Rotary‐Wing Development

IT was the Scottish firm of G. and J. Weir who produced the first British helicopter to fly, in 1938, following a number of years spent investigating the possibilities of rotary‐wing aircraft, but their autonomy was short‐lived for during the Second World War the Glasgow firm's rotary‐wing activities were taken over by the Cierva Company. In 1951 the Cierva Company, in turn, lost its identity when it became the Helicopter Division of Saunders Roe. More recently, in 1959, Saunders Roe became a subsidiary of Westland Aircraft Ltd., and the latter firm has extended its range of products and production potential by the recent acquisition of the Helicopter Division of Bristol Aircraft Ltd. and Fairey Aviation Ltd. Westland now becomes the only firm in this country producing rotary‐wing aircraft and so the history of helicopter mergers must, temporarily at least, be concluded.