Scottish Aviation was an aircraft manufacturer and maintenance business at Prestwick, Scotland. Its origins lay in flying training, and its later activities ranged from wartime aircraft repair to the manufacture of short-field transports and military trainers. The company operated as a separate manufacturer until the creation of British Aerospace in 1977.[1]
Training and wartime work
The enterprise developed from a flying school associated with David McIntyre and Douglas Douglas-Hamilton. Scottish College of Aviation was established in 1935 and took the Scottish Aviation name the following year. A major Prestwick building had previously been the Palace of Engineering at Glasgow's 1938 Empire Exhibition; it was dismantled and reassembled for aviation use. During the war Scottish Aviation maintained and converted Liberators, repaired Sunderland flying boats and participated in the Civilian Repair Organisation's work on British fighters.[1]
Short-field transport aircraft
The single-engined Pioneer established the company's post-war transport identity. The larger Twin Pioneer, which first flew in June 1955, was initially conceived as a civil transport for 16 passengers. Its short take-off and landing capability attracted the RAF, whose first examples entered service in 1958. Military aircraft carried troops and supplies to restricted strips, including operations in Aden and Southeast Asia. Civil and military production together amounted to 89 aircraft, illustrating a specialised market rather than high-volume airline manufacture.[2]
The Bulldog programme
Scottish Aviation subsequently continued a trainer developed by another British company. Beagle's Bulldog first flew in 1969 as a more powerful military derivative of the Pup, with an enlarged canopy and increased wingspan. Beagle's collapse interrupted the programme, but design authority passed to Scottish Aviation. Production at Prestwick fulfilled orders already received, including Swedish requirements. The first Scottish Aviation example flew in February 1971, establishing another practical use for the company's manufacturing capacity alongside its transport and support activities.[3]