in London that was built by the Post Office with assistance from the Underground Electric Railways Company of London, to transport mail be ...

, London Post Office Railway 1927 Stock and

London Post Office Railway 1962 Stock The London Post Office Railway 1962 Stock was a type of prototype rolling stock built by English Electric in 1962. Two units were built as prototypes for a possible new design of stock. Although the new design for which the two units were built ...

* Wellington N.Z. suburban railway system Steam turbines *

Munmorah Power Station Munmorah Power Station is a demolished coal-fired power station with four 350 MW English Electric steam driven turbo-alternators for a combined capacity of 1,400 MW. The station was located near Doyalson, on the shores of Lake Munmorah, New S ...

Churchill-class submarine The three ''Churchill'' class,Hool, Jack, and Nutter, Keith, ''Damned Un-English Machines, a history of Barrow-built submarines'', pub Tempus, 2003, page 177. sometimes known as the Repeat ''Valiant''-class submarines were nuclear-powered fle ...

s * St. Laurent-class destroyers - originally by licensee

John Inglis and Company John Inglis and Company was a Canadian manufacturing firm which made weapons for the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth military forces during the World War II era, then later became a major appliance manufacturer. Whirlpool Corporation acq ...

) * Restigouche-class destroyers *

Hinkley Point A nuclear power station Hinkley Point A nuclear power station is a former Magnox nuclear power station. It is located on a site in Somerset on the Bristol Channel coast, west of the River Parrett estuary. The ongoing decommissioning process is being managed by Nuclea ...

, Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station,

Wylfa Nuclear Power Station Wylfa nuclear power station () is a Magnox nuclear power station undergoing decommissioning. Wylfa is situated west of Cemaes Bay on the island of Anglesey, off the northwestern coast of Wales. Construction of the two 490MW nuclear reactors ...

Sizewell nuclear power stations The Sizewell nuclear site consists of two nuclear power stations, one of which is still operational, located near the small fishing village of Sizewell in Suffolk, England. Sizewell A, with two Magnox reactors, is now in the process of being dec ...

Water turbines * Queen Elizabeth Power Station Oil engines Generators *

Ultimo Power Station The Ultimo Power Station, or Ultimo Powerhouse, was an electricity generating plant located in the inner-city Sydney suburb of Ultimo, New South Wales. Commissioned in 1899, it was the first major power station in Sydney and was originally built ...

Tallawarra Power Station Tallawarra Power Station is a combined cycle natural gas turbine generator and a further 320 MW open cycle gas turbine in Yallah, New South Wales, Australia. Owned and operated by EnergyAustralia, the station is the first of its type in New So ...

* Monowai Power Station *

White Bay Power Station The 'White Bay Power Station'' is a heritage listed former coal-fired power station on a site in White Bay, New South Wales, White Bay, in the suburb of Rozelle, from Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. The remains of the plant can be clea ...

Blyth Power Station Blyth Power Station (also known as Cambois Power Station) refers to a pair of now demolished Fossil fuel power plant, coal-fired power stations, which were located on the Northumberland, Northumberland coast in North East England. The two statio ...

Switchgear, transformers, rectifiers *

Drax power station Drax power station is a large Biomass (energy), biomass power station in Drax, North Yorkshire, Drax, North Yorkshire, England. It has a 2.6 GW capacity for biomass and had a 1.29 GW capacity for coal that was retired in 2021. Its name comes f ...

HVDC Kingsnorth HVDC Kingsnorth was a high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission system connecting Kingsnorth in Kent to two sites in London. It was at one time the only application of the technology of high voltage direct current transmission for the suppl ...

Nelson River DC Transmission System The Nelson River DC Transmission System, also known as the Manitoba Bipole, is an electric power transmission system of three High-voltage direct current, high voltage, direct current lines in Manitoba, Canada, operated by Manitoba Hydro as part ...

Electric motors *

British Porpoise-class submarine The ''Porpoise'' class was an eight-boat class of diesel-electric submarines operated by the Royal Navy. This class was originally designated patrol submarines, then attack. They were the first conventional British submarines to be built after ...

Electric and Diesel-electric traction equipment * Blackpool tramway,

English Electric Balloon tram The English Electric Balloon is a type of double-decker tram that is operated on the Blackpool Tramway. Initially brought into service in 1934, the Balloon formed the backbone of the Blackpool tram fleet until the tramway's conversion to a mod ...

New Zealand Railways Department The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR (New Zealand Government Railways) and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining Rail transport in New Zealand, New Zealand's railway infrastruc ...

see Diesel Traction Group (NZ) Marine Propulsion equipment *

Oberon-class submarine The ''Oberon'' class was a ship class of 27 British-designed submarines operated by five nations. They were designed as a follow-on from the British Porpoise-class submarine, ''Porpoise'' class; physical dimensions were the same but stronger ma ...

s * HMAS Oxley (S 57), HMAS Orion * GMV Aranui Domestic appliances

Military equipment

Aircraft

* English Electric P.5 Phoenix "Cork" (1918)Flight 13 March 1924 *

(1923) *

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

(1923) *

(1924) *

(1949) * English Electric P1A (Lightning prototype) *

(1954) * English Electric P.10 (unbuilt supersonic bomber to OR.330/R.156).Chris Gibson ''Vulcan's Hammer'' p35
/ref> Manned spacecraft *

MUSTARD Mustard may refer to: Food and plants * Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment * Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment ** Mustard seed, small, round seeds of ...

