The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by
Geoffrey de Havilland
Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, (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,D ...
at
Stag Lane Aerodrome
Stag Lane Aerodrome was a private aerodrome between 1915 and 1933 in Edgware, north London, UK.
History
The land for an aerodrome was purchased by the London & Provincial Aviation Company (Warren and Smiles - Michael Geoffrey Smiles of Bonning ...
Edgware
Edgware () is a suburban town in northern Greater London, mostly in the London Borough of Barnet but with small parts falling in the London Borough of Harrow and in the London Borough of Brent. Edgware is centred north-northwest of Charing Cros ...
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 the
Moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
biplane which revolutionised aviation in the 1920s; the 1930s
Fox Moth, a commercial light passenger aircraft; the wooden World War II
Mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
multirole aircraft; and the pioneering
passenger jet
A jet airliner or jetliner is an airliner powered by jet engines (passenger jet aircraft). Airliners usually have two or four jet engines; three-engined designs were popular in the 1970s but are less common today. Airliners are commonly clas ...
airliner
Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
.
The de Havilland company became a member of the
Hawker Siddeley
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...
group in 1960, but lost its separate identity in 1963. Later, Hawker Siddeley merged into what is eventually known today as
BAE Systems
BAE Systems plc (BAE) is a British multinational arms, security, and aerospace company based in London, England. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe, and ranked the seventh-largest in the world based on applicable 2021 revenues. ...
, the British aerospace and defence business. The de Havilland name lives on in
De Havilland Canada
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited is an aircraft manufacturer with facilities formerly based in the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original home of de Havilland Canada was the home of the Canadian Air and Space Museum loca ...
, which owns the rights to the name and the aircraft produced by de Havilland's former Canadian subsidiary, including the
Dash 8
The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...
regional airliner previously produced by
Bombardier Aerospace
Bombardier Aviation is a division of Bombardier Inc. It is headquartered in Dorval, Quebec, Canada. Its most popular aircraft included the Dash 8 Series 400, CRJ100/200/440, and CRJ700/900/1000 lines of regional airliners, and the newer CS ...
.
History
Origins
In January 1920 Geoffrey de Havilland was working for
Airco
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early United Kingdom, British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the wor ...
as technical director and chief designer.
BSA bought Airco on 20 January 1920 from
George Holt Thomas
George Holt Thomas (31 March 1869 – 1 January 1929) aviation industry pioneer and newspaper proprietor. Holt Thomas founded, in 1911, the business which became Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited or Airco.
Son and grandson of successful ar ...
on the say-so of one BSA director,
Percy Martin
Percy Martin (1871-1958) was an American-born British engineer and automobile manufacturer. Born in Columbus, Ohio 19 June 1871 he obtained a degree in mechanical engineering, specializing in electrical engineering, from The Ohio State University i ...
, having done inadequate
due diligence
Due diligence is the investigation or exercise of care that a reasonable business or person is normally expected to take before entering into an agreement or contract with another party or an act with a certain standard of care.
It can be a l ...
. Within days BSA discovered Airco's true circumstances and shut it down in July 1920. The resulting losses were so great BSA was unable to pay a dividend for the next four years.
With Thomas's help, de Havilland took modest premises at the nearby
Stag Lane Aerodrome
Stag Lane Aerodrome was a private aerodrome between 1915 and 1933 in Edgware, north London, UK.
History
The land for an aerodrome was purchased by the London & Provincial Aviation Company (Warren and Smiles - Michael Geoffrey Smiles of Bonning ...
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
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
, 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 a further £1,000.
["The De Havilland Aircraft Company."]
''RAF Museum website''. Retrieved: 3 April 2014.
Banking on an order worth about £2,500 originally intended for Airco
[''Flight Magazine'', 20 September 1940. p. 254.] 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 the ]Gloster Aircraft Company
The Gloster Aircraft Company was a British aircraft manufacturer from 1917 to 1963.
Founded as the Gloucestershire Aircraft Company Limited during the First World War, with the aircraft construction activities of H H Martyn & Co Ltd of Chelte ...
. The fledgling enterprise was lucky to be approached the next year by a man wanting a new aeroplane built for him, Alan Samuel Butler
Alan Butler (22 November 1898 —24 May 1987), born as Alan Samuel Butler, was (claimed his obituary in ''The Times'') the first private aeroplane owner-driver. From 1923 Butler was chairman of De Havilland Aircraft Company —which he financed†...
