91-516: The BSA Spitfire is a high-performance BSA motorcycle made from 1966 to 1968 with model designations of MkII, MkIII and MkIV. Announced at the Brighton motorcycle show held during September 1965, it was based on the earlier BSA Lightning with a power-upgrade achieved by higher compression-ratio 10.5:1 pistons and two large-bore Amal GP carburettors with velocity stacks it was one of the first BSAs to have 12-volt electrics. At introduction in 1966, it
182-480: A Professional Cycling Team. Bob Maitland a successful amateur cyclist and the highest placed British finisher in the 1948 Olympic Games road race and now an independent rider in the BSA team was a BSA employee working in the design office as a draughtsman. It was Bob Maitland who was responsible for the design of post war BSA range of lightweight sports bicycles based on his knowledge of cycling. Bob Maitland also made some of
273-487: A brace between the downswept exhaust pipes. A 190mm front drum brake improved braking and lightweight alloy rims reduced the weight to 174 kg. The bike was supplied as a sports-tourer with raised handlebar, forward-mounted rider footrests, a large dual seat with race-styled hump, and the glass-fibre fuel tank and side panels covering the oil tank/tool compartment and battery were finished in Peony Red . The UK Spitfire had
364-403: A constant demand for wartime supplies, specifically in gun manufacturing. The British empire, expanded tremendously, between the 1600s and 1900s, so naturally, there would be an increased demand for gun manufacturing so they could expand, keep control, and quell any disturbances in its colonies. The number of guns produced increased, in the 18th century, at the start of the industrial revolution, it
455-534: A conventional four gallon tank, with a large five gallon option from 1967. A selection of factory extras were available to enable the model to enter Production Races, including a fairing and single racing seat. Two large-bore Amal GP carburetors with velocity stacks improved acceleration but made the Spitfire hard to kick start when the engine was hot, so owners chose to replace them with Amal Concentric carburetors with more conventional round air filters and this became
546-497: A dividend for the following four years while it tried to recover from its losses. Some relief was achieved when in March 1924 Daimler Airway and its management became the major constituent of Imperial Airways . As well as the Daimler car range, BSA Cycles Ltd re-entered the car market under the BSA name in 1921 with a V-twin engined light car followed by four-cylinder models up to 1926, when
637-551: A figure equal to half the total production of military bicycles during World War II. BSA also produced folding motorcycles for the Airborne Division. In late 1942 BSA examined the Special Operations Executive designed Welgun with a view to manufacture. BSA were willing to manufacture the gun in the quantities required starting April 1943 but the cheaper and less accurate Sten Mk IV was adopted for production by
728-542: A group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand , power , and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process. After the Second World War, BSA did not manage its business well, and a government-organised rescue operation in 1973 led to a takeover of such operations as it still owned. Those few that survived this process disappeared into
819-618: A matter of weeks Birmingham and the Gun Quarter witnessed much preparation for ammunition and gun manufacture. Many of the workers were women due to the enlistment of men into the armed forces. The increasing mechanisation of gun manufacture in the US and Europe was a significant step in the decline of the Birmingham gun trade, which had for centuries been based on the skilled specialist craftsman. The mass-produced, so-called 'ready made' guns began to flood
910-521: A process of production dispersal throughout Britain, through the shadow factory scheme. Factories were set up at Tipton , Dudley , Smethwick , Blackheath , Lye , Kidderminster , Stourport , Tyseley , and Bromsgrove to manufacture Browning machine guns, Stoke , Corsham , and Newcastle-under-Lyme produced the Hispano cannon , Leicester and Studley Road produced the Besa machine gun , Ruislip produced
1001-482: A small handful of gun manufacturers and traders remain in the Gun Quarter. The last remaining large gun and rifle manufacturer in the area is Westley Richards . Due to the UK's tight laws regarding gun ownership, including sporting arms, there is only a small commercial market for firearms in the country; consequently, the majority of Birmingham's gun manufacture today is of air guns . The Gun Quarter has continued to decline in
SECTION 10
#17331049050851092-582: A spectacular financial success of a merger of five large rolling-stock companies in 1902 and become the leader of the period's merger movement. Believing he could buy the missing management skills that could not be found within BSA, he started merger talks with The Daimler Company Limited of Coventry. Daimler and Rover were then the largest British car producers. Daimler was immensely profitable. After its capital reconstruction in 1904, Daimler's profits were 57 per cent and 150 per cent returns on invested capital in 1905 and 1906. The attraction for Daimler shareholders
