Editing Avro (section)

==History==

===Early history===
[[File:AV Roe Bulls Eye.jpg|thumb|The A.V. Roe Type I Triplane, Roe's first successful aircraft]]
One of the world's first aircraft builders, A.V. Roe and Company was established on 1 January 1910 at Brownsfield Mill, Great Ancoats Street, [[Manchester]], by [[Alliott Verdon Roe]] and his brother [[Humphrey Verdon Roe]].<ref>[http://www.verdon-roe.co.uk/#/thelifeofavroe/biography/ "Alliott Verdon-Roe."] ''verdon-roe.co.uk''. Retrieved: 5 April 2010.</ref> Humphrey's contribution was chiefly financial and organizational; funding it from the earnings of the family [[webbing]] business and acting as managing director until he joined the [[Royal Flying Corps|RFC]] in 1917.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1949/1949%20-%201381.html "H.V. Roe."] ''Flight'', 4 August 1949, p. 145.</ref> Alliot had already constructed a successful aircraft, the [[Roe I Triplane]], named ''The Bullseye'' after a brand of [[braces (clothing)|braces]] manufactured by Humphrey.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Winthrop |first1=John |title=The Technical World Magazine |date=1910 |volume=13 |page=223 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqAEAAAAYAAJ |access-date=28 January 2023 |publisher=Technical World Company |language=en |oclc=8874551}}</ref> The railway arch where A.V. Roe in 1909 built and achieved the first all-British powered flight still stands in the [[Lee Valley Park]] on the Walthamstow Marshes. In 1911, [[Roy Chadwick]] began work as Alliott's personal assistant and the firm's draughtsman and, in 1918, he was appointed Chief Designer.

The first Avro aircraft to be produced in any quantity was the Avro E or [[Avro 500]], first flown in March 1912, of which 18 were manufactured, most for the newly formed [[Royal Flying Corps]]. The company also built the world's first aircraft with enclosed crew accommodation in 1912, the monoplane [[Avro Type F|Type F]] and the biplane [[Avro Type G]] in 1912, neither progressing beyond the prototype stage. The Type 500 was developed into the [[Avro 504]], first flown in September 1913. A small number were bought by the War Office before the outbreak of [[World War I]], and the type saw some front-line service in the early months of the war, but it is best known as a training aircraft, serving in that role until 1933. Production lasted 20 years and totalled 8,340 aircraft from several factories: Hamble, Failsworth, Miles Platting and Newton Heath.

===Interwar years===
After the boom in orders during the First World War, the lack of new work in peacetime caused severe financial problems and in August 1920, 68.5% of the company's shares were acquired by nearby [[Crossley Motors]] which had an urgent need for more factory space for automotive vehicle body building.<ref name=Crossley>Eyre, M., Chris Heaps and Alan Townsin. ''Crossley''. Hersham, Surrey, UK: OPC Railprint, 2002. {{ISBN|0-86093-574-4}}.</ref> 

In 1924, the company left [[Alexandra Park Aerodrome]] in south Manchester where test flying had taken place since 1918; the site was used for a mixture of recreation and housing development. A rural site to the south of the city was found at New Hall Farm, [[Woodford Aerodrome|Woodford]] in Cheshire, which continued to be used by aviation company [[BAE Systems]] until March 2011; the site has now been earmarked for a mixed use development. 

In 1928 Crossley Motors sold AVRO to [[Armstrong Siddeley]] Holdings Ltd.<ref name="Crossley" />  In 1928 A.V. Roe resigned from the company he had founded and formed the [[Saunders-Roe]] company, which after World War II developed several radical designs for combat jets, and, eventually, a range of powerful [[hovercraft]]. 

In 1935 Avro became a subsidiary of [[Hawker Siddeley]].

===Second World War===
[[File:Avro Lancaster B I PA474.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Avro Lancaster]]]]
Maintaining their skills in designing [[Trainer (aircraft)|trainer]] aircraft, the company built a more robust biplane called the [[Avro Tutor]] in the 1930s which the [[Royal Air Force|Royal Air Force (RAF)]] also bought in quantity. A twin piston-engined airliner called the [[Avro Anson|Anson]] followed but as tensions rose again in Europe the firm's emphasis returned to combat aircraft. The [[Avro Manchester]], [[Avro Lancaster|Lancaster]], and [[Avro Lincoln|Lincoln]] were particularly famous Avro designs. Over 7,000 Lancasters were built and their bombing capabilities led to their use in the famous ''[[Operation Chastise|Dam Busters]]'' raid. Of the total, nearly half were built at Avro's Woodford (Stockport) and Chadderton (Oldham) sites, with some 700 Lancasters built at the Avro "shadow" factory next to [[Leeds Bradford Airport]] (formerly Yeadon Aerodrome), northwest [[Leeds]]. This factory employed 17,500 workers at a time when the population of Yeadon was just 10,000. It was the largest building in Europe at the time, at {{convert|1.5|e6sqft|m2|abbr=off}}, and its roof was disguised by the addition of fields and hedges to hide it from enemy planes.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest-news/top-stories/motion-to-celebrate-leeds-factory-s-war-efforts-1-5779881|title=Motion to celebrate Leeds factory's war efforts|last=Bowyer|first=Laura|date=19 June 2013|work=[[Yorkshire Evening Post]]|access-date=20 June 2013}}</ref> The old taxiway from the factory to the runway is still evident.