. 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 the flying world was waiting for.]["Obituary: Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, O.M." ''The Times'', Issue 56328, Saturday, 22 May 1965, p. 10.] In 1928, de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited went public.
Initially de Havilland concentrated on single and two-seat biplanes
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While a ...
, 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
The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.
Development
The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane. ...
and Tiger Moth
The de Havilland DH.82 Tiger Moth is a 1930s British biplane designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and other operators as a primary trainer aircraft. ...
. These aircraft set many aviation records, many piloted by de Havilland himself. Amy Johnson
Amy Johnson (born 1 July 1903 – disappeared 5 January 1941) was a pioneering English pilot who was the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia.
Flying solo or with her husband, Jim Mollison, she set many long-distance records duri ...
flew solo from England to Australia in a Gipsy Moth in 1930.
The Moth series of aeroplanes continued with the more refined Hornet Moth
The hornet moth or hornet clearwing (''Sesia apiformis'') is a large moth native to Europe and the Middle East and has been introduced to North America. Its protective coloration is an example of Batesian mimicry, as its similarity to a hornet ...
, with enclosed accommodation, and the Moth Minor, a low-wing monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
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 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
Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...
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 racer, one of which became famous as the winner of the MacRobertson Air Race
The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race (also known as the London to Melbourne Air Race) took place in October 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, and th ...
from England to Australia in 1934.
Second World War
The high-performance designs and wooden construction methods culminated in the Mosquito
Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...
, 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
Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...
fighter, which was one of the pioneers of the use of metal-wood and metal-metal bonding techniques.
In 1937 de Havilland set up a factory at what is now known as De Havilland Way in Lostock to produce variable pitch propellers for the RAF
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
. The site was of strategic importance and became a German Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
target. On 3 July 1942 two Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 is a German World War II ''Luftwaffe'' twin-engined multirole combat aircraft. Junkers Aircraft and Motor Works (JFM) designed the plane in the mid-1930s as a so-called ''Schnellbomber'' ("fast bomber") that would be too fast f ...
bombers attempted a low-altitude bombing raid, using the Rivington
Rivington is a village and civil parish of the Borough of Chorley, Lancashire, England, occupying . It is about southeast of Chorley and about northwest of Bolton. Rivington is a rural area consisting primarily of agricultural grazing land, ...
reservoir chain to navigate but the mission went off course.
After the war
After the Second World War de Havilland continued with advanced designs in both 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
The de Havilland DH 108 "Swallow" was a British experimental aircraft designed by John Carver Meadows Frost in October 1945. The DH 108 featured a tailless, swept wing with a single vertical stabilizer, similar to the layout of the wartime Ge ...
crashed in the Thames Estuary
The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea, in the south-east of Great Britain.
Limits
An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salini ...
, killing Geoffrey de Havilland Jr., son of the company's founder. A large additional aircraft factory was acquired in 1948 at Hawarden Airport
Hawarden Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Penarlâg) , is an airport near Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales, near the border with England and west southwest of the English city of Chester.
Aviation Park Group (APG) is based at the airport and provides han ...
at Broughton near Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
, where production supplemented the Hatfield output. The de Havilland Comet
The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four d ...
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.["On This Day: Comet inaugurates the jet age."](_blank)
''BBC News,'' 2 May 1952. Retrieved 30 September 2021. Operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation
British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the passi ...
, on 2 May 1952 the flight registered G-ALYS took off with fare-paying passengers and inaugurated scheduled service from London to Johannesburg. Powered by four de Havilland Ghost
The de Havilland Ghost (originally Halford H-2) was the de Havilland Engine Company's second design of a turbojet engine to enter production and the world's first gas turbine engine to enter airline service (with British Overseas Airways Corpo ...
jet engines, the Comet could reach speeds of 500 miles per hour
Miles per hour (mph, m.p.h., MPH, or mi/h) is a British imperial and United States customary unit of speed expressing the number of miles travelled in one hour. It is used in the United Kingdom, the United States, and a number of smaller countrie ...
(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 materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striations on some parts o ...
in the airframe
The mechanical structure of an aircraft is known as the airframe. This structure is typically considered to include the fuselage, undercarriage, empennage and wings, and excludes the propulsion system.