1183-676: The English Army (and successor British Army after 1707). The importance of the trade to the town grew rapidly throughout the 18th century, with large numbers of guns produced for the slave trade . The 19th century saw further expansion, with the Quarter meeting the demand for the Napoleonic Wars , Crimean War , American Civil War and the British Empire . During both the First and Second World Wars
1274-768: The George Medal for his selfless acts of bravery in the rescue and Alf Goodwin was awarded the British Empire Medal . Workers involved in the works Civil Defence were brought in to help search for and clear bodies to get the plant back into production. The net effect of the November raids was to destroy machine shops in the four-storey 1915 building, the original 1863 gunsmiths' building and nearby buildings, 1,600 machine tools, kill 53 employees, injure 89, 30 of them seriously and halt rifle production for three months. The Government Ministry of Supply and BSA immediately began
1365-651: The Lee–Metford magazine-loading rifle for the War Office which was re-equipping the British Army with it. The order was for 1,200 rifles per week. BSA recommenced manufacturing bicycles on their own behalf from 1908. BSA Cycles Ltd was set up in 1919 for the manufacture of both bicycles and motorcycles. BSA sold the bicycle business to Raleigh in 1957 after separating the bicycle and motorcycle business in 1953. In 1893, BSA commenced making bicycle hubs and continued to supply
1456-607: The Oerlikon 20mm cannon , Stafford produced rocket projectiles , Tamworth produced two-pounder gun carriages , Mansfield produced the Boys Anti-tank gun and Shirley produced rifles. These were dispersal factories which were in addition to Small Heath and the other BSA factories opened in the two years following the 1940 blitz. At its peak Small Heath was running 67 factories engaged in war production. BSA operations were also dispersed to other companies under licence. In 1941 BSA
1547-460: The Zener diode voltage regulator was installed in an aluminium heat-sink mounted high on the front frame tubes to benefit from the cooling airstream. The 1968 Mark IV Spitfire was the last year of the 'Mark' Spitfires made. Amal's Concentric carburetors were combined with twin-leading-shoe front brakes and independently adjustable Lucas ignition points for easier starting and tuning. Engine power output
1638-488: The 1881 Stanley Show . BSA went on to design and manufacture a "safety" bicycle (patent:15,342 of 1884). BSA was also producing tricycles and a licence was obtained in 1885 to manufacture ball bearings. BSA ceased bicycle manufacture in 1887 because of the demand for arms. Bicycle component manufacture commenced in 1894 and BSA continued to supply the bicycle trade up to 1936. The company recommenced bicycle manufacture on their own account again in 1908 and these were exhibited at
1729-474: The 1911 season. In 1913, the BSA group were compelled through pressure from the Midland Bank to make a capital issue of 300,000 preference shares. In the short term this was to solve the liquidity issue but further diluted the group's capitalisation. Dudley Docker retired as a BSA director in 1912 and installed Lincoln Chandler on the BSA board as his replacement. Dudley Docker liked to draw a comparison between
1820-472: The 21st century, losing approximately 25% of its manufacturing jobs in the 3 years from 2003 to 2006, and the trend is continuing, with many vacant and underused buildings. In August 2011 a controversy was created when the Birmingham Council, in an unwelcome move, decided to change the name of the Gun Quarter. The council had received a petition from a mere 50 residents from a local church group to change
1911-675: The BSA–Daimler merger he engineered and that of his 1902 merger of Metropolitan Carriage Wagon & Finance Company and Patent Shaft . However, there was not the integration of facilities in the BSA–Daimler case, nor was there a reorganisation of either BSA or Daimler and in view of the earlier criticism contained in the 1909 report of the investigation committee, BSA continued to produce cars of their own using Daimler engines. In 1913, Daimler employed 5,000 workers to manufacture 1,000 vehicles, an indication that things were not well. In 1912, BSA would be one of two automobile manufacturers pioneering
SECTION 20
#17331049050852002-570: The British army. Military use, however, was accompanied by a major market in the Atlantic slave trade . A 1788 Parliamentary report counted over 4,000 gun makers, with 100,000 guns a year going to slave traders. The British Government began to rely heavily upon the skilled gun manufacturers of the town. The Napoleonic Wars required special efforts, and between 1804 and 1817 a total of 1,827,889 muskets, rifles, carbines , and pistols were manufactured for
2093-762: The Eadie Manufacturing Company of Redditch , on 11 February 1907. That decision was ratified by the shareholders of both companies at separate Extraordinary General Meetings held in the Grand Hotel, Birmingham on 27 February 1907. Albert Eadie became a BSA director, a post he held until his death in 1931. The very variable military market was now supported by sales of target military rifles, sporting rifles, various patterns of miniature rifles and air rifles. Aperture sights were in demand for Bisley and other military rifle meetings. Motor bicycles were added to bicycle products in 1910. The BSA 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 hp
