| Industry | Engineering |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1912 |
| Defunct | 1919 |
| Fate | Merged with Armstrong Siddeley |
Key people | John Siddeley, 1st Baron Kenilworth |
The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile, aero engine and aircraft company based in Coventry in the early 20th century. It was central to the formation, by merger and buy-out, of the later Armstrong Siddeley Motor and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft companies.
The Deasy Motor Car Manufacturing Company Limited was founded by Henry Hugh Peter Deasy in the factory that had previously been used to manufacture Iden cars. Deasy left in 1908 following disagreements with his Chief Engineer. [1] In 1910 J D Siddeley took up the appointment of managing director having moved to Deasy in 1909 from managing Wolseley. [2] The shareholders were so pleased with his success that on 7 November 1912 they unanimously agreed to change the company's name to The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited. [3] [4] Siddeley's name had been added to the product's radiator in 1912. [5]
Siddeley-Deasy grew rapidly using Rover chassis and Daimler and Aster engines. They also established a separate brand, Stoneleigh, at first, in 1912, by mounting a different radiator and bonnet on a BSA 13.9 h.p. product but in the 1920s a quite separate car was produced and sold under the Stoneleigh name. Described as a nippy performer its quarter-elliptic springs gave it a curious bounding motion. The Wholesale Cooperative Society took them as vans. [6]
During the First World War, Siddeley-Deasy grew to have 5,000 workers producing ambulances and aircraft engines, which included the Puma, a water-cooled straight-6 and the Tiger. The latter was a water-cooled V-12, basically two Pumas on a common crankshaft. [7] They were one of six companies to produce the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 aircraft from 1916. In 1917 three staff from the Royal Aircraft Factory joined Siddeley-Deasy and began to design fixed-wing aircraft. [8] They were S. D. Heron, an engine designer, F. M. Green, who became the chief engineer, and John Lloyd, who became chief aircraft designer. These last two stayed with Siddeley Deasy and its successor for many years. During 1917–18 the team led by Lloyd designed three aircraft, one of which, the Siskin, became well known.
After the war, conditions for manufacturers were difficult, and in 1919 Siddeley suggested [9] a merger with Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Limited Motor Car Department. Armstrong-Whitworth had been a supplier of Siddeley-Deasy engine castings and they had themselves made aircraft, chiefly designed by Frederick Koolhoven who left the company in 1917 and then by F. M Murphy. By 1919 they had decided to abandon aircraft manufacture and shed the associated staff. Armstrong Whitworth acquired a controlling interest in The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited and changed its name to The Armstrong Siddeley Company Limited. [10]
Armstrong Siddeley produced radial aircraft engines throughout its life, together with turbojets after the war. In April 1920 or slightly later, it produced its own subsidiary, The Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Co. Ltd. This last company went on to produce Siskin fighters in large numbers, together with all the later Armstrong Whitworth designs.
In March 1927, John Siddeley bought the parent Armstrong Whitworth Development Co. Ltd. and its subsidiaries from Armstrong Whitworth, renaming it The Armstrong Siddeley Development Co. Ltd. The name of the aircraft subsidiary, Sir W.G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Co. Ltd. remained the same. John Siddeley reported that since 1919 his company had each year produced more 6-cylinder car engines than any other European producer. [11] The two key members of the Siddeley Deasy design team stayed with the renamed company for many years. John Lloyd was chief designer until 1948 and retired as technical director in 1959. F. M. Green retired in 1933.
The Armstrong Whitworth Siskin was a biplane single-seat fighter aircraft developed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. It was also the first all-metal fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as being one of the first new fighters to enter service following the end of the First World War.
Anzani was an engine manufacturer founded by the Italian Alessandro Anzani (1877–1956), which produced proprietary engines for aircraft, cars, boats, and motorcycles in factories in Britain, France and Italy.
Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines.
Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a major British manufacturing company of the early years of the 20th century. With headquarters in Elswick, Newcastle upon Tyne, Armstrong Whitworth built armaments, ships, locomotives, automobiles and aircraft.