Airframe design is a field of aerospa ...
, 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
Sir Arnold Alexander Hall Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS Royal Aeronautical Society, FRAeS (23 April 1915 – 9 January 2000) was an English aeronautics, aeronautical engineer, scientist and industrialist.
Early life
Hall was born in ...
led the RAE research team that made the discovery that the rivets punched into the metal caused a minute fatigue crack. The stress of repressurisation at high altitude would weaken an area of the fuselage around the Comet's square-shaped windows.
Because of the structural problems of the Comet, in 1954 all remaining examples were withdrawn from service, with de Havilland launching 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
The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 20, ...
jet and the Douglas DC-8
The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company.
After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Ju ...
, both of which were faster and more economical to operate. Orders for the Comet dried up.
Hawker Siddeley
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...
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 the Hawker Siddeley Trident
The Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident (originally the de Havilland DH.121 and briefly the Airco DH.121) is a British airliner produced by Hawker Siddeley.
In 1957, de Havilland proposed its DH.121 trijet design to a British European Airways (B ...
(originally the DH.121) and the innovative Hawker Siddley 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
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
which was much the same size as the initial DH.121 design. De Havilland, as Hawker Siddley, built only 117 Tridents, while Boeing went on to sell over 1,800 727s.
De Havilland also entered the field of long-range missiles, developing the liquid-fuelled Blue Streak
Blue Streak or Bluestreak may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Blue Streak'' (album), a 1995 album by American blues guitarist Luther Allison
* Blue Streak (comics), a secret identity used by three separate Marvel Comics supervillains
* Bluestreak (c ...
. It did not enter military service, but became the first stage of Europa
Europa may refer to:
Places
* Europe
* Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace
* Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro
* Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development
* Europa Cliff ...
, 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 the hands of a farmer who used its fuel tanks to house his chickens.
Products
Aircraft
*Designed by Geoffrey de Havilland
**de Havilland Biplane No. 1
__NOTOC__
De Havilland Biplane No. 1 is a name applied retrospectively to the first aircraft constructed by Geoffrey de Havilland, who built and flew it once in December 1909. De Havilland undertook the project with the assistance of his frien ...
**Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.1
The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.1 was designed and built in 1910 by the pioneer designer Geoffrey de Havilland. He used it to teach himself to fly during late 1910. After De Havilland was appointed assistant designer and test pilot at the Army B ...
(also known as "de Havilland Biplane No. 2"
*Designed by de Havilland at Airco
**Airco DH.1
The Airco DH.1 was an early military biplane of typical "Farman" pattern flown by Britain's Royal Flying Corps during World War I. By the time the powerplant for which it was designed was sufficiently plentiful it was obsolete as an operationa ...
2 seat pusher scout
** Airco DH.2 pusher scout
**Airco DH.3
The Airco DH.3 was a British bomber aircraft of the First World War. The DH.3 was designed in 1916 as a long-range day bomber by Geoffrey de Havilland, chief designer at the Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It was a large biplane with wide-span t ...
twin engine bomber
**Airco DH.4
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918.
Ai ...
single engine bomber
**Airco DH.4A
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918.
Air ...
transport
**Airco DH.5
The Airco DH.5 was a British First World War single-seat biplane fighter aircraft. It was designed and manufactured at British aviation company Airco. Development was led by aircraft designer Geoffrey de Havilland as a replacement for the obs ...
scout
**Airco DH.6
The Airco DH.6 was a British military Trainer (aircraft), trainer biplane used by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Known by various nicknames, including the "Clutching hand" and "Skyhook", many survived to be used as a civil ligh ...
trainer
** Airco DH.9 single engine bomber
**Airco DH.9A
The Airco DH.9A was a British single-engined light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. It was a development of the unsuccessful Airco DH.9 bomber, featuring a strengthened structure and, crucially, repl ...
– Westland Westland or Westlands may refer to:
Places
*Westlands, an affluent neighbourhood in the city of Nairobi, Kenya
* Westlands, Staffordshire, a suburban area and ward in Newcastle-under-Lyme
*Westland, a peninsula of the Shetland Mainland near Vaila ...
development of the DH.9 with Liberty engine
The Liberty L-12 is an American water-cooled 45° V-12 aircraft engine displacing and making designed for a high power-to-weight ratio and ease of mass production. It saw wide use in aero applications, and, once marinized, in marine use both i ...
