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{{short description|British electrical engineering company}}
{{Lead too short|date=October 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Ferranti
| logo =
| type = [[Public company|Public]]
| caption =
| fate = Bankrupt & broken up
| successor = [[GEC-Marconi]], [[Matra Marconi Space]]
| foundation = 1882 (as Ferranti, Thompson and Ince); 1885 (as S.
| defunct = Bankrupt 1993 (the Belgian subsidiary lives on as Ferranti Computer Systems and as of 1994 is part of the Nijkerk Holding)
| location = [[Hollinwood, Greater Manchester]], United Kingdom
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| subsid =
}}
'''Ferranti''' or '''Ferranti International
The firm was known for work in the area of [[power grid]] systems and defence [[electronics]]. In addition, in 1951 Ferranti began selling an early computer, the [[Ferranti Mark 1]]. The Belgian subsidiary lives on as Ferranti Computer Systems and as of 1994 is part of the Nijkerk Holding.
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===Beginnings===
[[File:Ferranti two-phase generator set (Rankin Kennedy, Electrical Installations, Vol III, 1903).jpg|thumb|Ferranti steam generating set, c. 1900]]
[[Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti]] established his first business '''Ferranti, Thompson and Ince''' in 1882.<ref name=SWE>{{Cite web |url=http://www.swehs.co.uk/tactive/_S25-0.html |title=SWE Historical Society |access-date=1 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722074604/http://www.swehs.co.uk/tactive/_S25-0.html |archive-date=22 July 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The company developed the Ferranti-Thompson Alternator. Ferranti focused on [[alternating current]] power distribution early on, and was one of the few UK experts
Despite being a prime exponent of
In 1887, the London Electric Supply Corporation (LESCo) hired Dr. Ferranti for the design of their [[Deptford Power Station|power station
Success followed and Ferranti started producing electrical equipment (especially transformers) for sale. Soon the company was looking for considerably more manufacturing space. Land prices in the London area were too high, so the company moved to [[Hollinwood, Greater Manchester|Hollinwood]] in [[Oldham]] in 1896.<ref name=timeline/> In July 1901, Ferranti Limited was formed, specifically to take over the assets of S.
The business was restructured in 1905, Dr. Ferranti's shareholding being reduced to less than 10%.<ref name=timeline /> For the next eleven years the company was run by receiver managers and Dr. Ferranti was effectively excluded from commercial financial strategies. He spent much of this period working in partnership with the likes of J
===Expansion===
Through the early part of the century power was supplied by small companies, typically as an offshoot of plant set up to provide power to local industry. Each plant supplied a different standard, which made the [[mass production]] of domestic electrical equipment inefficient. In 1910, Dr. Ferranti made a presidential speech to the [[Institution of Electrical Engineers|IEE]] addressing this issue, but it would be another sixteen years before the commencement of the [[National Grid (Great Britain)|National Grid]] in 1926.<ref name=Wilson/>▼
[[File:Ferranti Model 255 vacuum tube radio, 1956 (24826639262).jpg|thumb|Ferranti radio]]▼
▲Through the early part of the century power was supplied by small companies, typically as an offshoot of plant set up to provide power to local industry. Each plant supplied a different standard, which made the [[mass production]] of domestic electrical equipment inefficient. In 1910, Dr Ferranti made a presidential speech to the [[Institution of Electrical Engineers|IEE]] addressing this issue, but it would be another sixteen years before the commencement of the [[National Grid (Great Britain)|National Grid]] in 1926.<ref name=Wilson/>
In 1912, in a move driven by A
{{ISBN|978-0-7735-0983-2}}</ref>
High voltage power transformers became an important product for Ferranti;<ref name=timeline /> some of the largest types weighed over a hundred tons. Dr. Ferranti's son [[Vincent Ziani de Ferranti|Vincent]] joined the transformer department as manager in 1921 and was instrumental in expanding the work started by his father. After the death of Dr. Ferranti in 1930, he became the chairman and chief executive.<ref name=Wilson/> In 1935, Ferranti purchased a disused wire drawing mill at [[Moston, Greater Manchester|Moston]]: from here it manufactured many "brown goods" such as televisions, radios, and electric clocks.<ref name=timeline/> The company later sold its radio and television interests to [[EKCO]] in 1957. Production of clocks ended in 1957 and other product lines phased out in 1960<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Ferranti|title=Ferranti - Graces Guide|website=www.gracesguide.co.uk}}</ref> Ferranti Instruments, based at Moston, developed various items for scientific measurements, including one of the first [[viscometer#Rotational viscometers|cone and plate viscometer]]s. Ferranti built a new power transformer works at Hollinwood in the mid
[[File:Ferranti All-Wave Superhet 1937.jpg|thumb|Ferranti 837 All-Wave Superhet radio (1937), made of [[Bakelite]]|alt=]]▼
▲High voltage power transformers became an important product for Ferranti;<ref name=timeline /> some of the largest types weighed over a hundred tons. Dr Ferranti's son [[Vincent Ziani de Ferranti|Vincent]] joined the transformer department as manager in 1921 and was instrumental in expanding the work started by his father. After the death of Dr Ferranti in 1930, he became the chairman and chief executive.<ref name=Wilson/> In 1935, Ferranti purchased a disused wire drawing mill at [[Moston, Greater Manchester|Moston]]: from here it manufactured many "brown goods" such as televisions, radios, and electric clocks.<ref name=timeline/> The company later sold its radio and television interests to [[EKCO]] in 1957. Production of clocks ended in 1957 and other product lines phased out in 1960<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Ferranti|title=Ferranti - Graces Guide|website=www.gracesguide.co.uk}}</ref> Ferranti Instruments, based at Moston, developed various items for scientific measurements, including one of the first [[viscometer#Rotational viscometers|cone and plate viscometer]]s. Ferranti built a new power transformer works at Hollinwood in the mid 1950s at a time when there was growth in the power supply distribution industry.
By 1974, Ferranti had become an important supplier to the defence industry, but its power transformer division was making losses, creating acute financial problems. This led to the company being bailed out by the government's [[National Enterprise Board]], taking a 65% share of the company in return.<ref name=family>''Ferranti: A History - Building a Family Business 1882–1975 J
===Defence electronics===
During World War II, Ferranti became a major supplier of electronics, [[fuze]]s<!--'fuze' is appropriate - see [[Fuse (explosives)]]-->, [[vacuum tube|valves]], and was, through development of the [[Identification Friend or Foe]] (IFF) system, heavily involved in the early development of [[radar]] in the United Kingdom.<ref name=timeline/> In the post-war era, this became a large segment of the company, with various branches supplying radar sets, [[avionics]] and other military electronics, both in the UK and the various international offices.▼
[[File:Ferranti Mark IID gyroscopic gunsight mounted in a Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX of No. 127 Wing RAF at B2-Bazenville, Normandy, 17 August 1944. CL854.jpg|thumb|right|Spitfire gyro gunsight]]
In 1943, Ferranti opened a factory at [[Crewe Toll]] in Edinburgh to manufacture [[gyro gunsight]]s for the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] aircraft.<ref name=timeline/> After the war they set up, [[Kenyon Taylor#Ferranti Scotland|Ferranti Research]] to complement this business which grew to employ 8,000 staff in 8 locations, becoming the birthplace of the Scottish electronics industry,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/written_answers/1951/jun/26/electronics-industry#S5CV0489P0_19510626_CWA_126|title=Electronics Industry (Hansard, 26 June 1951)|website=hansard.millbanksystems.com}}</ref> and a major contributor to company profitability. Later products included solid state ring laser gyros.▼
▲During World War II, Ferranti became a major supplier of electronics, [[fuze]]s<!--'fuze' is appropriate - see [[Fuse (explosives)]]-->, [[vacuum tube|valves]], and was, through development of the [[Identification Friend or Foe]] (IFF) system, heavily involved in the early development of [[radar]] in the United Kingdom.<ref name=timeline/> In the post-war era, this became a large segment of the company, with various branches supplying radar sets, [[avionics]] and other military electronics, both in the UK and the various international offices.
