HAWKER SIDDELEY

Purchase of Gloster Aircraft by Hawker in June 1934 was followed a month later by Sopwith’s announcement of trust to acquire all shares of Armstrong Siddeley Development Co. Ltd and formation of public company known as Hawker Siddeley Aircraft Co. Ltd. Members were Hawker Aircraft, Gloster Aircraft and 4 new acquisitions: Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, Armstrong Siddeley Motors, Air Service Training and A.V. Roe. During Second World War, when 40,089 Group aircraft delivered, 'A.W. Hawksley' was invented to handle 100%-subcontracted Albemarle programme. Original name was replaced by Hawker Siddeley Group Ltd, which on 2 January 1955 added A.V. Roe Canada, Avro Aircraft, Orenda Engines, Canadian Steel Improvement and CanCar. Following intense pressure from Government, Folland was added September 1959, entire de Havilland enterprise January 1960, and Blackburn Aircraft 4 months later. Reorganized 1 July 1963 into major subsidiaries including Hawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA) for aircraft and Hawker Siddeley Dynamics (HSD) for missiles, space, propellers and other activities. While Group HQ remained at 18 St James’s Square, London, HSA was directed from Richmond Road, Kingston, which was former Sopwiih Ham factory vacated after 20-year lease by Leyland 1948 and rebuilt with impressive new front offices. With surfeit of chief designers and chief test pilots, HSA organized itself into 3 divisions: Avro Whitworth (later Whitworth Gloster), de Havilland and Hawker Blackburn (including Folland). These divisions eliminated 1 April 1965, and on 29 April 1977 HSA and HSD themselves vanished in enforced merger with BAC and Scottish to form British Aerospace.

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