Early years The Marshall group was originally established during 1909 by its founder David Gregory Marshall, who gave the company his name. During the late 1920s, David Marshall's son, Arthur, took an active role in the company. Since 1966, Marshall Aerospace has been the designated support company for the Royal Air Force's fleet of
C-130 Hercules. It has been formally recognised as a Sister Design Authority for the type since 1988. The company oversaw the introduction of RAF's 25 second generation
C-130J Super Hercules fleet, as well as the retirement of half of the service's first generation aircraft. In addition to its domestic support operations, Marshall Aerospace has supported various international operators' own Hercules fleets. Marshall Group has also signed multiple agreements with US defense conglomerate
Lockheed Martin to manufacture various components of the Super Hercules on behalf of the latter's for the global supply chain. Marshall Aerospace functioned as the design authority for the RAF's fleet of
Lockheed TriStar tanker and freighter aircraft; as well as the appointed sister design authority for the RAF's
Boeing E-3D Sentry. It undertook major maintenance and modification activity on these types, plus a range of other military and commercial aircraft. Notable design achievements include the design and production of
Concorde's
droop nose and visor in 1967, and a vestibular sled for medical research which flew 112 orbits in
Space Shuttle Challenger on
STS-61-A in 1985. Marshall Aerospace has also performed a variety of passenger to tanker and freighter aircraft conversions. One unusual project was the conversion of a
Lockheed L-1011 Tristar airliner into a launch vehicle for a satellite delivery system, on behalf of
Orbital Sciences. Marshall Aerospace was the designated industrial body involved in the
Vulcan to the Sky project, which restored
Avro Vulcan XH558 to a flight-worthy condition and supported its operations for numerous years. In 1992, Marshall bought
AWD Trucks. Production in that subsidiary ended in 1998. Marshall Group has been a long-term partner of
Bombardier Aerospace. During 1998, the company was appointed the first independent authorised service centre in Europe for the
Bombardier Global Express long-range business jet. In mid 2000, Marshall became involved in the Global Express' manufacturing process, performing interior completions on behalf of Bombardier. During the 2010s, the firm's expertise with the type enabled it to perform extensive modifications of the airframe to produce customised special mission models for military customers. Marshall Aerospace has also performed the production of long range fuel tanks for various
Boeing aircraft, including the
Boeing 747-400ER and
777-200LR airliners, as well as the
P-8 Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft. By 2012, the Marshall Group was reporting an annual turnover in excess of £1 billion and was employing nearly 4,500 staff. In September 2013, Marshall purchased
Hawker Beechcraft's services branch at
Broughton, subsequently rebranding it
Marshall Aviation Services as well as being appointed Hawker's distributor for the UK,
Ireland and
Scandinavia. That same year, the company also bought FlairJet, an
air charter specialist. This move was part of Marshall's strategy to grow its charter fleet five-fold. At this time, Marshall Group was deliberately restructuring its business activities, particularly its sizable aerospace division. During late 2015, Marshall Group announced that, in response to a downturn in demand from the British armed forces, the firm intended to focus on its growing civilian activities, including the resumption of
VIP aircraft conversion work to counteract this. During 2019, the company announced that was planning to relocate its headquarters from its historic home at Cambridge Airport over the coming decade, although it noted there was value in relocating to a nearby location, such as
Cranfield Airport,
Duxford Aerodrome and
RAF Wyton.
C-130J modified by Marshall ADG Marshall carried out depth maintenance and modified
C-130J Super Hercules fleet of
Bangladesh Air Force before delivered to
Bangladesh.{{cite web |title=Marshall rolls out first Bangladesh Air Force C-130J ==Activities==