- Petters Ltd
Aircraft manufacturers
Location:
- Yeovil, Somerset
History:
- In 1865 James Bazeley Petter acquired an ironmongery firm in Yeovil, Somerset. The business grew and Petter was later joined in partnership by two of his children, Ernest and Percival Petter. In 1892 the firm designed and built a self-propelled oil engine and in 1895 designed the UK's first internal combustion engine motor car. The partners continued to develop vehicles, sometimes trading as Yeovil Motor Carriage Co, but did not achieve commercial success and soon adapted their engines for agricultural and industrial use. In 1901 Ernest and Percival purchased the business from their father, styling the firm James B Petter & Sons Ltd and became joint managing directors of the new company. In 1910 the business was registered as a public company, Petters Ltd, and began manufacturing two-stroke cycle engines which soon replaced the production of four-stroke engines. In 1912 a new factory was built on a large site on the outskirts of Yeovil and in 1913 a foundry and garden village for employees was established at West Hendford, west of Yeovil. During the First World War the company manufactured engines, shell cases and gun carriage equipment for the government and also built aircraft on contract and of its own design. An aviation department was established in 1915, under the style Westland Aircraft Works (Branch of Petters Ltd). Robert Bruce joined the company from British & Colonial Aeroplane Co Ltd, along with Arthur Davenport from Ruston, Proctor & Co. An airfield was created next to the works in 1917. After the war the aircraft works had enough orders to continue in business and went on to develop new aircraft and to build aircraft under contract, including rotary wing aircraft. The company briefly produced its oil engines in a joint venture with Vickers Ltd in Ipswich, before bringing the business back to Yeovil. In 1935 the aircraft business was established as a separate company, Westland Aircraft Ltd. In 1938 Brush Electrical Engineering Co Ltd acquired the oil-engine business at Yeovil and formed a new company styled Petters Ltd to preserve the name and goodwill. The land and buildings at Yeovil were sold to Westland Aircraft Ltd.
Principal and significant aircraft manufactured:
- N1b Scout (1917); Wagtail (1918); Weasel (1918); Limousine (1920); Walrus (1920); Woodpigeon (1924); Dreadnaught (1924); Widgeon (1924); Westland-Hill Pterodactyl series (1924); Yeovil (1925); Westbury (1926); Wapiti (1927); Wizard (192?0; Witch (1928); F20/27 (1928); Westland IV (1929); Interceptor (1929); Wessex (1930); F29/27 (1930); F7/30 (1934); PV 6 (later named Wallace) (1931); C 29 Autogyro (1934); CL20 Autogyro (1934).
Records 1:
Aircraft project studies 1933-35; plans and general arrangement diagrams 1930-32; brochures and marketing materials 1920-35.
Records 2:
Promotional leaflets, instruction booklets and catalogues re agricultural engines 1913-69.
Records 3:
Staff photograph c.1908 [DD\X\HILL/2]; order book, machine register, correspondence, sales notices and photographs 1892-1956 [DD/X/HILL 1-3].
Records 4:
Papers and photographs re each aircraft type built 1915-35; photographs of factory and aircraft and munitions production 1914-35.
CID: