Dowty Group

By the end of the conflict, Dowty Aviation was a major British manufacturing interest, possessing many production plants at home and overseas in Canada and the United States.

[2] The Dowty Group also diversified into various commercial and industrial sectors, venturing into telecommunications, software, and becoming a market leader in the manufacturing of mining equipment.

[4] In June 1931, Dowty decided to resign from Gloster to form Aircraft Components Ltd, which was based in 10 Lansdown Terrace Lane in Cheltenham.

Dowty Aviation would secure numerous additional orders; amongst other customers, it provided landing gear for Frank Whittle's ground-breaking Gloster E.1/44, a jet-propelled aeroplane that first flew on 15 May 1941.

Its product range included hydraulic systems, undercarriage units, tail wheels, electrical instrumentation and warning devices.

[4] Specific aircraft incorporating Dowty products include the Hawker Hurricane, Bristol Beaufighter, Hawker Typhoon, Westland Whirlwind, Avro Lancaster, Handley Page Halifax, Short Stirling, Short Sunderland, Blackburn Skua, Avro Anson, Miles Master, and the de Havilland Rapide.

[4] In 1954, George Dowty's contribution to the aviation industry was formally recognised by the Royal Aeronautical Society, being awarded its gold medal for outstanding designs and development of aircraft equipment.

[1] Internationally, the company closely collaborated with the French Group Messier on aircraft landing gear and hydraulics over a long period of time.

[14] In 1994, TI Group transferred the Dowty landing gear business into a joint venture that it formed with SNECMA, which became known as Messier-Dowty.

[15] According to Tony Edwards, the chief executive and chairman of the merged entity, while acknowledging there having been some difficulties due to a lack of preparation, he regarded it as being: "a successful example of European integration that works".