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Sperry Rand

From Alfawiki
Sperry Corporation
Company typePublic
IndustryElectronics, manufacturing, defense, computing
FoundedApril 14, 1910; 116 years ago (1910-04-14) in Brooklyn, New York, United States
FounderElmer Ambrose Sperry
DefunctSeptember 16, 1986 (1986-09-16)
FateAcquired by Burroughs Corporation; merged to form Unisys
SuccessorUnisys Corporation
Headquarters
New York City
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Elmer Ambrose Sperry (founder), Michael Blumenthal (Burroughs CEO during acquisition)
ProductsAviation instruments, autopilot systems, bombsights, analog ballistic computers, gyro gunsights, digital computers (UNIVAC), hydraulics, office machinery, electric shavers
Number of employees
Approximately 3,500 (British operations in 1963)
ParentNone (independent until 1986)

Sperry Corporation was a prominent American manufacturer specializing in equipment and electronics, with operations spanning more than seventy years during the 20th century. Its existence concluded in 1986 after a hostile acquisition by Burroughs Corporation, which combined the companies to form Unisys. Subsequently, several of its divisions were integrated into Honeywell, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon Technologies, and Northrop Grumman.

The firm gained recognition for pioneering the artificial horizon and a range of aviation instruments based on gyroscope technology, including autopilot systems, bombsight devices, analog ballistic computers, and gyro gunsights. Following World War II, Sperry broadened its focus to include electronics and computing technologies.

Established by Elmer Ambrose Sperry, the company was officially incorporated on April 14, 1910, as the Sperry Gyroscope Company in Downtown Brooklyn. Its initial mission was manufacturing navigation tools such as the marine gyrostabilizer and gyrocompass. During World War I, the company expanded its product line to include aircraft components like bomb sights and fire control mechanisms. Originally concentrated around Long Island, New York, Sperry gradually extended its geographic reach.

In 1918, Elmer’s son, Lawrence Sperry, launched a rival enterprise called Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company, which specialized in autopilot technology. After Lawrence’s untimely death in 1923, both companies merged again in 1924. In January 1929, Sperry was purchased by North American Aviation and reestablished as Sperry Gyroscope Company, Inc.. It regained autonomy in 1933 under the name Sperry Corporation, functioning as a holding company for subsidiaries such as Sperry Gyroscope and Ford Instrument Company. The company developed sophisticated aircraft navigation equipment including the Sperry Gyroscope and Radio Direction Finder.

Sperry ventured into hydraulics in 1937 by acquiring Vickers, Inc., and incorporated cutting-edge technology like the klystron tube invented by Stanford researchers Russell and Sigurd Varian. The company flourished during World War II, ranking nineteenth among U.S. firms for government wartime contracts. Its specialties included analog computer–controlled bomb sights, airborne radar systems, automated landing aids, and manufacturing Ball Turret Guns for B-17 and B-24 bombers.

In 1944, Sperry divested its Brooklyn facility at 40 Flatbush Avenue to Howard clothing manufacturers. After the war, it further diversified into electronics and computing fields, launching its first digital computer named SPEEDAC in 1953.

Throughout the 1950s, much of Sperry Gyroscope's operations relocated to Phoenix, Arizona under the name Sperry Flight Systems to protect defense-related activities from nuclear threats. Meanwhile, the Gyroscope division maintained its headquarters at a large plant in Lake Success, Long Island—a site that also served as the temporary United Nations headquarters from 1946 until 1952—continuing there through the 1980s.

Sperry Rand

In 1955, Sperry acquired Remington Rand and adopted the name Sperry Rand. By absorbing companies like Eckert–Mauchly Computer Corporation and Engineering Research Associates, it developed the successful UNIVAC line of computers and secured an important cross-licensing agreement with IBM. Remaining a significant military contractor, it was involved in an antitrust legal battle with Honeywell, Inc. between 1967 and 1973 (Honeywell v. Sperry Rand).

By 1961, Sperry Rand held the thirty-fourth position on the Fortune 500 list of America’s largest corporations.

Entering the minicomputer market in 1977, Sperry Rand acquired Varian Data Machines, which became known as the Sperry UNIVAC Minicomputer Operation within its UNIVAC division.

In 1978, the corporation concentrated more heavily on computing by divesting several units including Remington Rand Systems, Remington Rand Machines, Ford Instrument Company, and Sperry Vickers. At this time it dropped "Rand" from its corporate name and resumed using Sperry Corporation.

