Siddeley-Deasy
| Industry | Engineering |
|---|---|
| Fate | Merged with Armstrong-Siddeley |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Defunct | 1919 |
|
Key people
|
J. D. Siddeley |
The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited was a British automobile, aero engine and aircraft company based in Coventry in the early 20th century. It was central to the formation, by merger and buy-out, of the later Armstrong Siddeley Motor and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft companies.
The Deasy Motor Car Manufacturing Company Limited was founded by Henry Hugh Peter Deasy in the factory that had previously been used to manufacture Iden cars. Deasy left in 1908 following disagreements with his Chief Engineer. In 1910 J D Siddeley took up the appointment of managing director having moved to Deasy in 1909 from managing Wolseley. The shareholders were so pleased with his success that on 7 November 1912 they unanimously agreed to change the company's name to The Siddeley-Deasy Motor Car Company Limited. Siddeley's name had been added to the product's radiator in 1912.
Siddeley-Deasy grew rapidly using Rover chassis and Daimler and Aster engines. They also established a separate brand, Stoneleigh, at first, in 1912, by mounting a different radiator and bonnet on a BSA 13.9 h.p. product but in the 1920s a quite separate car was produced and sold under the Stoneleigh name. Described as a nippy performer its quarter-elliptic springs gave it a curious bounding motion. The Wholesale Cooperative Society took them as vans.
During the First World War, Siddeley-Deasy grew to have 5,000 workers producing ambulances and aircraft engines, which included the Puma, a water-cooled straight-6 and the Tiger. The latter was a water-cooled V-12, basically two Pumas on a common crankshaft. They were one of six companies to produce the Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 aircraft from 1916. In 1917 three staff from the Royal Aircraft Factory joined Siddeley-Deasy and began to design fixed-wing aircraft. They were S. D. Heron, an engine designer, F. M. Green, who became the chief engineer, and John Lloyd, who became chief aircraft designer. These last two stayed with Siddeley Deasy and its successor for many years. During 1917–18 the team led by Lloyd had designed three aircraft, one of which, the Siskin, became well known.
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