From 1949, [[Ferranti-Packard]] assisted the Royal [[Canadian Navy]] develop [[DATAR]] (Digital Automated Tracking and Resolving). DATAR was a pioneering computerized battlefield information system that combined [[radar]] and [[sonar]] information to provide commanders with an "overall view" of a battlefield, allowing them to coordinate attacks on submarines and aircraft.<ref name=ieee>John Vardalas, "[http://ieee.ca/millennium/fp6000/fp6000_datar.html From DATAR To The FP-6000 Computer]", ''IEEE Annals of the History of Computing'', Vol 16 No 2, 1994</ref>▼
▲In 1943, Ferranti opened a factory at [[Crewe Toll]] in Edinburgh to manufacture [[gyro gunsight]]s for the [[Supermarine Spitfire|Spitfire]] aircraft.<ref name=timeline/> After the war they set up
▲From 1949, [[Ferranti-Packard]] assisted the Royal [[Canadian Navy]] develop [[DATAR]] (Digital Automated Tracking and Resolving). DATAR was a pioneering computerized battlefield information system that combined [[radar]] and [[sonar]] information to provide commanders with an "overall view" of a battlefield, allowing them to coordinate attacks on submarines and aircraft.<ref name=ieee>John Vardalas, "[http://ieee.ca/millennium/fp6000/fp6000_datar.html From DATAR To The FP-6000 Computer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060116063849/http://ieee.ca/millennium/fp6000/fp6000_datar.html |date=16 January 2006 }}", ''IEEE Annals of the History of Computing'', Vol 16 No 2, 1994</ref>
In the 1950s, work focused on the development of airborne radar, with the company subsequently supplying radars to most of the UK's fast jet and helicopter fleets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-128-889-C|title=Scran Web Site|website=Scran}}</ref> Today the Crewe Toll site (now part of [[Leonardo S.p.A.]]) leads the consortium providing the [[Euroradar CAPTOR]] radar for the [[Eurofighter Typhoon]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurofighter.com/news-and-events/2009/04/the-first-asta-simulator-for-the-eurofighter-typhoon-operational |title=Archived copy |access-date=2015-04-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413120617/http://www.eurofighter.com/news-and-events/2009/04/the-first-asta-simulator-for-the-eurofighter-typhoon-operational |archive-date=13 April 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>▼
▲In the 1950s, work focused on the development of airborne radar, with the company subsequently supplying radars to most of the UK's fast jet and helicopter fleets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/record.php?usi=000-000-128-889-C|title=Scran Web Site|website=Scran}}</ref> Today the Crewe Toll site (now part of [[Leonardo S.p.A.]]) leads the consortium providing the [[Euroradar CAPTOR]] radar for the [[Eurofighter Typhoon]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurofighter.com/news-and-events/2009/04/the-first-asta-simulator-for-the-eurofighter-typhoon-operational |title=
In the 1960s and 1970s, inertial navigation systems became an important product line for the company with systems designed for fast jet (Harrier, Phantom, Tornado), space and land applications.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://prism.ucalgary.ca/handle/1880/23674|title=The Ferranti Inertial Land Surveying System (FILS) as part of an integrated navigation and positioning system|first=John E.|last=Hagglund|date=19 November 1987|publisher=Engineering|via=dspace.ucalgary.ca}}</ref> The electro-mechanical inertial navigation systems were constructed at the Silverknowes site in [[Edinburgh]]. In addition to their other military and civil applications, they were used in the ESA [[Ariane 4]] and first [[Ariane 5]] launches. Ferranti also produced the PADS (Position and Azimuth Determining System), an inertial navigation system which could be mounted in a vehicle and was used by the British Army.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2gB7w9XlNJAC&q=Ferranti+Position+and+Azimuth+Determining+System&pg=PA302|title=The Surveying Handbook|first1=Russell Charles|last1=Brinker|first2=Roy|last2=Minnick|date=19 November 1995|publisher=Springer Science & Business Media|isbn=9780412985119|via=Google Books}}</ref>▼
▲In the 1960s and 1970s, inertial navigation systems became an important product line for the company with systems designed for fast jet (Harrier, Phantom, Tornado), space and land applications.<ref>{{Cite
