Lang Propellers was a British company that manufactured
aircraft propellers. The company operated independently from 1913 to 1936.
History
In 1909 Arthur Alexander Dashwood Lang became interested in aircraft propeller design and made some propellers in his own name. Lang developed and patented processes covering the tips of propeller blades with copper or fabric. These were used for example on
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2C aircraft. In 1910 he went to work for the
British & Colonial Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...
(later the Bristol Aircraft Co.) as manager of the propeller shop. He left in 1912 and set up in partnership with David Garnett at the Riverside Works Weybridge, Surrey.The company was called Lang, Garnett & Co. This enterprise lasted a matter of months before Garnett left the firm. Lang established the Lang Propeller company in 1913 and continued to use the "Riverside Works." These premises were later used by
The Airscrew Company to manufacture propellers and associated components. At its peak the company supplied wooden
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
s to nearly every aeroplane company in England.
In April 1936 the
Aeronautical Corporation of Great Britain, Ltd was incorporated. The new company was formed to acquire the assets of companies involved in the UK production of the
Aeronca aircraft, and to acquire from Lang Propellers Ltd., the whole of its assets. These comprised rights under British Patents relating to machines for shaping airscrew blades applied for by Lang. The new company bought a factory at
Walton near
Peterborough
Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...
that had been built during the first world war for
Frederick Sage & Company for aircraft production.
Lang USA
The Lang Propeller Company of America Inc. was established as a
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...
corporation with a capital of $45,000, with Lang, L.L. Montant and E.N. Bush as Directors in August 1917. Dashwood Lang had just sold his UK company to the Sopwith Aircraft company and this was a new enterprise. The US Navy contracted Lang to supply them with propellers and paid for the construction of a factory at Whitestone on Long Island. By late 1917 the company name was changed to Lang Products Co. Prior to the factory being completed Lang subcontracted the manufacture of his designs to local US and Canadian producers.
Arthur Alexander Dashwood Lang
Lang formed another company A. D. Lang Ltd. In 1921 it was described as being general manufacturers, buying and selling agents, printers, lithographers, manufacturers of chemicals with offices at 4, Vigo Street, London W1.
In addition to his work in developing propellers and associated equipment, Lang found time in 1923 to patent a wheel for vehicles.
In 1936 Lang joined the Board of
Hordern-Richmond, another British company that was closely involved in the development and production of airscrews and propellers.
See also
*
List of aircraft propeller manufacturers
References
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of England
Manufacturing companies established in 1913
Aerospace companies of England
Aircraft propeller manufacturers
1913 establishments in England