Elliotts of Newbury

In the Second World War, once more a largely female workforce produced components for aircraft, including the Supermarine Spitfire and Supermarine Walrus, de Havilland Tiger Moth, de Havilland Mosquito, Airspeed Oxford, Airspeed Horsa glider.

Elliotts manufactured about one third of total Horsa production and were also responsible for a powered version of the General Aircraft Hamilcar glider.

At the end of the war, the firm had hoped to resume furniture manufacture but in those times of austerity this was not allowed by the Board of Trade.

One of Chilton's founders, Andrew Dalrymple, was killed in a crash of a Fi Storch on 25 December 1945 near Hungerford, and this event soon ended aircraft production.

After the death of Dalrymple an agreement was reached to sell production rights, fuselage jigs and all the work in hand on the redesigned Olympia to Elliotts.

However the prototype was overweight against its design weight, and at low speeds suffered a marked buffet from the wing roots and aft of the canopy.

Horace Buckingham decided on a lower aspect ratio, despite opposition from the designer, Harry Midwood, and the chief test pilot, David Ince.