Parnall
was a
British
aircraft manufacturer that evolved from a wood-working company before the
First World War
to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s.
[
citation needed
]
[1]
[2]
It was based in the west of England and was originally known as
George Parnall & Co. Ltd.
[3]
History
[
edit
]
In 1916, the
Bristol
based
Parnall & Sons
shopfitters
started to manufacture aircraft at the Colliseum Works at Park Row in Bristol.
[4]
[5]
During the First World War, the skilled staff were moved to sites around the city and in neighbouring
South Gloucestershire
producing planes to their own designs and, under contract, those of other companies.
[1]
In 1919, the aircraft business was split from the parent company Parnall & Sons as
George Parnall and Company
.
[5]
In the 1920s, aircraft manufacture was centralised at a factory in
Yate
close to an airfield used by the
Royal Flying Corps
.
[6]
In the 1930s,
gun turrets
for
bomber aircraft
were produced. The site was a strategic target for
Luftwaffe
bombing and during 1941, over fifty people were killed during the raids.
[7]
In 1935,
Parnall Aircraft Limited
was formed when George Parnall and Company amalgamated with the
Hendy Aircraft Company
and
Nash and Thompson Limited
.
[8]
After the Second World War as aircraft component manufacture reduced, domestic appliances were built at the site.
[9]
To reflect this move away from aviation the company changed its name to
Parnall (Yate) Limited
in 1946. This was acquired by Radiation Ltd. in 1958 and
TI Group
in 1967.
[10]
[11]
[12]
Aircraft
[
edit
]
The
Parnall Scout
was a prototype single-seat anti-airship wooden biplane fighter aircraft developed in the 1910s. It was too heavy and slow and never went into production.
[13]
[14]
The
Parnall Panther
was a
carrier
-based wooden, single-bay
biplane
spotter and reconnaissance aircraft designed by Harold Bolas,
[15]
who had joined Parnall and Sons after leaving the
Admiralty
's
Air Department
. It had a 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine.
[14]
Following contractual disputes production was transferred to the
Bristol Aeroplane Company
.
The
Parnall Puffin
was an
experimental
amphibious
fighter-reconnaissance
biplane
.
The
Parnall Plover
single-seat naval fighter aircraft of the 1920s for use off the
Royal Navy
's
aircraft carriers
, was ordered into small-scale production, but after extensive evaluation, the
Fairey Flycatcher
was preferred for large-scale service.
The
Parnall Possum
was an
experimental
triplane
, with a single, central engine driving wing-mounted propellers via shafts and gears. Two of these aircraft were built in the mid-1920s.
The
Parnall Pixie
was a low-powered single-seat
monoplane
light aircraft originally designed to compete in the
Lympne trials
for
motor-gliders
in 1923, where it was flown successfully by
Norman Macmillan
. It had two sets of wings, one for cross-country flights and the other for speed; it later appeared as a
biplane
which could be converted into a monoplane.
[16]
Parnall Pixie IIIa G-EBJG is still in existence with the
Midland Air Museum
, Coventry, England. The remains are in deep store and are not generally on view to the public without prior arrangement.
The
Parnall Perch
was a single-engined, side-by-side-seat aircraft designed as a general-purpose trainer. No contract on this specification was awarded and only one Perch was built.
The
Parnall Peto
was a small
seaplane
with folding wings for use as a
submarine
-carried
reconnaissance aircraft
.
[17]
The
Parnall Pike
was a two/three-seat biplane
reconnaissance aircraft
, capable of operating off carrier decks or from water, built in 1927.
[18]
Only one was constructed.
The
Parnall Pipit
was a single-engine, single-seat naval
fighter
designed to an
Air Ministry
specification in 1927. Two prototypes were built but both were destroyed by tail flutter.
The
Parnall Imp
was an unusual single-engine, two-seat
biplane
built in 1927. It had a straight
cantilever
lower wing which supported the markedly swept upper wing. Only one was built.
