During WW1, a company in Sheffield called PORTASS ltd, made parts for various types of aircraft, can anyone please tell me exactly what they made & for which types.
They are also supposed to have made at least one batch of complete aircraft, again can anyone tell me what type they were ?.
This company made lathes etc, & survived up until the 1970’s, do their archives survive ?.
Cheer’s.
Mark.
By: wingsofwood - 9th January 2011 at 13:15
Cheer’s Guy’s.
I have seen these sites, but know that they can be wrong “eg since when was there a Snipe monoplane ?”.
I hope that some one may have further info to what is on these websites, assuming that the Snipes supposedly built by Portass were of the Sopwith variety, what were their serial numbers ?, as I can find no reference to them.
Other people have said that Portass also built fuselages for Avro & Dehavilland types, if true, which types & for which companies ?.
Cheer’s.
Mark.
By: bazv - 9th January 2011 at 11:49
snap 😀
By: Zebedee - 9th January 2011 at 11:40
Interesting history of the companies lathe making activities here…
http://www.lathes.co.uk/portass/
Zeb
By: bazv - 9th January 2011 at 11:38
Quote from this lathe website
the manufacture of aircraft components such as landing gear parts for Avro, Bristol and Nieuport fighters, seaplane floats for Blackburn and Fairey, tail units for Avro and De Haviland – and even the building of a complete batch of 50 Sopwith Snipe monoplanes. In the 1920s, and by now trading under the “Heeley Motor Manufacturing” name, Portass turned its hand to building bodies for the car, lorry, ambulance and bus markets but, as these had become an increasingly “in-house” activity for the chassis manufactures, Portass diverted into the manufacture of small machine tools for the hobby and light-industrial market.
By: spitfireman - 9th January 2011 at 11:37
It was 50 Sopwith Snipe monoplanes.
cheers Baz
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January 9, 2011 at 11:26 am