Clayton and Shuttleworth Ltd - Lincoln
Prominent Lincoln aircraft manufacturer during WW1
The four main factories that made up the Clayton complex in Lincoln. 1/ Stamp End Works in the bank of the River Witham. 2/ The Titanic Works between the Great Northern and Great Central Railway lines. 3/ The Abbey Works. 4/ The Tower Works. East of the Tower Works is the Handley Page Field
Clayton and Shuttleworth were founded in 1842 by Nathaniel Clayton and Joseph Shuttleworth who set up an iron foundry adjacent to the River Witham. At this time they were engaged in the production of agricultural machinery and later this developed mainly into steam engines and threshing machines. The company expanded with the building of the new Titanic Works between the Great Northern and Great Central Railway lines. At the outbreak of WW1 the firm also made railway rolling stock and pioneered the use of tracked vehicles. At this time the works occupied about 100 acres and employed about 5000 people.
During WW1 the Titanic Works produced small aircraft; the Abbey & Tower Works produced larger aircraft. The nearby Handley Page Field was used to fly off the larger aircraft.
Types built included: SS Airships, Sopwith Triplanes, Sopwith Camels and HP 0/400 and Vickers Vimy bombers.
SS Airships
These non rigid airships termed SS or Sea Scouts gave excellent service during WW1 mainly involving coastal anti submarine patrols. Claytons first aviation contract was the manufacture of parts for these which were sent to other manufacturers for the final assembly of the airship.
Sopwith Triplane
The Sopwith Triplane was a single seat scout aircraft designed by Herbert Smith and manufactured by the Sopwith Aviation Company during WW1. It has the distinction of being the first military triplane to see operational service.
The triplane was the first aircraft manufactured by Claytons. Both the War Office and Admiralty contracts to Claytons but only the Admiralty the type. A pattern machine was delivered to Claytons and they delivered their first machine which was delivered 2 December 1916. The production aircraft were fitted with 130 hp Clerget 9B rotary engine.
The Clayton machines were built in the east section of the Titanic works and pushed outside for engine tests. After this they were dismantled and sent to the airfield at Bracebridge Heath. The tRiplane was unable to be fitted with 2 Vickers machine guns and was quickly replaced by the new and improved Sopwith Camel.
Sopwith F1 Camel
Claytons were the 4th contractor to build the Sopwith Camel receiving an order in March 1917. These were fitted with Clerget engines and delivered to the RNAS with several the Belgium and Greece. After delivery of the first batch most Camels wre fitted with 150 hp Bentley BR ! Rotary engine. Claytons built 7 batches of Camels in total.
Sopwith 2F1 Camel
In 1917 a modified version of the Camel was built for use on ships. These had a reduction in wing span and also one Vickers machine gun with a Lewis gun mounted above the top wing. 50 were ordered but how many were delivered is unclear
Handley Page O/400
A National Aircraft Factory was originally planned for Lincoln to be managed by Clayton and Shuttleworth to meet the growing demand for larger aircraft for the proposed Independent Air Force. However the plans were changed and in late 1916 work started on the third Clayton and Shuttleworth works which was bounded by the River Witham to the south and the Great Central railway line to the north. A prisoner of war camp was built to the west of the plant and the prisoners were put to work building aircraft shops at the large Abbey and Tower works.
An order for fifty Handley Page O/400 machines with Rolls Royce Eagle VIII engines, was given to the company on October 4th 1917. The most southerly part of the Abbey works, recognised by its saw-tooth shaped roof, was the erecting shop where the machines were assembled three abreast. The bombers were towed out of the shop to the field east of the works alongside the river. As they were over 20 feet high, the machines had to be flown out for testing and delivery. The field (now subdivided) is still known as Handley Page Field. The aircraft were lightly loaded for the short ferry flight to the Aircraft Acceptance Park.
Vickers Vimy
The Company received an order for 100 Vickers Vimy bombers fitted with either B.H.P. or Fiat A 12 bis engines in May 1918 followed by a further order for 50 machines. Both orders were cancelled soon after the Armistice and only three machines were completed at the Abbey works.
Other WW1 Work
At the western end of the Titanic Works they also made crawler tractors for the War Department from 1917 to 1919 for a variety of military use including the towing of aircraft. These were fitted with either a 35 or 40 hp Dorman Stafford 4 cylinder side valve engine. The company made four bladed propellers for their own Handley Page aircraft and also two bladed propellors for Robeys for use with Sunbeam engines and other four bladed propellers for the Galloway engine
Post WW1
The company returned to peace time work and made no further aircraft. However they were engaged in the construction of large airship mooring masts. The first of these was erected at Cardington in 1926 and proved quite satisfactory.
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Clayton and Shuttleworth building
Clayton and Shuttleworth Titanic Works with faint evidence of initials
Section of the Titanic Works
Compiled by David Fell with acknowledgment to the book Aircraft Made In Lincoln by Walls and Parker. Photos from my archive
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