Folland Aircraft was a British manufacturer at Hamble, Hampshire, known for experimental aircraft and lightweight jet fighters. Its origins lay in British Marine Aircraft, formed in 1936 for a proposed Sikorsky flying-boat licence programme. When that undertaking failed, Henry Folland acquired the business and gave it his name in 1937.[1]
Components and experimental aircraft
The Hamble site included a slipway into Southampton Water, reflecting its intended flying-boat role. Under Folland it instead became a supplier of components and assemblies for British military aircraft. Its first original aeroplane, the Fo.108, flew in 1940. Further proposals addressed research requirements associated with carrier landings. This mixture of subcontract work and specialised development projects supported a comparatively small design organisation within Britain's much larger wartime aircraft industry.[1]
The lightweight-fighter concept
W. E. W. Petter developed a lightweight fighter around the possibilities offered by compact turbojet engines. The Midge demonstrator flew in August 1954 using an Armstrong Siddeley Viper. It preceded the more powerful Bristol Orpheus-powered Gnat, whose prototype flew in July 1955. The programme was privately financed and sought to combine useful performance with a simple airframe that could be manufactured using limited industrial resources. The fighter attracted customers overseas, including Finland and India, and Indian production subsequently took place under licence.[2]
Trainer production and absorption
A two-seat Gnat trainer provided the British service application that the original fighter had not secured. The first development trainer flew in August 1959, and production orders followed during the early 1960s. RAF training units and later the Red Arrows made the type familiar in Britain. These developments crossed a corporate transition: Hawker Siddeley acquired Folland in 1959 and dropped its separate name in 1963. Aircraft designed by the Hamble firm consequently continued in production and service under the larger group's organisation.[2][1]