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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace,Engineering |
| Predecessor | Hawker Aircraft |
| Founded | 1934; 91 years ago (1934) (as Hawker Siddeley Aircraft Co.) |
| Founders |
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| Defunct |
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| Fate |
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| Successor | |
| Headquarters | , United Kingdom |
Key people | Ralph Hooper,Barry Laight,Walter Sydney Douglas Lockwood CBE |
Number of employees | 4,500  |
| Subsidiaries |
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Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged inaircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series ofmergers and acquisitions as one of only two such major British companies in the 1960s. In 1977, Hawker Siddeley became a founding component of the nationalisedBritish Aerospace (BAe). Hawker Siddeley also operated in other industrial markets, such aslocomotive building (through its ownership ofBrush Traction) anddiesel engine manufacture (through its ownership ofLister Petter). The company was once a constituent of theFTSE 100 Index.
Hawker Siddeley Aircraft was formed in 1935 as a result of the purchase byHawker Aircraft of the companies ofJ. D. Siddeley, the automotive and engine builderArmstrong Siddeley and the aircraft manufacturerArmstrong Whitworth Aircraft.[1] At this time, Hawker Siddeley also acquiredA.V. Roe & Company (Avro),Gloster Aircraft Company (Gloster) and Air Training Services.[1] The constituent companies continued to produce their own aircraft designs under their own name as well as sharing manufacturing work throughout the group.
During the Second World War, Hawker Siddeley was one of the United Kingdom's most important aviation concerns, producing numerous designs including the famousHawker Hurricane fighter plane that, along with theSupermarine Spitfire, was Britain's front-line defence in theBattle of Britain.[1] During this campaign, Hurricanes outnumbered all other British fighters combined in service, and were responsible for shooting down 55 per cent of all enemy aircraft destroyed.
In 1945, Hawker Siddeley purchasedVictory Aircraft ofMalton,Ontario, Canada from theCanadian government, renaming the company A.V. Roe Canada, commonly known asAvro Canada, initially a wholly owned subsidiary of Hawker Siddeley.[2] Avro Canada underwent a major expansion through aircraft development and acquisition of aircraft engine, mining, steel, railway rolling stock, computers, electronics, and other businesses to become, by 1958, Canada's third largest company directly employing over 14,000 people and providing 45% of the parent company's revenues.[3] During its operation, Avro Canada aircraft (built) included theC102 Jetliner,CF-100 Canuck,CF-105 Arrow andVZ-9- AV Avrocar. Only the CF-100 fighter entered full-scale production.[2] Other design projects (not built) included supersonic transport (SST) passenger aircraft, a mach-2 VTOL fighter, hovercraft, a jet engine-powered tank, and the hypersonic Space Threshold Vehicle.[4] After the cancellation of the Arrow, the company began to unravel. In 1962, A.V. Roe Canada was dissolved and the remaining assets were transferred to the now defunctHawker Siddeley Canada.[2]
In 1948, the company name was changed toHawker Siddeley Group. The aircraft division becameHawker Siddeley Aviation (HSA) and theguided missile and space technology operations asHawker Siddeley Dynamics (HSD). In 1959, theaero engine business,Armstrong Siddeley was merged with that of theBristol Aero Engines to formBristol Siddeley.[1] In the late 1950s, the British government decided that with the decreasing number of aircraft contracts being offered, it was better to merge the existing companies, of which there were about 15 surviving at this point, into several much larger firms. Out of this decision, came the "order" that all future contracts being offered had to include agreements to merge companies. In 1959,Folland Aircraft was acquired, followed byde Havilland Aircraft Company[1] andBlackburn Aircraft in 1960. In 1963, the names of the constituent companies were dropped, with products being rebranded as "Hawker Siddeley" or "HS". In this period, the company developed the first operational, and, by far, the most successfulVTOL jet aircraft, theHarrier family.[1] This aircraft remained in production into the 1990s and remains in service.
The Hawker Siddeley Nuclear Power Company built and operated the 10 kWJASON reactor[5] inLangley, Berkshire (then in Buckinghamshire). The reactor was in operation there from 1959 to 1962 and generated a total of 1.4 MWh[6] before being shut down and transported to theRoyal Naval College inGreenwich, London.
