FERRANTI, LTD.
GREAT WAR ACTIVITY
THE ordinary general meeting of Ferranti, Limited, was held on December 6th in London, Mr. V. Z. De Ferranti, M.C., M.I.E.E. (chairman and managing director), presiding.
The following is an extract from the statement by the chairman circulated with the report and accounts: The profits of the year at £95,678 show little change from those of last year. The company has covered a very wide field in its war-time activities, having an output of £30,000,000, divided into six principal categories—fuses, radar and radio, fire control apparatus, navigational instruments, electrical instruments and transformers.
By far the largest activity has been of an entirely non-electrical character namely, fuses—which have amounted to nearly £9,000,000. The major effort in this direction has been concerned with anti-aircraft mechanical time fuses, which consist of watch-like time mechanisms which have to withstand the high acceleration due to firing from anti-aircraft guns.
Our second largest contribution was in the field of radar, over f7,000,000. We were the parent firm for the development and pro- duction of the identification friend or foe, which is a receiver-transmitter device fitted to every Allied plane, and which automatically returns a coded reply to radar signal. It was the reason why Allied planes could operate day and night without confusing anti-aircraft defences. The number produced by your company was over 9o,000. We also shared In the production of G.L., H.S. and A.S.V. Numbers of high-speed automatic regulators were supplied for use in conjunction with radio equipment. Fire control apparatus for all three Services has amounted to over i..3,000,000, and has induded Magslips, submarine torpedo directors, Bofors predictors and Gyro gun sights. Nearly £3,00o,000 worth of navigational instruments have been produced. Electrical instruments of many types have been in great demand for every kind of apparatus, particularly radio equipment, and have resulted in a turnover of L.4,000,000.
To deal with the great national activity, increased quantities of power have been required, and this has meant that our transformer department has been kept fully employed on its normal products, which are required both in war and in peace.
We have to face a difficult period of reorganisation, which you will appreciate when I say that only to per cent. of our turnover during the war was represented by our normal products.
The report was adopted.
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