H. M.
Hobson Limited,
Accuracy Works Limited,
Lucas Aerospace
page 3
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A 1962 advert. |
By the time of the 1962 Official Handbook Hobson's
also made equipment for auto pilots, flight path control systems,
guided missiles and they had also got into atomic energy:
"UKEA items include electro-mechanical control systems for
atomic reactors, specialised gearboxes for reactor control systems,
honeycomb type isotype manufacturing units for atomic reactors,
master/slave manipulators for remote handling of radio-active
materials, explosives and chemicals. The company has also designed
and manufactured the equipment for the shielded area of the Berkeley
Nuclear Laboratories of the Central Electricity Generating Board.
This facility is for the remote handling and detailed examination of
irradiated fuel elements from the Board's Nuclear Power Stations." |
| By the 1967 Official Handbook they say that:-
"the company is now one of the major suppliers of power operated
flying control systems and electro-hydraulic servo mechanisms. Other
items include constant-speed alternator drives, feel simulator
controls, ball screw jacks and tailplane trim actuators; among the
many aircraft using this equipment are B A C VC 10, BAC One-Eleven,
BAC Lightning, Hawker-Siddeley Trident, Short and Harland Belfast
and Sud-Aviation Caravelle."
And that "in collaboration with the
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority the company has also been
engaged on the design, development and production of equipment
pertinent to this new industry". |
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The caption to this 1967 photo
says it shows a "corner of the test house ... showing the varied and
intricate pieces of equipment used for testing Hobson aircraft
accessories". |
| Hobsons then fell victim to the 1970s' enthusiasm for takeovers
and amalgamations. They were taken over by Lucas Aerospace
and became its Actuation Division. So the 1974 Official Handbook
reveals that the Fordhouse factory is now known as the Hobson works
and that: |
| "The company is one of the major designers and
manufacturers of hydraulic and pneumatic flight control systems and
equipment for the aerospace industry. The company’s involvement and
contribution to aerospace technology is indicated by the wide
product range; including powered flying controls, flap and slat
control systems, screw jack units, engine thrust reversal and nozzle
actuation systems, constant speed alternator drive units, fuel
booster pumps and fuel proportioners.
Many of these products are
fitted to aircraft in service with the world's leading airlines and
are also embodies in military and civil aircraft built in France,
Italy, Germany, Japan, America and Britain, including the new
generation Anglo-French Concorde, American Tri-Star and European A
300 Airbus. The company is also supplying a wide range of equipment
for the European Multi-Role Combat Aircraft. Industrial products of
the company include a line of Teleguages for the distant reading of
tank contents and liquid flow-meters suitable for the dairy and
other industries." |
A 1974 advert. |
| More recently work has been done on the European Airbus, the Fiat
G.222, and the Saab J-29. The company also developed a gun turret
for the B.o.105 helicopter, which is sighted by a Ferranti helmet
pointing system. |
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These cherry trees, outside the
Stafford Road works, lie between the dual carriageway and the access
road (seen to the left). This are was being promoted by the
then Borough Council for industrial development in the 1930s and
later, and possibly date from that time. |
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In 1996 Lucas Industries merged with the Varity Corporation to become
LucasVarity. This corporate set up did not last long as in May 1999 the
American conglomerate, TRW Inc., acquired LucasVarity for what they
referred to as "a whopping $7 billion in cash." The Wolverhampton end of
this a $18.7 billion multi national was then known as TRW Aeronautical
Systems, Lucas Aerospace. In 2002 the Goodrich Corporation of
Charlotte, North Carolina, acquired TRW, doubtless for an even more whopping
sum. Goodrich is the present trade name of the old B. F. Goodrich company of
Akron, rival tyremakers to Goodyears of Akron, who got out of tyres
altogether in 1986 and concentrated on their own aerospace activities. Now
that they have got TRW, and thereby Lucas, and thereby Hobsons, they are the
largest aerospace conglomerate in the world.
Sources:
Hobson: a Personal Story of Fifty Years. A company history, produced
by the company's advertising agents, in 1953 to mark the company's fiftieth
birthday.
Wolverhampton Official Yearbooks.
TRW Aeronautical Systems, Lucas Aerospace web site. Goodrich
Corporation web site.
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