2184-584: The Government alone. 3,037,644 barrels and 2,879,203 locks were made and then delivered to London for assembly, and around 1,000,000 items were also delivered to the East India Company , which fought alongside the British forces. It has been estimated that production of guns and components between 1804 and 1815 averaged more than three-quarters of a million items per annum, more than two-thirds of England's production during this period. Birmingham Proof House
2275-468: The Gun Quarter claims that around this time Birmingham was the "foremost arms producer in the world", the town's closest rival being London. By the end of the 18th century the Gun Quarter had become a thriving gun-manufacturing community. Government viewing rooms were opened in Bagot Street in 1798, employing sixty or seventy people to ensure that guns produced were of the necessary standard to provide for
2366-421: The Gun Quarter made a variety of calibre weapons from high quality to the less elaborate. In general, British weapons were well made, but less decorative than those produced on the continent; above all they earned a reputation for reliability and fine craftsmanship. The outbreak of World War I saw the Government once again approach Birmingham engineering companies with the prospect of arms manufacture, and within
2457-812: The Ministry of Supply. BSA bought the Sunbeam motorcycles and bicycle business from Associated Motor Cycles Ltd in 1943 and then Ariel Motors Ltd in 1944. During the course of the conflict BSA produced 1,250,000 Lee–Enfield .303 service rifles, 404,383 Sten sub-machine guns, 468,098 Browning machine guns plus spares equivalent to another 100,000, 42,532 Hispano cannon, 32,971 Oerlikon cannon, 59,322 7.9 mm Besa machine guns, 3,218 15 mm Besa machine guns, 68,882 Boys Anti-tank guns, 126,334 motorcycles, 128,000 military bicycles (over 60,000 of which were folding paratrooper bicycles), 10,000,000 shell fuse cases, 3,485,335 magazines and 750,000 anti-aircraft rockets were supplied to
2548-551: The Mountains" Arthur Ilsley, 30 August Weston-Super-Mare 100 Miles Grand Prix, 1st Bob Maitland, Team Prize. The team also competed in the 1,624-mile, 12 stage, 1953 Tour of Britain Road Race. The 1953 line up had changed as Arthur Ilsley replaced Pete Proctor in the team. "Tiny" Thomas won the overall individual classification, the Team were runners-up in the team competition and Arthur Ilsley
2639-529: The Mountains" classification. The riders also enjoyed success on the individual stages of the race. The team competed in four further events, 14 September Tour of the Chilterns, 1st "Tiny" Thomas and Team Prize, 21 September Weston-Super-Mare Grand Prix, Team Prize, 28 September Staffordshire Grand Prix, 1st Bob Maitland and Team Prize, 5 October Tour Revenge Race, Dublin, 1st "Tiny" Thomas and Team prize. In 1953 BSA withdrew motorcycle production from BSA Cycles Ltd,
2730-704: The Nobel-Dynamite Trust, through Kynoch a forerunner of ICI . In 1906, Frank Dudley Docker was appointed a director of the company. By the autumn of that year BSA was in some difficulty. They had purchased the Sparkbrook Royal Small Arms Factory from the War Office, and in return, the War Office undertook to give BSA a quarter of all orders for Lee–Enfield rifles. But, the War Office did not honour their undertaking. The ensuing financial crisis did not prevent BSA from signing an agreement to purchase control of bicycle component manufacturer,
2821-544: The Stanley Show in 1909. Bicycle manufacture was what led BSA into motorcycles. BSA produced bicycles for both the police and military and notably a folding bicycle for the British Army during World War I and the more well known folding Paratroopers bicycle during World War II. BSA supplied the Irish Army with bicycles after 1922. Gun Quarter The Gun Quarter is a district of the city of Birmingham , England, which
BSA Spitfire - Misplaced Pages Continue
2912-492: The UK. The BSA factory at Small Heath was bombed by the Luftwaffe on 26 August 1940 resulting in one high explosive bomb and a shower of incendiaries hitting the main barrel mill which was the only one operating on service rifles in the country, causing the unaffordable loss of 750 machine tools but fortunately no loss of life. Two further Blitz air raids took place on 19 and 22 November 1940. The air raid of 19 November did
3003-477: The UK. The Royal Ordnance Factories did not begin production until 1941. BSA Guns Ltd was also producing .303 Browning machine guns for the Air Ministry (the main aircraft armament at the time) at the rate of 600 guns per week in March 1939 and Browning production was to peak at 16,390 per month by March 1942. The armed forces had chosen the 500 cc side-valve BSA M20 motorcycle as their preferred machine. On
