Parnall was a British aircraft manufacturer that evolved from a wood-working company before the First World War to a significant designer of military and civil aircraft into the 1940s. It was based in the west of England and was originally known as George Parnall & Co. Ltd.
22-502: The Parnall Plover was a British single-seat naval fighter aircraft of the 1920s. Designed and built by George Parnall & Co. for use on Royal Navy aircraft carriers , it was ordered into small-scale production but after extensive evaluation, the Fairey Flycatcher was preferred for large-scale service. The Parnall Plover was designed by Harold Bolas , chief designer of the reformed George Parnall & Co. to meet
44-422: A conventional wheeled undercarriage or floats (with wheels protruding through the bottom of the floats). The first prototype flew in late 1922, powered by a Bristol Jupiter. Two more prototypes followed, with the second a floatplane, also powered by a Jupiter and the third a landplane powered by a Jaguar engine. The first two prototypes were inferior to the competing Fairey Flycatcher , but the third prototype, to
66-689: A plywood covering, initially a two-seater in tandem layout. The prototype was originally flown as the Hendy Heck but by the time of its first public demonstration in July 1935, the companies had merged and the aircraft was renamed as the Parnall Heck . The Parnall 382 (also known as the Heck III), was a single-engined wooden monoplane trainer aircraft with two open cockpits. It first flew in 1939. Parnall Panther The Parnall Panther
88-670: A substantially improved design, performed as well if not slightly better. Small orders were placed for both types, including ten for the Plover, to allow more detailed operational evaluation. Six Plovers entered service with 403 and 404 Fleet Fighter Flights of the Royal Air Force in 1923, allowing the type to be evaluated in service against the Flycatcher and the Nightjar, which both types were planned to replace. The Flycatcher
110-501: The Admiralty Air Department , where he had served as deputy chief designer under Harris Booth. It was planned to meet the requirements of Admiralty Specification N.2A for a two-seat reconnaissance aircraft capable of operating from aircraft carriers . The first prototype (serial N91 ) flew in 1917, with a further five prototypes being produced. The Panther was a wooden, single-bay biplane , which, unusually for
132-709: The Bristol based Parnall & Sons shopfitters started to manufacture aircraft at the Colliseum Works at Park Row in Bristol. During the First World War, the skilled staff were moved to sites around the city and in neighbouring South Gloucestershire producing planes to their own designs and, under contract, those of other companies. In 1919, the aircraft business was split from the parent company Parnall & Sons as George Parnall and Company . In
154-541: The Bristol Aeroplane Company . The Parnall Puffin was an experimental amphibious fighter-reconnaissance biplane . The Parnall Plover single-seat naval fighter aircraft of the 1920s for use off the Royal Navy 's aircraft carriers , was ordered into small-scale production, but after extensive evaluation, the Fairey Flycatcher was preferred for large-scale service. The Parnall Possum
176-603: The Hendy Aircraft Company and Nash and Thompson Limited . After the Second World War as aircraft component manufacture reduced, domestic appliances were built at the site. To reflect this move away from aviation the company changed its name to Parnall (Yate) Limited in 1946. This was acquired by Radiation Ltd. in 1958 and TI Group in 1967. The Parnall Scout was a prototype single-seat anti-airship wooden biplane fighter aircraft developed in
198-456: The 1910s. It was too heavy and slow and never went into production. The Parnall Panther was a carrier -based wooden, single-bay biplane spotter and reconnaissance aircraft designed by Harold Bolas, who had joined Parnall and Sons after leaving the Admiralty 's Air Department . It had a 230 hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine. Following contractual disputes production was transferred to
220-529: The 1920s, aircraft manufacture was centralised at a factory in Yate close to an airfield used by the Royal Flying Corps . In the 1930s, gun turrets for bomber aircraft were produced. The site was a strategic target for Luftwaffe bombing and during 1941, over fifty people were killed during the raids. In 1935, Parnall Aircraft Limited was formed when George Parnall and Company amalgamated with
242-415: The aircraft ditched into the sea, with a hydrovane in front of the undercarriage, to stop the aircraft from nosing over. After evaluation, an order for 300 Panthers was placed with Parnall in 1918 and then reduced to 150 following the end of the war. Parnall, which had been purchased by W. & T. Avery Ltd. rejected this reduction in the order and it was transferred to the Bristol Aeroplane Company ,
