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The Gloster Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1917 to 1963. Founded as The Gloucestershire Aircraft Company Limited during the First World War, with the aircraft construction activities of H H Martyn & Co Ltd of Cheltenham it produced fighters during the war. It was renamed as foreigners found 'Gloucestershire' difficult to pronounce. It later became part of the Hawker Siddeley group and the Gloster name disappeared in 1963. Gloster designed and built several fighters that equipped the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the interwar years including the Gladiator, the RAF's last biplane fighter. The company built Hawker Hurricanes and Hawker Typhoons for their parent company Hawker Siddeley while its design office was working the first British jet aircraft, the E.28/39 experimental aircraft. This was followed by the Meteor, the RAF's first jet-powered fighter and the only Allied jet fighter to be put into service during the Second World War. ==History== The Gloster Aircraft Company Limited was formed in 1917 with the name The Gloucestershire Aircraft Company Limited. Its owners were Hugh Burroughes (1884-1985) and H H Martyn & Co Limited with a 50% share, and Airco the other 50%. On the board were A W Martyn, Burroughes, and George Holt Thomas of Airco. It acquired the aircraft component construction activities that were being carried out by H H Martyn & Co Limited for the war effort in order to build subcontracted work from Airco. H H Martyn were architectural engineers and had produced items such as propellers before moving to whole fuselages for Airco〔Until 1914 a firm of specialist woodworkers.page 108, Michael Stratton, Barrie Stuart Trinder, ''Twentieth Century Industrial Archaeology''Obituary, Mr Hugh Burroughes. ''The Times'', Thursday, Oct 31, 1985; pg. 16; Issue 62283 H. H. Martyn & Co., founded by Martyn in 1888, as monumental masons working in stone, marble and wood had extended to joinery, wrought iron work and castings and by 1914 included pressed steel. Their 5 acres of workshops outfitted ships such as the SS ''Queen Elizabeth''. Gloucestershire archives, Records of and relating to H H Martyn & Co Ltd.〕 They rented their Sunningend works in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. By the spring of 1918 they were putting out 45 new Bristol Fighter aircraft a week.〔Obituary, Mr Hugh Burroughes. ''The Times'', Thursday, Oct 31, 1985; pg. 16; Issue 62283〕〔King (1955) p173〕 As orders for aircraft increased, other companies in the Gloucester and Cheltenham district were contracted with work. Where any flying was involved the aircraft were moved to an Air Board aircraft acceptance park at Brockworth seven miles (11 km) away by motor transport. Although Brockworth aerodrome was used by the company it had no hangars until 1921 when it rented part of a hangar from the Air Board. When the British aircraft manufacturer Nieuport & General closed down in 1920, the services of its chief designer, Henry Folland were hired by the company, which also acquired the rights for the Nieuport Nighthawk fighter and unbuilt aircraft components. In 1926, the name of the company was switched to an archaic spelling — the Gloster Aircraft Company because customers outside of the United Kingdom found it easier to pronounce and to spell. With the move to metal construction the Sunningend factory was no longer suitable and in 1928 the company bought the aerodrome at Brockworth with all the hangars and office accommodation. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gloster Aircraft Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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