56-469: The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited ( / d ə ˈ h æ v ɪ l ən d / ) was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in Hertfordshire. Known for its innovation, de Havilland was responsible for a number of important aircraft, including
112-472: A Gipsy Moth in 1930. The Moth series of aeroplanes continued with the more refined Hornet Moth , with enclosed accommodation, and the Moth Minor , a low-wing monoplane constructed of wood. One of de Havilland's trademarks was that the name of the aircraft type was painted on using a particularly elegant Roman typeface, all in capital letters. When there was a strike at the plant, the artisans who painted
168-599: A career in automotive engineering , building cars and motorcycles. He took an apprenticeship with engine manufacturers Willans & Robinson of Rugby , after which he worked as a draughtsman for The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited in Birmingham , a job from which he resigned after a year. He then spent two years working in the design office of Motor Omnibus Construction Company Limited in Walthamstow . While there he designed his first aero engine and had
224-637: A dedicated company though in the UK the Bristol Aeroplane Company had a substantial engine business and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft was part of the same business as Armstrong Siddeley The successful "Gipsy" and the later developments such as the Gipsy Major were successful and popular power units, being used in nearly all of de Havilland's light designs and several aircraft from other manufacturers. Gipsy engines were relatively unusual by
280-658: A factory at what is now known as De Havilland Way in Lostock to produce variable pitch propellers for the RAF . The site was of strategic importance and became a German Luftwaffe target. On 3 July 1942 two Ju 88 bombers attempted a low-altitude bombing raid, using the Rivington reservoir chain to navigate but the mission went off course. After the Second World War de Havilland continued with advanced designs in both
336-455: A few weeks, he was released from this duty and returned to Airco. However, he nominally remained in the service until the end of the war. On 30 April 1916, he was promoted to captain and appointed a flight commander. His employer, Airco , was bought in early 1920 by armaments group Birmingham Small Arms Company but discovering it was less than worthless BSA shut down Airco in July 1920. With
392-523: A fresh biplane, making his first flight in it from a meadow near Newbury in September 1910. A memorial plaque presently marks the event. Subsequent designs were even more successful: in 1912 he established a new British altitude record of 10,500 feet (3,200 m) in an aircraft of his design, the B.E.2 . Geoffrey was the designer and his brother Hereward was the test pilot. In December 1910, de Havilland joined HM Balloon Factory at Farnborough , which
448-768: A further £1,000. As well as securing release from any contractual obligations to BSA, alongside other Airco assets de Havilland bought the Airco DH.18, two DH,14 and repair work on the DH.9 from BSA. Thomas contribution was contingent on A E Turner, Airco's financial manager becoming chairman. Banking on an order worth about £2,500 originally intended for Airco de Havilland brought his close-knit team in from Airco: friends Charles Clement Walker (aerodynamics and stressing), Wilfred E. Nixon (company secretary), Francis E. N. St. Barbe (business and sales) and from Airco's experimental department, Frank T Hearle (works manager). Hugh Burroughes went to
504-549: A major effort to build a new version that would be both larger and stronger. As a result, the Comet was extensively redesigned, with oval windows, structural reinforcements and other changes. Rival manufacturers meanwhile heeded the lessons learned from the Comet while developing their own aircraft. The Comet 4 enabled the de Havilland airliner to return to the skies in 1958. By then the United States had its Boeing 707 jet and
560-627: A new holding company bearing a name almost identical to the original, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited. The first overseas subsidiary was set up in Australia in March 1927 as de Havilland Aircraft Pty. Ltd. The company moved from Melbourne to Sydney during 1930 where it acted as an agency for the parent company, with assembly, repair and spares facilities for the company's popular sporting and airliner types. Aircraft design and full manufacture by de Havilland Australia (DHA) did not take place until
616-560: A number of indigenous types, some of which proved highly successful. In 1933, the company moved to Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire . In 1944, he bought out his friend and engine designer Frank Halfords 's consultancy firm, forming the de Havilland Engine Company with Halford as the head. Halford had previously designed a number of engines for de Havilland, including the de Havilland Gipsy and de Havilland Gipsy Major . Halford's first gas turbine design entered production as