**Airco DH.9C
The Airco DH.9C was a British passenger aircraft.
Development and design
After World War I there were many surplus Airco DH.9 light bombers, designed by Geoffrey de Havilland, available for the emerging air transport business. At first stripp ...
– conversion of DH.9 to passenger transport
** Airco DH.9J – re-engined DH.9 with radial engine
** Airco DH.10 Amiens twin engine bomber
** Airco DH.11 Oxford long range twin engine day bomber
**DH.12 – unbuilt proposed derivative of DH.11
*de Havilland
** DH.14 Okapi single engine bomber
** DH.15 Gazelle experimental flying test bed
** Airco DH.16 4 passenger airliner similar to DH.9C
** DH.18 8 passenger airliner
*de Havilland company
** DH.27 Derby single engine long range day bomber
**DH.34
The de Havilland DH.34 was a single engined British biplane airliner built by the de Havilland Aircraft Company in the 1920s. 12 were built, with the DH.34 serving with Imperial Airways and its predecessors for several years.
Design and develo ...
** DH.37
** DH.42 Dormouse
** DH.42A & B Dingo
** DH.48 Special re-engined DH.9
** DH.50
** DH.51
** DH.54 Highclere
** DH.56 Hyena
** DH.60 Moth, Cirrus Moth, Genet Moth, Gypsy Moth
** DH.60G III Moth Major
** DH.61 Giant Moth
** DH.65 Hound
** DH.66 Hercules 3-engined biplane airliner
** DH.67
** DH.72 Canberra
** DH.82 Tiger Moth biplane trainer
** DH.83 Fox Moth
** DH.84 Dragon
** DH.86 Express
** DH.87 Hornet Moth
** DH.89 Dragon Rapide
** DH.90 Dragonfly
** DH.92 Dolphin
*Glider
** DH.52
*Piston-engined monoplanes
** DH.29 Doncaster 10 passenger airliner
** DH.53 Humming Bird ultralight monoplane
** DH.71 Tiger Moth racer
** DH.75 Hawk Moth
** DH.77 lightweight fighter
** DH.80 Puss Moth
** DH.81 Swallow Moth
** DH.85 Leopard Moth
** DH.88 Comet racer
** DH.91 Albatross 4-engined airliner
** DH.93 Don
** DH.94 Moth Minor monoplane trainer
** DH.95 Flamingo twin-engined airliner
** DH.98 Mosquito & Sea Mosquito A highly successful wooden fighter-bomber of WWII
** DH.103 Hornet & Sea Hornet twin-engined fighter
** DH.104 Dove & Devon twin-engined airliner
** DH.114 Heron 4-engined airliner
*de Havilland Technical School designs
**de Havilland T.K.1
The de Havilland T.K.1 was a 1930s British two-seat biplane and the first design built by students of the de Havilland Technical School.
Design and development
The T.K.1 was built by students under the direction of Marcus Langley at Stag Lan ...
**de Havilland T.K.2
The de Havilland T.K.2 was a British 1930s single-engined monoplane, designed by students of the de Havilland Aeronautical Technical School. It won two races before World War II, and afterwards set a class closed circuit speed record.
Develop ...
**de Havilland T.K.4
The de Havilland T.K.4 was a 1930s British single-seat racing monoplane designed and built by students of the de Havilland Technical School.
Design and development
The T.K.4 was built by students at Stag Lane Aerodrome in 1937 with the aim o ...
**de Havilland T.K.5
The de Havilland T.K.5 was an unflown 1930s United Kingdom, British single-seat canard research aircraft, designed and built by students of the de Havilland Technical School.
Design and development
The T.K.5 was built by students at Stag Lane ...
*Civil and military jet transports
** DH.106 Comet
** DH.121 Trident later the HS Trident
** DH.125 later the HS.125
** DH.146 later the BAe.146
*Military jets
** DH.100 Vampire & Sea Vampire (1945)
** DH.110 Sea Vixen (1951)
** DH.112 Venom (1952)
** Sea Venom
** DH.113 & DH.115 Vampire two seaters
*Experimental aircraft
** DH.108 Swallow (1946)
*Autogyro
**Cierva C.24
The de Havilland C.24 was a two-seat autogyro built by de Havilland at its Stag Lane works in England in 1931
Design and development
The C.24 was built in 1931 using a Cierva rotor head coupled to the cabin of a de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth ...