3094-536: The USA installed at Enfield had greatly increased its output without needing more skilled craftsmen. This new machinery brought to Birmingham the principle of the interchangeability of parts and mass production . BSA bought 25 acres (10 ha) of land at Small Heath, Birmingham , built a factory there and made a road on the site calling it Armoury Road. Their enterprise was rewarded in 1863 with an order for 20,000 Turkish infantry rifles. The system of management of BSA
3185-537: The actual cash BSA had put into Daimler. This financial burden deprived Daimler of badly needed cash to fund development, forcing the Daimler company to borrow money from the Midland Bank . BSA had still not recovered financially from the earlier purchase of Royal Small Arms factory at Sparkbrook and BSA were not in a position to finance Daimler, nor had either company ample liquid resources. BSA went ahead with motorcycle production in 1910, their first model available for
3276-537: The area played a major role in the manufacture of small arms for the British Armed Forces . After the First World War demand fell; the need for skilled, specialised labour fell as the market became flooded with cheaper, machine-made guns, and gun manufacturing in the area began a slow decline. In the 1960s, a large part of the Gun Quarter was demolished by post-war town planners, with the area split in two by
3367-614: The armed forces. At the same time other parts of the Group were having similar problems. Before World War II Daimler had been linked with other Coventry motor manufacturers in a government-backed scheme for aero engine manufacture and had been allocated two shadow factories. Apart from this, BSA-owned Daimler was producing Scout Cars and Daimler Mk I Armoured Cars which had been designed by BSA at Small Heath not Coventry as well as gun turrets, gun parts, tank transmissions, rocket projectiles and other munitions. This activity had not gone unnoticed by
3458-438: The city. The trade employed 2,867 people in 1851, out of a total of 7,731 in the whole of England and Wales. "Gun-makers" did not usually manufacture the parts for their guns or even assemble them: in keeping with the traditional nature of Birmingham's manufacturing industries , parts were manufactured by independent specialist sub-contractors and assembled by "fabricators" or "setters-up", the "makers" commissioning and marketing
3549-723: The company it had established in 1919, by creating BSA Motorcycles Ltd. In 1953 the BSA Professional Cycling Team was managed by Syd Cozens . Successes were 5/6 April Bournemouth Two Day Road Race, 1st Bob Maitland, 12 April Dover to London 63 Miles Road Race, 1st Stan Jones, 31 May Langsett 90 Miles Road Race, 1st Bob Maitland and "King of the Mountains", 7 June Tour of the Wrekin, 1st Bob Maitland, 12 July Severn Valley 100 Miles Road Race, 1st "Tiny" Thomas, 19 July Jackson Trophy, Newcastle, Team Prize, 9 August Les Adams Memorial 80 Miles Road Race, 1st Alf Newman, Team Prize, "King of
3640-458: The company sold 150 automobiles and again began producing complete bicycles on its own account. By 1909, it was clear the new motorcar department was unsuccessful; an investigation committee reported to the BSA Board on the many failures of its management and their poor organisation of production. Dudley Docker had joined the board in 1906 and was appointed deputy chairman of BSA in 1909. He had made
3731-656: The completed guns. In the late 18th and early 19th century, barrels were mainly manufactured outside the quarter (in Aston , Deritend , Smethwick and West Bromwich ), and locks were mainly sourced from the Black Country , but other parts were usually manufactured and assembled within the Quarter. In the late 19th century, Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham listed more than fifty specialist trades involved in gun manufacture, "till late years most of them being carried on under different roofs". The Crimean War brought much business to
BSA Spitfire - Misplaced Pages Continue
3822-470: The components used on the bicycles of the professional team which were not standard production machines. In the 1952 Tour of Britain Road Race run between Friday 22 August and Saturday 6 September, involving 14 individual stages and covering a total race distance of 1,470 miles, the BSA team of Bob Maitland, "Tiny" Thomas, Pete Proctor, Alf Newman and Stan Jones won the overall team race and Pete Proctor "King of
3913-690: The construction of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road . Following the Big City Plan of 2008, the Gun Quarter is now a district within Birmingham City Centre . Many buildings in the area are disused but plans are in place for redevelopment including in Shadwell Street and Vesey Street. Birmingham became the capital of global trade in arms because Britain was involved in multiple wars since the 17th century. Britain's involvement caused
4004-586: The cycle trade with bicycle parts up to 1936. BSA bought The Eadie Manufacturing Company of Redditch in 1907 and so began to manufacture the Eadie two speed hub gear and the Eadie coaster brake hub. BSA also signed an agreement with the Three Speed Gear Syndicate in 1907 to manufacture a 3 speed hub under licence. This was later classified as the Sturmey Archer Type X. BSA introduced a 'Duo' hub in
4095-526: The early 1960s using up BSA parts but as time went on more stock Raleigh parts and fittings were used, some continuing to bear the 'piled arms' stamp. TI Group , owners of the British Cycle Corporation , bought Raleigh in 1960 thus gaining access to the BSA brand. Bicycles bearing the BSA name are currently manufactured and distributed within India by TI Cycles of India but have no direct connection to
4186-527: The end of the Great War in the belief that BSA might again be called upon to perform its patriotic duty. In 1939, BSA acquired the blueprints for a submachine gun designed by Hungarian arms designer Pál Király and the rights to manufacture it. Examples were produced in 9mm Mauser Export calibre. It was estimated that it would only cost £5 each to manufacture: by comparison, the Thompson submachine guns bought after
4277-525: The enemy, which made Radford Works a target in the Coventry air raids . Radford Works received direct hits in four separate air raids during 1940. None of these attacks were to seriously disrupt production, however two more serious air raids were carried out in April 1941 which destroyed half the factory. In all it is estimated that 170 bombs containing 52,000 lbs of explosive were dropped on Radford Works as well as
4368-781: The face of the threat of imminent invasion of Britain by Nazi forces was recorded by the Chief of the Imperial General Staff Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke in his diary entries of the 1/2 July 1940. The creation of the Home Guard (initially as the Local Defence Volunteers) following Anthony Eden 's broadcast appeal to the Nation on Tuesday 14 May 1940 also created further demand for arms production to equip this new force. BSA, as
4459-536: The factory supplied specification in 1967. Keen to boost sales in the US market BSA produced a Spitfire with a two gallon fuel tank following the trend set by the Harley Davidson Sportster . For the 1967 Model Year (MY) the Spitfire was upgraded and designated as Mark III. The racing Amal GP carburettors with open-intakes (bellmouths) were replaced by Amal Concentrics with individual chrome filters which enabled better low-range engine response. The fuel tank
4550-517: The fortune of the BSA Group but less controversial was the retirement on ill health grounds of James Leek CBE, managing director from 1939 until his retirement. Sir Bernard Docker was replaced as Chairman of the BSA Board by Jack Sangster. The BSA bicycle division, BSA Cycles Ltd., including the BSA cycle dealer network was sold to Raleigh in 1957. Raleigh initially continued bicycle production in Birmingham at Coventry Road, Sheldon, Birmingham 26, into
4641-563: The gun makers of Birmingham, and from 1854 to 1864 more than 4,000,000 barrels were proved there. Most military gun stocks were made from walnut , whereas for the cheaper African market common beech was used. During the Crimean War a large saw mill was erected in Turin by a gun maker from the quarter, and nearly a third of a million gun stocks were produced from this source alone. The Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association had supplied many of
SECTION 50
#17331049050854732-554: The guns during this period, and in 1861 fourteen of these gun smiths formed the Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA). It is estimated that around 800,000 weapons were shipped from Birmingham to America during the latter's Civil War . One of the main suppliers was William Tranter , who supplied revolvers to the Confederate forces. General Custer is known to have owned a Galand and Sommerville .44 revolver , which
4823-434: The late 1930s which was capable of one fixed gear and one gear with a freewheel. All BSA hub gear production temporarily ceased in 1939, until they recommenced making their 3 speed hub around 1945. The Eadie coaster hub made a brief return in 1953 on two BSA bicycle models. BSA forever ceased production of their hub gears in 1955. BSA sold its ammunition business in 1897 to Birmingham Metal and Munitions Company Limited part of
4914-468: The manufacture of cycle parts. What cycles needed was large quantities of standard parts accurately machined at low prices. In 1880, BSA manufactured the Otto Dicycle . In the 1880s, the company began to manufacture safety bicycles on their own account and not until 1905 was the company's first experimental motorcycle constructed. Bicycle production ceased in 1887 as the company concentrated on producing
5005-464: The market in the 1880s; the number of Brummies employed by the trade fell from 5,500 in 1881 to 4,100 in 1911. In the 1960s, many of the traditional workshops of the Gun Quarter were demolished by post-war town planners, with the area split in two by the construction of the Birmingham Inner Ring Road . In 1963, a local newspaper, the Sunday Mercury announced the 'Death of Gun Quarter'. Today only
5096-449: The most damage, causing loss of production and trapping hundreds of workers. Since BSA was the sole producer of the main aircraft armament, the resulting delays in productions reportedly caused most worries to PM Churchill among all the industrial damage during the Blitz . Two BSA night-shift electricians, Alf Stevens and Alf Goodwin, helped rescue their fellow workers. Alf Stevens was awarded