With the invention of the laser in the 1960s, the company quickly established itself in the electro-optics arena. From the early 1970s, it was delivering the ''Laser Rangefinder and Marked Target Seeker'' (LRMTS) for the Jaguar and Harrier fleets, and later for Tornado.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vectorsite.net/twbomb_12.html|title=None}}</ref> It supplied the world's first man-portable laser rangefinder/designator ([[Laser designator|Laser Target Marker]], or LTM) to the British Army in 1974,<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Lasers on beam. |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200157.html |format=PDF|journal=[[Flight International (magazine)|Flight International]]|date=23 January 1975 |access-date= 7 April 2015}}</ref> and had notable successes in the US market, establishing Ferranti Electro-optics Inc in [[Huntington Beach, California]]. Its [[TIALD]] Pod (Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator) has been in almost constant combat operation on the [[Panavia Tornado|Tornado]] since it was rushed into service during the first Gulf War.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/lit/25321.shtml|title=TIALD: The Gulf War GEC Ferranti}}</ref>▼
▲With the invention of the laser in the 1960s, the company quickly established itself in the electro-optics arena. From the early 1970s, it was delivering the ''Laser Rangefinder and Marked Target Seeker'' (LRMTS) for the Jaguar and Harrier fleets, and later for Tornado.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.vectorsite.net/twbomb_12.html|title=None}}</ref> It supplied the world's first man-portable laser rangefinder/designator ([[Laser designator|Laser Target Marker]], or LTM) to the British Army in 1974,<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Lasers on beam. |url=http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1975/1975%20-%200157.html |format=PDF|journal=[[Flight International (magazine)|Flight International]]|date=23 January 1975 |access-date= 7 April 2015}}</ref> and had notable successes in the US market, establishing Ferranti Electro-optics Inc in [[Huntington Beach, California]]. Its [[TIALD]] Pod (Thermal Imaging Airborne Laser Designator) has been in almost constant combat operation on the [[Panavia Tornado|Tornado]] since it was rushed into service during the first Gulf War.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/lit/25321.shtml|title=TIALD: The Gulf War GEC Ferranti|access-date=13 December 2008|archive-date=16 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216201538/http://www.antiqbook.co.uk/boox/lit/25321.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref>
From the 1960s through to the late 1980s, the Bristol Ferranti [[Bloodhound SAM]], for which Ferranti developed radar systems, was a key money earner.
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The selection of the radar for the project that became the Eurofighter Typhoon became a major international issue in the early 1990s. Britain, Italy, and Spain supported the Ferranti-led [[ECR-90]], while Germany preferred the MSD2000 (a collaboration between [[Hughes Aircraft|Hughes]], AEG and GEC). An agreement was reached after UK Defence Secretary [[Tom King, Baron King of Bridgwater|Tom King]] assured his German counterpart [[Gerhard Stoltenberg]] that the British government would underwrite the project and allow [[General Electric Company plc|GEC]] to acquire Ferranti Defence Systems from its troubled parent.<ref>{{cite news | first = Charles | last = Miller | title = Radar Deal Keeps Britain in Forefront of Airborne Technology | publisher = The Press Association Ltd.| date = 1990-05-08}}</ref> Hughes sued GEC for $600 million for its role in the selection of the EFA and alleged that it used Hughes technology in the ECR-90 when it took over Ferranti. It later dropped this allegation and was awarded $23 million; the court judged that the MSD-2000 "had a real or substantial chance of succeeding had GEC not tortuously intervened ... and had the companies, which were bound by the Collaboration Agreement, faithfully and diligently performed their continuing obligations thereunder to press and promote the case for MSD-2000."<ref>{{cite news | title=Court finds GEC 'intervened' on behalf of onetime EFA rival Ferranti | work = Aerospace Daily | publisher = McGraw-Hill Inc. | page = 398 | date = 1994-03-15}}</ref>
▲[[File:Ferranti All-Wave Superhet 1937.jpg|thumb|Ferranti 837 All-Wave Superhet radio (1937), made of [[Bakelite]]|alt=]]
▲[[File:Ferranti Model 255 vacuum tube radio, 1956 (24826639262).jpg|thumb|Ferranti radio]]
===Industrial electronics===
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Work on a completely new design, the [[Atlas (computer)|Atlas]],<ref name=emt/> started soon after the delivery of the Mercury, aiming to dramatically improve performance. Ferranti continued their collaboration with the University of Manchester, and Plessey Co., plc, became a third partner. The [[second generation computer|second generation]] [[supercomputer]] first ran in December 1962. Eventually six machines were built, one of which was a stripped-down version that was modified for the needs of the [[University of Cambridge Mathematical Laboratory]]; the [[Titan (1963 computer)|Titan]] (or ''Atlas 2'') was the mainstay of scientific computing in Cambridge for nearly 8 years. Atlas was the first computer in the world to implement [[virtual memory]].