Bristol Siddeley Engines Ltd (BSEL) was a British aero engine manufacturer. The company was formed in 1959 by a merger of Bristol Aero-Engines Limited and Armstrong Siddeley Motors Limited. In 1961 the company was expanded by the purchase of the de Havilland Engine Company and the engine division of Blackburn Aircraft. Bristol Siddeley was purchased by Rolls-Royce Limited in 1966.
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company, or Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, was a British aircraft manufacturer.
Wolseley Motors Limited was a British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in early 1901 by the Vickers armaments combine in conjunction with Herbert Austin. It initially made a full range, topped by large luxury cars, and dominated the market in the Edwardian era. The Vickers brothers died and, without their guidance, Wolseley expanded rapidly after the war, manufacturing 12,000 cars in 1921, and remained the biggest motor manufacturer in Britain.
John Davenport Siddeley, 1st Baron Kenilworth, was a pioneer of the motor industry in the United Kingdom, manufacturing aero engines and airframes as well as motor vehicles.
The Siddeley Puma was a British aero engine developed towards the end of World War I and produced by Siddeley-Deasy. The first engines left the production lines of Siddeley-Deasy in Coventry in August 1917, production continued until December 1918. At least 4,288 of the 11,500 ordered engines were delivered, orders were cancelled following the Armistice. Production was continued under the name Armstrong Siddeley Puma when the manufacturer was bought by Armstrong Whitworth and became Armstrong Siddeley.
The Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar was an aircraft engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. The Jaguar was a petrol-fuelled air-cooled 14-cylinder two-row radial engine design. The Jaguar III was first used in 1923, followed in 1925 by the Jaguar IV and in 1927 by the Jaguar VI. In 1925 the Jaguar became the first production aero engine incorporating a geared supercharger.
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 was a British single-engine biplane fighter aircraft designed and built by Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft. A number were sold to the Chinese Kwangsi Air Force.
The Armstrong Whitworth A.W.14 Starling was a prototype British single-seat biplane fighter developed for the Royal Air Force in the late 1920s which unsuccessfully competed against the Bristol Bulldog.
The Siddeley Tiger was an unsuccessful British aero engine developed shortly after the end of World War I by Siddeley-Deasy. Problems encountered during flight testing caused the project to be cancelled.
Straker-Squire was a British automobile manufacturer based in Bristol, and later Edmonton in North London.
The Armstrong Siddeley Hyena was a British aero engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley. Designed in the 1930s, it was an unusual experimental radial engine with inline cylinder banks. It was flown using an Armstrong Whitworth A.W.16 fighter aircraft as a test bed. Unresolved problems with cooling of the rear cylinders prevented the engine from going into production. Few details of this engine survive as company records were lost.
The Armstrong Siddeley Deerhound was a large aero engine developed by Armstrong Siddeley between 1935 and 1941. An increased capacity variant known as the Boarhound was never flown, and a related, much larger, design known as the Wolfhound existed on paper only. Development of these engines was interrupted in April 1941, when the company's factory was bombed, and on 3 October 1941 the project was cancelled by the Air Ministry.
The Siddeley-Deasy Sinaia, also known as the Armstrong Whitworth Sinaia was a twin-engined biplane day bomber with gunners in rearwards extensions of the engine nacelles. Two examples were ordered by the Air Ministry but only one was completed.
Beardmore-Halford-Pullinger (BHP) were a series of aircraft engines used in production between 1916 and 1918. The engines were used on many notable First World War aircraft, such as the Airco DH.4, DH.9, Airco DH.10 Amiens, de Havilland DH.15 and Avro 529 aircraft.
BSA cars were manufactured between 1907 and 1912 in Birmingham then until 1939 in Coventry as well as Birmingham, England. BSA had established a motor-car department in an unsuccessful effort to make use of the Sparkbrook Birmingham factory. An independent part of the same site was occupied by The Lanchester Motor Company Limited. Sales were handled by BSA Cycles Limited. After 1912, manufacture was carried out by group subsidiary Daimler in Coventry or BSA Cycles in Birmingham.