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#1732769544822672-514: A replacement for the DH.84 Dragon, which was common in Australia due to its wartime production by DHA. The engine chosen for the new design was the de Havilland Gipsy Major Mk-10 4s. Several Drovers were later re-engined with more powerful Lycoming O-360 horizontally-opposed engines to improve performance. In 1959 a boat building division known as de Havilland Marine was established at the Bankstown factory. The de Havilland Australia concern
728-540: Is a direct descendent of James de Havilland (1553–1613) who migrated from Guernsey to Poole in Dorset and was granted the trade license for Poole. In 1909, Geoffrey de Havilland married Louise Thomas, who had formerly been governess to de Havilland's sisters. They had three sons, Peter, Geoffrey and John. Two of the sons died as test pilots in de Havilland aircraft. His youngest son, John , died in an air collision involving two Mosquitoes in 1943. Geoffrey Jr carried out
784-520: The Moth family. One of his roles was as a test pilot for the company's aircraft. In 1928, the subsidiary company De Havilland Canada was created to build Moth aircraft in North America. When World War II arrived, production expanded to augment British aircraft factories, without any possible threat from enemy bombers. After the Second World War, De Havilland Canada went on to design and produce
840-613: The 1919 New Year Honours , in recognition of his service in the First World War . He was knighted in the 1944 New Year Honours , and was invested with his knighthood by George VI at Buckingham Palace on 15 February 1944. He was appointed to the Order of Merit (OM) in November 1962. He received numerous national and international gold and silver medals and honorary fellowships of learned and engineering societies, including
896-683: The Comet . A company set up in 1935 for the manufacture of Hamilton Standard propellers under licence, and which later produced guided and other missiles such as the Firestreak and Blue Streak . The de Havilland company donated a site to Hertfordshire County Council for educational use: the site was then developed as Hatfield Technical College, which is now the College Lane Campus of the University of Hertfordshire . De Havilland
952-470: The Dash 8 programme and the de Havilland Canada brand from Bombardier, adding them to the rights and type certificates for all of the out-of-production aircraft (DHC-1 through DHC-7) already sold to its subsidiary Viking Air in 2005. The deal, which closed on 3 June 2019 following regulatory approval, brought the entire de Havilland Canada product line under the same banner for the first time in decades, under
1008-464: The Douglas DC-8 , both of which were faster and more economical to operate. Orders for the Comet dried up. Hawker Siddeley bought de Havilland in 1960 but kept it as a separate company until 1963. In that year it became the de Havilland Division of Hawker Siddeley Aviation and all types in production or development changed their designations from "DH" to "HS". De Havilland's final designs became
1064-598: The First World War , flown by the Royal Flying Corps / Royal Air Force . De Havilland continued to serve in the RFC during the war. On 5 August 1914, he was promoted to lieutenant and appointed a flying officer in the RFC from the same date. He was briefly stationed in Montrose on the east coast of Scotland as an officer on war duty. Flying a Blériot , he was to protect British shipping from German U-boats. After
1120-574: The Gloster Aircraft Company . The fledgling enterprise was lucky to be approached the next year by a man wanting a new aeroplane built for him, Alan Samuel Butler . He invested heavily in the business. The first year's turnover was £32,782 and net profit £2,387 and in early 1922 they bought Stag Lane aerodrome for £20,000. They survived until 1925 when de Havilland's own design, the Moth (first flown 22 February 1925) proved to be just what
1176-630: The Hawker Siddeley Trident (originally the DH.121) and the innovative Hawker Siddeley HS.125 , originally the DH.125. The DH.121 design was modified to be smaller to fit the needs of one airline—British European Airways. Other airlines found it unattractive and turned to a rival tri-jet, the Boeing 727 which was much the same size as the initial DH.121 design. De Havilland, as Hawker Siddeley, built only 117 Tridents, while Boeing went on to sell over 1,800 727s. De Havilland also entered
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#17327695448221232-600: The MacRobertson Air Race from England to Australia in 1934. The high-performance designs and wooden construction methods culminated in the Mosquito , constructed primarily of wood, which avoided use of strategic materials such as aluminium during the Second World War. The company followed this with the even higher-performing Hornet fighter, which was one of the pioneers of the use of metal-wood and metal-metal bonding techniques. In 1937 de Havilland set up
1288-552: The Moth biplane which revolutionised aviation in the 1920s; the 1930s Fox Moth , a commercial light passenger aircraft; the wooden World War II Mosquito multirole aircraft; and the pioneering passenger jet airliner Comet . The de Havilland company became a member of the Hawker Siddeley group in 1960, but lost its separate identity in 1963. Later, Hawker Siddeley merged into what is eventually known today as BAE Systems ,
1344-719: The Royal Flying Corps on 2 September 1912, was appointed a reserve officer in the RFC on 24 November and was confirmed in his rank on 25 December. In December 1913, de Havilland was appointed an inspector of aircraft for the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate. Unhappy at leaving design work, in May 1914 he was recruited to become the chief designer at Airco , in Hendon . He designed many aircraft for Airco, all designated by his initials, DH . Large numbers of de Havilland-designed aircraft were used during
1400-474: The University of Hertfordshire . Geoffrey de Havilland Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland , OM , CBE , AFC , RDI , FRAeS (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer . The aircraft company he founded produced the Mosquito , which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built, and his Comet
1456-478: The airframe , a phenomenon not fully understood at the time; the other was due to overstressing of the airframe during flight through severe weather. Sir Arnold Hall led the RAE research team that made the discovery that the rivets punched into the metal caused a minute fatigue crack. Because of the structural problems of the Comet, in 1954 all remaining examples were withdrawn from service, with de Havilland launching
1512-529: The de Havilland Goblin powering de Havilland's first jet, the Vampire . De Havilland controlled the company until it was bought by the Hawker Siddeley Company in 1960. His financial backer, Alan Butler , remained a very involved chairman until he retired in 1950. De Havilland retired from active involvement in his company in 1955, though remaining as president. He continued flying up to
1568-429: The 1930s/40s because they were in-line engines, at a time when radial or opposed-action engine layouts were more popular. The de Havilland company was also a competitor to Rolls-Royce and Metrovick in the early years of jet engine development. Employing the services of Frank Halford then buying out his company they produced the de Havilland Goblin and de Havilland Ghost engines for first their jet fighters then
1624-500: The British aerospace and defence business. The de Havilland name lives on in de Havilland Canada , which owns the rights to the name and the aircraft produced by de Havilland's former Canadian subsidiary, including the Dash 8 regional airliner previously produced by Bombardier Aerospace . In January 1920, Geoffrey de Havilland was working for Airco as technical director and chief designer. Airco were in poor financial position after
1680-415: The Comet could reach speeds of 500 miles per hour (halving journey times around the world), and fly at an altitude of 40,000 feet, a performance previously the preserve of military jet fighters. Twenty months after the launch, there were 17 Comets in service. The Comet suffered three high-profile crashes in two years. Two of these were found to be caused by structural failure resulting from metal fatigue in
1736-797: The Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club in 1947 and again in 1963. In 1972 de Havilland was inducted into the International Air & Space Hall of Fame . A statue of de Havilland was erected in July 1997 near the entrance to the College Lane campus of the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield . He was a benefactor of the university, having given land adjoining the A1 to Hertfordshire County Council in 1951 for its precursor,
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1792-603: The Hatfield Technical College. The statue was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh . The De Havilland campus (also known as De Hav) at the university was also named in his honour. The actresses Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine were de Havilland's first cousins; his father, Charles, and their father, Walter , were half-brothers. His younger brother, Hereward de Havilland , was also a noted pioneer aviator and test pilot. Sir Anthony de Havilland (born 1969)
1848-512: The Hatfield output. The de Havilland Comet was put into service in 1952 as the eagerly anticipated first commercial jet airliner, twice as fast as previous alternatives and a source of British national pride. Operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation , on 2 May 1952 the flight registered G-ALYP took off with fare-paying passengers and inaugurated scheduled service from London to Johannesburg. Powered by four de Havilland Ghost jet engines,
1904-477: The Second World War, when the company began production of the DH.82 Tiger Moth primary trainer at Bankstown, NSW. During the Second World War, DHA designed a small troop-carrying glider to be used if Australia was invaded by Japan. The DH-G1 emerged in mid-1942 and used the DH.84 Dragon forward fuselage, 87 of which were in production at the same factory as navigational trainers. The two built served as prototypes for
1960-468: The age of 70 making his final flight in a DH85 Leopard Moth, G-ACMA. He died aged 82, of a cerebral haemorrhage , on 21 May 1965 at Watford Peace Memorial Hospital , Hertfordshire. De Havilland was made an OBE (Military Division) in the 1918 Birthday Honours , and was honoured with a CBE (Civil Division) in the 1934 Birthday Honours . He was decorated with the Air Force Cross (AFC) in
2016-535: The definitive DH-G2 produced the following year but the need had passed by this time and only six DH-G2s were built. The company also began to manufacture the Mosquito, with deliveries to the RAAF being first made in 1944. A total of 212 Mosquitos were built at Bankstown between 1943 and 1948. Some of these aircraft continued in RAAF service until 1953. Licensed production of the de Havilland Vampire began in 1948, with
2072-585: The field of long-range missiles, developing the liquid-fuelled Blue Streak . It did not enter military service, but became the first stage of Europa , a launch vehicle for use in space flight. In flight tests, the Blue Streak performed well but the upper stages, built in France and Germany, repeatedly failed. In 1973, the Europa programme was cancelled, with Blue Streak dying as well. The last of them wound up in
2128-404: The first flights of the Mosquito and Vampire and was killed in 1946 flying the jet-powered DH 108 Swallow while diving at or near the speed of sound . Louise suffered a nervous breakdown following these deaths and died in 1949. De Havilland remarried in 1951, to Joan Mary Frith (1900–1974). They remained married until his death. In 1975, de Havilland's 1961 autobiography , Sky Fever ,
2184-487: The first of 190 built flying in 1949. Another DHA design, the de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover , was manufactured between 1948 and 1953. Only 20 were produced, mostly for the Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), Trans Australia Airlines and Qantas . The DHA-3 Drover was a three-engined light transport derived from the DH.104 Dove, capable of carrying six to eight passengers. It was designed as
2240-527: The first prototype made by Iris Motor Company of Willesden . He married in 1909 and almost immediately embarked on the career of designing, building and flying aircraft to which he devoted the rest of his life. Built with money borrowed from his maternal grandfather, de Havilland's first aircraft took two years to build. Unfortunately, he crashed it during its first very short flight at Seven Barrows near Litchfield, Hampshire in December 1909. He built
2296-593: The flying world was waiting for. In 1928, de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited went public. Initially de Havilland concentrated on single and two-seat biplanes , continuing the DH line of aircraft built by Airco but adapting them for airline use, but then they introduced a series of smaller aircraft powered by de Havilland's own Gipsy engines . These included the Gipsy Moth and Tiger Moth . These aircraft set many aviation records, many piloted by de Havilland himself. Amy Johnson flew solo from England to Australia in
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2352-473: The hands of a farmer who used its fuel tanks to house his chickens. de Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. was formed in 1928 to build de Havilland aircraft for the Canadian market, in some cases adapted to suit to the harsh Canadian environment. When World War II arrived, this set-up was ready made to expand production to augment British aircraft factories, without any possible threat from enemy bombers. After
2408-409: The help of former Airco owner George Holt Thomas he formed de Havilland Aircraft Company employing some former colleagues. Pleased and impressed by the aircraft they built for him Alan Butler , thereafter company chairman, provided the capital to buy premises and then the airfield at Stag Lane Aerodrome , Edgware , where he and his colleagues designed and built a large number of aircraft, including
2464-473: The military and civil fields, but several public disasters doomed the company as an independent entity. The experimental tailless jet-powered de Havilland DH.108 Swallow crashed in the Thames Estuary , killing Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. , son of the company's founder. A large additional aircraft factory was acquired in 1948 at Hawarden Airport at Broughton near Chester , where production supplemented
2520-577: The modern aircraft that military trainee pilots would later fly, there was no interest from the RAF and the aircraft was put into production for private buyers. The prototype first flew at Hatfield on 9 May 1934 and, with two other pre-production aircraft, embarked on an extensive test program that resulted in the first production aircraft (designated DH.87A) completed in August 1935 having wings of greater outboard taper. These were found to cause problems, especially when landing in three-point attitude: there
