D.NAPIER AND SON - Enginehistory

D.NAPIER AND SONI suspect that most of you here have heard ofthe Napier name as being responsible for aseries of Aero Engines produced in the periodsurrounding the two World Wars. However, Iwill be surprised if many of you are aware ofthe historical importance of the achievementsof The Company spanning more than twocenturies.

D Napier & SonPrecision EngineersA brief timeline tracing the history from it’sfamily origins in 1783 to the last remainingCompany to-day, to carry the famousNapier name.

James Napier (1823 – 1895)

David Napier 1785 - 1873

D Napier & SonPrecision EngineersDavid Napier was born in 1785 at Inveraray, Scotland, son ofthe blacksmith to the 5th Duke of Argyll in Scotland.Several members of his family were engineers and hiscousin Robert Napier was the well known Clydeshipbuilder.David Napier served his apprenticeship as a blacksmithat his uncle’s metalworking plant at Dumbarton inScotland.At the age of 21, in 1806, he moved south to Londonwhere he worked for Henry Maudsley, machine toolengineer and manufacturer. It was here he developedhis precision engineering skills.

1808Aged 23, David established his own engineering business,D Napier, in Lloyds Court, St Giles, Soho, London.He undertook the accurate construction and repair ofprinting presses, firstly for others, then to his ownpatented precision engineered designs. Early machineswere manually operated but later incorporated steampower. The “Nay-Peer” printing press was used byHansard, the producer of the official verbatim records ofParliamentary proceedings.

1833Napier constructed a machine for makingcompressed musket and rifle balls. Thisgreatly improved the accuracy of small armsfire.A number of these machines were later sold toThe Royal Arsenal in Woolwich in 1842.

1840A variety of hydraulic equipment wassupplied to the renowned engineer I. K.Brunel for the construction of the GreatWestern Railway for the Bristol Terminus andlater, overhead travelling cranes for theSwindon Depot.

1842Work started on the “Automaton”, This was aprecision monetary coin sorting and bullionbalances coin weighing machine.The prototype was supplied to the Royal Mintfor testing. The following year they purchaseda further three machines.

1847David Napier took his son James Murdockinto partnership and they embarked on aperiod of growth and prosperity with a wellorganised factory employing around 400people.Over the following 20 years a wide variety ofequipment was deliver throughout the world,including;

David Napier’s “Captains’ Patent registeringShips’ Compass” came into use.This was a great aid to marine navigation as itregistered, on paper, the exact course of thevessel over the preceding 24 hours.

A quantity of gun boring machines for theSpanish government and the Imperial Arsenalof St. Petersburg, Russia and the Englishboard of Ordinance.Tide gauge measures for the Admiralty.Hydraulic presses for hot forging.An Astronomical Telescope.An Envelope Printing Machine.A Sugar Mill.The first postage Stamp Perforating Machine.

Steam Perfecting Press

Bank Note Printing Machine

Nay-Peer Printing Press.

Coin Weighing Machine

Bullet Compressing Machine

1854The Crimean War brought considerable ordersfor ship reversing Quadrants, Bilge Pumpsand Rifle Rods.They also had equipment for boring 30.ft.cannon barrels including the rifling grooves.

1867David’s younger son James succeeding him as head ofthe business in 1867Like his father, James proved to have exceptional engineeringskills and became a Member of The Institution of MechanicalEngineers. M.I.Mech.E.Following his father’s death in 1873, James specialised inbeautifully crafted precision machinery for making coins andprinting stamps and banknotesJames proved not to be a good businessman, consideringSalesmanship as an undignified business. Sales volumesDeclined such that there were as few as 7 employees by 1895when he attempted, unsuccessfully, to sell the Company.

1895Montague Stanley Napier, The Grandson ofDavid, Purchased the York Road, Lambethfactory including the Goodwill and all Patentsand Plant.

Montague Stanley Napier(1870 – 1931)

AUTOMOBILES

1895On The Road To RecoveryMontague immediately set about the rebuilding of thebusiness.Montague’s hobby was cycle racing and at London’s BathRoad Club he met Australian born cycling champion SelwynFrancis (SF) Edge. Edge held several British distance speedrecords including London – York a distance of 210 milescovered in 12 hrs. 49 min.Edge was London manager of the Dunlop Tyre Co. Heowned Panhard car No 8, winner of the 1898 ParisMarseilles Race. He persuaded Montague to improve the carby converting it from a tiller to wheel steering and toimprove the engine. This encouraged Edge to furtherpersuade Montague to set up car production at Napier’sActon works.

1898Montague Napier started development of thefirst Napier car engine, a 2 cylinder, 9hp. Unitwhich weighed over 300lbs.

1899S.F.Edge formed The Motor Power Companyto promote sales of the entire productionoutput of Napier's Motor carriages.

1900The first to be built Napier car, driven byMontague’s good friend S.F.Edge took part inthe Automobile Club’s 1000 mile trial aroundBritain and successfully completed the course.There followed a 16hp. Engine incorporating acast aluminium cylinder-block with integral,pressed in, cast iron liners. There was also adetachable head with overhead valves.

This early beginning led to over 200 enginedesigns of both piston and gas turbine typesutilising petrol and diesel fuels as well asrocket engines. Most of these designs werepioneering and class leading engines.

1902S.F.Edge driving with Montague Napier asriding mechanic won the Gordon BennettTrophy motor race between Paris andInnsbruck with the Napier light racing Car.This was Great Britain’s first InternationalMotorsport Award.

S.F.Edge with Montague Napier and the Gordon BennettTrophy winning Napier light racing car.

1903Having outgrown the York Road site a further3.5 acres was purchased in Acton followed ayear later by another 2.75 acres as businesscontinued to expand

In 1903 the Gordon Bennett team were all Napier cars,most having 7.5 litre engines with over-square 5.5 inchbores and a low driving seat position!

1904Napier produced the worlds first 6 cylindercar engine.They continued to build a reputation forpower and reliability.

1905“Samson” the first Napier racing car with a6 cylinder engine took the World land SpeedRecord at 104.65mph.During this period car engines were beingused in cruising launches and high speedmotor boats. Napier took this challenge andset a number of speed records with launchesnumbered 1, 2 and 3.

A Selection of Napier Racing CarsStreamlined Napier L48 Samson at Brooklands in 1907.This car broke the World Land Speed Recordat Daytona Beach in 1905

1907A week before the official opening of theBrooklands circuit, S.F.Edge took 3 Napierworks cars to set the 24 hr. distance and speedrecord at 1581 miles at an average speed of65.8 mph.

A Selection of Napier Racing CarsNapier 6-cyl 65 Hp at Brooklands in 1907. The first car to seta 24 hour endurance record covering 1,582 miles at anaverage of 65.8 mph

1908Britain’s first specially built Grand Prix racing car. Painted inNapier’s own British Racing Green, this 6 cyl 11.5 litre (702 cu. Ins)Was built to compete in the 1908 T.T. race in France.

1914The First World WarCar production was curtailed as emphasisswitched to the war effort. Only 300 carchassis of a planned 500 were producedduring 1914 and no more were built until1919.The War Office placed orders for 200 4-toncapacity trucks and a further order for 250smaller 1.5 ton capacity vehicles.

1915From the 2nd August The Ministry of Wardesignated Napier as a “ControlledEstablishment”. This meant that the Companywas managed by the government and had tocomply with the manufacturing requirementsof the War Machine.This included Vehicles, Aircraft and due tothe company’s precision background, AeroEngines.

Acton remained busy for the duration ofthe war. Vehicle production continuedapace and between 1915/18 over 2,000trucks and ambulances were supplied tothe War Office.

During this time The RAF “saw to it” that Napier had a newfour storey reinforced concrete building erected from whichto administer Napier’s war effort.This building included offices for the Directors, aDrawing Office and Canteen amongst other facilities.

Napier’s New Acton Works 1916

1917Montague’s health deteriorated and hemoved to a health Spa in Cannes. Hecontinued to take an active role in thecompany until his death in 1931 aged 87.

1919Civilian car production restarted with the 6cylinder T75.These were very expensive cars, costing morethan the Rolls Royce Silver Ghost.During the ‘20s, sales declined and the lastNapier car was produced in 1924.

NAPIER AERO ENGINES.

A revolutionary form of mechanical warfare was by nowbeing employed over the battlefields of Europe utilising thearmed warplane.Napier began manufacturing and testing examples ofexisting types of aero engines, including the V8 SunbeamArab and V12 RAF type 3a.These engines proved indifferent and troublesome so thatin 1916 Napier decided that they could do better and sobegan the design of their own Aero engines.

Napier realised that the fundamental features of an aero enginewere low weight, smallest possible frontal area and maximumpower. Their approach was to utilise multiples of smallercylinders to allow greater engine speeds. This began with the“Lion” and progressed via the “dagger” through to the 24cylinder “Sabre”The Lion, originally designed as an aero engine, wasfurther developed for marine use and as a high poweredracing car engine.World air, land and water speed records were regularlybroken, particularly during the 1930s, by Henry Seagrave,Malcolm Campbell (in Bluebird) and John Cobb (in aNapier Railton) all in vehicles powered by Napier Lionengines

1917The design and development of the NapierLion Engine was commenced.This was not completed before the end ofhostilities but went on to power over 130Military and Civilian Aircraft Worldwide.This included the first Civilian Cross ChannelService between Croydon and Paris.

The Napier Lion Engine

World Records gained with Napier Lion Engine Power1919 - Height record of 30,000 feet1929 - Land Speed Record at 231.3 mph1929 - Air Speed Record at 336.3 mph1930 - Water Speed Record at 100.13 mph1931 - Land speed record at 246.1 mph1932 - Land speed record at 253.9 mph1933 - Air Long Distance Record at 5,309 miles1939 - Land Speed Record at 369.74 mph1947 - Land speed record at 394.196 mph

1920The Air ministry issued a requirement for asingle engine for Bombers.Napier responded with the 16 cylinder, “X”configured, “Cub”. This had a capacity of60ltr. (3,700u.ins) and a power output of1050hp.6 engines were built and test flown in aBlackburn “Cubaroo” prior to cancellation ofthe program.

Napier Lion Powered Schneider Trophy WinnersWinner 1922Developed by Reginald Mitchell who later designedthe Supermarine Spitfire for the RAF

1930Major Frank Halford’s designs of high revving,multi-cylinder engines came into being: initiallythe 16 cylinder “Rapier” followed by the 18cylinder, 1000.hp. “Dagger”.These were both air-cooled “H” configurations.

When World War II broke out it soon became clear that the thencurrent aircraft were too slow and the immediate demand wasfor aircraft to be fitted with engines having in excess of 1,000.hpto match the enemy’s fighter aircraft.Fortunately Rolls Royce had their Merlin engine in productionfor use in the Hawker Hurricane and the Supermarine Spitfire,but Napier’s answer, the Sabre, was not yet fully developed.