FAIREY

The Fairey Aviation Company was a British aerospace manufacturer that was active throughout the first half of the 20th century. The headquarters were located in Hayes in Middlesex, as well as in Heaton Chapel and RAF Ringway in Cheshire. The company was known for designing and producing aircraft for military use, including notable models such as the Swordfish, Firefly, and Gannet. Fairey Aviation also had a strong presence in the supply of naval aircraft, and built bombers for the RAF. In the post-World War II period, the company diversified into mechanical engineering and boat-building. The aircraft manufacturing arm of the company was acquired by Westland Aircraft in 1960. The principal successor businesses to the company are now FBM Babcock Marine Ltd, Spectris plc, and WFEL (formerly Williams Fairey Engineering Limited), with the latter specializing in manufacturing portable bridges. Charles Richard Fairey and Belgian engineer Ernest Oscar Tips founded the company in 1915 after leaving Short Brothers. As a subcontractor, the company first built aircraft designed by other manufacturers. The company went on to design many aircraft types, as well as missiles after World War II. The Propeller Division (Fairey-Reed Airscrews) was located at the Hayes factory, with designs based on the patents of Sylvanus Albert Reed. The company also collaborated with independent designers such as Robert Talbot Youngman (Fairey-Youngman flaps) to improve the manoeuvrability of their aircraft.