Luton Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer of

Barton-in-the-Clay Barton-le-Clay is a large village and a civil parish in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England, bordering Hertfordshire. The village has existed since at least 1066 and is mentioned in the ''Domesday Book''. History On 25 M ...

, Bedfordshire, and later

Gerrards Cross Gerrards Cross is a town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It lies immediately south of Chalfont St Peter and a short distance west of the London Borough of Hillingdon, from which it is separated by the parish of Denham, Buckinghams ...

, Buckinghamshire.

History

The company was founded to build the designs of

C.H. Latimer-Needham Cecil Hugh (''Chookie'') Latimer-Needham (20 February 1900 – 5 May 1975) was a British aircraft designer, inventor and aviation author. He is best remembered for the series of aircraft he designed for the Luton Aircraft company and his inventi ...

and was based at Barton-Le-Clay Airfield,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

. The company built two ultralight wooden aircraft designs by C.H. Latimer-Needham in 1936, the

Buzzard Buzzard is the common name of several species of birds of prey. ''Buteo'' species * Archer's buzzard (''Buteo archeri'') * Augur buzzard (''Buteo augur'') * Broad-winged hawk (''Buteo platypterus'') * Common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') * Easte ...

and L.A.2. The L.A.2 was later rebuilt to become the L.A.3 the prototype for the successful

Luton Minor The Luton L.A.4 Minor was a 1930s British single-seat high-wing ultra-light aircraft. The prototype was built by the Luton Aircraft Limited, and design plans were later adapted and copies sold for homebuilding. Design and development The L.A. ...

ultralight homebuilt. The company sold the plans for the Luton Minor to homebuilders. In 1937 the L.A.5 Major was developed, it was a larger high-wing aircraft, only one was built. The company moved to a new factory (the ''Phoenix Works'') in

, Buckinghamshire, in a site adjacent to (and leased from) a garage on the A40 London-Oxford road.Ord-Hume 1999, p. 69 The company closed down when the works were destroyed by fire in 1943. In 1958 the designer C.H. Latimer-Needham and A.W.J.G Ord-Hume formed Phoenix Aircraft Limited who acquired the design rights for both the Minor and Major. Latimer-Needham further improved both designs to be sold as plans for homebuilders.

Aircraft

* 1936 – Luton L.A.1 Buzzard I * 1936 – Luton L.A.2 * 1936 – Luton L.A.3 Minor * 1936 – Luton L.A.4 Minor * 1937 – Luton Buzzard II * 1939 – Luton L.A.5 Major

References

* * {{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom Companies based in Bedfordshire Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom