Editing Parnall

{{Short description|British aircraft manufacturer}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox company
| name                = Parnall
| native_name         = George Parnall & Co. Ltd.
| former_name         = George Parnall & Sons
| type                = Private limited company (initially), Public limited company (later)
| industry            = Aircraft manufacturing, later domestic appliances
| founded             = 1916 (as aircraft manufacturer), 1935 (amalgamation)
| founder             = George Parnall
| defunct             = 1967 (acquired by TI Group)
| fate                = Acquired
| successor           = TI Group (parent company)
| hq_location         = Bristol, England (initially), Yate, South Gloucestershire (later)
| hq_location_city    =
| hq_location_country = 
| key_people          = Harold Bolas, Basil B. Henderson
| products            = Aircraft (Scout, Panther, Puffin, Plover, Possum, Pixie, Perch, Peto, Pike, Pipit, Imp, Elf, Prawn, Parasol, G.4/31, Heck, 382), gun turrets, domestic appliances
| parent              = Radiation Ltd. (after 1958), TI Group (after 1967)
}}
'''Parnall''' was a [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|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.<ref name="Avro 504K">{{cite web|title=Avro 504K|url=http://www.gregorie.org/gregories/history/avro_504k.htm|publisher=David Gregorie|access-date=4 December 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sutherland|first1=Jonathan|last2=Smith|first2=Alistair|title=Royal Flying Corps|date=2012|publisher=Casemate|isbn=9781848848894|page=132|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gtrvnUKYlXoC&q=Parnall+Short+Type+827&pg=PT132}}</ref> It was based in the west of England and was originally known as '''George Parnall & Co. Ltd.'''<ref>{{cite web|title=George Parnall and Co|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/George_Parnall_and_Co|publisher=Grace's Guide|access-date=4 December 2015}}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Yate.parnall.memorial.arp.jpg|thumb|right|Memorial to the 52 killed in German air raids on 27 February 1941 at Parnall Aircraft in [[Yate]]]]

In 1916, the [[Bristol]] based [[Parnall & Sons]] [[shopfitter]]s started to manufacture aircraft at the Colliseum Works at Park Row in Bristol.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Flight International|Flight]]|page=600|date=30 May 1935|title=Formation of Parnall Aircraft, Ltd|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1935/1935%20-%201324.html}}</ref><ref name="death" /> 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.<ref name="Avro 504K"/>

In 1919, the aircraft business was split from the parent company Parnall & Sons as '''George Parnall and Company'''.<ref name="death">{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Flight International|Flight]]|page=688|date=25 June 1926|title=Death of Mr. George Parnall|url=https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1936/1936%20-%201701.html}}</ref> In the 1920s, aircraft manufacture was centralised at a factory in [[Yate]] close to an airfield used by the [[Royal Flying Corps]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Factory Age|url=http://www.yateheritage.co.uk/history-of-yate/the-factory-age.htm|publisher=Yate Heritage Centre|access-date=6 February 2016}}</ref> In the 1930s, [[gun turret]]s 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yate wartime aircraft factory bombing is remembered|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-12592018|publisher=BBC|access-date=6 February 2016}}</ref>

In 1935, '''Parnall Aircraft Limited''' was formed when George Parnall and Company amalgamated with the [[Hendy Aircraft Company]] and [[Nash and Thompson Limited]].<ref name="jackson89">Jackson 1974, p. 89</ref> After the Second World War as aircraft component manufacture reduced, domestic appliances were built at the site.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Parnall story|url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Parnall-planes/story-11240567-detail/story.html|access-date=6 February 2016|work=Bristol Post|date=1 September 2008}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parnall (Yate) - Graces Guide |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Parnall_(Yate) |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=www.gracesguide.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Radiation - Graces Guide |url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Radiation |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=www.gracesguide.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Parnall (Yate) Ltd. {{!}} Science Museum Group Collection |url=https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/people/cp46510/parnall-yate-ltd |access-date=2023-01-09 |website=collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk |language=en}}</ref>

==Aircraft==

[[File:Parnall Scout.jpg|left|thumb|Parnall Scout fighter prototype nearing completion]]
The [[Parnall Scout]] was a prototype single-seat anti-airship wooden [[biplane]] fighter aircraft developed in the 1910s. It was too heavy and slow and never went into production.<ref>{{cite web|title=Mivart Street, Bristol: How War Transformed British Industry|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p029yn25|publisher=BBC|access-date=6 February 2016}}</ref><ref name=graces>{{cite web|title=Parnall Aircraft|url=http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Parnall_Aircraft|publisher=Grace's Guide|access-date=6 February 2016}}</ref>