Guided weapons * Thunderbird (1959) –

surface-to-air missile A surface-to-air missile (SAM), also known as a ground-to-air missile (GTAM) or surface-to-air guided weapon (SAGW), is a missile designed to be launched from the ground or the sea to destroy aircraft or other missiles. It is one type of anti-ai ...

Blue Water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

(cancelled 1962) –

short-range ballistic missile A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range of to . In past and potential regional conflicts, these missiles have been and would be used because of the short distances between some countries and their relative low c ...

Tanks * A13 Covenanter * A33 Excelsior

Computers

Luton Analogue Computing Engine The Luton Analogue Computing Engine (LACE) was a code name for a military general purpose analogue computer, predominantly used for missile simulation. It was developed in 1953-1956 by English Electric's Guided Missile Division in Luton, UK. Upon ...

English Electric DEUCE The DEUCE (''Digital Electronic Universal Computing Engine'') was one of the earliest British commercially available computers, built by English Electric from 1955. It was the production version of the Pilot ACE, itself a cut-down version of ...

(1955) *English Electric KDN2 * English Electric KDF6 * English Electric KDF8 *

English Electric KDF9 KDF9 was an early British 48-bit computer designed and built by English Electric (which in 1968 was merged into International Computers Limited (ICL)). The first machine came into service in 1964 and the last of 29 machines was decommissioned i ...

(1963) *English Electric KDP10 *

English Electric System 4 The English Electric (later ICL) System 4 was a mainframe computer announced in 1965. It was derived from the RCA Spectra 70 range, itself a variant of the IBM System 360 architecture. The models in the range included the System 4-10 (cancell ...

(1965) – the System 4–50 and System 4–70 were based on the

RCA RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded in 1919 as the Radio Corporation of America. It was initially a patent pool, patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse Electric Corporation, Westinghou ...

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

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 The Napier Deltic engine is a British opposed-piston valveless, supercharged uniflow scavenged, two-stroke diesel engine used in marine and locomotive applications, designed and produced by D. Napier & Son. Unusually, the cylinders were di ...

(Makers D. Napier and Son were an English Electric subsidiary company from 1942) Locomotives and multiple units Tgr za bell bay

CGR class S1 Ceylon Government Railway S1 was a class of Diesel multiple unit train sets built by English Electric for the Ceylon Government Railway. Description These units arrived Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1938. Only three units were ever built, and they we ...

* Ceylon Government Railway Class T1 * Indian locomotive class WCM-1 * Indian locomotive class WCM-2 *

British Rail Class 08 The British Rail Class 08 is a class of diesel–electric shunting locomotives built by British Railways (BR). As the standard BR general-purpose diesel shunter, the class became a familiar sight at major stations and freight yards. Since the ...

British Rail Class 09 The British Rail Class 09 is a class of 0-6-0 diesel locomotive designed primarily for shunting and short-distance freight trips along branch lines. The 26 locos are nearly identical to the more numerous Class 08 shunting locomotives but have ...

* British Rail Class 11 *

British Rail Class 12 The British Rail Class 12 is a diesel locomotive built primarily for shunting duties around London. History This was the second batch of Southern Railway shunters based on the English Electric 6KT 350 hp (260 kW) diesel engine. The ...

* 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 The British Rail Class 73 is a British electro-diesel locomotive. This type is unusual in that it can operate on the Southern Region's 650 / 750 V DC third rail power supply, or an onboard diesel engine to allow it to be used on non-electr ...

, components assembled by BR. *

British Rail Class 83 The British Rail Class 83 electric locomotives were built by English Electric at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows as part of the West Coast Main Line electrification. History Construction Fifteen locomotives of British Rail Class 83 were bu ...

British Rail Class 86 The British Rail Class 86 is a class of electric locomotives built during the 1960s. Developed as a 'standard' electric locomotive from earlier prototype models, one hundred of these locomotives were built from 1965 to 1966 to haul trains on t ...

* 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 The British Rail Class 50 is a class of diesel locomotives designed to haul express passenger trains at . Built by English Electric at the Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows between 1967 and 1968, the Class 50s were initially on a 10-year lease ...

British Rail GT3 GT3 (Gas Turbine 3) was a prototype mainline gas turbine locomotive built in 1961 by English Electric at its Vulcan Foundry in Newton-le-Willows to investigate the use of its gas turbines in rail traction applications. It followed 18000 and ...

(gas turbine) * CP Class 1400 (Portugal) * CP Class 1800 (Portugal) *

JNR The , abbreviated JNR or , was the business entity that operated Japan's national railway network from 1949 to 1987. Network Railways As of June 1, 1949, the date of establishment of JNR, it operated of narrow gauge () railways in all 46 pre ...

