Barr and Stroud
.jpg)
Barr & Stroud Limited was a Scottish optics manufacturer. The company was founded in 1895 by Archibald Barr (1855–1931) and William Stroud (1860–1938) in Glasgow and manufactured military and civil optical equipment.
history
The two professors of mechanical engineering Archibald Barr and physics William Stroud worked together since 1888 at Yorkshire College in the field of optical rangefinders. They constructed a range finder for the infantry in response to a tender in the newspaper Engineering , but it was not accepted. In 1891 they were asked by the British Admiralty to design a range finder for the Royal Navy and to make it available for testing. A year later constructed of them rangefinder was (NRF № 1 English N aval R is F inthe № 1 ) taken over by the Admiralty and awarded a first order for six instruments. The optical components of the NRF1 were manufactured by Adam Hilges in London and the mechanical components came from James White from Glasgow.
In 1895 Barr & Stroud's Patents Ltd initially rented a workshop in Glasgow, only to move into their own production facility in Glasgow a little later. In 1904 the company already had 100 employees and had moved to a newly built factory in Anniesland , Glasgow. Stroud (1909) and Barr (1913) gave up their university careers to devote themselves entirely to the company, which was renamed Barr & Stroud Ltd in 1913 .
From 1914, the production of distance measuring devices was expanded due to the strong demand resulting from the war. In addition, other military devices such as torpedo depth control devices , periscope rangefinders, and aircraft viewing devices have been developed. The company grew to 500 employees.
In the years after the First World War , Barr & Stroud developed further military devices and entered the production of civilian optical devices. In 1922 the company developed a single cylinder valve motor based on the Burt-McCollum system . The engine was installed in motorcycles, including by Rex-Acme (1922) and Beardmore Precision (1923). A two-cylinder V-engine with 990 cm³ displacement was developed and briefly installed in motorcycles of the Grindley Peerless (1924) and Brough Superior brands .
In 1977 Barr & Stroud was taken over by Pilkington Group Limited , which Barr & Stroud later sold to Thales . Barr & Stroud now traded as Thales Optronics Ltd. and moved into a new plant in Linthouse on the site of the former Alexander Stephen and Sons shipyard .
The trademark rights to Barr & Stroud were transferred from Thales to Optical Distribution Services Ltd. sold, which Barr & Stroud reactivated in 2008 and via Optical Vision Ltd. Sells binoculars from Chinese production under the name Barr & Stroud .
Products
- Coincidence rangefinder
- Split image rangefinder
- Reversing image rangefinder
- Periscope rangefinder
- Artillery fire control devices
- Binoculars
- Telescopes
- Torpedo control devices
- Circular vision devices
- Valve-controlled combustion engines
Web links
- Barr and Stroud. In: Grace's Guide of British Industrial History. Retrieved September 30, 2012 (English, brief company history).
- Ministry of Defense: Fort Cumberland Rangefinder Trials Series IV A. (Pdf, 2.75 MB) Method and Procedure of Carrying Out the Trials. In: Progress in Naval Gunnery, 1922 1923 edition. David Chessum, April 8, 2010, p. 42ff. , accessed on September 30, 2012 .
- Barr & Stroud. Retrieved September 30, 2012 (English, company homepage).
- Barr and Stroud Rangefinders. dreadnoughtproject.org, accessed September 30, 2012 (Wiki).
- Barr and Stroud Fire Control Instruments. dreadnoughtproject.org, accessed September 30, 2012 (Wiki).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Glasgow University Archive Services ( Memento from February 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive )