Miles Aircraft

A company was founded in 1928 by Charles Powis and Jack Phillips as Phillips & Powis Aircraft (Reading) Ltd. In 1929 they opened Woodley Aerodrome, near the town of Reading, Berkshire.[3]

In 1936, Rolls-Royce bought into the company. Although aircraft were produced under the Miles name, it was not until 1943 that the firm became Miles Aircraft Limited when Rolls-Royce's interests were bought out.

The company needed to increase production of the Miles Messenger and to do so it took over a former linen mill in Banbridge, County Down, Northern Ireland for the production of components of the aircraft. A hangar at RAF Long Kesh was used for assembly of the aircraft and flight testing was carried out at the airfield. The company moved to Newtownards following the end of the war in 1946.

The company opened the Miles Aeronautical Technical School in 1943 under the directorship of Maxine (Blossom) Miles[4] The school had a "Headmaster", Walter Evans.[5]

In 1947, the company entered receivership following bankruptcy proceedings instigated by Titanine Ltd., in the Chancery Division of the High Court. Titanine supplied Miles with aviation coatings used in the production of the Miles Gemini aircraft.[6] Mr. Justice Wynn-Parry adjourned the petition of Titanine Ltd., for the winding up of Miles Aircraft Ltd., until 19 January 1948, on the grounds that the company had showed prima facie reasons for not yet having formulated a reorganization scheme. The petitioners, creditors for £5,837, were supported by other creditors for £62,000 and opposed by creditors for £200,000. An affidavit put into court showed that subject to audit, a loss of £630,000 had been incurred on 31 October 1947, but that a rescue plan could not be drawn up until the audit was completed. The principal trade creditors were: Blackburn Aircraft Ltd., De La Rue Extrusions Ltd., Smiths Aircraft Instruments Ltd. and the Sperry Gyroscope Co. Ltd. Mr. F. G. Miles announced the payment of the 4% per cent preference dividends out of his own resources of £8,600. After Miles Aircraft had been taken over by financiers in 1947, the design and manufacture of aircraft was ended by the new Board. At this time the company had some £5 million worth of business in hand, including substantial orders for the Messenger and the Gemini.

In 1948 an application by the Board of Trade for the appointment of an inspector to investigate the affairs of Miles Aircraft Ltd. was granted by Mr. Justice Roxburgh. The B.O.T. case was that when a prospectus was issued in March, 1947 (before the accounts for 1946 were published), the directors should reasonably have been expected to know that all was not well with the company, and when, in August, 1947, a dividend of 7% per cent and a bonus of 24% were recommended, they should reasonably have been expected to know that a big loss was being suffered by the company.[7][8][9]

Charges were brought against Sir William Malcolm Mount and F. G. Miles. There were 24 charges regarding publication of a Miles Aircraft Ltd prospectus with "false and reckless statements". The trial began on 10 May 1950 at the Old Bailey.[10] After 17 days of sitting, the jury stopped the case against Miles and Sir William, and they were discharged. They had appeared on charges of inducing people to acquire shares in the company by making a misleading forecast and dishonestly concealing a material fact in a prospectus. According to Flight, "Twenty of the original 24 counts were thrown out before the defence was reached. The prosecution alleged that the defendants gave a misleading forecast that for 1947 the profit covering the production of aircraft would have been £75,000, whereas there was a substantial loss. It was alleged that they recklessly made the misleading statement that the company had orders on hand which were sufficient to ensure production for the following two years, and that they dishonestly concealed the fact that a profit for the manufacture of aircraft in 1947 was unlikely." Both men said that they believed every word of the prospectus was true. After the acquittal, an application for costs for £20,000 was disallowed.[11]

The aviation assets were purchased by Handley Page as Handley Page Reading Ltd. Handley Page produced the Miles-designed M.60 Marathon as the H.P.R.1 Marathon. The Miles Aeronautical Technical School was taken over by the Reading Technical College. Other products in which Miles had interests included photocopiers; this business became Copycat Ltd, which was acquired by the Nashua Corporation in 1963. The Philidas locking nut unit became an independent company.[12] The bookbinding machinery and actuator production were taken over by a specifically formed company, the Western Manufacturing Estate Ltd, the name "Western" referring to its location on the Woodley aerodrome.[13] This company later merged with the Adamant Engineering Company Ltd. to form the Adwest Group. Miles also manufactured ballpoint pens designed by László Bíró through an associated company, the Miles Martin Pen Co. Ltd.

Miles Master trainer in flight during the Second World War

In 1948, F.G. Miles founded F. G. Miles Limited, which continued to produce aircraft under the Miles brand. The company was based on two sites, Redhill Aerodrome and Shoreham Aerodrome. In 1961, the aviation interests were purchased (along with Auster Aircraft Limited) by British Executive and General Aviation Limited (Beagle Aircraft), initially as Beagle-Miles Ltd, with George Herbert Miles as Chief Designer and Technical Director.[14]

The company adopted a group structure with subsidiary companies as follows: Meridian Airmaps Ltd (whose collection of aerial photographs forms part of the English Heritage Archive[15]), Miles Development Products Ltd, Miles Electronics Ltd, Miles Marine & Structural Plastics Ltd and Jet Tanks Ltd. The group was initially based at Redhill, but moved to Shoreham in 1953.[16][17]

Miles Electronics was involved in the manufacture of flight simulators; this division merged with the UK arm of the Link Trainer flight simulator company and was later acquired by the Singer Corporation. In 1975 Hunting Associated Industries acquired a controlling interest in F. G. Miles Engineering and all its subsidiaries. The company was renamed Hunting Hivolt and Jeremy Miles, the son of Fred Miles (who founded the firm), became a non-executive director on the board.[18] Other companies included Miles HiVolt Ltd and Miles-Dufon Ltd (this company went into administration on 15 April 1980).

Design work between F. G. Miles Ltd and the French company, Hurel-Dubois, resulted in the HDM.105 – a standard Miles Aerovan fitted with an Hurel-Dubois high-aspect-ratio wing. This work led to the Hurel-Dubois HD.34 and the Short Skyvan series of aircraft.