page_title: Metropolitan-Vickers
section_title: Metrovicks postwar
hierarchical_section_title: Metropolitan-Vickers / History / Metrovicks postwar
caption_attribution_description: English: Metropolitan-Vickers electron microscope on display at the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry Deutsch: Elektronenmikroskop hergestellt von Metropolitan-Vickers Français&#160;: Microscope électronique construit par Metropolitan-Vickers Italiano: Microscopio elettronico prodotto da Metropolitan-Vickers Nederlands: Elektronenmicroscoop gemaakt door Metropolitan-Vickers
context_page_description: Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, they were particularly well known for their industrial electrical equipment such as generators, steam turbines, switchgear, transformers, electronics and railway traction equipment. Metrovick holds a place in history as the builders of the first commercial transistor computer, the Metrovick 950, and the first British axial-flow jet engine, the Metropolitan-Vickers F.2. Their factory in Trafford Park, Manchester, was for most of the 20th century one of the biggest and most important heavy engineering facilities in Britain and the world.
context_section_description: The post-war era led to massive demand for electrical systems, leading to additional rivalries between Metrovick and BTH as each attempted to one-up the other in delivering ever-larger turbogenerator contracts. Metrovick also expanded their appliance division during this time, becoming a well known supplier of refrigerators and stoves.
  The design and manufacture of sophisticated scientific instruments, such as electron microscopes, and mass spectrometers, became an important area of scientific research for the company.
  In 1947, a Metrovick G.1 Gatric gas turbine was fitted to the Motor Gun Boat MGB 2009, making it the world's first gas turbine powered naval vessel. The Bluebird K7 jet-propelled 3-point hydroplane in which Donald Campbell broke the 200 mph water speed barrier was powered with a Metropolitan-Vickers Beryl jet engine producing 3,500 lbf (16 kN) of thrust. The K7 was unveiled in late 1954. Campbell succeeded on Ullswater on 23 July 1955, where he set a record of 202.15 mph (325.33 km/h), beating the previous record by some 24 mph (39 km/h) held by Stanley Sayres.
  Another major area of expansion was in the diesel locomotive market, where they combined their own generators and traction motors, with third-party diesel engines to develop in 1950 the WAGR X class 2-Do-2 locomotive and in 1958 the type 2 Co-Bo, later re-classified under the TOPS system as the British Rail Class 28. This diesel-electric locomotive was unusual on two counts; its Co-Bo wheel arrangement and its Crossley 2-Stroke diesel engine (evolved from a World War II marine engine). Intended as part the British Railways Modernisation Plan, the twenty-strong fleet saw service between Scotland and England before being deemed unsuccessful and withdrawn towards the end of the 1960s. Metrovick also produced the CIE 001 Class (originally 'A' Class) from 1955, the first production mainline diesels in Ireland.
  Metropolitan Vickers also produced electrical equipment for the British Rail Class 76 (EM1), and British Rail Class 77 (EM2), 1.5 kV DC locomotives, built at Gorton Works for the electrification of the Woodhead Line in the early 1950s. Larger but broadly similar locomotives were also supplied to the NSWGR as their 46 class. The company also designed the British Rail Class 82, 25 kV AC locomotives built by Beyer Peacock in Manchester using Metrovick electrical equipment. The company also supplied electrical equipment for the British Rail Class 303 "Blue Train" electric multiple units.
  In the 1950s, the company built a large power transformer works at Wythenshawe, Manchester. The factory opened in 1957, and was closed by GEC in 1971, after which it was sold to the American compressor manufacturer Ingersoll Rand.
  In 1961, the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was invited to the company's factory at Trafford Park as part of his tour of Manchester.
  The rivalry between Metrovick and BTH was eventually ended in an unconvincing fashion when the AEI management eventually decided to rid themselves of both brands and be known as AEI universally, a change they made on 1 January 1960. This move was almost universally resented within both companies. Worse, the new brand name was utterly unknown to their customers, leading to a noticeable fall-off in sales and AEI's stock price.
caption: Metropolitan-Vickers electron microscope
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