Marshall Group
Subsidiaries include Marshall Aerospace, an aircraft maintenance, modification, and design company located at Cambridge City Airport.
During the 1930s, Marshall became increasingly engaged in aviation; by the end of the Second World War, the company had trained in excess of 20,000 aircrew for service within the Royal Air Force.
The company performs all aspects of design, manufacture, maintenance, modification, conversion and logistic support of military, commercial and business aircraft.
[8] Its initial base was a small lock-up garage in Brunswick Gardens, Cambridge, and at first provided chauffeur services to individual customers.
It quickly became commercially viable, enabling the business to relocate to larger premises in Kings Street during 1910 and again to Jesus Lane just two years later, expanding its operations to the sale of vehicles shortly thereafter.
[8] In 1912, Marshall worked on its first aircraft, helping to repair the engine of a British Army airship, the Beta II, which had made an emergency landing on Jesus Green, a park near its garage.
[8] During the 1930s, Marshall purchased a large amount of farmland, using some of it to establish what would become Cambridge City Airport, which was larger and with greater facilities than its predecessor.
Formally opened in 1937, the new airport was fortuitously timed with a coinciding national priority on rearmament, which included the training of military aircrew.
The scheme was ramped up during the Second World War; the company ultimately trained in excess of 20,000 aircrew, including pilots, observers and flying instructors.
[8] Marshall Motor Group rapidly flourished in the postwar era; various new garages were soon established to serve Peterborough, Bedford, and neighbouring smaller towns.
[10][11][12] Marshall Group has also signed multiple agreements with US defense conglomerate Lockheed Martin to manufacture various components of the Super Hercules on behalf of the latter's for the global supply chain.
One unusual project was the conversion of a Lockheed L-1011 Tristar airliner into a launch vehicle for a satellite delivery system, on behalf of Orbital Sciences.
[21][22] During the 2010s, the firm's expertise with the type enabled it to perform extensive modifications of the airframe to produce customised special mission models for military customers.
[30] During late 2015, Marshall Group announced that, in response to a downturn in demand from the British armed forces, the firm intended to focus on its growing civilian activities, including the resumption of VIP aircraft conversion work to counteract this.
The group operates worldwide in the fields of aerospace, military land systems and fleet management; the company also cooperated with 67 franchised automotive dealerships across the UK by 2012.
During the 2010s, Marshall Aerospace opened a new main paint bay, which it claimed to be one of the largest in Europe, being big enough to accommodate an entire Boeing 747.
Marshall Group Properties owns Cambridge City Airport, where the company has its main base, and a large portion of the land surrounding it.
[41] In May 2019, the Group announced that it was deciding between three potential airfields for its continuing operations: Duxford Aerodrome, RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire, or Cranfield Airport in Bedfordshire.
