Boulton & Paul Ltd
Encyclopedia
Boulton & Paul was a British general manufacturer from Norwich
that became involved in aircraft manufacture.
Jeld Wen Inc, bought Boulton & Paul (along with another joinery company John Carr
from the Rugby Group plc in 1999 to form its British subsidiary.
by William Moore. Later partners in the firm were John Barnard, William Boulton, and Joseph Paul. By the early 1900s, Boulton & Paul Ltd was a successful general manufacturing firm.
During the war, it was a major producer of prefabricated buildings, wire netting and wooden sub-assemblies of aircraft the site was bombed.
In 1942 the Midland Woodworking Company of Melton Mowbray
became a subsidiary.
Richard Jewson of the Jewson
timber merchants and former Lord Mayor of Norwich was a member of the board until retiring in 1947.
in Norwich rather than transport the aircraft to the Army at Thetford
. During the war the company built more Sopwith Camel
s than any other manufacturer. Success as a builder of aircraft led to the company forming a design department but none of its resulting aircraft made a significant impact while the war lasted. The P.3 Bobolink fighter was overshadowed by the Sopwith Snipe
and the Armistice
beat the P.7 Bourges fighter-bomber
into production.
After World War I, Boulton & Paul made their mark with the introduction of powered and enclosed defensive machine gun turret
s for bomber
s. Their Sidestrand
twin-engined biplane
bomber, which could fly at 140 mph, had an exposed nose turret which was clearly inadequate. The subsequent Overstrand
bomber featured the world's first enclosed, power-operated turret, mounting a single Lewis gun
and propelled by compressed air. The company licensed a French design of an electro-hydraulic four-gun turret which became a major feature of their future production. In addition to fitting turrets to bombers, Boulton & Paul was to install them in fighters.
Boulton & Paul provided most of the structure for the R101
airship; the completed sections being transported to Cardington for assembly there. The R101 subsequently flew over Norwich in return.
In 1934 with a depressed market, the aircraft division being the weakest, Boulton & Paul sold it off from the main construction business to create Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd
. This moved to Wolverhampton
in 1936 as the area had a surplus of skilled labour and the council was able to provide an incentive in the form of a greenfield site and flying rights. In 1961 Boulton Paul Aircraft, by now a producer of aircraft equipment rather than aircraft merged with Dowty Group
to form first Dowty Boulton Paul Ltd and then Dowty Aerospace.
Norwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
that became involved in aircraft manufacture.
Jeld Wen Inc, bought Boulton & Paul (along with another joinery company John Carr
John Carr
John Carr was a prolific English architect. He was born in Horbury, near Wakefield, England, the eldest of nine children and the son of a master mason, under whom he trained. He started an independent career in 1748 and continued until shortly before his death. John Carr was Lord Mayor of York in...
from the Rugby Group plc in 1999 to form its British subsidiary.
History
The company's origins date back to an ironmonger's shop founded in 1797 in NorwichNorwich
Norwich is a city in England. It is the regional administrative centre and county town of Norfolk. During the 11th century, Norwich was the largest city in England after London, and one of the most important places in the kingdom...
by William Moore. Later partners in the firm were John Barnard, William Boulton, and Joseph Paul. By the early 1900s, Boulton & Paul Ltd was a successful general manufacturing firm.
During the war, it was a major producer of prefabricated buildings, wire netting and wooden sub-assemblies of aircraft the site was bombed.
In 1942 the Midland Woodworking Company of Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray is a town in the Melton borough of Leicestershire, England. It is to the northeast of Leicester, and southeast of Nottingham...
became a subsidiary.
Richard Jewson of the Jewson
Jewson
Jewson is one of the largest chain of British general builders' merchants, selling to small building contractors and the general public with over 500 branches across the country....
timber merchants and former Lord Mayor of Norwich was a member of the board until retiring in 1947.
Aircraft manufacture
In 1915, Boulton & Paul began to construct aircraft under contract including 550 of the Royal Aircraft Factory FE.2b. Fe.2 construction was passed over to another East Anglian company so Boulton Paul could concentrate on production of more advanced designs. Their extensive use of jigs and the manufacture of the smaller fittings required meant that they could maintain fast production. A new production site was built and an assembly and proving ground developed on Mousehold HeathMousehold Heath
Mousehold Heath is an area of heathland and woodland which lies in north east Norwich, England and a designated Local Nature Reserve . It is now mostly covered by broad-leaf semi-natural woodland, although some areas of heath remain and are actively managed....
in Norwich rather than transport the aircraft to the Army at Thetford
Thetford
Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just south of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , has a population of 21,588.-History:...
. During the war the company built more Sopwith Camel
Sopwith Camel
The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult...
s than any other manufacturer. Success as a builder of aircraft led to the company forming a design department but none of its resulting aircraft made a significant impact while the war lasted. The P.3 Bobolink fighter was overshadowed by the Sopwith Snipe
Sopwith Snipe
The Sopwith 7F.1 Snipe was a British single-seat biplane fighter of the Royal Air Force . It was designed and built by the Sopwith Aviation Company during the First World War, and came into squadron service a few weeks before the end of that conflict, in late 1918.The Snipe was not a fast aircraft...
and the Armistice
Armistice
An armistice is a situation in a war where the warring parties agree to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, but may be just a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace...
beat the P.7 Bourges fighter-bomber
Fighter-bomber
A fighter-bomber is a fixed-wing aircraft with an intended primary role of light tactical bombing and also incorporating certain performance characteristics of a fighter aircraft. This term, although still used, has less significance since the introduction of rockets and guided missiles into aerial...
into production.
After World War I, Boulton & Paul made their mark with the introduction of powered and enclosed defensive machine gun turret
Turret
In architecture, a turret is a small tower that projects vertically from the wall of a building such as a medieval castle. Turrets were used to provide a projecting defensive position allowing covering fire to the adjacent wall in the days of military fortification...
s for bomber
Bomber
A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets, by dropping bombs on them, or – in recent years – by launching cruise missiles at them.-Classifications of bombers:...
s. Their Sidestrand
Boulton Paul Sidestrand
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brew, Alec. Boulton Paul Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1993. ISBN 0-85177-860-7.* Jarrett, Philip. "By Day and By Night: Sidestrand and Overstrand, Part 1." Aeroplane Monthly, Vol. 22, No. 11, Issue 259, November 1994, pp. 18—23. London: IPC. ISSN...
twin-engined biplane
Biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two superimposed main wings. The Wright brothers' Wright Flyer used a biplane design, as did most aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a biplane wing structure has a structural advantage, it produces more drag than a similar monoplane wing...
bomber, which could fly at 140 mph, had an exposed nose turret which was clearly inadequate. The subsequent Overstrand
Boulton Paul Overstrand
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brew, Alec. Boulton Paul Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1993. ISBN 0-85177-860-7.* Halley, James J. Royal Air Force Aircraft: K1000 to K9999. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain Ltd., 1976. ISBN 0-851330-048-0.* Lewis, Peter. The British Bomber since...
bomber featured the world's first enclosed, power-operated turret, mounting a single Lewis gun
Lewis Gun
The Lewis Gun is a World War I–era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and widely used by the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces through to the end of the Korean War...
and propelled by compressed air. The company licensed a French design of an electro-hydraulic four-gun turret which became a major feature of their future production. In addition to fitting turrets to bombers, Boulton & Paul was to install them in fighters.
Boulton & Paul provided most of the structure for the R101
R101
R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airship completed in 1929 as part of a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Ministry-appointed team and was effectively in competition...
airship; the completed sections being transported to Cardington for assembly there. The R101 subsequently flew over Norwich in return.
In 1934 with a depressed market, the aircraft division being the weakest, Boulton & Paul sold it off from the main construction business to create Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd
Boulton Paul Aircraft
Boulton Paul Aircraft Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer that was created in 1934, although its origins lay in 1914, and lasted until 1961...
. This moved to Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...
in 1936 as the area had a surplus of skilled labour and the council was able to provide an incentive in the form of a greenfield site and flying rights. In 1961 Boulton Paul Aircraft, by now a producer of aircraft equipment rather than aircraft merged with Dowty Group
Dowty Group
Dowty Group was a leading British manufacturer of aircraft equipment. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by TI Group in 1992.-History:...
to form first Dowty Boulton Paul Ltd and then Dowty Aerospace.
Boulton Paul aircraft at Norwich
First flight date shown- Boulton Paul P.3 BobolinkBoulton Paul Bobolink|-See also:-External links:*...
1918 - Boulton Paul P-6 1918
- Boulton Paul P.7 BourgesBoulton Paul Bourges|-See also:-References:*Bruce, J.M. British Aeroplanes 1914-18. London:Putnam, 1957.*Lewis, Peter. The British Bomber since 1914. London:Putnam, 1980. ISBN 0-370-30265-6....
1918 - Boulton Paul AtlanticBoulton Paul AtlanticThe Boulton & Paul P.8 Atlantic was Boulton & Paul's attempt to adapt their well-performing Bourges bomber into an airliner. They hoped to gain publicity for it by winning the outstanding prize for the first non-stop Atlantic crossing but a first flight accident made them miss their opportunity...
1919 - Boulton Paul P.9Boulton Paul P.9-References:NotesBibliography...
1919 - Boulton Paul P.10Boulton Paul P.10-Bibliography:*...
1919 - Boulton Paul Bolton 1922
- Boulton & Paul BugleBoulton & Paul Bugle-References:*"". Flight. 23 April 1925. pp.235–238.*Mason, Francis K. The British Bomber since 1912. London:Putnam, 1994. ISBN 0-85177-861-5.-External links:*...
1923 - Boulton Paul BodminBoulton Paul Bodmin|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography...
1924 - Boulton Paul P.29 SidestrandBoulton Paul Sidestrand|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brew, Alec. Boulton Paul Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1993. ISBN 0-85177-860-7.* Jarrett, Philip. "By Day and By Night: Sidestrand and Overstrand, Part 1." Aeroplane Monthly, Vol. 22, No. 11, Issue 259, November 1994, pp. 18—23. London: IPC. ISSN...
1926 – bomber - Boulton Paul P.31 BitternBoulton Paul Bittern|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography...
1927 - Boulton Paul PartridgeBoulton Paul Partridge|-References:...
1928 - Boulton Paul Phoenix 1929
- Boulton Paul P.32 1931
- Boulton Paul P.75 OverstrandBoulton Paul Overstrand-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Brew, Alec. Boulton Paul Aircraft since 1915. London: Putnam, 1993. ISBN 0-85177-860-7.* Halley, James J. Royal Air Force Aircraft: K1000 to K9999. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air-Britain Ltd., 1976. ISBN 0-851330-048-0.* Lewis, Peter. The British Bomber since...
1933 – bomber - Boulton Paul P.64 MailplaneBoulton Paul Mailplane|-See also:-External links:*...
1933 - Boulton Paul P.71ABoulton Paul P.71A|-See also:-External links:*...
1934