A Brief History of the Aviation Industry in Leeds
Companies
All |
Robert Blackburn |
Arrow Aircraft (Leeds) Ltd |
Marsh, Jones & Cribb |
AVRO (Yeadon)
Other Contents
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External Links |
Bibliography
Robert Blackburn
Robert Blackburn, was born in Kirkstall, he attended Leeds Modern School and graduated in engineering at the University of Leeds. Robert Blackburn's father George William Blackburn was works manager at Leeds firm Thomas Green and Robert Blackburn served an apprenticeship with the firm.[7] Robert Blackburn attended Wilbur Orville's demonstration flights in Issy, France, in 1908 whilst working in Paris for a firm of civil engineering consultants[6]. He founded his own aviation business in 1908 in a rented basement in Benson Street, Leeds. His first monoplane was manufactured in 1909 and was tested on the flat beach between Marske and Saltburn on the Yorksire coast[6]. The plane had a 35hp engine made by Thomas Green, the firm assisted Robert establishing his aircraft business.
After racing along the sands what seemed a dizzy speed, the machine certainly did take off and then started a series of wobbles due to deviating from the straight and the low centre of gravity which I fear took charge.... I had probably been in the air for a minute only, but it seemed ages when I eventually pulled myself together and looked at the wreckage. Thus terminated my first attempt at flight, with no personal injuries other than bruises and cuts but with the total wreckage of months of laborious work.[8]
The second monoplane, built in 1910 and tested at Filey was equiped with a seven cylinder radial engine designed by R.J.Issacson of Hunslet Engine Co. This design was more sucessful and several demonstration flights brought good publicity and led to the development of the first production planes, the Blackburn Mercury, helping his aviation business really get off the ground. (Sorry, that was a terrible pun!)
Early Blackburn early advert (Image from Grace's Guide)
Blackburn's first factory was on Balm Road, Hunslet and with the business expanding quickly in 1913 they moved to larger premises, the Olympia Works, a former roller skating rink on Roundhay Road[6]. Demonstration flights for crowds took off from Soldiers Field at Roundhay Park. The first scheduled air service in Great Britain was launched here, offering half-hourly flights between Leeds and Bradford during the 1914 Great Yorksire Show. Roundhay Park became an international aerodrome when flights were operated to Holland and London in 1919.
During 1914 Blackburn created the Blackburn Aeroplane & Motor Company, which established a new factory built at Brough a couple of years later. The Roundhay factory diversified into production of car bodies and trolleybuses in the 1920s[6].
With the 'experimental works' at Brough becoming Blackburn's main facility, the Olympia works ended up in the hands of local locomotive maker Hudswell Clarke in an arrangement that saw that firm heavily involved in manufacturing components for aircraft and associated weapons in the second world war.[2]
"On 2 November 1938 an association was formed [between Hudswell Clarke] with the famous Yorkshire aviation company, Blackburn Aircraft, with its Olympia Works on Roundhay Roas, Leeds, for potential major subcontract work in connection with aircraft sub assemblies."
"When the war came at last in September 1939 orders flowed in from Blackburns and with the full approval of the Ministry of Aircraft Production the converted Engine Sheds were extended to become what came to be known as 'the Grosvenor Works', embracing a floor area of 43,000 sq. ft. The first section of this employed 300 men and when Blackburns concentrated their efforts in the expanding plant at Brough, their Olympia Works in Leeds (used so long for seaplane construction) was rented by the Railway Foundry to give even more available capacity and the eventual labour force of both men and women employed at the Jack Lane and Roundhay Road Works reached a peak of 1,100 personnel"
"The first order [subcontracted to Hudswell Clarke] was for fuselage sections for the Blackburn Skua monoplane"..."on 26 September 1939, one shot down the first enemy plane to be destroyed in the war."
"In February 1961 the Aircraft Section at Olympia Works, Roundhay Road was closed and all future projects of this kind were concentrated at the Jack Lane Works."
From "The Railway Foundry Leeds" by Ron Redman, 1968
Upon Blackburn's death in Devon in 1955 the Blackburn company's production facilities became part of Hawker Siddeley. Now under the name 'BAE Systems' Brough has survived several closure threats in recent years and is still a major producer in the aviation industry.
Internal Website Links
Picture gallery
External Website Links
Graces Guide page about Blackburns
Graces Guide page about Avro
Bomber Command Museum (Canada) page about the Lancaster Bomber[4]
Wikipedia page about the Avro Anson[5]
Wikipedia page about the first Blackburn monoplane[8]
Bibliography
The Basic Industries of Great Britain, Lord Aberconway, 1927[1]
The Railway Foundry Leeds, Ron Redman, Goose & Son, 1968[2]Look for this book on Amazon*
Auto Review 99: Blackburn Album, Aircraft built in Yorkshire, Rod Ward, Zeteo Publishing 2014[6]Look for this book at the publishers*
The History of Thomas Green & Son Ltd, John Pease, ISBN: 9781899889 81 5 [7]Look for this book at the publishers*
Aircraft of the fighting powers (vols 1 to 7), OG Thetford, Harborough Publishing Co, 1940's
Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War I, Jane's Publishing Co, 1919
Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II, Jane's Publishing Co, 1940
* These links are provided to help readers search for often rare books on the subject and to promote any books available, we are under no commercial incentives for this