Sperry Gyroscope Co Ltd
Elmer Ambrose Sperry established a company in America in 1910 to manufacture his navigation-related inventions, the marine gyrostabilizer and the gyrocompass. The British company started up not long afterwards in 1913, opening a factory in London’s Pimlico district. Sperry began manufacturing equipment for the Admiralty, selling a marine gyro compass to equip HM Submarine E1. Many more warships were soon similarly equipped. The compass improved on previous navigation equipment as it eliminated variations caused by the earth’s natural magnetic field.
The First World War brought opportunities for the business, which because a limited company in 1915. Sperry began manufacturing aircraft components, including bomb sights and fire control systems. To meet increasing demand, the business moved to a larger factory in Shepherd’s Bush. Head office was located on Victoria Street. The company continued to innovate, creating an early type of guided missile, an aerial torpedo.
In 1918 Lawrence Sperry, son of Elmer, established his own company to compete with the Sperry Gyroscope Co Ltd. Lawrence Sperry Aircraft Company products included a new automatic pilot system. Following Lawrence Sperry’s death in 1923, the two businesses merged.
The company continued to innovate in the interwar period, with the invention of a ship’s gyroscope known as ‘Metal Mike’. Again in 1931, growing demand saw the company move to a new factory, this time in Brentford. By 1933 Sperry Gyroscope Co Ltd was part of the Sperry Corporation, a holding company for various smaller businesses, including the Ford Instrument Company and Intercontinental Aviation. During this period the company produced gunfire predictors, securing contracts to supply automatic gunfire control equipment to the Admiralty. This was produced at a Sperry factory in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.
Unsurprisingly, Sperry products were heavily in demand during the Second World War. Sperry was especially known for sophisticated technology including airborne radar systems, analogue computer-controlled bomb sights, and automated take-off and landing systems. The company also supplied the Ball Turret Gun fitted to the American B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator aircraft.
Postwar, Sperry equipment made Liverpool home to the world’s first harbour-supervised radar system. The company enjoyed another first in 1954, supplying the first British inertial navigation system to 'fly'. The business opened a factory in Bracknell in 1957. They became involved with rocket technology, supplying accelerometers to the X15 rocket-powered aircraft in 1961. Defence contracts continued to be crucial for the business. In 1962 Sperry provided the Royal Navy with it’s first ship to air guided weapon.
In the late 1960s, Sperry closed its Brentford site and Stonehouse followed. They expanded the Bracknell site. In 1969 the company had 2,500 employees. By now the business was part of the merged Sperry Rand Corporation. In 1982 Sperry Gyroscope Company was sold to British Aerospace. The business was moved to its Plymouth site and ultimately became part of UTC Aerospace Systems.