48-509: Leavesden may mean: Leavesden, Hertfordshire , an area of Watford , Hertfordshire, England Leavesden Aerodrome , a former airfield in Leavesden, Herts. Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden , a film and media complex owned by Warner Bros. on the site of the former Rolls-Royce factory at Leavesden Aerodrome Leavesden Hospital , on the outskirts of Abbots Langley, England Topics referred to by
96-513: A French company, and with that transfer all helicopter engine development in the UK has effectively ceased. Eon Productions took over the site in 1995 for the production of the James Bond film GoldenEye . Leavesden Studios were developed and acquired by Warner Bros. and parts of the former airfield were sold for housing development . Property development company MEPC plc is redeveloping
144-472: 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
192-590: 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
240-660: 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
288-550: 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
336-677: 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 , 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
384-628: 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
432-562: 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
480-702: Is an adjoining residential community which lies partly in Three Rivers and partly in the Borough of Watford . Leavesden is the location of Leavesden Studios , built on the site of RAF Leavesden a former World War II airfield and wartime aircraft factory, and where one of the James Bond , and all of the Harry Potter , film franchises were produced. In the period before the Norman Conquest
528-561: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Leavesden, Hertfordshire Leavesden is a residential and commercial area in the northern part of Watford , England. It lies within the M25 Motorway. On its eastern side it is bounded by the M1 Motorway . Leavesden is split into two councils which are Watford Borough Council and Three Rivers District Council. Leavesden Green
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#1732765566807576-584: The A405 (London Orbital Road) and the A41 (North Western Avenue). Since the closure of the aerodrome at Leavesden, the nearest airport is Heathrow , 24 kilometres (15 mi) away. The Grand Union Canal passes to the west of Leavesden. De Havilland 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
624-683: 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
672-421: 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
720-465: 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
768-576: 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
816-630: 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
864-600: 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
912-753: The Metropolitan Asylum for Imbeciles was founded by the Metropolitan Asylums Board . Later known as Leavesden Hospital, it closed in 1997 and is now the site of Leavesden Country Park. Before the First World War Leavesden was an agricultural community. During the 1930s several housing estates were built. In the 1950s major road network developments commenced with the building of the North Orbital Road and North Western Avenue. Shortly after
960-478: 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
1008-429: 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
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#17327655668071056-707: The Air Training Corps. Watford Town Cricket Club has its ground at Woodside in Leavesden Green. There is a youth club in Leavesden Green. Local public houses include The Hammer in Hand, The Swan. Leavesden Green Community Centre is located to the south of the Orbital Road. The nearest mainline railway stations are King's Langley and Watford Junction . Leavesden is close to the M1 and M25 motorways,
1104-415: 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
1152-514: 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,
1200-477: 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
1248-535: 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
1296-586: 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
1344-487: 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
1392-595: 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
1440-486: The former aerodrome site, including the studio complex and adjoining land known as Leavesden Park. The plans comprise a film studio, a media and telecommunications business park , and retail outlets , and a nature reserve . In addition Bellway Homes have built 425 homes. Within the Leavesden ward are the following schools. To the north, Leavesden Country Park comprising 110 acres of mature woods, parkland, football pitches, BMX track, outdoor gym, walks and playgrounds
1488-478: The hamlet of Leavesden was in the hundred of Dacorum , and was historically an exclave of the ecclesiastical parish of Watford, which was in the hundred of Casio. In the 12th century Leavesden became part of the parish of Bushey . In 1853 it became an ecclesiastical parish, and the church of All Saints and St Hilda was built in the Victorian gothic style by the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott . In 1870
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1536-475: 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
1584-473: 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
1632-400: 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
1680-402: The outbreak of World War II in 1940, Leavesden Aerodrome was established. In addition to a runway suitable for heavy bombers, and associated aircraft hangars , the de Havilland company, which had plants at Hatfield , built two factories for Halifax bombers and Mosquitoes . After the war de Havillands gradually converted the factories into a gas turbine design and manufacturing facility which
1728-573: 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 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
1776-414: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Leavesden . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leavesden&oldid=907746040 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
1824-474: The site together with a factory at Stag Lane Edgware and a test facility at the old Hatfield site until 1968 when Bristol Siddeley Engines (by then a very profitable company) was forced to merge with Rolls-Royce by government pressure. The site continued under the Rolls-Royce name until closed by that company in 1991. Flying ceased at the end of March 1994. Notable achievements by the engineering team were
1872-491: 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
1920-508: The world's first full authority electronically controlled helicopter engine and initial development of the first pedestal cooled turbine blade, now common throughout the industry. The site manufactured well over 3000 helicopter engines and designed and developed the RTM322 engine used for the UK Apache , Merlin and French NH90 aircraft . Rolls-Royce has now sold the rights to this engine to
1968-453: Was created out of the grounds of Leavesden Hospital which closed in 1997. Some buildings have been converted for use as a Health Club . Leavesden Country Park (north) is also the home of Leavesden junior parkrun , a free, weekly, timed 2 km run for 4-14 year olds every Sunday at 9am which is entirely dependent on volunteers. Also, what was based on the old airfield site, now accessed along High Road, Leavesden sits 2F (Watford) Squadron of
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2016-510: 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
2064-547: 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
2112-480: 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
2160-550: Was subsequently transferred to the de Havilland Engine Company who operated the factories until about 1963. Together with the large scale contraction and reorganisation of the British Aircraft Industry at that time, the site was taken into ownership by Armstrong Siddeley , Hawker Siddeley , and finally Bristol Siddeley , and in the same hectic year consolidated the gas turbine businesses of Blackburn Engines and Napiers . Bristol Siddeley Engines then operated
2208-518: Was unable to pay a dividend for the next three years. With Thomas's help, de Havilland took modest premises at 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
2256-404: Was working for Airco as technical director and chief designer. Airco were in poor financial position after 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
2304-861: Was £50,000. Most of the capital came from Geoffrey de Havilland (£3,000) and George Holt Thomas (£10,000), with various others adding 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
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