Bournemouth Air Festival 2013

What’s the Bournemouth Air Show got to do with locks I hear you say? Well apart from taking place in sunny Bournemouth and the shop seemingly under the flight path a great deal. It seems that every time the skies thundered with some flying relic from WWII the phone rang or customers need attention! I particularly wanted a picture of a Lancaster bomber or Spitfire to show you but it wasn’t to be, perhaps tomorrow or Saturday… In the meantime this is from the Bournemouth Air Festival website.

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It’s not generally known that the first locks that Ingersoll made were in fact WWII aircraft locks – not key operated devices but secure devices to hold bombs in place until released or the locks that held the glider tow rope in place or even the locks that held Spitfire cannons in place. Of course after the war the demand was considerably reduced and so Ingersoll’s chief designer Jack Taylor patented the now familiar 10 lever security lock. Attached is a page from the Ingersoll catalogue for aircraft locks, but so far we haven’t managed to find an example for the collection. We live in hopes ….

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If there is interest I could post the whole catalouge.

of course there is interest in such an early Ingersoll catalogue Brian

Very informative Brian, thank you!

When I was younger I only knew Ingersoll as a watchmaker. Five years ago someone told me about Ingersoll locks and at first I thought that the watchmaker would also produce locks. I do not think that the watchmaker has anything to do with the lock maker but I have no information on that. It would be interesting to know more about that.

A bit more success today. What a thrill, a very satisfying thunderous roar. The Lancaster bomber iconic in many ways - but for us its the very start of the Ingersoll lock story.

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Can you tell the pilot to make a tour to Frankfurt and pick me up :(nod):?
He should be familiar with the route to Germany :D:

Do you know the patent number of Jack Taylors 10 lever security lock invention? Did he invent other locks as well?

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Originally Posted by dicey

Can you tell the pilot to make a tour to Frankfurt and pick me up :(nod):?
He should be familiar with the route to Germany :D:

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I asked him but he said that he only did deliveries in Germany and not collections.
Sorry

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I asked him but he said that he only did deliveries in Germany and not collections.
Sorry

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Too bad :(-:
Well, maybe next time :D:

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http://www.antique-locks.com/images/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by dicey
When I was younger I only knew Ingersoll as a watchmaker. Five years ago someone told me about Ingersoll locks and at first I thought that the watchmaker would also produce locks. I do not think that the watchmaker has anything to do with the lock maker but I have no information on that. It would be interesting to know more about that.

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Ingersoll watches of America, who also had a fairly large operation in the UK, went into liquidation in the early years of the 20^th century. The directors bought the UK Company from the liquidators. With the approaching WWII hostilities a separate company was formed, Ingersoll Engineering Ltd. and expanded into light engineering. This was a tactical move to preserve the workforce from callup and demonstrates great foresight by management. Both companies operated out of the same premises.

Jack Taylor who was already head designer at Yale with a string of patents to his name was ordered by MAP (Ministry of Aircraft Production) to Ingersoll to design a reliable locking payload release mechanism. Bombs rolling around inside the aircraft in flight were a problem and most undesirable!

And ingersol rand were connected?
I hope that the ministry of aircraft production didn't sink to becoming MAP (who make cheap plastic stuff)

No Tom, nothing to do with the mining Ingersoll. Although much later Ingersoll Locks was owned by The Gold Fields Group. I think that's where confusion arises sometimes.

Ingersol rand own Kryptonite, schlage and Newman Tonks amongst others - a coincidence that a lock/ light engineering company started up called ingersoll when an engineering group called ingersoll rand got into locks....

I dont know if the original Ingersoll in America were connected. Perhaps members on that side of the pond might know. The UK Ingersoll was purchased from the liquidators and from that time was a wholly owned company. Do you know when Ingersoll Rand acquired those lock companies, Before or after the American Ingersoll Watches went into liquidation?

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Originally Posted by Brian Morland

I dont know if the original Ingersoll in America were connected. Perhaps members on that side of the pond might know. The UK Ingersoll was purchased from the liquidators and from that time was a wholly owned company. Do you know when Ingersoll Rand acquired those lock companies, Before or after the American Ingersoll Watches went into liquidation?

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Ingersoll was never part of or associated with Ingersoll Rand. There has always been some confusion about that because the US military for a while used locks with the Ingersoll mechanism in them. IIRC Sargent & Greenleaf was involved in importing the locks and then selling to the military.
BBE.

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Ingersoll watches of America, who also had a fairly large operation in the UK, went into liquidation in the early years of the 20^th century. The directors bought the UK Company from the liquidators. With the approaching WWII hostilities a separate company was formed, Ingersoll Engineering Ltd. and expanded into light engineering. This was a tactical move to preserve the workforce from callup and demonstrates great foresight by management. Both companies operated out of the same premises.

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Does that mean we are having two completely different companies now (one for watches and one for locks)? Operating with a different head of management? Why do the companies not mention that in their history or are they actually doing that and I was just not able to find that?

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Ingersoll was never part of or associated with Ingersoll Rand. There has always been some confusion about that because the US military for a while used locks with the Ingersoll mechanism in them. IIRC Sargent & Greenleaf was involved in importing the locks and then selling to the military.

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Thank you BBE!
If I get that right the Ingersoll Rand group (American) and the lock company called Ingersoll (British) have nothing to do with each other.

The catalog of Ingersoll aircraft locks is now on line HERE in the HoL library area. Hope you all like it.

[QUOTE=dicey;13127Thank you BBE!
If I get that right the Ingersoll Rand group (American) and the lock company called Ingersoll (British) have nothing to do with each other.[/QUOTE]

You are correct.
BBE.

The catalog is very interesting and the patent is also a very interesting read!
Where did you do this copy? I can still not find this patent in the google patents database...

It seems appropriate to continue this thread with Ingersoll’s aircraft lock discussions – there are other tantalizing references such as a special version for the spinning bomb release mechanism of which little is known from the documents.

I have started a new thread to explore Ingersoll’s key operated locks and have also added the patent specification and drawings to the library area.

Since the thread is about aircraft and locks:

http://www.adamsriteaerospace.com/products.asp

I imagine most of you are familiar with their architectural products. The aerospace division was spun off and purchased some time ago.

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Originally Posted by dll932

Since the thread is about aircraft and locks:

http://www.adamsriteaerospace.com/products.asp

I imagine most of you are familiar with their architectural products. The aerospace division was spun off and purchased some time ago.

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Interesting stuff, thought I was familiar with most of the Adams Rite products but wow, had no idea at all they also made for the aerospace industry.

Also great to solve the whole British and American Ingersoll locks, engineering and watches mystery! I'd wondered about that for years and no one ever seemed to know the full story :(y):