Cierva Autogiro Company
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1926 |
| Founder | Juan de la Cierva, James George Weir |
| Defunct | 1948 |
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
Key people | Juan de la Cierva, James George Weir, James Allan Jamieson Bennett |
| Products | Autogyros, Helicopters |
The Cierva Autogiro Company was a British enterprise founded in 1926 with the purpose of advancing the autogyro technology. The company was created to further the innovations of Spanish aviator and engineer Juan de la Cierva, supported financially by Scottish industrialist and pilot James George Weir.
History
Juan de la Cierva’s initial autogyro constructed in Britain was the C.8. Multiple variants were developed through a partnership with Avro. Among these, the pre-World War II Cierva C.30 achieved significant commercial success, with close to 150 units produced under license in the United Kingdom by Avro, in Germany by Focke-Wulf, and in France by Lioré-et-Olivier.
On 9 December 1936, Cierva tragically lost his life in the Croydon KLM airliner crash. Following his death, Dr. James Allan Jamieson Bennett took over as Chief Technical Officer until 1939. Bennett made notable improvements to autogyro control mechanisms and pursued Cierva’s ambition of creating vertical flight aircraft for the Royal Navy. His innovative rotorcraft design, which combined elements of autogyros and helicopters, was proposed to the Air Ministry under (Specification S.22/38) as the Cierva C.41 Gyrodyne, but development was interrupted by World War II. Subsequently, Bennett joined Fairey Aviation, where he further evolved this concept into the Fairey FB-1 Gyrodyne, which had its maiden flight in 1947.
In 1943, the Aircraft Department of G & J Weir Ltd. was reorganized into the Cierva Autogiro Company with a focus on helicopter development for the Air Ministry. The post-war era saw the creation of the Cierva Air Horse (1948), which was then recognized as the largest helicopter worldwide. Unfortunately, its prototype crashed, resulting in the deaths of Alan Marsh—Cierva’s manager and chief test pilot—John "Jeep" Cable, Chief Helicopter Test Pilot for the Ministry of Supply, and Flight Engineer J. K. Unsworth. This calamity led Weir to withdraw financial support and transfer ongoing development contracts to Saunders-Roe.
Aircraft
British-built aircraft
- Cierva C.8
- Cierva C.9
- Cierva C.10
- Cierva C.12 (first flown in 1929) – notable as the first autogyro equipped with floats
- Cierva C.13 – planned flying boat autogyro (project stage only)
- Cierva C.14
- Cierva C.17
- Cierva C.19
- Cierva C.20 – licensed production of the C.19 by Focke-Wulf
- Cierva C.21 – licensed variant planned by Lioré et Olivier (not constructed)
- Cierva C.24
- Cierva C.25
- Cierva C.26 – twin-engine autogyro project; designation later reused for a modified version of the C.24
- Cierva C.29
- Cierva C.30
- Cierva C.32 – two-seat coupe autogyro design (project only)
- Cierva C.33 – four-seat autogyro based on the Avro Type 641 Commodore (project only)
- Cierva C.37 – twin-engine, twin-boom autogyro with a 45-foot rotor (project only)
- Cierva C.38
- Cierva C.39 – two or three-seat fleet observation autogyro (project only)
- Cierva C.40
- Weir W.1 - W.4 – four prototypes of single-seat autogyros; development ceased in favor of W.5 helicopter
- Weir W.5 (first flown in 1938) – wooden-framed two-seat twin-rotor helicopter powered by a 50 hp four-cylinder air-cooled Weir engine
- Weir W.6 (first flown in 1939) – twin-rotor helicopter featuring a metal tube frame and powered by a 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy engine
- Cierva W.9 (first flown in 1945) – experimental helicopter utilizing a shaft-driven hydraulically actuated tilting hub and blown air for torque control; only one unit built
- Cierva W.11 Air Horse (first flight in 1948) – heavy-lift helicopter derived from the W.6 design; two units produced
- Cierva W.14 Skeeter (first flown in 1948) – production transferred to Saunders-Roe Skeeter from 1951 onward
- Cierva CR Twin (first flown in 1969)
Notes and references
- Notes
- Citations
- Bibliography
- CIERVA AUTOGIRO Co., Ltd Flight DECEMBER 9, 1926 p810
- Articles with short description
- Technology companies founded in 1926
- Former aircraft manufacturers in the United Kingdom
- Former helicopter manufacturers in the United Kingdom
- 1926 establishments in England
- Technology firms closed in 1948
- Vehicle manufacturers founded in 1926
- Vehicle manufacturers closed in 1948
- 1948 closures in England
- British firms dissolved in 1948
- British firms founded in 1926
- British companies disestablished in 1948