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#1732793931965264-437: The early 1930s. The Parnall G.4/31 was a 1930s general purpose aircraft which could operate as a day and night bomber as well as the reconnaissance, torpedo and dive-bombing roles. It was a large angular biplane powered by a 690 hp (515 kW) Bristol Pegasus IM3 with a Townend ring . The Parnall Heck was designed by Basil B. Henderson as a single-engined, conventional low-wing cabin monoplane, built of spruce with
286-490: The order being completed between 1919 and 1920. The Panther served with Spotter Reconnaissance Flights aboard the aircraft carriers HMS Argus and Hermes . While the Panthers handled well in the air, the elderly Bentley engines proved unreliable and the system of longitudinal arrestor wires in use aboard British aircraft carriers, was unsatisfactory, resulting in many accidents. Panthers continued in service with
308-508: The other for speed; it later appeared as a biplane which could be converted into a monoplane. Parnall Pixie IIIa G-EBJG is still in existence with the Midland Air Museum , Coventry, England. The remains are in deep store and are not generally on view to the public without prior arrangement. The Parnall Perch was a single-engined, side-by-side-seat aircraft designed as a general-purpose trainer. No contract on this specification
330-597: The requirements of the British Air Ministry Specification 6/22 for a single-seat fighter aircraft. The successful aircraft was to replace the Nieuport Nightjar and be powered by a Bristol Jupiter or Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engine capable of being operated from aircraft carriers or as a floatplane . The Plover was a single-bay biplane of wood-and-fabric construction, fitted with full-span flaps and could be fitted with
352-401: The time, was fitted with a birch plywood monocoque fuselage which could be folded for shipboard storage, the fuselage being hinged aft of the observer's cockpit. The pilot and observer were seated in individual cockpits in the deep fuselage, this giving a good view for landing but restricting access to the pilot's cockpit. Inflatable flotation airbags were fitted beneath the wings in case
374-495: Was a British carrier -based, spotter and reconnaissance aircraft designed and developed by Parnall and Sons in the latter years of the First World War , continuing in service until 1926. A total of 150 Panthers were built by Bristol Aeroplane Company since after the end of the war, Parnall had stopped aircraft manufacture. The Parnall Panther was designed by Harold Bolas, who had joined Parnall and Sons after leaving
396-421: Was an experimental flying boat built in 1930. Its single engine was fitted on a tilting mounting in the nose, so that the propeller could be kept clear of the water on takeoff and landing. Only one was built and it is not known whether it was ever flown. The Parnall Parasol was an experimental parasol winged aircraft design to measure the aerodynamic forces on wings in flight. Two were built and flown in
418-497: Was an experimental triplane , with a single, central engine driving wing-mounted propellers via shafts and gears. Two of these aircraft were built in the mid-1920s. The Parnall Pixie was a low-powered single-seat monoplane light aircraft originally designed to compete in the Lympne trials for motor-gliders in 1923, where it was flown successfully by Norman Macmillan . It had two sets of wings, one for cross-country flights and
440-477: Was an unusual single-engine, two-seat biplane built in 1927. It had a straight cantilever lower wing which supported the markedly swept upper wing. Only one was built. The Parnall Elf was a two-seat light touring biplane, three being built at Yate between 1928 and 1932. The Elf was the last aircraft designed by Harold Bolas before he left the company to go to the United States. The Parnall Prawn
462-550: Was awarded and only one Perch was built. The Parnall Peto was a small seaplane with folding wings for use as a submarine -carried reconnaissance aircraft . The Parnall Pike was a two/three-seat biplane reconnaissance aircraft , capable of operating off carrier decks or from water, built in 1927. Only one was constructed. The Parnall Pipit was a single-engine, single-seat naval fighter designed to an Air Ministry specification in 1927. Two prototypes were built but both were destroyed by tail flutter. The Parnall Imp
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#1732793931965484-588: Was preferred, being a more popular aircraft to fly as well as being easier to rig, replacing the Plover in 1924. One aircraft was entered on the civil register as G-EBON and was flown in the 1919 King's Cup Air Race , the Plover retired from the race due to fuel flow problems. G-EBON crashed and was destroyed in January 1929. Data from The Complete Book of Fighters General characteristics Performance Armament Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Parnall In 1916,
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