11 Facts About Vickers

1.

Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999.

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2.

Vickers went public in 1867, acquired more businesses, and began branching out into military hardware and shipbuilding.

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3.

The Vickers name lived on in Alvis Vickers, until the latter was acquired by BAE Systems in 2004 to form BAE Systems Land Systems.

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4.

Vickers was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law George Naylor in 1828.

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5.

In 1868 Vickers began to manufacture marine shafts, in 1872 they began casting marine propellers and in 1882 they set up a forging press.

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6.

Vickers produced their first armour plate in 1888 and their first artillery piece in 1890.

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7.

In 1927, Vickers merged with Tyneside based engineering company Armstrong Whitworth to become Vickers-Armstrongs.

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8.

Armstrong Whitworth had developed along similar lines to Vickers, expanding into various military sectors and was notable for their artillery manufacture at Elswick and shipbuilding at a yard at High Walker on the River Tyne.

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9.

In 1986, Vickers acquired the armaments manufacturer Royal Ordnance Factory, Leeds, which became Vickers Defence Systems.

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10.

The Vickers name lived on in Alvis Vickers, until the latter was acquired by BAE Systems in 2004 to form BAE Systems Land Systems.

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11.

Callsign Vickers is still used by the corporate flight department of BAE Systems Maritime Submarines, based at Walney Airfield, Cumbria.

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