Ferranti: Defense Electronics

During World War II, Ferranti became a major supplier of electronics, fuses, 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.

In 1943 Ferranti opened a factory at Crewe Toll in Edinburgh to manufacture Gyro Gunsights for the Spitfire aircraft. After the war this business (Ferranti Scotland) would grow to employ 8,000 staff in 8 locations, becoming the birth place of the Scottish electronics industry's.

From 1949, Ferranti assisted the Canadian Navy develop DATAR (Digital Automated Tracking and Resolving).

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: today the Crewe Toll site (now owned by SELEX Sensors and Airborne Systems)

In the 1960s and 1970s Inertial Navigation became an important product line for the company with systems designed for fast jet (Harrier, Tornado), Space and Land applications.

In 1970 Ferranti became involved in the sonar field through its involvement with Plessey in a new series of sonar's, for which designed and built the computer subsystems.

In 1987 Ferranti purchased International Signal and Control (ISC), a Pennsylvania based defense contractor.[22]

In 1989 the Serious Fraud Office started criminal investigation regarding alleged massive fraud at ISC. In December 1991 James Guerin, founder of ISC and co-Chairman of the merged company, pleaded guilty before the federal court in Philadelphia to fraud committed both in the USA and UK.

Ferranti's apprentice training school was considered one of the most prestigious, and sought after, opportunities for career orientated school-leavers in Edinburgh, Scotland. Ferranti made a considerable investment in their apprentice training program and schooled both blue-collar and white collar engineering disciplines. The above photograph depicts the 1977 school intake ( I am 2nd from the left in the second row from the rear).

Core competencies
• machining	• sheet metal fabrication	• production planning
• time study	• design drafting	• problem solving
• budget management	• cost estimating	• communication skills

Apprenticeship details I was engaged in the 4-year apprenticeship program which comprised of the following:

Year 1: both white-collar and blue-collar apprentices followed identical program: -on the tools.

During this year we manufactured our own hand-tools, everything from G-clamps, to a table-vice, to the very tool-box which held all of the tools. These were all produced using all machining and sheet metal disciplines; milling, turning, grinding, shaping, welding, brake-press work, assembly and hand-fitting work.

One day per week was spent at a vocational college (Telford College, Edinburgh, Scotland) resulting in the Scottish Technical Education Council's award in Mechanical and Production engineering.

Year 2, 3 and 4: during this three year development period, a foundation was developed in a full variety of design and production engineering disciplines.

Production Planning, Cost Estimating,Time and Motion (work study), Design Drafting. As my career objective was to be a design draftsman, the core of this period of my training was focused on the development of these disciplines.

As a defense contractor employee, I have signed the United Kingdom's Official Secrets Act I am now, effective July 1st, 2002, a 'naturalized' citizen of the USA.

At the completion of the apprenticeship, I met my goal of becoming a design draftsman joining Ferranti's Test Equipment Goup....and my highly interesting and varied career began and all thanks to the Ferranti engineering apprentice program.

I remained with Ferranti until 1990, at which point I took on a sales job with VERO Electronics. I can, honestly, attribute the success in my sales and marketing career to the disciplines that were 'drummed' into me during this apprenticeship: work ethic, communication skills and problem solving.