Avro (company)

AV Roe and Company
legal form	Limited Company
founding	1909
resolution	1963
Seat	Woodford (Greater Manchester) , UK
Branch	Aircraft construction , automobile construction

Avro (actually AV Roe and Company ) was a British aircraft and automobile manufacturer with headquarters in Manchester . The name goes back to the company's founder , the aircraft pioneer Sir Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe .

Company history

The beginnings

Avro triplane

After Roe had already made a name for himself as a designer, he developed the Roe I, the first English powered aircraft, in 1908 . It was a wooden biplane powered by a 24 hp engine with a pressure screw . This was followed by several three- decker designs such as the Avro Triplane .

On April 27, 1909, AV Roe founded the AV Roe and Company together with his brother Humphrey V. Roe .

Various further developments of Roes constructions followed. With the Avro Type D , whose maiden flight took place on April 1, 1911, Roe turned away from the three-decker concept and turned back to the biplane. A type D was even equipped with floats on a trial basis; this type is considered to be the first British seaplane .

Increased interest in the development of seaplanes led in the fall of 1912 to AV Roe moving a production facility to Shoreham-by-Sea , where a suitable area of ​​water was available for testing these machines.

In January 1913 the company was renamed AV Roe & Company Ltd. renamed and introduced the abbreviation "Avro" as a trade name.

In addition to various models, some of which were only produced in very small numbers - sometimes only a prototype was produced from a series - the company also produced models that were extremely successful and in demand and some are legendary to this day. Last but not least, chief designer Roy Chadwick was responsible for many successful designs for the Avro company.

Avro 504

During the First World War , Avro manufactured the Avro 504 , an aircraft that was less used in combat, but served many pilots as a training machine. The machine had its first flight on July 5, 1913 and was produced in large numbers over a long period of time; the 504 was built for export until 1932 . In doing so, she set trends in the field of recreational aviation, especially in England.

The increased interest in aviation was recognized at Avro, and so the Avro Transport Company was founded after the First World War , whose business objective was to carry out pleasure flights, so-called "joy-riding". These flights were particularly popular in the seaside resorts on the English south coast.

Automobile manufacturing

After the end of the First World War, Avro created a second mainstay in the automotive industry . The company worked as a supplier for the Model T to the Ford works in Trafford Park, and its own automobile developments with different engine variants were brought onto the market from 1919.

The "Monocar" was unique, a motorcycle in disguise that was built until the end of the 1920s. Roe was probably inspired to build this vehicle by the fact that his company had built the Harper company's runabout in previous years. The Harper Runabout was a small, three-wheeled vehicle with a 270 cc single-cylinder engine from Villers and, as an inexpensive vehicle, represented an alternative to the motorcycle for the general public.

Avro also offered the 11 hp lightweight automobile with a side-controlled 1.3-liter four-cylinder engine. The car did not have a separate frame, but a self-supporting body in mixed construction (sheet metal-covered wooden frame). Production was stopped after a year.

The "Roaring Twenties"

After the First World War, the slump in orders for aircraft caused financial problems. In August 1920, therefore, the nearby Crossley Motors Limited took over 68.5% of the shares of AV Roe and Company in order to get more space for the production of motor vehicles (including buses ). In 1928 shares in Armstrong Siddeley were sold.

In the 1920s, many Avros took part in various aircraft races and competitions to demonstrate the capabilities of the aircraft manufacturers from Manchester and Hamble near London.

Above all, aircraft from the Avro-Avian series made a name for themselves with several record flights, for example in February 1928 on the long-haul flight of Avro chief pilot Herbert "Bert" Hinkler from England to Australia.

In 1928, Alliot Verdon Roe sold his shares in John Siddeley, the boss of Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft and then together with the Avro director John Lord acquired a majority stake in the boat building company S. E. Saunders in Cowes . After the name change to Saunders-Roe , the company concentrated on the construction of flying boats and vehicle bodies for buses.

During this time Avro also worked on the development of the autogiros , so some Cierva machines were built under license.

From 1935 Avro belonged to the Hawker-Siddeley group.

The second World War

Avro Lancaster

During World War II , Avro developed the twin-engined “Manchester” into the four-engined “Lancaster” , the most widely built long-range bomber of the Royal Air Force .

the post war period

Avro 698 Vulcan

In July 1945 the Hawker-Siddeley Group took over the Canadian company Victory Aircraft from Malton, Ontario and founded Avro Aircraft Ltd. there. , which later became Avro Canada . Avro Canada developed the Avro Canada C-102 “Jetliner” , the Avro Canada CF-100 “Canuck” and the Avro Canada CF-105 “Arrow” .

Almost only through simple expansion of the military establishment was in the "Lancaster" spartan passenger aircraft the right Lancastrian developed. The Avro York with a much larger, box-shaped fuselage cross-section was created from the same basic pattern . It was used civilly and militarily as a passenger and cargo aircraft (259 pieces built).

With only 38 copies built, the pressure-ventilated Avro Tudor was not very successful. Even with her, the wings of the Lancaster and a tail wheel landing gear were still used. Four serious accidents ultimately meant that the Tudor (until 1959) was only used as a cargo aircraft.

The twin-engine turboprop aircraft Avro 748 for 40-58 passengers had its first flight in 1960. It was quite successful worldwide with 381 units built. 89 were manufactured under license in India. A military variant with a modified tail section for the Royal Air Force was called the Andover . The BAe ATP was later developed from the 748 .

In the military field, the Lincoln bomber and the Shackleton sea ​​reconnaissance aircraft were constructed from the "Lancaster" .

The last Avro military aircraft was produced with the heavy four-engine atomic bomber Avro Vulcan .

Company merger

The company name Avro disappeared due to the reorganization of the Hawker-Siddeley Group in July 1963. However, the name Avro still had a strong brand value for a long time, which is why it became the marketing name Avro RJ (Regional Jet) for the later variants of the BAe 146 regional aircraft. used.

Avro International Aerospace

Avro International Aerospace was founded in 1993 as a wholly owned subsidiary of British Aerospace . Until 2002, passenger aircraft were produced under the type designation Avro (RJ series).

See also

• List of aircraft types manufactured by Avro
• Avro Canada aircraft types

Web links

Commons : Avro aircraft  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• BAE SYSTEMS
• BAE SYSTEMS Regional Aircraft
• Turkish airport workers sacrifice camel after 11 Avro aircraft are decommissioned
• Early newspaper articles on Avro in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .