Beardmore
A Clydeside steel and shipbuilding giant that dabbled in the air and, almost in passing, built the first airship to fly the Atlantic from east to west.
Beardmore: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Steel, ships and Antarctica
Beardmore was heavy industry first. Built around the Parkhead Forge in Glasgow’s east end, William Beardmore’s company grew from 1886 into a Clydeside conglomerate of steel, armour, ships, locomotives and cars, employing about 40,000 people at its peak. Its Dalmuir yard was the most advanced in Britain. Beardmore himself became Lord Invernairn, and an Antarctic glacier, the Beardmore Glacier, bears his name.
Pups for the Navy
Aviation came in 1913, with British rights to Austro-Daimler aero-engines and later DFW aircraft. At Dalmuir the company built Sopwith Pups under licence, then adapted the design for warships as the W.B.III, with folding wings and flotation gear; 100 were delivered to the Royal Naval Air Service. At Inchinnan, Beardmore built rigid airships, and in July 1919 its R34 flew from East Fortune to Mineola, New York, in 108 hours, the first east-to-west air crossing of the Atlantic, and then flew home again.
Giants of the air
In the 1920s Beardmore bought a licence for Adolf Rohrbach’s stressed-skin metal construction. The result was the Inflexible, a three-engined all-metal transport with a 157 ft wingspan, greater than a B-29’s, which first flew in 1928 but was hopelessly underpowered. A more modest W.B.XXVI Wee Bee won the 1924 Lympne light-aircraft trials, and Beardmore’s Tornado diesels powered the ill-fated R101. Recession closed Dalmuir in 1930 and the aviation interests faded with it.
Beardmore in numbers
الشركة
- باختصار
- Founded 1886
- Clydeside steel, armour and shipbuilding group
- About 40,000 employees at peak
- Aviation from 1913
إنتاج
- اشتهر بـ
- W.B.III and R34
- W.B.III ship fighter: 100 built
- Airships R27, R32, R34, R36
- Inflexible all-metal giant: one built
اليوم
- الآن
- متوقف عن العمل
- Dalmuir yard closed 1930
- Parkhead Forge closed 1983
The Beardmore Glacier in Antarctica keeps the name alive.
الأرقام
- ذروة القوى العاملة
- about 40,000
- W.B.III built
- 100
- Licence-built Nieuport 12
- 50
- R34 transatlantic flight time
- 108 hours1919
Every notable Beardmore aircraft
| الطائرات | دور | الرحلة الأولى | تم البناء | حالة | ملحوظة |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sopwith Pup (licence) | مقاتل | متقاعد | Built at Dalmuir | ||
| Beardmore W.B.III | Shipboard fighter | 1917 | 100 | متقاعد | Folding-wing Pup for HMS Furious and Argus |
| R34 | Rigid airship | 1919 | 1 | متقاعد | First east-to-west Atlantic crossing, July 1919 |
| Beardmore W.B.XXIV Wee Bee | طائرة خفيفة | 1924 | 1 | متقاعد | Won the 1924 Lympne trials |
| Beardmore Inverness | Metal flying boat | 2 | متقاعد | Rohrbach Ro IV; one built in Copenhagen, one by Beardmore | |
| Beardmore Inflexible | Experimental all-metal transport | 1928 | 1 | متقاعد | 157 ft wingspan; underpowered |
Where Beardmore built, who led it, what it achieved
المصانع
- Parkhead Forge · Glasgow — Core of the company
- Dalmuir works · Clydebank — Shipyard and aircraft production; closed 1930
- Inchinnan Airship Constructional Station · Inchinnan, Renfrewshire — Built R27, R32, R34, R36
الناس
- William Beardmore, Lord Invernairn · founder and owner
- W. S. Shackleton · designer — Wee Bee; worked on the Inflexible
- George Herbert Scott · airship commander — Commanded R34 across the Atlantic
الأرقام القياسية والأولويات
- R34: first east-to-west transatlantic flight and first two-way crossing, July 1919
- Inflexible: wingspan of 157 ft, some 16 ft more than a B-29
Beardmore, year by year
William Beardmore takes control of the Parkhead business
Vickers buys half the shares
Acquires British rights to Austro-Daimler aero-engines
W.B.III shipboard fighter flies
R34 first flight at Inchinnan
R34 lands at Mineola after first east-west Atlantic crossing
Wee Bee wins the Lympne trials; Rohrbach licence acquired
Inflexible first flight at Martlesham Heath
Dalmuir shipyard closes
Everything people ask about Beardmore
What was Beardmore’s most famous aircraft?
What was the Beardmore Inflexible?
Where did Beardmore build aircraft?
Around Beardmore
كل حقيقة، تم التحقق منها
- William Beardmore and Company, Wikipedia
- Beardmore W.B.III, Wikipedia
- Beardmore Inflexible, Wikipedia
- R33-class airship, Wikipedia
- Beardmore Wee Bee, Wikipedia
تم التحقق بتاريخ 2026-10-03.