Henry Folland
Encyclopedia
Henry Philip Folland was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 aviation engineer and aircraft designer.

Life

Folland was born to Frederick and Mary Folland at 2 King Street, Holy Trinity, Cambridge. His father was listed as a Stonemason.

In 1905 he became an apprentice at the Lanchester Motor Company
Lanchester Motor Company
The Lanchester Motor Company Limited was a car manufacturer based until 1930 at Armourer Mills, Montgomery Street, Sparkbrook, Birmingham, England. It operated from 1895 to 1955....

 in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, then in 1908 he became a draughtsman at the Daimler Motor Company
Daimler Motor Company
The Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...

. It was here that he developed his interest in powered flying machines. He worked at the Royal Aircraft Factory at Farnborough
Farnborough Airfield
Farnborough Airport or TAG London Farnborough Airport is an airport situated in Farnborough, Rushmoor, Hampshire, England...

 from 1912, where he was the lead designer on the S.E.5
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 was a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. Although the first examples reached the Western Front before the Sopwith Camel and it had a much better overall performance, problems with its Hispano-Suiza engine, particularly the geared-output H-S...

 during the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. He also designed the Ruston Proctor Aerial Target, an anti-Zeppelin
Zeppelin
A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship pioneered by the German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin in the early 20th century. It was based on designs he had outlined in 1874 and detailed in 1893. His plans were reviewed by committee in 1894 and patented in the United States on 14 March 1899...

 pilotless aircraft to use A M Low
Archibald Low
Archibald Montgomery Low was an English consulting engineer, research physicist and inventor, and author of more than 40 books....

's radio control systems.

He left the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1917, joining the Nieuport & General Aircraft
Nieuport & General Aircraft
The Nieuport & General Aircraft Company Ltd was a British aircraft manufacturer, established during the First World War to build French Nieuport aircraft under license, which closed down in 1920.-History:...

 company as chief designer., designing the Nieuport Nighthawk
Nieuport Nighthawk
The Nieuport Nighthawk was a British fighter aircraft developed by the Nieuport & General Aircraft company for the Royal Air Force towards the end of the First World War. Although ordered into production before the aircraft first flew, it did not enter large scale service with the RAF owing to...

, which was adopted as a standard fighter by the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 but did not enter service owing to the problems in development of its ABC Dragonfly
ABC Dragonfly
-Bibliography:* Bruce, J.M. "Sopwith Snipe...:...the RAF's First Fighter. . " Air Enthusiast International Volume 6 Number 6, June 1974. Bromley, UK: Fine Scroll....

 engine. Not long after starting at Nieuport, Folland was joined by Howard Preston - a design and stress man - and who was also to work with him at later at Gloster and Follands. Nieuport & General ceased operations in 1920 and his services were taken up by the Gloster Aircraft Company
Gloster Aircraft Company
The Gloster Aircraft Company, Limited, known locally as GAC, was a British aircraft manufacturer. The company produced a famous lineage of fighters for the Royal Air Force : the Grebe, Gladiator, Meteor and Javelin. It also produced the Hawker Hurricane and Hawker Typhoon for the parent company...

, who had built Nighthawks under licence during the First World War, joining them in 1921. He was the chief designer for Glosters for many years, producing a range of successful fighter aircraft such as the Grebe
Gloster Grebe
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* James, Derek N. Gloster Aircraft since 1917. London: Putnam and Company Ltd., 1987. ISBN 0-85177-807-0.* Thetford, Owen. Aircraft of the Royal Air Force 1918-57. London:Putnam, First edition 1957....

, Gamecock
Gloster Gamecock
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Green, William and Swanborough, Gordon. "The Era-Ending Gamecock". Air Enthusiast, Number 21, April-July 1983.Bromley, Kent:Pilot Press. p. 1-8, 58-62. ISSN 0143-5450....

, Gauntlet
Gloster Gauntlet
-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Crawford, Alex. Bristol Bulldog, Gloster Gauntlet. Redbourn, UK: Mushroom Model Publications, 2005. ISBN 83-89450-04-6....

 and finally the Gloster Gladiator
Gloster Gladiator
The Gloster Gladiator was a British-built biplane fighter. It was used by the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy and was exported to a number of other air forces during the late 1930s. It was the RAF's last biplane fighter aircraft and was rendered obsolete by newer monoplane designs even as it...

. He left the company in 1937, following the takeover of Gloster by Hawker
Hawker Aircraft
Hawker Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer responsible for some of the most famous products in British aviation history.-History:...

, feeling that Hawker designs would be favoured over his own. He purchased the British Marine Aircraft Company at Hamble
Hamble
Hamble may refer to:* The last frontier film location.* The River Hamble in Hampshire, England**Hamble-Warsash Ferry, a ferry service on the River Hamble* Hamble-le-Rice, a village on the river Hamble, close to the city of Southampton, England...

, near Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

, renaming it Folland Aircraft Limited
Folland
Folland Aircraft was a British aircraft manufacturing company which was active between 1937 and 1963.-History:British Marine Aircraft Ltd was formed in February 1936 to produce Sikorsky S-42-A flying boats under licence in the UK. The company built a factory on the western side of the Hamble...

.

Initially Folland Aircraft was mainly involved in sub-contract work for other aircraft manufacturers particularly during the Second World War. Some forty five civil and military projects were offered by Follands to meet Air Ministry requirements. Only one - the Fo.108
Folland Fo.108
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* http://avia.russian.ee/air/england/folland_43-37.php* http://www.britishaircraft.co.uk/aircraftpage.php?ID=525...

 - a flying engine test bed nicknamed the "Frightful" from its appearance was accepted and twelve of these were built.

By July 1951 Henry Folland was suffering from severe ill health and resigned as Managing Director being succeeded by the designer W.E.W. Petter who had left English Electric
English Electric
English Electric was a British industrial manufacturer. Founded in 1918, it initially specialised in industrial electric motors and transformers...

. Nonetheless he remained on the Board until his death on 4 September 1954. Three weeks earlier Petter's Folland Midge
Folland Midge
|-See also:-References:***-External links:...

, the precursor to the Folland Gnat
Folland Gnat
The Folland Gnat was a small, swept-wing British subsonic jet trainer and light fighter aircraft developed by Folland Aircraft for the Royal Air Force, and flown extensively by the Indian Air Force....

 had made its first flight. In his book 'Sky Fever', Sir Geoffrey de Havilland
Geoffrey de Havilland
Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, OM, CBE, AFC, RDI, FRAeS, was a British aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer...

describes Henry as becoming a recluse after he retired as M.D.
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