2576-400: The name on the planes used the same typeface to make the workers' protest signs. The DH.84 Dragon was the first aeroplane purchased by Aer Lingus in 1936; they later operated the DH.86B Dragon Express and the DH.89 Dragon Rapide . De Havilland continued to produce high-performance aircraft including the twin piston-engined DH.88 Comet racers, one of which became famous as the winner of
2632-537: The nearby Stag Lane Aerodrome and formed a limited liability company, de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited, incorporated 26 September 1920. The directors were de Havilland, Arthur Edwin Turner who had come from the War Office , and chief engineer Charles Clement Walker. Nominal capital was £50,000. Most of the capital came from Geoffrey de Havilland (£3,000) and George Holt Thomas (£10,000), with various others adding
2688-434: The war de Havilland Canada developed its own range of designs, identified as DHC-1 through to DHC-8, which were also often tailor-made for Canadian use, but as rugged and/or STOL designs, also found markets in other environments. DHC became a Canadian Crown Corporation during the war, was sold to Boeing in December 1985, then on to Bombardier Aerospace in 1992. In November 2018, Longview Aviation Capital Corp. acquired
2744-408: The war with a lack of demand for civilian aircraft. BSA bought Airco on 20 January 1920 from George Holt Thomas on the say-so of one BSA director, Percy Martin , in order to acquire their factories and equipment, BSA having no interest in aviation. The resulting losses were so great BSA was unable to pay a dividend for the next three years. With Thomas's help, de Havilland took modest premises at
2800-523: Was a tendency for the tips to stall, causing embarrassment to the pilot and often damage to the aeroplane. From early 1936, de Havilland offered owners of the DH.87A replacement wings of the new squarer shape at a reduced price in exchange for the original wings. Designated DH.87B, new aircraft from about manufacture Number 68 were built with the new square wings. This wing reduced the overall span by 8 inches (20 cm). The alterations slightly increased overall weight at some penalty to performance. Production
2856-507: Was established in March 1939, and work commenced on New Zealand's first aircraft factory at Rongotai . After World War II, the company undertook maintenance and refurbishment work until taken over by Hawker Siddeley International NZ Ltd in 1964. The site of the factory is now part of Wellington International Airport . As well as a prolific aircraft builder, de Havilland was also a significant producer of aero engines. This went against usual practice: usually engines are designed and produced by
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#17327695448222912-547: Was purchased by Boeing Australia and was renamed Hawker de Havilland Aerospace. On 6 February 2009, Boeing announced that Hawker de Havilland Aerospace had changed its name to Boeing Aerostructures Australia. To meet the demand for Tiger Moth trainers for the Royal New Zealand Air Force and potentially for RAF training to be conducted in New Zealand, the de Havilland (New Zealand) Company Limited
2968-479: Was purchased by Hawker Siddeley in 1960 and merged into British Aerospace in 1978. The BAE site then closed in 1993, and the University of Hertfordshire purchased part of the site for the de Havilland Campus. Hatfield's aerospace history is recorded today in the names of local streets, such as Comet Way and Dragon Road. In September 2003 part of the former British aerospace site became the de Havilland campus of
3024-425: Was republished by Peter and Anne de Havilland. It was originally published by Hamish Hamilton. De Havilland Hornet Moth The de Havilland DH.87 Hornet Moth is a single-engined cabin biplane designed by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in 1934 as a potential replacement for its highly successful de Havilland Tiger Moth trainer. Although its side-by-side two-seat cabin made it closer in configuration to
3080-549: Was the first jet airliner to go into production. Born at Magdala House, Terriers, High Wycombe , Buckinghamshire , de Havilland was the second son of The Reverend Charles de Havilland (1854–1920) and his first wife, Alice Jeannette (née Saunders; 1854–1911). He was educated at Nuneaton Grammar School , St Edward's School, Oxford and the Crystal Palace School of Engineering (from 1900 to 1903). Upon graduating from engineering training, de Havilland pursued
3136-508: Was to become the Royal Aircraft Factory . He sold his second aeroplane (which he had used to teach himself to fly) to his new employer for £400. It became the F.E.1 , the first aircraft to bear an official Royal Aircraft Factory designation. For the next three years, de Havilland designed, or participated in the design of, a number of experimental types at the "Factory". He was commissioned a second lieutenant (on probation) in
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