Metropolitan-Vickers, or Metrovick, was a British heavy industrial firm of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, they were particularily well known for their industrial electical equipment and generators, street lighting, electronics, steam turbines and diesel locomotives. Metrovick holds a place in history as the builders of the first commercial transistorized computer, the Metrovick 950, and the first British axial-flow jet engine, the Metrovick F.2. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999 in the... A steam turbine extracts the energy of dry pressurized superheated steam as mechanical movement. ... Diesel is a product used as a fuel in a diesel engine invented by Rudolf Diesel, and perfected by Charles F. Kettering. ... Great Western Railway No. ... Photo of transistor types (tape measure marked in centimeters) Transistor in the SMD form factor The transistor is a solid state semiconductor device used for amplification and switching. ... An axial compressor is the name used in the aircraft industry to refer to a particular type of compressor used in jet engines. ... A Pratt and Whitney turbofan engine for the F-15 Eagle is tested at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, USA. The tunnel behind the engine muffles noise and allows exhaust to escape. ...

History

Metrovick started as a way to separate the existing British Westinghouse factories from US control, which had proven to be a hinderance to gaining contracts during World War I. In 1916 a holding company was formed to try to find financing to buy the company's properties, which eventually led to investment by the Metropolitan Carriage, Wagon and Finance Company in 1919. British Westinghouse was now a truly British company, and soon purchased by Vickers, who changed the name to Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company on September 8, 1919. Ypres, 1917, in the vicinity of the Battle of Passchendaele. ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Vickers corporation, founded as the Vickers company in 1828, was a British manufacturer, primarily of military equipment. ... September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years). ... 1919 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The immediate post-war era was marked by low investment and continued labour unrest. Fortunes changed in 1926 with the formation of the Central Electricity Board which standardized electrical supply and led to a massive expansion of electrical distribution, installations, and applicance purchases. Sales shot up, and 1927 marked the company's best year to date. 1926 was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Events January 7 - First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London January 9 - Military rebellion crushed in Lisbon January 14 - Paul Doumer elected president of France January 19 - Britain sends troops to China February 12 - First British troops lad on Shanghai February 14 - Earthquake in Yugoslavia - 700 dead February...

BTH merger and transition to AEI

In 1928 Metrovick merged with the rival British Thomson-Houston (BTH), a company of similar size and basically the same product lineup. Combined, they would be one of the few companies able to compete with Marconi or English Electric on an equal footing. In fact the merger was marked by poor communication and intense rivalry, and the two companies generally worked cross purposes. The next year the combined company was purchased by the Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) holding group, who also owned Edison Swann (Ediswan) and Ferguson Pailin. The rivalry between Metrovick and BTH continued, and AEI was never able to exert any control over the problem. 1928 was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... British Thomson-Houston (BTH) was a British Engineering company, founded in 1894 to manufacture in the UK, under licence, products patented by an American company (which was to become General Electric). ... Marconi may be: People Guglielmo Marconi (1874–1937) Corporations: Alenia Marconi Systems GEC Marconi Marconi plc (formerly GEC) Marconi Electronic Systems Matra Marconi Space This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The English Electric Company was formed in 1918 and, during that year and 1919, acquired control of Dick, Kerr & Co of Preston, England, Willans & Robinson of Rugby , England, and the Phoenix Dynamo Manufacturing Company of Bradford. ... Associated Electrical Industries (AEI) was a British engineering company formed in 1959 by the merger of the British Thomson-Houston Company (BTH) and Metropolitan Vickers. ...

Problems grew dramatically worse in 1929 with the start of the great depression, but Metrovick's overseas sales were able to pick up some of the slack, notably a major railway electrification project in Brazil. By 1933 world trade was growing again, but growth was nearly upset when six Metrovick engineers were arrested and found guilty of espionage in Russia. The British government intervened; the engineers were released and trade with Russia was resumed after a brief embargo. 1929 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... --209. ... The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world. ... 1933 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Russian Federation (Russian: Росси́йская Федера́ция, transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija), or Russia (Russian: Росси́я, transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. ...