5187-498: The name to St George and St Chad's Quarter. The Birmingham Post reported on it, in response over 4,500 signed a petition not to change the name. Hundreds of gunmakers have existed in Birmingham; some of the better-known examples include: During the eighteenth century, the Birmingham-based Farmer and Galton Gun Manufacturers produced thousands of firearms which were used by European merchants and African business people in
5278-504: The name was temporarily dropped. In 1929 a new range of 3- and 4-wheel cars appeared and production of these continued until 1936. By the end of 1924 difficult economic conditions left the bulk of BSA profits coming from cars and cycles. There were no sales of arms for military purposes in spite of large new facilities built at Government's request. The shares in Pennsylvania's Jessop Steel Co were disposed of without loss. During 1928 there
5369-481: The notion of supplying the British Government with small arms . It was stressed that they would need to be of high enough calibre to equal the small arms that were imported from abroad. After a successful trial order in 1692, the Government placed its first contract. On 5 January 1693, the "Officers of Ordnance" chose five local firearms manufacturers to initially produce 200 " snaphance musquets " per month over
5460-585: The only rifle producer in Britain, had to step up to the mark and the workforce voluntarily went onto a seven-day week. Motorcycle production was also stepped up from 500 to 1,000 machines per week which meant a finished machine coming off the production line every 5 minutes. The motorcycle department had been left intact in 1939 due to demand which was doubled following Dunkirk. At the same time BSA staff were providing lectures and demonstrations on motorcycle riding and maintenance to 250,000 officers and men in all parts of
5551-535: The original Birmingham BSA company. In 1960, Daimler was sold to Jaguar . 1961 was the centenary year of the BSA Group and, in recognition of this milestone, the company magazine produced an anniversary issue of BSA Group News in June called BSA Centenary 1861–1961 , in which many of the achievements of the Group were celebrated. This year also saw the end of military rifle production; however, BSA still continued to make sporting guns. According to Charles Spencer, BSA
SECTION 60
#17331049050855642-592: The outbreak of war the Government requisitioned the 690 machines BSA had in stock as well as placing an order for another 8,000 machines. South Africa, Ireland, India, Sweden and the Netherlands also wanted machines. The Government passed the Emergency Powers (Defence) Act 1939 on 24 August allowing the drafting of defence regulations affecting food, travel, requisitioning of land and supplies, manpower and agricultural production. A second Emergency Powers (Defence) Act
5733-668: The ownership of other businesses. BSA began in June 1861 in the Gun Quarter , Birmingham , England. It was formed by a group of fourteen gunsmith members of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association specifically to manufacture guns by machinery. They were encouraged to do this by the War Office which gave the BSA gunsmiths free access to technical drawings and to the War Office's Board of Ordnance 's Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield . New machinery developed in
5824-627: The period of one year, paying 17 shillings per musket, plus 3 shillings per hundredweight for delivery to London. At the start of the 18th century, gun manufacture was concentrated in the Digbeth area, but fifty years later the trade had moved to the present-day Gun Quarter. Many of the gunsmiths also expanded to less cramped parts of the city – the Gun Quarter is a very small area, and early accounts describe many "higgledy piggledy" houses and factories with different gunshops and gunsmiths residing in close proximity to one another. A commemorative plaque in
5915-431: The start of hostilities cost around £50, while SMLE rifles and the later Sten submachine guns cost £7. 15s and £2. 10s respectively in 1943. However the trials did not lead to acceptance; referring to the complex trigger mechanism, Frank Hobart said "no soldier could have coped with this watchmaker's dream", By the outbreak of the Second World War, BSA Guns Ltd at Small Heath, was the only factory producing rifles in
6006-443: The thousands of incendiaries. Like BSA, Daimler had to find dispersal units. A back-handed compliment was paid by Field Marshal Rommel to the workers at Radford Works when he used a captured Daimler Scout to escape following his defeat at El Alamein . BSA produced the first Sunbeam bicycle catalogue in 1949 and produced its own '4 Star' derailleur gear with an associated splined cassette hub and 4 sprocket cassette. This design
6097-412: The trade and capture of slaves. In 1702, James Farmer began his gun manufacturing business, and within three decades had secured the investments of Samuel Galton senior (great-grandfather of Sir Francis Galton ). Galton eventually took charge of the Birmingham branch of the manufacturers on Steelhouse Lane. Guns were in high demand, a demand that Farmer and Galton aimed to satisfy. Such was the extent of
6188-479: The trade, that Hugh Thomas suggests that by 1765, '150,000 guns had been sent to Africa from Birmingham alone', being traded along with other pieces of hardware, metal or cloth, as the price for a slave. This is a shocking statistic, considering that the population of Birmingham was around 30,000 in 1765, meaning that five times more guns had been sent to Africa than were people in the city. The origins, growth and sales organisation of Farmer and Galton were shaped by
6279-477: The use of all-steel bodies, joining Hupmobile in the US. In 1913, BSA undertook to manufacture quick-firing machine guns for the Lewis Automatic Arms Company whose rights covered the world except for the American Continent. During the First World War, the company returned to arms manufacture and greatly expanded its operations. BSA produced rifles , Lewis guns , shells , bicycles, motorcycles and, through Daimler, aero engines, aircraft and other vehicles for
6370-459: The war Daimler had built enormous numbers of aero engines and aircraft and by the end was building 80 Airco de Havilland bombers a month. In February 1920 BSA amalgamated with what was the world's largest aircraft manufacturer, Aircraft Manufacturing Company (Airco) , Airco's main plant at Hendon had employed between 7,000 and 8,000 people. The Airco group of companies had turned out a new aircraft every 45 minutes. Within days BSA discovered Airco
6461-568: The war effort as well as machine tools. Following the Armistice the BSA group was described by its chairman as: In November 1919, BSA launched their first 50-degree vee-twin , Model E , 770cc side valve (6-7 hp) motorcycle for the 1920 season. The machine had interchangeable valves, total loss oil system with mechanical pump and an emergency hand one. Retail price was £130. Other features were Amac carburettor, chain drive, choice of magneto or Magdyno, 7-plate clutch, 3 speed gear box with kickstarter and new type of cantilever fork During
6552-645: Was 3rd in the "King of the Mountains" competition. Bob Maitland also had notable success by winning the Independent National Championship. 1954 saw the introduction of the BSA Quick Release 3 Speed hub gear. It was a split axle three speed gear intended for use with bicycles equipped with oil bath chainguards. The original BSA 3 speed hub gear had been made under licence from the Three-Speed Gear Syndicate since 1907. The design
6643-403: Was a drastic reorganisation of the business of some BSA subsidiaries. By 1930 the BSA Group's primary activities were BSA cycles and Daimler vehicles. Car production under the BSA name ceased in the 1930s. BSA remained the largest manufacturer of motorcycles but the market was less than half the size of the late 1920s and production was unprofitable yet the value of BSA's motor cars and cycles
6734-422: Was approached to produce a new pedal cycle with a maximum weight allowance of only 22 lb especially for airborne use. This required a new concept in frame design which BSA found, producing a machine which weighed 21 lb, one pound less than the design specification and which also exceeded the design requirement for an effective life of 50 miles many times over. Over 60,000 folding bicycles were produced,
6825-404: Was around “tens of thousands” but by the 19th century, it was around a few million. During the early to mid-17th century Birmingham's population numbered only several thousand; the town was home to many foundries and workshops that made a wide variety of metalware, including guns. Sir Richard Newdigate , one of the new, local Newdigate Baronets , approached manufacturers in the town in 1689 with
6916-450: Was built and entered production during 1938. Motor cycle sales shrank but BSA maintained its relative position. 1937's new British registrations fell from 57,000 to 46,500. Defence and military equipment including Daimler's Scout car were in heavy demand in Britain and in export markets. In the 1930s, the board of directors authorised expenditure on bringing their arms-making equipment back to use – it had been stored at company expense since
7007-585: Was built in 1813, then one of only two such proof houses in England, the other being in London. The building was managed by a consortium of the town's gun traders, its purpose being to ensure that the guns manufactured in the area were safe for use. It is still in use. The number of firms in Birmingham's gun industry was 125 in 1815, 455 in 1829 (two-thirds of these in the Gun Quarter), and by 1868 there were 578 gun firms in
7098-516: Was changed in 1863 when shareholders elected a Board of Directors: Joseph Wilson, Samuel Buckley, Isaac Hollis, Charles Playfair, Charles Pryse, Birmingham mayor Sir John Ratcliffe (c.1798-1864), Edward Gem, and J.F. Swinburn under the chairmanship of John Dent Goodman (1816–1900). The first War Office contract was not agreed until 1868. In 1879, without work, the factory was shut for a year. The next year, 1880, BSA branched out into bicycle manufacture. The gun factory proved remarkably adaptable to
7189-419: Was different from the 1930s Bayliss Wiley cassette hub which had a threaded sprocket carrier. BSA bought New Hudson motorcycle and bicycle business in 1950 and followed this up in 1951 with the purchase of Triumph Motorcycles which brought Jack Sangster onto the BSA board. The effect of this acquisition was to make BSA into the largest producer of motorcycles in the world at that time. 1952 saw BSA establish