[19]
The
Parnall Elf
was a two-seat light touring biplane, three being built at Yate between 1928 and 1932.
[19]
The Elf was the last aircraft designed by Harold Bolas before he left the company to go to the United States.
The
Parnall Prawn
was an
experimental
flying boat
built in 1930. Its single engine was fitted on a tilting mounting in the nose, so that the propeller could be kept clear of the water on takeoff and landing. Only one was built and it is not known whether it was ever flown.
The
Parnall Parasol
was an
experimental
parasol winged
aircraft design to measure the aerodynamic forces on wings in flight. Two were built and flown in the early 1930s.
The
Parnall G.4/31
was a 1930s general purpose aircraft which could operate as a day and night bomber as well as the reconnaissance, torpedo and dive-bombing roles. It was a large angular biplane powered by a 690 hp (515 kW)
Bristol Pegasus IM3
with a
Townend ring
.
The
Parnall Heck
was designed by Basil B. Henderson as a single-engined, conventional low-wing cabin monoplane, built of spruce with a plywood covering, initially a two-seater in tandem layout. The prototype was originally flown as the
Hendy Heck
but by the time of its first public demonstration in July 1935, the companies had merged and the aircraft was renamed as the
Parnall Heck
.
[8]
The
Parnall 382
(also known as the Heck III), was a single-engined wooden
monoplane
trainer aircraft
with two open cockpits. It first flew in 1939.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Avro 504K"
. David Gregorie
. Retrieved
4 December
2015
.
- ^
Sutherland, Jonathan; Smith, Alistair (2012).
Royal Flying Corps
. Casemate. p. 132.
ISBN
9781848848894
.
- ^
"George Parnall and Co"
. Grace's Guide
. Retrieved
4 December
2015
.
- ^
"Formation of Parnall Aircraft, Ltd"
.
Flight
. 30 May 1935. p. 600.
- ^
a
b
"Death of Mr. George Parnall"
.
Flight
. 25 June 1926. p. 688.
- ^
"The Factory Age"
. Yate Heritage Centre
. Retrieved
6 February
2016
.
- ^
"Yate wartime aircraft factory bombing is remembered"
. BBC
. Retrieved
6 February
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Jackson 1974, p. 89
- ^
"The Parnall story"
.
Bristol Post
. 1 September 2008
. Retrieved
6 February
2016
.
- ^
"Parnall (Yate) - Graces Guide"
.
www.gracesguide.co.uk
. Retrieved
9 January
2023
.
- ^
"Radiation - Graces Guide"
.
www.gracesguide.co.uk
. Retrieved
9 January
2023
.
- ^
"Parnall (Yate) Ltd. | Science Museum Group Collection"
.
collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk
. Retrieved
9 January
2023
.
- ^
"Mivart Street, Bristol: How War Transformed British Industry"
. BBC
. Retrieved
6 February
2016
.
- ^
a
b
"Parnall Aircraft"
. Grace's Guide
. Retrieved
6 February
2016
.
- ^
Webb, Alan.
"Section 1 - Woodworking contracts, then Scout and Panther"
.
PARNALL - Bristol's Other Plane-maker
. Alan Webb
. Retrieved
6 February
2016
.
- ^
"Pixie."
Flight
, 25 October 1923, pp. 653-654.
- ^
Flight
1929
- ^
"Parnall Pike"
All-Aero
. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^
a
b
Jackson 1974, p. 280
- Jackson, A.J. (1974).
British Civil Aircraft since 1919
. Vol. 3. London: Putnam.
ISBN
0-370-10014-X
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Jarrett, Philip. "Parnall's Final Fling: The Parnall Type 381 Gunnery Research Aircraft".
Air Enthusiast
, No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp. 16?20.
ISSN
0143-5450
- Wixey, Kenneth (1990).
Parnall Aircraft since 1914
. Annopolis: Naval Institute Press.
ISBN
1-55750-930-1
.
External links
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