The [[Parnall Panther]] was a [[aircraft carrier|carrier]]-based wooden, single-bay biplane spotter and reconnaissance aircraft designed by Harold Bolas,<ref>{{cite web|last1=Webb|first1=Alan|title=Section 1 - Woodworking contracts, then Scout and Panther|url=http://www.chew76.fsnet.co.uk/parnall/chap1.html|website=PARNALL - Bristol's Other Plane-maker|publisher=Alan Webb|access-date=6 February 2016}}</ref> who had joined Parnall and Sons after leaving the [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]]'s [[Air Department]]. It had a 230&nbsp;hp Bentley BR2 rotary engine.<ref name=graces/> Following contractual disputes production was transferred to the [[Bristol Aeroplane Company]].

The [[Parnall Puffin]] was an [[Experimental aircraft|experimental]] [[Amphibious aircraft|amphibious]] fighter-reconnaissance [[biplane]].

The [[Parnall Plover]] single-seat naval fighter aircraft of the 1920s for use off the [[Royal Navy]]'s [[aircraft carrier]]s, was ordered into small-scale production, but after extensive evaluation, the [[Fairey Flycatcher]] was preferred for large-scale service.

The [[Parnall Possum]] 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 light aircraft trials|Lympne trials]] for [[motor-glider]]s in 1923, where it was flown successfully by [[Norman Macmillan (RAF officer)|Norman Macmillan]]. It had two sets of wings, one for cross-country flights and the other for speed; it later appeared as a [[biplane]] which could be converted into a monoplane.<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1923/1923%20-%200653.html "Pixie."] ''Flight'', 25 October 1923, pp. 653-654.</ref> 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 was awarded and only one Perch was built.

[[File:Parnall-Peto-N181.jpg|thumb|The Peto ''N181'']]
The [[Parnall Peto]] was a small [[seaplane]] with folding wings for use as a [[submarine]]-carried [[reconnaissance aircraft]].<ref>[http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1929/1929-1%20-%200196.html ''Flight'' 1929]</ref>

The [[Parnall Pike]] was a two/three-seat biplane [[Surveillance aircraft|reconnaissance aircraft]], capable of operating off carrier decks or from water, built in 1927.<ref>[http://all-aero.com/index.php/54-planes-p-q-e-r-s/7650-parnall-pike "Parnall Pike"] ''All-Aero''. Retrieved 5 March 2015.</ref>  Only one was constructed.

The [[Parnall Pipit]] was a single-engine, single-seat naval [[Fighter aircraft|fighter]] designed to an [[Air Ministry]] specification in 1927.  Two prototypes were built but both were destroyed by tail flutter.

The [[Parnall Imp]] 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.<ref name="jackson280">Jackson 1974, p. 280</ref>

The [[Parnall Elf]] was a two-seat light touring biplane, three being built at Yate between 1928 and 1932.<ref name="jackson280" /> The Elf was the last aircraft designed by Harold Bolas before he left the company to go to the United States.

The [[Parnall Prawn]] 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 wing]]ed aircraft design to measure the aerodynamic forces on wings in flight.  Two were built and flown in 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&nbsp;hp (515&nbsp;kW) [[Bristol Pegasus|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 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''.<ref name="jackson89" />

The [[Parnall 382]] (also known as the Heck III), was a single-engined wooden [[monoplane]] [[Trainer (aircraft)|trainer aircraft]] with two open cockpits. It first flew in 1939.

==References==
{{Reflist|35em}}

*{{cite book|title=British Civil Aircraft since 1919|volume=3|first=A.J.|last=Jackson|year=1974|publisher=Putnam|location=London|isbn=0-370-10014-X}}

==Further reading==
* [[Philip Jarrett|Jarrett, Philip]]. "Parnall's Final Fling: The Parnall Type 381 Gunnery Research Aircraft". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 55, Autumn 1994, pp.&nbsp;16–20. {{ISSN|0143-5450}}
*{{cite book |title= Parnall Aircraft since 1914|last=Wixey|first=Kenneth |year= 1990|publisher= Naval Institute Press|location=Annopolis|isbn= 1-55750-930-1}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Parnall Aircraft Limited}}
*[http://www.chew76.fsnet.co.uk/parnall/chap1.html PARNALL - Bristol's Other Plane-maker], Alan Webb

{{Parnall aircraft}}
{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom}}

[[Category:Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Defunct companies based in Bristol]]
[[Category:1935 establishments in England]]