Edinburgh engineers working on the UK’s next-gen combat aircraft pause to mark the site’s history, as gyros originally designed for WWII Spitfires cease production.
Engineers working at Leonardo in Edinburgh are amongst the brightest brains in the country, helping to develop the next generation of sensors for the UK’s future ‘Tempest’ aircraft. But a business doesn’t just start building advanced aerospace tech overnight. Leonardo’s Edinburgh site is also home to what is thought to be one of the world’s longest running electronics production programmes in the world.
While the Leonardo engineers clearly relish the challenge of inventing the sensor technology of the future, they have just as much pride in the Company’s heritage and recently marked the occasion of the last gyro gunsight rolling off the production line, the final unit in a production run spanning 75 years.
Originally designed for RAF Spitfires in World War 2, the gyro gunsight was described in a secret memo at the end of the war as ‘the single most important equipment’ introduced during the war. Incredibly, the technology continues to find uses 75 years later and many remain in-service today on-board international naval vessels.
The Edinburgh site based at Crewe Toll first opened its doors on 16 June, 1943, after being constructed for the urgent manufacture of gyro gunsights for the RAF Spitfire, as the factory which originally produced them in Manchester was running out of capacity and was under the constant threat of bombing.
The production of this vital gunsight technology, which greatly enhanced the success of the RAF’s Spitfire aircraft, acted as a springboard for the creation of a new generation of electronic systems, many of which had never been seen in the UK before. This included the creation of airborne radar, lasers and self-protection systems, cutting-edge versions of which are supplied today to customers world-wide, keeping almost 2,000 highly skilled employees busy at Leonardo’s Edinburgh Site.
The very first gyro gunsights were delivered on December 5, 1943, with a further 26 completed by January 1, 1944, after which production steadily built to 1,000 units per month. The wartime output of gyro gun sights exceeded 9,500, with most going to equip the guns of Lancaster, Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft.
Company archives also show many women working in the production lines. It was these women who formed the main workforce of the time. In 1944, the Daily Express reported on the RAF’s extraordinary success in the skies, saying that the gyro gunsight was ‘one of Britain’s great scientific achievements’. Since then, more than 50,000 gyro gunsights have been supplied from Edinburgh to 25 countries for customers including the Indian Navy.
Alastair Morrison, Leonardo’s Deputy Managing Director UK and head of the Edinburgh site said: “Over the past 75 years, our employees’ innovation has played a central role in the development of some of the most exciting technology, from the gyro gunsights for the Spitfire to the navigation system for the Arianne Space Rocket and the advanced radar for today’s Typhoon fighter jet.
“The intricate complexity of that technology is extraordinarily challenging, yet I believe it inspires our employees who thrive on overcoming problems and finding innovative ways forward.”
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