7280-619: Was enlarged to five UK gallons, which hampered both spark plug and carburetor accessibility. Both Mark II and Mark III UK models carried the traditional BSA 'flash' side-panel badges inset in the side cover gelcoat. The export Mark III, a majority of the Spitfires, had a transfer on the side covers similar (but not the same) as the other '67 model year machines. Other modifications were Amal alloy (aluminum) control levers with click-stop cable adjusters, production of which BSA took over from Amal , marketed under their 'Motoplas' accessories branding, and
7371-452: Was exhibited at the 1910 Olympia Show, London for the 1911 season. The entire BSA production sold out in 1911, 1912 and 1913. In an effort to make use of the Sparkbrook factory BSA established a motorcar department there. An independent part of it was occupied by Lanchester Motor Company . The first prototype automobile was produced in 1907. The following year, marketed under BSA Cycles Ltd,
7462-477: Was faster to load than existing American pistols. By the nineteenth century, the introduction of the percussion system combined with the adoption of modern production methods led to Birmingham becoming the dominant producer in British firearms. A few London makers remained, such as the government-owned Royal Small Arms Factory in Enfield but Birmingham produced the majority of the firearms in Britain. During this time
7553-523: Was for many years a centre of the world's gun-manufacturing industry, specialising in the production of military firearms and sporting guns. It is an industrial area to the north of the city centre, bounded by Steelhouse Lane, Shadwell Street and Loveday Street. The first recorded gun maker in Birmingham was in 1630, and locally made muskets were used in the English Civil War . By the 1690s Birmingham artisans were supplying guns for William III to equip
7644-428: Was in a far more serious financial state than George Holt Thomas had revealed. Holt Thomas was immediately dropped from his new seat on the BSA board and all BSA's new acquisitions were placed in the hands of a liquidator. Some of the businesses were allowed to continue for some years, Aircraft Transport and Travel 's assets being eventually rolled into Daimler Air Hire to make Daimler Airway Limited . BSA failed to pay
7735-425: Was increased to 53 bhp (40 kW). A total of 1291 true 1968 model year Spitfires were produced, not counting the 478 'hybrid' 1968 Spitfires that have 1967 style numbers. The 'hybrids' were dispatched in March to May 1968 near the end of the 1968 model year. Birmingham Small Arms Company#Motorcycles from 1910 The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited ( BSA ) was a major British industrial combine,
7826-573: Was later to be classified as the Sturmey-Archer 'Type X', but all BSA hub gear production ceased in 1955 Sir Bernard Docker remained chairman of BSA until 1956 when the BSA Board removed him. In an acrimonious dispute conducted in the media the matter was brought to the BSA shareholders at the Annual General Meeting where the decision of the Board was upheld. Another significant departure for
7917-418: Was manufacturing the "Delta" bicycle c. 1869 . In 1880 the company was approached to manufacture the "Otto Dicycle". An initial contract was signed to produce 210 and a further contract followed for a further 200. In all it is believed that a total of 953 Otto machines were made. BSA then went into bicycle production on their own account, the first machines to their own specification being exhibited at
8008-595: Was now more than half group turnover. In 1931 the Lanchester Motor Company at Sparkbrook was acquired and production of their cars transferred to Daimler's Coventry works. The first new product was a version of the Daimler Light Twenty or 16/20 and called Lanchester 15/18 . Economic conditions began to improve in the mid-1930s and BSA's activities and profits all grew sharply. International tensions added more activity. An aero engine shadow factory
8099-521: Was passed on 22 May 1940 allowing the conscription of labour. The fall of France had not been anticipated in Government planning and the encirclement of a large part of the British Expeditionary Force into the Dunkirk pocket resulted in a hasty evacuation of that part of the B.E.F following the abandonment of their equipment. The parlous state of affairs "no arms, no transport, no equipment" in
8190-407: Was the apparent stability of BSA. So in 1910, BSA purchased Daimler with BSA shares but Docker who negotiated the arrangements either ignored or failed in his assessment of their consequences for the new combine. The combine was never adequately balanced or co-ordinated. One of the financial provisions obliged Daimler to pay BSA an annual dividend of £100,000 representing approximately 40 per cent of
8281-426: Was the fastest standard BSA ever produced and the fastest standard motorcycle tested by Motor Cycle with a best run at 123 mph and average of 119.2 mph The Spitfire was used for travelling Marshalls' course duties at the 1967 Isle of Man TT races. The first A65S Spitfire of 1966 was confusingly designated Mark II and had a number of new features including two-way damped front forks, Girling shocks and
#84915