Saunders-Roe

Saunders-Roe Limited of East Cowes, Isle of Wight was a British aircraft manufacturing company.

1929 The name Saunders-Roe was adopted after Alliott Verdon-Roe and John Lord took a controlling interest in the boat and aircraft-builders S. E. Saunders.

1931 Whitehall Securities, a large shareholder in Spartan Aircraft, wanted to merge that company with Saunders-Roe^[1]. This was finally agreed after Whitehall bought out the owner Oliver Simmonds.

1933 S. E. Saunders died. In the 4 years since the change of name, the company had constructed 12 further life boats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution^[2].

Saunders-Roe, commonly abbreviated Saro, concentrated on producing flying-boats, but none were produced in very large quantities - the longest run being 31 Londons. They also produced hulls for the Blackburn Bluebird, and during the Second World War manufactured Supermarine Walrus and de Havilland Sea Otters.

The last fixed-wing aircraft they built was the experimental SR53 mixed-power interceptor.

In 1951 Saunders-Roe took over the interests of the Cierva Autogyro Company whose helicopter design was developed to be the Skeeter helicopter.

1952 they flew the prototype Princess but the age of the flying-boat was over and no more were produced at Cowes.

In 1959 the company demonstrated the first practical hovercraft, the Saunders-Roe SR-N1. In the same year SARO's helicopter and hovercraft interests were taken over by Westland Aircraft who continued the Skeeter family with the Scout & Wasp.

In 1964 all the hovercraft businesses under Westland were merged with Vickers Supermarine to form the British Hovercraft Corporation. This in turn was taken over by Westland and was renamed Westland Aerospace in 1985, and hovercraft production ceased. The company produced component parts for the aircraft industry, especially engine nacelles for many aircraft including the DeHavilland Canada 'Dash 8', the Shorts 330, the Lockheed Hercules, the British Aerospace Jetstream and parts for the McDonnell-Douglas MD-11. By the mid 1990s, over 60% of the world's production of turboprop nacelles took place in the East Cowes works.

In 1994 Westland was taken over by GKN, and when GKN sold off its shares of Westland to form AgustaWestland, it retained the East Cowes works, where it continues aircraft component design and production, and more recently manufactures blades for wind turbines.

Buses

Saunders-Roe were based in Anglesey and were known for their work on bus bodywork.

1955 An integral bus was built for Maidstone and District. This model had a Gardner 5HLW horizontal engine.