Bristol Aeroplane Co.
 |
|
| Industry | Aerospace |
|---|---|
| Fate | Split and merged |
| Successor |
British Aircraft Corporation Bristol Siddeley |
| Founded | 1910 (as British and Colonial Aircraft Company) |
| Defunct | 1966 (holding company) 1959 (aircraft production) |
| Headquarters | Filton, United Kingdom |
|
Key people
|
Sir George White Frank Barnwell Roy Fedden |
| Subsidiaries | Bristol Aero-Engines Bristol Helicopters (1945–1959) Bristol Cars (1945–1960) Bristol Aerospace (1957–1966) |
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aero engines. Notable aircraft produced by the company include the 'Boxkite', the Bristol Fighter, the Bulldog, the Blenheim, the Beaufighter, and the Britannia, and much of the preliminary work which led to the Concorde was carried out by the company. In 1956 its major operations were split into Bristol Aircraft and Bristol Aero Engines. In 1959, Bristol Aircraft merged with several major British aircraft companies to form the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) and Bristol Aero Engines merged with Armstrong Siddeley to form Bristol Siddeley.
BAC went on to become a founding component of the nationalised British Aerospace, now BAE Systems. Bristol Siddeley was purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1966, who continued to develop and market Bristol-designed engines. The BAC works were in Filton, about 4 miles (6 km) north of Bristol city centre. BAE Systems, Airbus, Rolls Royce, MBDA and GKN still have a presence at the Filton site where the Bristol Aeroplane Company was located.
The British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, Ltd was founded in February 1910 by Sir George White, chairman of the Bristol Tramway and Carriage Company, along with his son Stanley and his brother Samuel, to commercially exploit the fast-growing aviation sector. Sir George had been inspired to embark on this venture following a chance meeting between himself and American aviation pioneer Wilbur Wright in France during 1909, after which he recognised aviation as holding significant business potential.
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