The last surviving Spartan aircraft, an Arrow, still airworthy as of 2016
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| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft manufacturing |
| Predecessor | Simmonds Aircraft |
| Founded | Woolston, Hampshire, UK 1930 (1930) |
| Founder | Oliver Simmonds |
| Fate | Merged with Saunders Roe, 1935 |
| Products | Civil aircraft |
Spartan Aircraft Limited was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1930 to 1935. It was formed by reinvestment in Simmonds Aircraft which had suffered financially.
In 1928 Oliver Simmonds designed and built a prototype aircraft, the Simmonds Spartan, in a factory at Woolston, Hampshire.[1] The design was a success with over 50 aircraft built.[2] Following financial difficulties and investment from Whitehall Securities Corporation Ltd[3] Simmonds Aircraft Limited changed name in 1930 to Spartan Aircraft Limited.
The first aircraft from the renamed company was the Spartan Arrow a two-seat biplane of which 15 were built.[4] The next design was a three-seat open-cockpit biplane the Spartan Three Seater. The company ceased to build aircraft in 1935.
In January 1931 Flight magazine revealed that Whitehall Securities had acquired a substantial holding in Saunders Roe Ltd. and arising out of this investment Spartan was effectively merged into Saunders Roe. Spartan Aircraft's final product was the Spartan Cruiser a three-engined light airliner developed from the Saro-Percival Mailplane.
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Simmonds Aircraft and Spartan Aircraft Limited aircraft
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| Simmonds Aircraft |
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| Spartan Aircraft |
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