Engines
*Gipsy
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
series of 4-, 6- and 12-cylinder piston engines
*Ghost
A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...
turbojet
*Goblin
A goblin is a small, grotesque, monstrous creature that appears in the folklore of multiple European cultures. First attested in stories from the Middle Ages, they are ascribed conflicting abilities, temperaments, and appearances depending on t ...
turbojet
* Gyron Junior turbojet
*Gnome
A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...
turboshaft
* Sprite rocket
Weapon systems
* Missiles
** Firestreak
The de Havilland Firestreak is a British first-generation, passive infrared homing (heat seeking) air-to-air missile. It was developed by de Havilland Propellers (later Hawker Siddeley) in the early 1950s, entering service in 1957. It was the fir ...
air-to-air missile
** Bluestreak ballistic missile
* Spacecraft
** Blue Streak Satellite Launch Vehicle
The de Havilland Propellers Blue Streak was a British Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), and later the first stage of the Europa satellite launch vehicle. Blue Streak was cancelled without entering full production.
The project was ...
Subsidiaries
de Havilland Canada
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Ltd. was formed in 1928 to build Moth aircraft for the training
Training is teaching, or developing in oneself or others, any skills and knowledge or Physical fitness, fitness that relate to specific practicality, useful Competence (human resources), competencies. Training has specific goals of improving on ...
of Canadian airmen and continued after the war to build its own designs suited to the harsh Canadian environment. The DHC-2 to DHC-7 aircraft were all STOL
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...
designs. DHC spent a stint as a Canadian Crown Corporation, then as a subsidiary of Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
, then back as a Crown Corporation. De Havilland (Canada) was eventually incorporated into the Bombardier group of companies and the Dash Eight remains in production with a particular emphasis being placed on its quiet operation in comparison to other aircraft of a similar size. In May 2005, Bombardier sold the rights to the out-of-production aircraft (DHC-1 through DHC-7) to Viking Air
Viking Air Ltd. is a manufacturer of aircraft, as well as aircraft parts and systems, based at Victoria International Airport in North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The company produces new versions of the DHC-6 Twin Otter, upgraded versi ...
Ltd. of Sidney, British Columbia.
In November 2018, Viking Air
Viking Air Ltd. is a manufacturer of aircraft, as well as aircraft parts and systems, based at Victoria International Airport in North Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The company produces new versions of the DHC-6 Twin Otter, upgraded versi ...
parent Longview Aviation Capital Corp. acquired the Dash 8
The De Havilland Canada DHC-8, commonly known as the Dash 8, is a series of turboprop-powered regional airliners, introduced by de Havilland Canada (DHC) in 1984. DHC was later bought by Boeing in 1988, then by Bombardier in 1992; then by ...
programme and the de Havilland brand from Bombardier. 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 a new holding company bearing the original name, De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited.
de Havilland Australia
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 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
Glider may refer to:
Aircraft and transport Aircraft
* Glider (aircraft), heavier-than-air aircraft primarily intended for unpowered flight
** Glider (sailplane), a rigid-winged glider aircraft with an undercarriage, used in the sport of glidin ...
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 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 the first of 190 built flying in 1949.
Another DHA design, the de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover
The de Havilland Australia DHA-3 Drover is a small transport aircraft that was built by de Havilland Australia (DHA) in the 1940s and 1950s. The aircraft had some similarities with the two-engine British-built de Havilland Dove but used a trim ...
, was manufactured between 1948 and 1953. Only 20 were produced, mostly for the Royal Flying Doctor Service
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...
(RFDS), Trans Australia Airlines
Trans Australia Airlines (TAA), renamed Australian Airlines in 1986, was one of the two major Australian domestic airlines between its inception in 1946 and its merger with Qantas in September 1992. As a result of the "COBRA" (or Common Brand ...
and Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
. The DHA-3 Drover was a 3-engined light transport derived from the DH 104 Dove, capable of carrying six to eight passengers. It was designed as 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
The Lycoming O-360 is a family of four-cylinder, direct-drive, horizontally opposed, air-cooled, piston aircraft engines. Engines in the O-360 series produce between 145 and 225 horsepower (109 to 168 kW), with the basic O-360 produc ...
horizontally-opposed
A flat engine is a Internal combustion engine#Reciprocating engines, piston engine where the cylinders are located on either side of a central crankshaft. Flat engines are also known as horizontally opposed engines, however this is distinct fro ...