In 1948, Hawker Siddeley acquired a factory inKingston upon Thames,Surrey, on theRichmond Road nearHam. This was to become their main aircraft factory and headquarters.[7]
In 1957, Hawker Siddeley purchased the Brush group of companies that includedBrush Electrical Machines, andBrush Traction, which manufactures electromotive equipment andrailway locomotives.[8] The Brush prototype locomotivesFalcon, and the futuristic but over-weightHS4000 'Kestrel', were produced there. Other railway engineering assets were acquired, includingWestinghouse Brake & Signal[9] and the engine builderMirrlees Blackstone, which came with the Brush businesses.[10]
In the early 1970s, Hawker Siddeley'sCanada Car and Foundry subsidiary began to build rapid transit vehicles for the North American market. The first order was for thePort Authority Trans-Hudson line and consisted of 46 PA-3 cars numbers 724–769, which were largely based on the original hexagonal profile PA-1 & PA-2 cars designed and built by theSt. Louis Car Company during 1966–67. Hawker Siddeley later sold the same general design to theMBTA in Boston for theirBlue andOrange Lines. 70 48' cars were delivered to the Blue Line in 1978–80 and 120 65' cars were delivered to the Orange Line in 1980–81. Hawker Siddeley also manufactured much of theToronto subway system's olderrolling stock, theH5 and H6 models. The heavy rail manufacturing business, based inMississauga andThunder Bay, Ontario, are now part ofAlstom.
MBTA also bought a number of commuter rail coaches from the German firmMesserschmitt, thereby teaming Hawker Siddeley with its oldWorld War II rival under the same organisation.
On 29 April 1977, as a result of theAircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977, Hawker Siddeley Aviation and Dynamics were nationalised and merged withBritish Aircraft Corporation (BAC) andScottish Aviation to formBritish Aerospace.[1] However, HSA and HSD accounted for only 25% of the Hawker Siddeley business by this time, and the non-aviation and foreign interests were retained by a holding company known asHawker Siddeley GroupPlc after 1980.
The group rationalised in the 1980s, focusing on railway engineering and signalling, industrial electronics and instrumentation and signalling equipment.
Orenda Aerospace, the only remaining original company from the Avro Canada / Hawker Siddeley Canada era, although greatly diminished in size and scope of operations, became part of theMagellan Aerospace Corporation.[11]
The late 1980s also saw Hawker Siddeley divest itself of much of its other North American heavy manufacturing enterprises. ItsTalladega,Alabama-basedTreeFarmer heavy equipment business was sold toFranklin Equipment in 1990[12] andits Canadian rail car production facilities were split betweenSNC-Lavalin andBombardier in 1992.[13]
In 1992, Hawker Siddeley Group Plc was acquired byBTR plc for £1.5bn. This was led byAlan Jackson andSir Owen Green who were the CEO and Chairman of BTR respectively during this time.[14] Through a series of takeovers, the business units finally became part ofSchneider Electric in 2014.
In 1973, HS acquired the industrial electronics firmSouth Wales Switchgear. Later known as Aberdare Holdings, in 1992 this company was renamedHawker Siddeley Switchgear (HSS).[15] They have an Australian subsidiary,Hawker Siddeley Switchgear Australia. Another company which retains the name isHawker Siddeley Power Transformers.[16]
In 1993,British Aerospace sold its corporate jet product line to the AmericanRaytheon Company. In 2006 the product line was sold to a new company to be known asHawker Beechcraft, owned byOnex Partners andGoldman Sachs.[17]
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The Hawker Siddeley name was not used to brand aircraft until 1963. Prior to then, aircraft were produced under the name of the subsidiary company (e.g.Hawker Hurricane,Hawker Sea Hawk,Gloster Javelin,Gloster Meteor). First flight date is in parentheses.
The Canadian subsidiary produced rail cars, transit vehicles and engines (aircraft and ship).
 Original companies ofFT 30 in the United Kingdom | |
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As of 1 July 1935
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| Authority control databases: National |
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