The first company in the world to mass-produce aeroplanes

Wars & Conflicts · Published 9 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before they were a titan of flying boats and military aircraft, Short Brothers was a balloon company. In 1908, after seeing the Wright brothers' flight, they made a radical pivot that would establish them as the global pioneers of volume aircraft manufacturing.

The transition from balloons to airplanes was sparked by Oswald Short’s reaction to the Wright brothers' demonstrations in France. Recognizing that ballooning had reached its limit, he persuaded their third brother, Horace—a specialist in steam turbines—to leave his position with Charles Parsons to join them. In November 1908, they registered as Short Brothers and secured rights to build copies of the Wright design. The brothers originally began their business in 1897 by manufacturing coal gas balloons. They moved their workshop to London and then to Battersea railway arches before formalizing their partnership.

Shorts achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first aircraft manufacturing company globally to undertake volume production. By February 1909, they established a workshop on the Isle of Sheppey to begin constructing an initial batch of six aircraft. This era also saw them produce the Dunne D.5, notable as the world's first tailless aircraft. They also manufactured the first tailless aircraft, the Dunne D.5, under contract. Their early work impressed Colonel James Templer of the Royal Balloon Factory.

The company’s legacy is defined by its mastery of maritime aviation. They became synonymous with flying boats, designing iconic models like the Sunderland—mockingly dubbed 'The Flying Porcupine' by British propaganda—and the Empire series. The latter was instrumental in launching the UK's Empire Airmail scheme and providing long-range services across the British Empire. The S.184 model was particularly successful, with over 900 units produced during World War I. This specific plane made history on August 15, 1915, by being the first to strike a ship with a live torpedo.

Following decades of growth and nationalization in 1943, the company moved its main base to Belfast in 1948. After being owned by Bombardier for several decades, the site was sold to Spirit AeroSystems in 2020, with Boeing becoming the primary owner in December 2025. In 2007, the company reached its peak as Northern Ireland's largest manufacturing concern. Today, production facilities at the Belfast site are leased out to Airbus.

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