Cosmos Engineering
Cosmos Engineering was a company that manufactured aero-engines in a factory in Fishponds, Bristol during World War I. Sir Roy Fedden, the company's principal designer, developed the 14-cylinder radial Mercury engine during this period. The company was taken over by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1920.
| Industry | Aerospace, automotive |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1918 |
| Defunct | 1920 |
| Fate | Liquidated, taken over |
| Successor | Bristol Aeroplane Company |
| Headquarters | Fishponds, England, UK |
Key people | Roy Fedden |
Cosmos Engineering was a company that manufactured aero-engines in a factory in Fishponds, Bristol during World War I. Sir Roy Fedden, the company's principal designer, developed the 14-cylinder radial Mercury engine during this period. The company was taken over by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1920.
Company origins
[edit]In 1918 the Anglo-American company Cosmos bought Straker-Squire (also known as Brazil Straker), a car and bus manufacturing firm which had branched out into aircraft engine repair and manufacture. This began by first reconditioning, then substantially redesigning and re-manufacturing Curtiss OX-5 engines.[1] Due to the quality of this work, they were the only company permitted to manufacture Rolls-Royce aircraft engines under licence, building Hawk and Falcon engines, major components for the Eagle engine and also 600 Renault 80hp 8Ca engines.[1] Over 1,500 engines were produced in total.[1] The company was one of the first to be brought under Admiralty control, and Fedden and his draughtsman Leonard Butler designed two engines during the war; the 14-cylinder Mercury and the larger, 9-cylinder Jupiter.
Aero-engine range
[edit]
In 1919 the range consisted of the 450 hp Jupiter, the 300 hp Mercury and the smaller 100 hp Lucifer. On 9 April 1919 a Bristol Scout F fitted with a Mercury engine set two British records at Farnborough achieving the time to 10,000 ft and 20,000 ft records.[2]
Car production
[edit]
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Despite selling off the engineering side of Brazil Straker,[3] which continued to successfully build cars, Cosmos Engineering also produced a small number of Fedden-designed cars. The Cosmos 10.5 of 1919, featured an air-cooled 3-cylinder radial layout 994-cc engine of 16 hp and pressed-steel wobbly-web wheels, and was significantly innovative for its time.[4][5] Only a limited number were made, and it was followed up by the larger 10.5 CAR which never got beyond prototype stage.
Fate
[edit]Soon afterwards the company went into liquidation and was taken over by the Bristol Aeroplane Company in 1920. Operations then moved to a former flying school located on the northern edge of Filton Aerodrome. The factory on Lodge Causeway was subsequently taken over by Parnall & Sons for shop and ship fitting and aircraft component manufacturing.
See also
[edit]Related lists
References
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Gunston, Bill (1998). Fedden. Rolls-Royce Heritage Trust. pp. 35–37. ISBN 1-872922-13-9. Historical Series Nº26.
- ^ Lumsden 2003, p.92.
- ^ Bartlett 2004, p.117.
- ^ Culshaw and Horrobin 1997, p.380.
- ^ Gunston & Fedden, pp. 43–44
Bibliography
[edit]- Bartlett, John Images of England, Fishponds Tempus 2004 ISBN 0-7524-3315-6
- Culshaw, David & Horrobin, Peter The Complete Catalogue of British Cars Veloce 1997 ISBN 0-9541063-9-3
- Lumsden, Alec. British Piston Engines and their Aircraft. Marlborough, Wiltshire: Airlife Publishing, 2003. ISBN 1-85310-294-6.