Boulton Paul Aircraft, Boulton & Paul Ltd as it once was, or Dowty Boulton Paul as it is now, was never one of the giants of the aircraft industry, never a Hawker, a Bristol or an Avro. It never became a household name as they did, never produced an aircraft, except perhaps the Defiant, which everyone knew as a Boulton Paul product, yet it has been in the aircraft business for over three-quarters of a century since, in October 1915, it flew its first aircraft. It has managed to survive where more esteemed names such as Handley Page, Gloster and Martinsyde, have fallen by the wayside. Though now part of the TI Group, its factory at Pendeford, Wolverhampton, is still in production, when more famous factories at Hatfield, Kingston and Brooklands are gone. It has survived because it has always managed to find a niche, mostly by innovation and invention. It was a pioneer in metal construction, and other companies sought its expertise, it was a world leader in the development of powered gun turrets, and that led to it currently being a world leader in powered flying controls and fly-by-wire.
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