The Avro Lancaster carried the heaviest bomb loads of the war, including the [[Grand Slam (bomb)|Grand Slam bomb]].

===Postwar developments===
[[File:Avro Vulcan Bomber RAF.JPEG|thumb|250px|[[Avro Vulcan]]]]
[[File:Blue Steel missile.png|thumb|250px|[[Blue Steel missile]]]]
The civilian [[Avro Lancastrian|Lancastrian]] and maritime reconnaissance [[Avro Shackleton|Shackleton]] were derived from the successful Lancaster design. The [[Avro Tudor|Tudor]] was a pressurised but problematic post-war Avro airliner which faced strong competition from designs by [[Bristol Aeroplane Company|Bristol]], [[Bombardier Aerospace|Canadair]], [[Douglas Aircraft Company|Douglas]], [[Handley Page Aircraft Company|Handley Page]], and [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]]. With the same wings and engines as the Lincoln, it achieved only a short (34 completed) production run following a first flight in June 1945 and the cancellation of an order from [[BOAC]]. The older [[Avro York]] was somewhat more successful in both the RAF and in commercial service, being distinguished by a fuselage square in cross-section. Both Tudors and Yorks played an important humanitarian part in the [[Berlin Airlift]].

The postwar [[Avro Vulcan|Vulcan]] [[bomber]], originally designed as a nuclear-strike aircraft, was used to maintain the British nuclear deterrent, armed with the [[Blue Steel missile|Avro Blue Steel]] stand-off nuclear bomb. The [[Avro Vulcan|Vulcan]] saw service as a conventional bomber during the British campaign to recapture the [[Falkland Islands]] in 1982. Several Vulcans are prized as museum exhibits.

A twin turboprop [[airliner]], the [[Avro 748]], was developed during the 1950s and sold widely to airlines and governments across the globe, powered by two [[Rolls-Royce Dart]] engines. The RAF bought 6 for use by the [[No. 32 Squadron RAF|Queen's Flight]] and a variant with a rear-loading ramp and a "kneeling" main undercarriage was sold to the RAF (31 aircraft) as the [[Hawker Siddeley Andover|Andover]].

===Avro regional jets===
[[File:Bae146s at Gatwick.jpg|thumb|Dan Air and Air UK [[Avro RJ]]s at Gatwick]]
The Avro name would subsequently be resurrected by [[British Aerospace]] when this aircraft manufacturer renamed its [[BAe 146]] family of regional jetliners as Avro regional jets ([[Avro RJ]]).  Three differently sized versions of the four engine jetliner were produced:  the [[Avro RJ70]], the [[Avro RJ85]] and the largest example, the [[Avro RJ100]].

===Avro Canada===
{{main|Avro Canada}}
In 1945, [[Hawker Siddeley|Hawker Siddeley Group]] purchased the former [[Victory Aircraft]] firm in [[Malton, Ontario]], and renamed the operation '''A.V. Roe Canada Limited'''.<ref>Campagna 2003, p. 19.</ref> Commonly known as [[Avro Canada]], it was actually a subsidiary of the Hawker Siddeley Group and used the Avro name for trading purposes.

===Amalgamation===
When the company was absorbed into Hawker Siddeley Aviation in July 1963 following the [[1957 Defence White Paper]], the Avro name ceased to be used. The brand still had a strong heritage appeal, and as mentioned above the marketing name "''Avro RJ''" (regional jet) was used by [[British Aerospace]] from 1994 to 2001 for production of the RJ70, RJ85 and RJ100 models which were respectively based on the [[BAe 146-100]], [[BAe 146-200]] and [[BAe 146-300]]. This four engine jet aircraft type is sometimes also loosely called the "Avro 146".

The [[BAe ATP]] (Advanced Turbo Prop) design evolved from the [[Avro 748]] and examples continue in use on shorter, mainly domestic, scheduled air services. A few Avro 504s, Tutors, Ansons and Lancasters are maintained in flying condition. At 39 years, the Shackleton held the distinction of being the aircraft with the longest period of active RAF service, until overtaken by the [[English Electric Canberra]] in 1998.