By the early 1960s their mid-size machines were no longer competitive, but efforts to design a replacement were bogged down. Into this void stepped the Canadian division, [[Ferranti-Packard]], who had used several of the ideas under development in England to very quickly produce the [[Ferranti-Packard 6000]].<ref name=ieee/> By this time Ferranti's management
The deal setting up ICT excluded Ferranti from the commercial sector of computing, but left the industrial field free. Some of the technology of the FP 6000 was later used in its [[Ferranti Argus]] range of industrial computers which were developed in its [[Wythenshawe]] factory. The first of these, simply ''Argus'', was initially developed for military use.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~wylie/Argus/ferranti.htm | title=The Ferranti Argus Computers | date=2009 | access-date=26 November 2012 | author=Wylie, Andrew | archive-date=7 February 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207124435/http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~wylie/Argus/ferranti.htm | url-status=dead }}</ref>
Meanwhile, in [[Bracknell]] the Digital Systems Division was developing a range of mainframe computers for naval applications. Early computers using discrete transistors were the ''Hermes'' and ''Poseidon'' and these were followed by the ''F1600'' in the mid
===Semiconductors===
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Ferranti had been involved in the production of electronic devices, including [[Vacuum tube|radio valves]], [[cathode-ray tube]]s and [[germanium]] semiconductors for some time before it became the first European company to produce a [[silicon]] [[diode]], in 1955. In 1972 they launched the [[ZN414]], a single-chip [[Amplitude modulation|AM]] radio [[integrated circuit]] in a 3-pin package.
Ferranti Semiconductor Ltd. went on to produce a range of silicon bipolar devices, including, in 1977, the [[Ferranti F100-L]], an early 16-bit [[microprocessor]] with 16-bit addressing.<ref>{{cite book|title=Europe's first home grown microprocessor faces stiff competition, New Scientist 30 September 1976|url={{Google books|5rH7T60TWMAC|page=695|plainurl=yes}}|page=695}}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> An F100-L was carried into space on the [[amateur radio satellite]] UoSAT-1 (OSCAR 9). Ferranti's ZTX series bipolar transistors gave their name to the inheritor of Ferranti Semiconductor's discrete semiconductor business, [[Zetex Semiconductors|Zetex Semiconductors plc]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.diodes.com/zetex.html |title=
In the early 1980s, Ferranti produced some of the first large [[Gate array|uncommitted logic arrays]] (ULAs), used in [[home computer]]s such as the [[Sinclair Research|Sinclair]] [[ZX81]], Sinclair [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Acorn Electron]] and [[BBC Micro]]. The microelectronics business was sold to [[Plessey]] in 1988.<ref>'Plessey
=== Acquisition of International Signal and Control ===
In 1987 Ferranti purchased [[International Signal and Control]] (ISC), a United States defence contractor based in [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name=isc>{{Cite web |url=http://www.jacobsmeyer.com/Marquardt/Appendix%20A.htm |title=The ISC / Ferranti Scandal |access-date=13 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171217014151/http://www.jacobsmeyer.com/Marquardt/Appendix%20A.htm |archive-date=17 December 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The company subsequently changed its name to '''Ferranti International
===Collapse===
