Coventry Ordnance Works
Coventry Ordnance Works Ltd.
Contents
History
The Coventry Ordnance Works Limited was formed in July 1905 by a consortium of British shipbuilding firms John Brown & Company of Sheffield and Clydebank (50%), Cammell Laird & Company of Sheffield and Birkenhead (25%) and Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company of Glasgow (25%) with the encouragement of the British government, which wanted a third major arms consortium to compete with the duopoly of Vickers Sons & Maxim and Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co to drive down prices. The new company bought from Cammell Laird the ordnance business originally established in the late 1890s by H H Mulliner and F Wigley, which had been moved by them in 1902 from Birmingham to Coventry's Stoney Stanton Road.
The Aircraft Department was established in Coventry in late 1911, absorbing the former Warwick Wright company and its facilities, including the business of Howard T. Wright, and inheriting two excellent designers in Howard T. Wright and W. O. Manning. They designed a pair of biplanes as entries for RFC Military trials of August 1912, which were built at Battersea and test-flown at Brooklands, one with Gnome engine and other with Chenu engine. Neither did very well, though Gnome-engined aircraft later flew successfully at Brooklands after modification.
By this time Wright had left C.O.W., though Manning was to remain as Chief Designer and manager of the Aircraft Department until he resigned following the outbreak of World War One. During 1913, the company received an admiralty contract for one seaplane and worked on designs for both land and seaplanes, though no records of these no longer exist.
No further original designs were built before the First World War, and during the conflict C.O.W. acted mainly as subcontractor on Royal Aircraft Factory aircraft, including the B.E.2 and B.E.8 series, B.E.12/12a, R.E.7 and R.E.8. Sopwith Snipe single-seat fighters were also built.
The firm struggled in the recession after the end of the war. At their Annual General Meeting four days after the WWI armistice, Dick, Kerr & Co Limited announced a provisional agreement for amalgamation with the Coventry Ordnance Works. Subsequently the English Electric Company Limited was formed at the end of 1918 to own all the shares of Coventry Ordnance Works, Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company and Dick Kerr & Co together with the United Electric Car Company and Willans & Robinson.
The C.O.W. works were the largest to be absorbed into English Electric, and considered ideally suited for the manufacture of large electrical machinery. However, despite attempts at diversifying its products, it was never satisfactorily utilized. Therefore, the decision was taken in 1923 to close the main factory and sell it if a favourable offer was received, eventually closing in 1925.
Company References
- English Electric Aircraft and their Predecessors, Stephen Ransom and Robert Fairclough (Putnam, 1987)
- Aeroplane 11 Jan 1912
- https://war-work.com/coventry-ordnance-works-limited-coventry-works/
Project Data
| Project No | Type No | Name | Alternative Name(s) | Year | Spec (Requirement) | Status | Qty | Description | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military Trials Biplane No.10 | 1912 | Proto | 1 | 2S, 1E military biplane | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | ||||
| Military Trials Biplane No.10 | 1912 | Pro(n) | 1 | 2S, 1E military biplane | 1, 2, 3, 4 | ||||
| Biplane Seaplane | 1913 | Proj | 0 | 1E biplane seaplane | 1, 3 |
Project References
- British Aircraft Before The Great War, Michael H. Goodall and Albert E. Tagg (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 2001)
- British Aircraft 1809-1914, Peter Lewis (Putnam, 1962)
- English Electric Aircraft and their Predecessors, Stephen Ransom and Robert Fairclough (Putnam, 1987)
- Flight 13 Jul 1912, J.M. Bruce (Putnam, 1982)
- Flight 18 May 1912
- Flight 13 Jul 1912
Production Details and Type Description
Two seat, unequal-span tractor biplane, with the upper wing having over 16 ft. greater span than the lower. The fuselage was wide enough to seat pilot and passenger side by side, and was essentially a wedge-shaped box girder, flattening horizontally and parallel from stem to stern when viewed in plan. Longerons were of ash and spruce for the cross-members. The tail surfaces were flat, and quarter elliptical in planform. At the extreme rear, the sides of the fuselage extended above and below the top and bottom surfaces, forming small twin fins, to which the balanced vertical rudders were hinged. Small balanced elevators were fitted either side outboard of the fins. The main undercarriage consisted of a pair of 30-in. wheels mounted on a common axle, which supported the machine through short struts of Honduras mahogany. A single skid of hickory projected forward, supported by two struts in V of Honduras mahogany, to protect the propeller and front section of the machine. A bent cane tail skid was fitted.
The fuselage was mounted well above the lower wing, attached at its centre section by four pairs of short struts, the centre pairs forming a framework for a fairing rhat enclosed the fuel tank. The wings were built of ash spars, 3 inches in depth and over an inch thick in both cases. The ribs were of spruce, and solid, except for the drilling in each to allow the internally fitted drift cables to pass. The 8 ft. interplane struts were of silver spruce. The wings were built and attached in sections, five for the upper wing and three for the lower, the attachments being arranged internally where they were accessible, and where they could be systematically inspected through aluminium sliding doors. The long span of the upper outer wing panels was basically a wire braced cantilever, braced to the lower wing at the interplane strut attachments, and above to kingposts above the same struts. One 100 h.p. Gnome powerplant driving a large 11 ft. 6 in. diameter four bladed propeller.
| Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 40 ft | 33 ft 3 in | 12 ft 8 in | 336 sq ft | 1200 lb | 1950 lb | 60 mph/ 52 kn | |||
| 12.19 m | 10.13 m | 3.86 m | 31.22 m2 | 544 kg | 885 kg | 97 kph | |||
| Specification - Military Trials Biplane No.10 With Post Trials Modifications | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 56 ft | 33 ft 3 in | 630 sq ft | 1100 lb | 1900 lb | 60 mph/ 52 kn | ||||
| 17.07 m | 10.13 m | 58.53 m2 | 499 kg | 862 kg | 97 kph | ||||
Two seat, unequal-span tractor biplane, with the upper wing having over 13 ft. greater span than the lower. The use of an inline engine allowed the two crew to be in tandem. Like No.10, the fuselage was essentially a wedge-shaped box girder, flattening horizontally and parallel from stem to stern when viewed in plan. Longerons were of ash and spruce for the cross-members. The large tail surfaces, located at mid fuselage height, were in the form of a flying arrow, with similarly shaped small, centrally mounted fin and large rudder. Due to the larger propeller, the fuselage was mounted almost central between upper and lower wings. Wings were similar to the No.10, although of reduced span, and the undercarriage almost identical. One 110 h.p. Chenu fully cowled powerplant driving a large 11 ft. 6 in. diameter four bladed propeller. Radiators were mounted on the fusealge sides in line with the front cockpit..
| Specification | |||||||||
| Span | Length | Height | Wing Area | Empty Wt | Max AUW | Cruise Speed | Maximum Speed | Range | Service Ceiling |
| 35 ft | 31 ft 3 in | 13 ft 2 in | 290.5 sq ft | 1250 lb | 2050 lb | 70 mph/ 61 kn | |||
| 10.67 m | 9.53 m | 4.01 m | 26.99 m2 | 567 kg | 930 kg | 113 kph | |||
Tractor biplane seaplane ordered by the Admiralty against Contract CP.40688/13, and alloted the number 54. To have been fitted with wireless. Either one 80 h.p. or 160 h.p. Gnome powerplant (sources vary).
| Total Coventry Ordnance Works Production | 2 |
| Total Coventry Ordnance Works Cancelled Orders | 1 |