ED17 electric locomotive *JNR EF50 electric locomotive *

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad (KTMB) (; Jawi: ) or colloquially referred to simply as KTM, is the main rail operator in Peninsular Malaysia. The railway system dates back to the British colonial era, when it was first built to transport tin. ...

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 The NS Class 600 were a class of 65 shunting locomotives built by English Electric in England between 1950 and 1957 for Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). The first 10 were built at Dick, Kerr & Co, Preston and the remaining 55 at Vulcan Foundry, Ne ...

NS 600 Class The NS Class 600 were a class of 65 shunting locomotives built by English Electric in England between 1950 and 1957 for Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS). The first 10 were built at Dick, Kerr & Co, Preston and the remaining 55 at Vulcan Foundry, Ne ...

New Zealand DE class locomotive The New Zealand DE class was a class of fifteen diesel-electric shunting locomotives, introduced by the New Zealand Railways (NZR) with an intention to replace steam locomotives on shunting duties with diesel power. The class was physically s ...

* 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 The NZR ED class locomotive was a type of electric locomotive used in Wellington, New Zealand. They were built by English Electric and the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) between 1938 and 1940, and hauled mainly passenger trains on the Wel ...

(one, with components for a further nine supplied to New Zealand Railways) *

New Zealand E class locomotive (1922) The New Zealand E class battery-electric locomotive represented the third unique type of locomotive class to be given the E classification in New Zealand. The first was the E class of nine Double Fairlie steam locomotive A steam locomo ...

* New Zealand Railways EO class * New Zealand Railways EW class *

PKP class EU06 PKP may stand for: Groups, Organizations, Companies * Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930, original Filipino communist party * Communist Party of the Philippines (), underground Filipino Maoist party * Phi Kappa Phi (PKP; ), oldest all-discipli ...

* PKP class EN80 (Electric Multiple Unit) * Queensland Railways 1200 class * Queensland Railways 1250 class *

Queensland Railways 1270 class The 1270 class were a class of diesel locomotive built by English Electric, Rocklea for Queensland Railways between 1964 and 1966. History The 1270 class was devised by English Electric engineer Stan Lyons, based on the body design of North A ...

Queensland Railways 1300 class The 1300 class were a class of diesel locomotive built by English Electric, Rocklea for Queensland Railways between 1967 and 1972. They were later sold to AN Tasrail. History The 1300 class was an upgraded version of the 1270 class with more ...

Queensland Railways 2350 class The 2350 class were a class of diesel locomotive built by English Electric, Rocklea, for Queensland Railways in 1973–1974. All were later sold to AN Tasrail. History The 2350 class was built for use on the Blackwater and Moura coal lines ...

Queensland Railways 2370 class The 2370 class were a class of diesel locomotive built in 1975 by English Electric, Rocklea for Queensland Railways in Australia. All were later sold to AN Tasrail along with the 2350 class, and reclassified as the ZB class. The sole survivor ...

* Rhodesia Railways class DE2 * Rhodesia Railways class DE3 *

Tasmanian Government Railways X class The X class is a class of diesel locomotives built by English Electric for the Tasmanian Government Railways between 1950 and 1952. They were the first class of diesel locomotive to enter mainline service on a government owned railway in Austral ...

Tasmanian Government Railways Y class The Tasmanian Government Railways Y class is a class of diesel locomotives built by the Tasmanian Government Railways between 1961 and 1971. History The Y class were designed by English Electric and constructed by the Tasmanian Government Railw ...

(supplied parts local construction) *

Tasmanian Government Railways Z class The Tasmanian Government Railway Z class are a class of diesel locomotives built by English Electric, Rocklea for the Tasmanian Government Railways in 1973. They were a development of the Western Australian Government Railways R class and were ...

Tasmanian Government Railways Za class The Tasmanian Government Railways Za class is a class of diesel locomotives built by English Electric, Rocklea for the Tasmanian Government Railways in 1973. History With the construction of a new line from Launceston to Bell Bay, Tasmanian ...

* 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 The Goldsworthy railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Mount Newman rail ...

1 class *Goldsworthy railway 3 class Several industrial diesel and electric locomotive types were also built for UK and export use.

References

External links

*, English Electric Traction advertisements and corporate brochures *, English Electric locomotive images * {{Authority control English Electric Defunct manufacturing companies of the United Kingdom Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom Former defence companies of the United Kingdom Electrical engineering companies of the United Kingdom Nuclear technology companies of the United Kingdom Engineering companies of the United Kingdom Locomotive manufacturers of the United Kingdom Companies based in Stafford Defunct companies of England Defunct engineering companies of England Electronics companies established in 1918 Manufacturing companies established in 1918 Technology companies established in 1918 British companies disestablished in 1968 1918 establishments in England 1968 disestablishments in England General Electric Company Defunct computer hardware companies Locomotive manufacturers of Australia British companies established in 1918 Defunct computer companies of the United Kingdom Defunct computer systems companies