Government Aircraft Manufacturers

[Pesche]

I'm researching the employment details of a Swiss electrical engineer who worked in the aviation industry in the UK between 1915 and 1919. For a time at least he is described as having worked for a "government aircraft manufacturer". He lived in London, but I have no details of his workplace.

I have three questions:

Does anyone know how many government aircraft manufacturers there were during the First World War and where they were located?

Was one of them badly damaged during the War?

Was one of them affected by a spying scandal?

I'm grateful for any pointers!

[centurion]

Lots of aircraft manufacturers who manufactured government designed aircraft for the government and one government owned organisation that designed aircraft that others manufactured. The Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough was forbidden by statute to manufacture more than prototypes but literally thousands of the aircraft which they had designed were manufactured under contract by a very wide range of companies some of which had not been in the business before the war. Government at the time was very wary about the concept of government owned manufacturing hence the deliberate separation so either your man worked for RAF at Farnborough or he worked for one of a very large number of private companies that built aircraft under contract for the government

[Terry_Reeves]

Pesche

I can't help with the specifics, but the following document at TNA will be of assistance in tracking down firms:

Directory of Manufacturers in Engineering and Allied Trades . Document reference MUN 5 / 166/1126/3.

This contains over 8000 entries including aircraft manufacturers and associated firms.

​Just out of interest, a quarter of all aircraft made in WW1 were produced in Coventry.

TR

[topgun1918]

It could be a reference to one of the three National Aircraft Factories - NAF No 1 was at Waddon, Croydon, NAF No 2 was a Heaton Chapel, Stockport and NAF No 3 was at Aintree, Liverpool. I am not aware of any of them being damaged nor of any spying scandal although questions were raised in Parliament regarding the dismissal of a number of ex-servicemen employed at Waddon, but this was explained as being due to the downsizing of operations following the Armistice.

Graeme

[centurion]

It could be a reference to one of the three National Aircraft Factories - NAF No 1 was at Waddon, Croydon, NAF No 2 was a Heaton Chapel, Stockport and NAF No 3 was at Aintree, Liverpool. I am not aware of any of them being damaged nor of any spying scandal although questions were raised in Parliament regarding the dismissal of a number of ex-servicemen employed at Waddon, but this was explained as being due to the downsizing of operations following the Armistice.

Graeme

All run by private companies under contract to the government

[John_Hartley]

The Stockport site was owned by Crossley Motors which went into aircraft manufacture in 1917, alongside making a tender vehicle for the RFC. I'm not aware of there being anything "untoward" about it.