Weir Autogiros and Helicopters

G&J Weir, Ltd., was founded in 1871 in Glasgow, Scotland, to develop James Weir's inventions relating to marine pumps and boilers. The company became a major supplier to the shipbuilding industry and during the First World War received significant airplane construction contracts. William Weir, son of founder James Weir, joined the Ministry of Munitions to manage war materiel production in Scotland; his brother James G. Weir, one of Britain's first qualified pilots, joined the Royal Flying Corps, ending the war as Technical Director of the newly established Royal Air Force. Demonstration of the newly invented Autogiro at Farnborough in 1925 prompted the establishment of the Cierva Autogiro Company, Ltd., in 1926 funded primarily by James G. Weir and financier Hugh Kindersley. The company undertook extensive research and development which established the engineering foundation of rotary-wing aircraft. Licenses in the technology were issued to concerns in Europe and the United States, the latter eventually expending a huge sum on its own research and development programme. The Cierva Autogiro Company, Ltd., consumed significant capital, only a small percentage of which was recovered by license fees and royalties.