Armstrong Whitworth facts for kids

Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd was a huge British company in the early 1900s. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, it built many different things. This included armaments (weapons), ships, locomotives (trains), automobiles (cars), and aircraft (airplanes).

The company was started by William Armstrong in 1847. Over time, it grew through mergers, first becoming Armstrong Mitchell and then Armstrong Whitworth. In 1927, it joined with Vickers Limited to create Vickers-Armstrongs. The parts of the company that made cars and airplanes were bought by J D Siddeley.

History of Armstrong Whitworth

In 1847, a clever engineer named William George Armstrong opened a factory in Elswick, Newcastle. At first, his company, W. G. Armstrong & Company, made machines that used water pressure, like cranes and parts for bridges. Soon, they started making powerful cannons, including the famous Armstrong breech-loading gun. The British Army used these new guns after the Crimean War.

In 1882, Armstrong's company merged with a shipbuilding firm owned by Charles Mitchell. They formed Armstrong Mitchell & Company. Their factories stretched for over a mile along the River Tyne. Later, in 1897, Armstrong Mitchell merged again with an engineering company called Joseph Whitworth. This created the larger company, Sir W G Armstrong Whitworth & Co Ltd.

The company kept growing. In 1902, they began making cars and trucks. By 1913, they even had a special "aerial department" for airplanes. This part of the company became a separate business called Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft in 1920. Finally, in 1927, Armstrong Whitworth merged with Vickers Limited to become Vickers-Armstrongs.

Cars and Vehicles

Armstrong Whitworth started making cars in 1904. They wanted to make up for less demand for weapons after the Boer War. They took over making a car called the Wilson-Pilcher, which was designed by Walter Gordon Wilson. They made cars under the Armstrong Whitworth name until 1919. Then, the car part of the company merged with another company called Siddeley-Deasy to form Armstrong Siddeley.

The Wilson-Pilcher was a very modern car for its time. It was known for being quiet and smooth to drive. Armstrong Whitworth made different models, including cars with four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines. These cars were quite expensive, but they were known for being very reliable and well-built.

Today, you can see an Armstrong Whitworth car at the Discovery Museum in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Aircraft Production

Armstrong Whitworth started its "Aerial Department" in 1912. This department grew and later became its own company, the Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company. When Armstrong Whitworth merged with Vickers in 1927, the aircraft company was bought by J. D. Siddeley and became a completely separate business.

Making Weapons

The Elswick Ordnance Company (often called EOC) was the part of Armstrong Whitworth that made weapons. It was first set up in 1859 to keep William Armstrong's weapon business separate from his other work. This was important because Armstrong was also an engineer for the British government, and the government was a big customer!

EOC was a very important company for developing weapons before and during World War I. The weapons and ammunition they made for the British government were marked "EOC." Guns made for other countries were usually marked "W.G. Armstrong." For example, they developed a large howitzer (a type of cannon) that was used in the Russo-Japanese War.

Building Trains

A Metropolitan Railway K Class train built by Armstrong Whitworth.

A special plate on a train built by Armstrong Whitworth in 1936.

After World War I, Armstrong Whitworth changed its Scotswood factory to build railway locomotives (train engines). Starting in 1919, they quickly became a major train builder because they had modern equipment. They built many trains for railways in Britain and other countries.

Some of their biggest orders included 200 steam locomotives for the Belgian State Railways in 1920. They also built 327 "Black 5" steam locomotives for the LMS railway in Britain in 1935-1936.

Armstrong Whitworth also fixed and updated existing trains. For example, in 1926, they changed six trains for Palestine Railways into different types of locomotives. They also built some of the largest non-articulated (meaning not jointed) locomotives ever made in Great Britain for the South Australian Railways in 1926. These trains were a big deal in Australia!

The company also started building diesel locomotives and railcars in the 1930s. In 1933, they launched the UK's first main line diesel locomotive, a powerful 800 horsepower train. In total, Armstrong Whitworth built 1,464 locomotives at their Scotswood factory before it went back to making weapons in 1937.

Projects Around the World

After World War I, there was much less demand for weapons and warships. So, Armstrong Whitworth had to find new types of business.

They built a power station in Australia between 1923 and 1924. This station still works today! In the mid-1920s, they also tried to get contracts to build railways in Australia, but local companies were usually chosen instead.

Armstrong Whitworth also got involved in a big project in Newfoundland, an island country that is now part of Canada. They invested in building a second paper mill there, which would get its power from a hydroelectric station 50 km away. This was a huge project, and some equipment from the Panama Canal was even shipped to Newfoundland to help build it!

The paper mill started working in 1925. However, the cost of the project went way over budget. Also, the price of paper started to fall, which no one had expected. This caused Armstrong Whitworth to lose a lot of money, and the company eventually sold its share in the project in 1927. This big loss contributed to the company's overall collapse.

Shipbuilding Division

Shipbuilding was a very important part of Armstrong Whitworth's business. From 1879 to 1925, they built many warships for different navies around the world. This included ships for the Royal Navy (Britain), Japan, Chile, Russia, and the United States.

They also built many merchant ships, like cargo ships, oil tankers, and dredgers. Some interesting ships they built were the ice-breaking train ferries SS Baikal and SS Angara. These ships helped connect the Trans-Siberian Railway across Lake Baikal in Russia. They also built the world's first polar icebreaker, the Yermak, for Russia. This ship had a special strong hull designed to break through thick ice.

Mergers and Changes

In 1927, the parts of Armstrong Whitworth that made weapons and did engineering work joined with Vickers Limited. They formed a new company called Vickers-Armstrongs. The parts of Armstrong Whitworth that made aircraft and Armstrong Siddeley cars were bought by J. D. Siddeley and became separate companies. The Scotswood factory, where many trains were built, stopped production in 1979 and was torn down in 1982.

Hydraulic Engineering Projects

The earlier companies, W. G. Armstrong & Co. and later Sir WG Armstrong Mitchell & Company, were very involved in building things that used water pressure (hydraulic engineering). Some of their notable projects include:

• Developing the 'Hydraulic Jigger', a lifting machine, which was shown at the Great Exhibition in London in 1851.
• Building a system of hydraulic pipes for the Limehouse Basin in London in the 1850s.
• Constructing the Swing Bridge, River Tyne in 1873.
• Building a huge 120-ton hydraulic crane at their Elswick factory to load things onto ships.
• Helping to build the famous Tower Bridge in London, which opened in 1894.
• Building a special bridge that could open for trains over the River Bann in Northern Ireland in 1921.
• Creating a series of nine large 160-ton hydraulic cranes for navies around the world in the late 1800s. These cranes were set up in places like India, Italy, Liverpool, Malta, and Japan. One of these cranes is still being restored in Venice, Italy.

Images for kids

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  Brazil Navy ship Bahia

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  Many of the locomotives are shown in this catalogue in the collection of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers

See Also

• List of car manufacturers of the United Kingdom