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Private company

Martinsyde

British aircraft and motorcycle manufacturer

Martinsyde was a British aircraft and motorcycle manufacturer between 1908 and 1922, when it was forced into liquidation by a factory fire.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1908Founded1
  • Industryaircraft industry, automotive industry1
  • HeadquartersWoking1
  • Legal formprivate company limited by shares1

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Martin-Handasyde 4B Dragonfly
Photo: Michael Hallett, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Martinsyde was a British aircraft and motorcycle manufacturer between 1908 and 1922, when it was forced into liquidation by a factory fire.2

The story

The company was first formed in 1908 as a partnership between H.P. Martin and George Handasyde and is known as Martin & Handasyde. Their No.1 monoplane was built in 1908–1909 and succeeded in lifting off the ground before being wrecked in a gale. They went on to build a succession of largely monoplane designs although it was a biplane, the S.1 of 1914, that turned Martin-Handasyde into a successful aircraft manufacturer.

In 1915 they renamed the company Martinsyde Ltd, and it became Britain's third largest aircraft manufacturer during World War One, with flight sheds at Brooklands and a large factory in nearby Woking.

From Wikipedia’s article on Martinsyde, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

Martinsyde-designed aircraft included:

Martin-Handasyde No.3 – sports aircraft, 1910

Martinsyde S.1 – single-seat scout, 1914

G100 and G102 "Elephant" – scout aircraft 1915 onwards, 171

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Martinsyde RG

Martinsyde F.1

Martinsyde F.2

Martinsyde F.3 – private venture design with the Rolls-Royce Falcon engine, only a few produced due to lack of available engines

Martinsyde F.4 Buzzard – fighter, the F.3 with a Hispano-Suiza engine

Martinsyde Semiquaver – racing aircraft

A number of surplus Buzzard airframe were later built up with a new engine, the radial Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar, by the Aircraft Disposal Company (ADC) and sold as the "Martinsyde ADC.1" in 1924. A development of the F.4 was also made by the ADC: two "ADC Nimbus" were produced as prototypes. The company also manufactured the BE.2c and S.E.5a aircraft under sub-contract.

From Wikipedia’s article on Martinsyde, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Owners

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1923Acquired Acquired by Bat Motor Manufacturing Co.1
  2. 1922Dissolved Dissolved1
  3. 1908Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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