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 was purchased by Boeing Australia
Boeing Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, or simply Boeing Australia, is Boeing's largest subdivision outside the United States. Established in 2002, the company oversees its seven wholly owned subsidiaries, consolidating and co-ordinating Boeing’s ...
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.
* DH-G1
* DHA-G2
* DHA-3 Drover
de Havilland New Zealand
To meet the demand for Tiger Moth trainers for the Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
and potentially for RAF training to be conducted in New Zealand, the de Havilland (New Zealand) Company Limited was established in March 1939, and work commenced on New Zealand's first aircraft factory at Rongotai
Rongotai is a suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, located southeast of the city centre. It is on the Rongotai isthmus, between the Miramar Peninsula and the suburbs of Kilbirnie and Lyall Bay. It is known mostly for being the location of the We ...
. After World War II, the company undertook maintenance and refurbishment work until taken over by Hawker Siddeley
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of onl ...
International NZ Ltd in 1964. The site of the factory is now part of Wellington International Airport
Wellington International Airport (formerly known as Rongotai Airport) is an international airport located in the suburb of Rongotai in Wellington. It lies 3 NM or 5.5 km south-east from the city centre. It is a hub for Air New Zealand an ...
.
de Havilland Engines
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 a dedicated company though in the UK the Bristol Aeroplane Company
The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable a ...
had a substantial engine business and Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft
Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft Company, or Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft, was a British aircraft manufacturer.
History
Armstrong Whitworth Aircraft was established as the Aerial Department of the Sir W. G. Armstrong Whitworth & Company e ...
was part of the same business as Armstrong Siddeley
Armstrong Siddeley was a British engineering group that operated during the first half of the 20th century. It was formed in 1919 and is best known for the production of luxury vehicles and aircraft engines.
The company was created following ...
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 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
Rolls-Royce (always hyphenated) may refer to:
* Rolls-Royce Limited, a British manufacturer of cars and later aero engines, founded in 1906, now defunct
Automobiles
* Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the current car manufacturing company incorporated in ...
and Metrovick
Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...
in the early years of jet engine
A jet engine is a type of reaction engine discharging a fast-moving jet of heated gas (usually air) that generates thrust by jet propulsion. While this broad definition can include rocket, Pump-jet, water jet, and hybrid propulsion, the term ...
development. Employing the services of Frank Halford
Major Frank Bernard Halford CBE FRAeS (7 March 1894 – 16 April 1955) was an English aircraft engine designer. He is best known for the series of de Havilland Gipsy engines, widely used by light aircraft in the 1920s and 30s.
Career
Educat ...
then buying out his company they produced the de Havilland Goblin
The de Havilland Goblin, originally designated as the Halford H-1, is an early turbojet engine designed by Frank Halford and built by de Havilland. The Goblin was the second British jet engine to fly, after Whittle's Power Jets W.1, and the f ...
and de Havilland Ghost
The de Havilland Ghost (originally Halford H-2) was the de Havilland Engine Company's second design of a turbojet engine to enter production and the world's first gas turbine engine to enter airline service (with British Overseas Airways Corpo ...
engines for first their jet fighters then the Comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ar ...
.
de Havilland Propellers
A company set up in 1935 for the manufacture of Hamilton Standard
Hamilton Standard was an American aircraft propeller parts supplier. It was formed in 1929 when United Aircraft and Transport Corporation consolidated Hamilton Aero Manufacturing and Standard Steel Propeller into the Hamilton Standard Propeller C ...
propellers under licence, and which later produced guided and other missiles such as the Firestreak
The de Havilland Firestreak is a British first-generation, passive infrared homing (heat seeking) air-to-air missile. It was developed by de Havilland Propellers (later Hawker Siddeley) in the early 1950s, entering service in 1957. It was the fir ...
and Blue Streak
Blue Streak or Bluestreak may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Blue Streak'' (album), a 1995 album by American blues guitarist Luther Allison
* Blue Streak (comics), a secret identity used by three separate Marvel Comics supervillains
* Bluestreak (c ...
.
