Editing ABC Motors

{{short description|Manufacturer of cars, aircraft, motor scooters, and engines}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2018}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2018}}
{{Infobox company 
|name = ABC Motors
|logo = 
|fate = Absorbed into [[Vickers]]
|successor = 
|foundation = 1912
|defunct = 1951
|location = [[Hersham]], [[Surrey]], England 
|industry = Engineering
|key_people = [[Ronald Charteris]] (Founder)<br>[[Granville Bradshaw]] (Designer)
|products = Cars, motorcycles and aero engines
|num_employees = 
|parent = 
|subsid = 
}}

'''ABC Motors Limited''' ("All British (Engine) Company") of [[Hersham]], [[Surrey]], England was a manufacturer of cars, aircraft, motor scooters, and engines for road and air. Established by [[Ronald Charteris]] in Hersham, Surrey in 1912, its chief designer was the young and talented [[Granville Bradshaw]].<ref>Lumsden 2003, p. 51.</ref> It was absorbed into [[Vickers]] in 1951 and the factory finally closed in the 1970s. Last occupied by [[Ian Allan Publishing]] as Hersham's Riverdene Industrial Estate, the factory was demolished around 2017-2018 and redeveloped as a Lidl supermarket (opened February 2019) with flats above.

==Products==
[[File:First flying and administrative officers of the Royal Flying Corps RAE-O790.jpg|thumb|Lt. Ronald Charteris (7th from left, standing) with fellow officers of the [[Royal Flying Corps]] c 1913]]
The ABC [[Radial engine|radial aero engines]] of the World War I period were extremely advanced for their time, and were initially thought to be very promising indeed. Unfortunately they were all more or less plagued by problems – and although a number of types for the [[Royal Air Force]] were designed around ABC engines (especially the ill-fated ''Dragonfly'') none saw squadron service with the RAF.

ABC also made a large number of engines for electrical generators and other purposes – mostly with a [[flat twin]] cylinder layout and unusual exhaust-over-inlet valve configuration. These smaller ABC engines have the distinction of being possibly the first airborne [[auxiliary power unit|APUs]]- the [[Coastal class blimp]] (first flown in 1916) had a 1.5-horsepower unit installed to provide electricity for the onboard wireless set, whilst a similar engine was used to power the searchlight of the sole [[Supermarine Nighthawk]] '[[Zeppelin]] killer' of 1917.

===Aero engines===
[[File:British ABC WASP.jpg|right|thumb|The [[ABC Wasp|Wasp]] engine]]
* [[ABC 6 hp Midge]] (1951)  National Archives Kew (AIR 10/7172)
* [[ABC 8 hp]] (1923)
* [[ABC 30 hp]] (1912)
* [[ABC 60 hp]] (1912)
* [[ABC 100 hp]] (1912)
* [[ABC Dragonfly]] (1918)
* [[ABC Gadfly]] (1920)
* [[ABC Gnat]] (1916)
* [[ABC Mosquito]] (1916)
* [[ABC Hornet]] (1929)
* [[ABC Scorpion]] (1923)
* [[ABC Wasp]] (1918)

===Aircraft===
* [[ABC Robin]]

===Automotive===
* [[ABC (1920 automobile)]]
* [[ABC Supersports]]
* [[ABC Skootamota]] 
* [[ABC motorcycles]]

==See also==
{{aircontent
|see also=
*[[ABC motorcycles]]
<!-- relevant lists that this company appears in: -->
|lists=
*[[List of aircraft engine manufacturers]]
}}

==References==

===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{refbegin}}
*Lumsden, Alec (1994) 'British Piston Aero Engines and Their Aircraft' (Airlife, Shrewsbury)
{{refend}}

{{ABC aeroengines}}
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abc Motors}}
[[Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of England]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Surrey]]
[[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1912]]
[[Category:1912 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1951]]
[[Category:1951 disestablishments in England]]
[[Category:1951 mergers and acquisitions]]
[[Category:British companies disestablished in 1951]]
[[Category:British companies established in 1912]]
[[Category:ABC aircraft engines| ]]