Unknown to Ferranti, ISC's business primarily consisted of illegal arms sales started at the behest of various US clandestine organizations. On paper the company looked to be extremely profitable on sales of high-priced "above board" items, but these profits were essentially non-existent. With the sale to Ferranti all illegal sales ended immediately, leaving the company with no obvious cash flow.<ref name=isc/>
In 1989 the UK's [[Serious Fraud Office (United Kingdom)|Serious Fraud Office]] started criminal investigation regarding alleged massive fraud at ISC. In December 1991 James Guerin, founder of ISC and co-
The financial and legal difficulties that resulted forced Ferranti into [[bankruptcy]] in December 1993.<ref name=timeline/>
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[[File:DH.114 Heron 2D G-ASCX Ferranti Ringway 07.10.67 edited-2.jpg|thumb|right|[[De Havilland Heron]] operated from [[Manchester Airport]] 1962–1970 as an executive transport, particularly between the factories in Lancashire and Scotland. The company name is on the lower fin.]]
The company had factories in Greater Manchester at [[Hollinwood, Greater Manchester|Hollinwood]], [[Moston, Greater Manchester|Moston]], [[Chadderton]] (Gem Mill), [[Waterhead, Greater Manchester|Waterhead]] (Cairo Mill), [[Derker]], [[Wythenshawe]], [[Cheadle Heath]], [[Gorton|West Gorton]], and [[Poynton]]. Eventually it set up branch-plants in [[Edinburgh]] (Silverknowes, Crewe Toll, Gyle, Granton and Robertson Avenue factories, plus its own hangar facility at Turnhouse Airport), [[Dalkeith]], [[Aberdeen]], [[Dundee]], [[Kinbuck]] (near [[Dunblane]]), [[Bracknell]], [[Barrow in Furness]] and [[Cwmbran]] as well as [[Germany]] and the [[United States]] (inc. Ferranti International Controls Corporation
in Sugar Land, Texas) and several [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]] countries including [[Canada]], [[Australia]] and [[Singapore]].
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*Ferranti Tapchangers Ltd: Independent company, then acquired by UK-based grid control specialists Fundamentals Ltd [http://www.ferrantitapchangers.com/ Ferranti Tapchangers Ltd | Welcome] in 2017
*Ferranti Satcomms: Acquired out of administration by [[Matra Marconi Space]] in 1994
*Ferranti Technologies: Was bought out by management and continues in [[
*Ferranti Air Systems: Acquired by Datel then turned into an independent company. Later bought by [[Ultra Electronics]]. In 2019 acquired by ADB Safegate.
*[[Ferranti Thomson Sonar Systems]]: A 50% share was acquired by [[GEC-Marconi]]. Now{{when|date=August 2019}} owned by Thales and renamed [[Thales Underwater Systems]].
*Ferranti Helicopters: Acquired by [[British Caledonian Airways]] in April 1979 to become British Caledonian Helicopters which was in turn acquired by [[Bristow Helicopters]] in 1987
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A number of uses of the Ferranti name remain in use. In [[Edinburgh]], the Ferranti Edinburgh Recreation Club (FERC), the Ferranti Mountaineering Club and the Ferranti Ten-pin Bowling League are still{{when|date=August 2019}} in existence. While these organisations no longer have any formal ties with the companies which subsumed the Ferranti companies which operated in Edinburgh, they still{{when|date=August 2019}} operate under the old names.
Ferranti Thistle F.C. was formed in 1943 and joined the [[Scottish Football League]] in 1974. Due to strict sponsorship rules it changed its name to Meadowbank Thistle F.C., and later to [[Livingston F.C.]]
Denis Ferranti Meters Limited is still
== References ==
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{{Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Ferranti| ]]
[[Category:Aircraft component manufacturers of the United Kingdom]]
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