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28-476: The Hotchkiss company of France, who were makers of the famous machine gun, hurriedly transferred production to England during World War I when it looked as if their St. Denis factory near Paris was going to be overrun by the Germans. Consequently, a factory was erected at Gosford Street, Coventry, and both machines and key staff were brought over to England so that production could start as soon as possible. At

56-449: A light tank produced by the company in the mid 1930s. Initially designed by Hotchkiss in 1933, it was put into service in 1936. An estimated 1,200 vehicles were built between September 1936 and June 1940, however it remained in service with multiple countries as late as 1952. Unlike many other vehicles of the time, the H35 was not made of riveted rolled homogenous armoured plates - rather, it

84-554: A 17  CV four-cylinder model, appeared in 1903. The badge for the marque consisted of a pair of crossed cannons—a salute to the company's first products. A factory fire nearly killed all projects. Despite this, a six-cylinder model followed in 1906. During World War I, they mass-produced the Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun, tank parts and other weapons. In 1933, they developed the Hotchkiss H35 tank. In 1920, there

112-573: A 24-hour working day, by introducing a 3 shift system of 8 hours each, for a 5-day week. Production increased from less than 300 power units per week in January 1923, to 600 units per week in December of that year and to a remarkable 1200 units per week in December 1924. The engine manufacturing process started when cylinder blocks arrived from one of the supplying foundries, one of which was Morris's own. After being inspected, pickled, washed and dried,

140-436: A six-storey extension was constructed. As further expansion, to meet the rising demand for power units, was foreseen, Morris purchased a 45-acre (180,000 m) site north of Coventry at Courthouse Green in 1927 and a mechanised foundry, together with the machining of cylinder blocks, was set up there. During the mid-1930s, new buildings were erected at Courthouse Green, into which personnel and machinery were transferred from

168-673: The gas-operated Hotchkiss machine gun , a sturdy and reliable weapon which was widely used during World War I and thereafter by the French Army. At the start of the twentieth century the company started building cars. Information provided by the company for the International Universal Exhibition of 1900, at which it displayed a variety of cannons, said the St Denis factory employed around 400 staff and had 600 machine tools. The first Hotchkiss car ,

196-676: The A444. Also the Coventry Park and Ride North , funded by Centro and operated by Central Connect under contract, is located in Courthouse Green located near The Range store. This service won a sixth month reprieve after being under threat of withdrawal in March 2009 due to low passenger usage. Morris Engines purchased a 45-acre (180,000 m2) site at Courthouse Green in 1927. During the mid-1930s, new buildings were erected. During

224-572: The French military until 1966. The firm was merged into Thomson-Houston in 1966 and in 1970 stopped producing vehicles. In the early 1970s, the Hotchkiss marque disappeared, as the French conglomerate came to be known as Thomson-Brandt  [ fr ] . This, in turn, was nationalized in 1982 to form Thomson SA . The Char léger modèle 1935 H , Commonly known as the Hotchkiss H35 was

252-538: The Gosford Street factory and from Wolseley Motors Ltd. With the exception of those built by Morris Commercial Cars Ltd. for their heavy trucks, the Courthouse Green factory of Morris Motors Ltd. Engines Branch then specialized in making power units for cars and light commercial vehicles made by the entire Morris group of companies; notably, Morris Motors Limited , The M.G. Car Company Limited , Morris Commercial Cars Limited and Wolseley Motors Limited . During

280-428: The Hotchkiss firm was given to a form of power transmission from a vehicle's engine by shaft to the differential on its rear axle, which through leaf springs both locates the rear axle and transmits drive forces. Courthouse Green Courthouse Green is a suburb in the north of Coventry. It is bordered by Bell Green in the northwest, by Stoke Heath in the south, Wyken to the east, and by Foleshill in

308-414: The automatic systems proved to be over complicated for technology of the time. However, Woollard had pioneered a process which is now commonplace. In June 1926, W.R. Morris restructured the ownership of some of his holdings. Morris Motors Ltd., together with several other companies owned by W.R. Morris, were acquired by a new public listed company, Morris Motors (1926) Ltd., which issues Preference shares to

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336-489: The blocks were placed on a hand-transfer machining line that carried out 53 operations in turn. The process took 223 minutes and a completed block was being produced every 4 minutes. The idea of the first hand-transfer machining line, which was operated by 21 men, evolved in 1923. Then, in 1924, the first automated transfer machine was introduced for the production of gearbox cases, which were moved from station to station by compressed air. A second automated transfer machine, for

364-460: The business was renamed Morris Engines Ltd. Morris immediately set about a reorganisation and to carry out this task, he appointed F.G. Woollard , who had been known to Morris since 1910, as general manager. Woollard had risen to the position of assistant managing director of E G Wrigley & Co. Ltd. , another Morris supplier, which Morris bought from the Receiver in January 1924 and the business

392-672: The company as a designer. After World War II , the 680 continued. The first new car post war was a 13 CV four-cylinder model. From 1947, two-litre flat-four models are frequently called Hotchkiss-Grégoire. In 1954, Hotchkiss purchased French manufacturer Delahaye , closing down their automotive line but continuing to produce Hotchkiss-Delahaye trucks for a few months before eliminating the Delahaye name completely. After 1954, Hotchkiss manufactured Jeeps under licence from Willys . In 1956, Hotchkiss merged with French weapon manufacturer Brandt , producing jeeps at their factory near Paris for

