Henry Folland

Henry Philip Folland OBE (22 January 1889 – 5 September 1954) was an English aviation engineer and aircraft designer.

Folland was born on 22 January 1889 to Frederick and Mary Folland at 2 King Street, Holy Trinity, Cambridge. His father was listed as a Stonemason.

In 1905, Folland became an apprentice at the Lanchester Motor Company in Birmingham, he then joined the design staff at Swift Motor Company and then in 1908 he became a draughtsman at the Daimler Company. It was at Daimler that he developed his interest in powered flying machines. Folland worked at the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough from 1912, where he was the lead designer on the S.E.5 during the First World War. He also designed the Ruston Proctor Aerial Target, an anti-Zeppelin pilotless aircraft designed to use A M Low's radio control systems.

Folland left the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1917, joining the Nieuport & General Aircraft company as chief designer., designing the Nieuport Nighthawk, which was adopted as a standard fighter by the Royal Air Force but did not enter service owing to the problems in development of its ABC Dragonfly engine. Not long after starting at Nieuport, Folland was joined by Howard Preston - a design and stress man - who was also to work with him later at Gloster and Follands. Nieuport & General ceased operations in 1920 and his services were taken up by the Gloster Aircraft Company, who had built Nighthawks under licence during the First World War, joining them in 1921.

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