Around the period of acquiring Remington Rand, Sperry Gyroscope established a marine instruments facility in Charlottesville, Virginia. This operation evolved into the Sperry Piedmont Division in 1956 and was later renamed Sperry Marine.

During the 1970s, Sperry Corporation functioned as a diversified conglomerate headquartered at 1290 Avenue of Americas in Manhattan. Its product portfolio encompassed typewriters (under Sperry Remington), office machinery, electronic digital computers for both commercial and military applications (Sperry Univac), construction and agricultural machinery (Sperry New Holland), avionics including gyroscopes and radar systems (Sperry Vickers/Sperry Flight Systems), as well as consumer goods such as electric shavers (Sperry Remington). The company’s defense contracts were managed through Sperry Systems Management, which also operated the Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant from 1961 until 1975. In January 1972, Sperry acquired RCA's Spectra 70 series of electronic digital computers compatible with IBM's System/360 architecture. In 1983, it sold Vickers to Libbey Owens Ford (later known as TRINOVA Corporation) while purchasing Aircraft Radio Corporation from Cessna.

Burroughs Acquisition

On September 16, 1986, Burroughs Corporation, under the leadership of CEO and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal, successfully executed a hostile takeover of Sperry Corporation, resulting in their merger. The combined company adopted the name Unisys Corporation, reflecting a fusion of "united," "information," and "systems," while also nodding to Sperry's UNIVAC computer line. Although Sperry implemented a "poison pill" defense that elevated its stock price to discourage the takeover, Burroughs obtained additional capital to finalize the purchase.

Following the merger, Unisys divested various Sperry business units to concentrate on its primary operations. In 1986, Sperry New Holland was sold to Ford Motor Company, which itself was later acquired by Fiat in 1991. The Sperry Marine division was transferred to Tenneco in 1987 and has since become part of Northrop Grumman. Honeywell acquired the Sperry Aerospace Group, while the Sperry Defense Products Group, originally from Sperry Gyroscope, was sold to Loral Corporation and is now incorporated into Lockheed Martin.

British Operations of Sperry

Sperry established its British presence in 1913 with a factory located in Pimlico, London, dedicated to manufacturing gyroscopic compasses for the Royal Navy. It was renamed Sperry Gyroscope Co Ltd in 1915. After Lawrence Sperry passed away in 1923, the company expanded to additional locations including the Golden Mile in Brentford (1931), Stonehouse, Gloucestershire (1938), and Bracknell (1957). By 1963, these facilities employed approximately 3,500 personnel. The Brentford site closed in 1967 with operations relocating to Bracknell; Stonehouse ceased activity around 1969. At this point, the Sperry Gyroscope division within Sperry Rand Corporation had a workforce of about 2,500.

The Bracknell manufacturing and development center was sold to British Aerospace in 1982 and is commemorated by a 4.5-meter aluminum artwork titled Sperry's New Symbolic Gyroscope (1967), created by Philip Bentham. In 1989, British Aerospace reduced operations at Bracknell, transferring production to its Plymouth facility. Currently, advanced MEMS gyroscopes and avionics continue to be produced there under United Technologies Corporation as part of UTC Aerospace Systems.

Sperry Brand Post-1997

The Sperry name continues through Sperry Marine, based in New Malden, England. Established in 1997 by combining Sperry Marine with Decca and C. Plath, it now operates as a division of Northrop Grumman Corporation. Sperry Marine provides navigation, communication, information, and automation solutions worldwide for commercial shipping and naval sectors.

Aircraft

Model name First flight Number built Type
Hewitt-Sperry Automatic Airplane 1917 13 Flying bomb
Sperry Land and Sea Triplane 1918 2 Single engine triplane reconnaissance airplane
Verville-Sperry M-1 Messenger 1921 42 Single engine biplane communication airplane
Verville-Sperry R-3 1922 3 Single engine monoplane racing airplane

Missiles and Rockets

In Popular Culture

  • The 1986 comedy film Jumpin' Jack Flash prominently showcases Sperry computers within the bank setting where the main character (portrayed by Whoopi Goldberg) is employed. Jim Belushi features as a Sperry "repair technician."
  • In the 1988 movie Big, the character Josh Baskin, played by Tom Hanks, interacts with a Sperry computer during a video game sequence near the conclusion of the film.

See Also

Bibliography


Further Reading

External Links

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