420-406: The company's output was the Hotchkiss revolving cannon (see picture from a privately circulated book dated 1874 by Alfred Koerner, later chairman of the company). The cannon had five barrels each able to fire 43 shells a minute a distance of one mile; it was made in four sizes from 37 mm to 57 mm, the largest intended for naval use. At the turn of the twentieth century, the company introduced

448-495: The end of the War in 1918, the factory suddenly became short of work so Hotchkiss agreed to manufacture engines and gearboxes, copied from American designs, for Morris Motors Ltd. Delivery of these power units started mid 1919 and they were fitted into "Bullnose" Morris Cowleys and Morris Oxfords . By 1922, the supply of power units was just sufficient to meet the level of production of Morris cars, so W.R. Morris (later Lord Nuffield),

476-538: The founder and owner of Morris Motors Ltd., asked Hotchkiss to raise production. However, Hotchkiss refused saying that they were unwilling to make more than 300 power units per week, because an expansion in England would have needed capital that they preferred to use in France. After some negotiations, Morris himself bought the Hotchkiss plant and premises for £349,423 (about £15 million at 2009 values) in January 1923 and

504-532: The late 1930s, the Courthouse Green factory was turning out over 3,000 power units per week and throughout World War II, it was working flat-out making engines for fire pumps, ambulances, military vehicles, lifeboats and tanks, as well as making component parts for aero engines and for Rotol variable pitch air screws. During the 1960s the Cooper S variants of the BMC A-Series engine were developed and produced at

532-511: The late 1930s, the Courthouse Green factory was turning out over 3,000 power units per week and throughout the Second World War , it was working flat-out making engines for fire pumps, ambulances, military vehicles, lifeboats and tanks, as well as components for aero engines and for Rotol variable pitch air screws. The factory suffered extensive damage during a bombing raid on Coventry in 1940 but production restarted within six weeks of

560-433: The production of flywheels, was also set up in 1924. These machines were something Morris Engines Ltd. were justifiably proud of and they encouraged the public to see the process. American engineers judged the production systems to be 20 years ahead of their time. Although the hand-transfer machining line remained in use for many years, the automated transfer machines were subsequently divided into individual machine units, as

588-438: The public. W.R. Morris became the sole Ordinary shareholder of the new company, over which he therefore retained full control and, as a result of the change in ownership, Morris Engines Ltd. became Morris Motors (1926) Ltd., Engines Branch. The (1926) was dropped from the company's name in 1929. Situated as it was in a congested area of Coventry, the Gosford Street factory site had little space for expansion on horizontal lines, so

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616-699: The raid, even though some of its workforce were having to work in the open air as much of the factory's roof had been blown off and had still not been replaced. After the War, Morris Motors Ltd., Engines Branch, reverted to making power units for vehicles made by the Nuffield Organization and its factory became part of British Motor Corporation when Morris Motors Limited merged with The Austin Motor Company Limited in 1952. Books Magazines Hotchkiss et Cie Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Compagnie

644-530: The southeast. Longfield House is a 16-story block of flats about 51 m tall situated on Bell Green Road, Courthouse Green. It was completed in 1967, and contains 129 flats. Courthouse Green is home to a The Range (retailer) store, number of fast food outlets, a gym, and a home improvement store which are adjacent to the A444 road , in addition the Gallagher Retail Park is on the opposite side of

672-498: Was a French arms and, in the 20th century, automobile manufacturer first established by American gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss . He moved to France and set up a factory, first at Viviez near Rodez in 1867, manufacturing arms used by the French in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, then moving at Saint-Denis near Paris in 1875. It was merged into and succeeded by Thomson-CSF , now Thales Group . An example of

700-524: Was almost entirely cast iron . This gave it increased structural strength, especially against HE ( high explosive ) rounds. A spiritual successor to the Renault FT-17 , the tank was intended for a very similar role: a cavalry tank, lightly armoured, nimble, and supported by infantry. For the time, it had formidable armour and proved combat effective against German armour during the Battle of France . It

728-599: Was almost entirely immune to frontal fire from the Panzer II and could only be effectively neutralised by more formidable Panzer IIIs and IVs . Due to a weak main armament, many Hotchkiss H35 tanks were converted into the Hotchkiss H39 - with a slightly more powerful 37mm cannon, a more powerful engine and slightly more armour on the turret. Several Hotchkiss tanks were captured by Nazi Germany and converted to Panzerjäger ( Marder I ) assault guns. The name of

756-593: Was an unsuccessful attempt to build Hotchkiss cars by a British arm of Hotchkiss in the United Kingdom —only a prototype was made. The company made several successful racing cars. Hotchkiss racers won the Rallye Automobile Monte Carlo in 1932, 1933, 1934, 1939, 1949 and 1950. The Hotchkiss 680 was an important model between the wars—it had a six-cylinder, 3-litre engine. In 1937, the company merged with Amilcar . J. A. Grégoire joined

784-438: Was renamed Morris Commercial Cars Ltd. Woollard was already a successful pioneer in the techniques of mass and flow production and the results he achieved at the Gosford Street factory were largely due to his expertise in managing men and machines. Morris invested another £300,000 in extending the Gosford Street factory and in buying new machines. Having re-organised engine production from batch to flow, Woollard introduced

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