Key technical staff
* R. E. Bishop, aircraft designer
* Richard Clarkson
Richard Milroy Clarkson OBE FCGI FRAeS (14 July 1904 – 7 October 1996) was a British aeronautical engineer with de Havilland, then Hawker Siddeley. He led the design of the HS121 Trident wing, certain features of which were subsequently use ...
, aircraft designer
* Tony Fairbrother
Anthony James Fairbrother (4 May 1926, Coventry – 7 December 2004) was an English engineer who was the flight-test engineer on the maiden flight of the de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, the world's first jet airliner, in 1949.
Tony Fairbrother w ...
, flight engineer
* A. E. Hagg
Arthur Ernest Hagg (1888 – 21 January 1985) was a British aircraft and boat designer.
He was born in Brighton and educated in Bournemouth. He started work for Airco in 1915, aged 27, and worked as a draftsman on the DH4 in 1916. He transfe ...
, aircraft designer
* Frank Halford
Major Frank Bernard Halford CBE FRAeS (7 March 1894 – 16 April 1955) was an English aircraft engine designer. He is best known for the series of de Havilland Gipsy engines, widely used by light aircraft in the 1920s and 30s.
Career
Educat ...
, engine designer
Test pilots
* Hubert Broad
Captain Hubert Standford Broad, MBE, AFC (1897–1975) was a British First World War aviator and noted test pilot.
Early life
Born at Aston Lodge, Watford, Hertfordshire on 18 May 1897, the son of Thomas and Amelia Broad (''née'' Coles), hi ...
* John Cunningham (RAF officer)
John "Cat's Eyes" Cunningham (27 July 1917 – 21 July 2002) was a Royal Air Force (RAF) night fighter ace during the Second World War and a test pilot. During the war he was nicknamed "Cat's Eyes" by the British press to explain his successes ...
* Geoffrey de Havilland Jr.
* John de Havilland
* Pat Fillingham
William Patrick Ingram Fillingham (27 February 1914 – 17 July 2003) was an English test pilot for the de Havilland company. Fillingham flew 120 different types of aircraft during his career including all variants of the de Havilland Mosqui ...
* Bert Hinkler
Herbert John Louis Hinkler (8 December 1892 – 7 January 1933), better known as Bert Hinkler, was a pioneer Australian aviator (dubbed "Australian Lone Eagle") and inventor. He designed and built early aircraft before being the first person ...
* Campbell MacKenzie-Richards
Campbell Mackenzie-Richards (1900–1927) was a pioneer English aviator, Royal Air Force test pilot, and air race contestant, who was killed testing experimental equipment in November 1927.
Early life
Campbell MacKenzie-Richards was born on 6 J ...
Legacy
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
The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...
. De Havilland was purchased by Hawker Siddeley in 1960 and merged into British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...
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 the University of Hertfordshire
The University of Hertfordshire (UH) is a public university in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. The university is based largely in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Its antecedent institution, Hatfield Technical College, was founded in 1948 and was ident ...
."Our history."
''University of Hertfordshire''. Retrieved: 30 September 2014.
See also
*Aerospace industry in the United Kingdom
The aerospace industry of the United Kingdom is the second-largest national aerospace industry in the world (after the United States) and the largest in Europe by turnover, with a global market share of 17% in 2019. In 2020, the industry employed ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Bain, Gordon. ''de Havilland: A Pictorial Tribute''. London: AirLife, 1992. .
* Bransom, Alan. ''The Tiger Moth Story'', Fifth Edition. Manchester, UK: Crécy Publishing Ltd., 2005. .
* Davenport-Hines, R. P. T. ''Dudley Docker: The Life and Times of a Trade Warrior''. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002. .
* Ewing, Ross. ''The History of New Zealand Aviation''. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: Heinemann, 1986. .
* Hotson, Fred. ''The de Havilland Canada Story''. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. .
* Jackson, A. J. ''de Havilland Aircraft since 1909''. Putnam, 1987.
External links
De Havilland Aircraft Co Ltd at BAE Systems site
De Havilland Aviation Ltd – Restoring and preserving de Havilland, and other, jets
de Havilland Aircraft Museum
de Havilland Aeronautical Technical School Association
{{Authority control
1963 disestablishments in England
Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1963
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Defunct helicopter manufacturers of the United Kingdom
Former defence companies of the United Kingdom
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hawker Siddeley
Manufacturing companies established in 1920
British companies established in 1920
1920 establishments in England
1960 mergers and acquisitions