In 1936 Metrovick started work with the Air Ministry on automatic pilot systems, eventually branching out to gunlaying systems and building radars the next year. In 1938 they reached an agreement with the Ministry to build a turboprop design developed at the RAE under the direction of Haine Constant. It is somewhat ironic that BTH, their erstwhile partners, were at the same time working with Frank Whittle on his pioneering jet designs. The same year they arranged a contract with A.V. Roe to start construction of the Avro Manchester under license. Metrovick would eventually supply 1,000 of the Manchester's offspring, the Avro Lancaster. 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Air Ministry was formerly a department of the United Kingdom Government, established in 1918 with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the (then newly formed) Royal Air Force. ... Autopilots mechanically guide a vehicle without assistance from a human being. ... M*A*S*H, see Corporal Walter (Radar) OReilly. ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... A Turboprop or turboshaft engine is a type of gas turbine. ... Rae was a Formula One constructor (Indy 500 only) in 1950. ... Sir Frank Whittle (June 1, 1907 - August 9, 1996) was a Royal Air Force officer who invented the jet engine in England while Hans von Ohain was inventing the same in Germany. ... Avro 504K. Avro was a British aircraft manufacturer, well known for planes such as the Avro Lancaster which served in World War II. One of the worlds first aircraft builders, A.V.Roe and Company was established at Brownsfield Mills, Manchester, England by Alliot Vernon Roe and his brother... The Avro Manchester was a twin-engined heavy bomber developed during World War II by the Avro aircraft company in the UK. The Manchester was a failure, being severely under-powered, but it was the forerunner to the famous Avro Lancaster bomber, one of the most successful bombers of the... The Avro Lancaster was a four-engined World War II bomber aircraft made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force. ...

In 1940 the turboprop effort was re-engineered as a pure jet engine after the successful run of Whittle's designs. The new design became the Metrovick F.2 and eventually flew in 1943 on a Gloster Meteor. Considered to be too complex to bother with, Metrovick then re-engineered the design once again to produce roughly double the power, while at the same time starting work on a much larger design, the Metrovick F.9 Sapphire. Although the F.9 proved to be a winner, the Ministry of Supply nevertheless forced the company to sell the jet division to Armstrong Siddeley in 1947 to reduce the number of companies in the business. 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... The Gloster Meteor was the RAFs first jet fighter aircraft, introduced into service only weeks after the Messerschmitt Me 262 in August 1944. ... The Armstrong-Siddeley automobiles (and later aircraft engines) were an English marque manufactured from 1919 (after the company was formed in 1917 by a merger between two Coventry_based companies, Armstrong-Whitworth and Siddeley-Deasy) to 1960. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The post-war era led to massive demand for electrical systems, leading to additional rivalries between Metrovick and BTH as each attempted to one-up the other in delivering ever-larger generator contracts. Metrovick also expanded their applicance division during this time, becoming a well known supplier of refrigerators and stoves. Another area of major expansion was in the diesel locomotive market, where they combined their own generators with third-party diesel engines to deliver the D5705, which was widely used in England.

The rivalry between Metrovick and BTH was eventually ended in an unconvincing fashion when the AEI management eventually decided to rid themselves of both brands and be known as AEI universally, a change they made on January 1, 1960. This move was almost universally resented within both companies. Worse, the new brand name was utterly unknown to their customers, leading to a noticable fall-off in sales and AEI's stock price. January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

GEC takeover

When AEI then went on to attempt to remove the doubled-up management structures, they found this task to be even more difficult. By the mid-1960s the company was struggling under the weight of two complete management hierarchies, and they appeared to be unable to control the company any more. This allowed AEI to be purchased by GEC in 1967, which became Marconi plc in 1999 (now Marconi Corporation plc). Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s - 1960s - 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s Years: 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 Events and trends The 1960s was a turbulent decade of change around the world. ... The General Electric Company plc (GEC) is a British company that was renamed Marconi plc on November 30, 1999 after its defence unit Marconi Electronic Systems was divested and sold to British Aerospace. ... 1967 was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... The Marconi Corporation plc is a radio, telecommunication, and internet equipment manufacturing company, formerly known as The General Electric Company and Marconi plc Marconi Corporation should not be confused with the Marconi Company founded by Guglielmo Marconi. ...