Geoffrey de Havilland

Geoffrey de Havilland (1882-1965), one of the most acclaimed figures in the field of British aviation, dedicated much of his career to the service of his nation and its people. An aeronautical engineer who became interested in flight right at the beginning of its commercial ascension, he formed the De Havilland Aircraft Company in 1920, and manufactured Moth, Mosquito, Vampire, and Venom aircrafts. The Mosquito was considered one of the best weapons available to Allied forces during World War II, and de Havilland was knighted in 1944 for inventing it. He was also responsible for the creation of the Comet, the world's first commercial plane.

Born on July 27, 1882, de Havilland was the second son of the Reverend Charles de Havilland, curate of Hazlemere near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, and his wife. De Havilland's brother, Ivon, had been born three years earlier, and the two boys were extremely close. A short time after de Havilland's birth his father acquired his own parish in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, where the de Havillands spent most of their childhood. Charles and his wife had three more children while in Nuneaton, daughters Ione and Gladys and a third son, Hereward. Because de Havilland's mother disliked living in town, the family moved in 1896 to a rural parish at Crux Easton, Hampshire. De Havilland and his brother Ivon shared a mutual interest in mechanics, and the pair spent a lot time tinkering with electric gadgets and even installed a generator at the rectory to provide electricity.

Developed Interest in Mechanics

De Havilland attended St. Edward's School, Oxford, and it was expected that when he completed school, at age 17, he would study religion and become a member of the clergy like his father. However, de Havilland's interest in mechanics won out over family expectations and instead he started training at the Crystal Palace Engineering School. He and his brother Ivon, who followed him to school, had many adventures with automobiles during their time there. The ambitious young men even started building their own automobile, hoping to enter it at the 1903 Gordon-Bennett Race, but they did not finish it in time. De Havilland did, however, manage to build himself a motorcycle while in school.

When he had finished his training de Havilland took an apprenticeship at Willans & Robinson, a school in Rugby, Warwickshire. While there he built a second, better motorcycle, which he eventually gave to his brother Hereward. The motorcycle ran for years, proving its design sound, and when de Havilland was short of money he sold his schematics for the motorcyle to a couple of his fellow students who were interested in the bike. They used the plan to start the Blackburne motorcycle company.

Introduced to the World of Aviation

In 1905 de Havilland left Willans & Robinson to become a draughtsman at the Wosleley Toll & Motor Company, located in Birmingham. Only a year later he moved to the Motor Omnibus Construction Company in Walthamstow, where he designed buses and other modes of transportation. There he met Frank Hearle, a mechanical engineer from Cornwall. The two decided to room together, with de Havilland's sister Ione as their housekeeper, and Ione later married Hearle. Tragically, during this period de Havilland suffered the loss of his brother Ivon, who was briefly employed by the Iris Car Company.

It was in 1908 that de Havilland first saw United States aviator Wilbur Wright demonstrate his Le Mans aircraft. The moment he saw it he fell in love with the idea of flight and knew his future would be in aviation. De Havilland borrowed money from his grandfather and along with Hearle immediately began work on designing an airplane. Around this same time de Havilland proposed and became engaged to Louie Thomas, the woman who had been governess to his younger brother and sisters and who was later a companion for his mother. The two were married in May of 1909 after which Louie came to help her husband and Hearle with the building of their airplane, stitching every seam in the rigid linen covering over the wings.

Suffered First Airplane Crash

At the time that de Havilland began to design his own airplanes, he looked at the available engines and decided none were suitable for his purpose and he was going to have to design his own. While he and Hearle were busy constructing their plane, the Iris Car Company in Willesden built them an engine, using de Havilland's schematics. After the plane was finished in November of 1909, it was moved to Seven Barrows, a property de Havilland had acquired from another aviation pioneer, J.T.C. Moore-Brabazon—later Lord Brabazon of Tara. The first time de Havilland flew the plane it rose too quickly and collapsed, causing him to crash. Luckily, he was unhurt by the crash. Determined to reconstruct the plane, he and Hearle managed to salvage the engine from the wreck, then transported the wreckage back to their workshop to start constructing all over again.

By 1910 the two mechanics were back at Seven Barrows, and this time the plane became airborne and managed to land without crashing. De Havilland, who had no flying experience learned very quickly and soon considered himself to be an expert pilot. He was so confident that all the kinks had been worked out of the plane that he soon took Hearle, Louie, and even his eight-week-old son, Geoffrey Raoul, up for flights. De Havilland eventually sold his plane, the FE-1, to the British War Office, which then employed him as an aircraft designer and pilot at its Balloon Factory in Hampshire. He also joined the Special Reserve of the Royal Flying Corps. Around this time de Havilland met George Holt Thomas of the Aircraft Manufacturing Company, or Airco. They discussed a plan to have Thomas manufacture and sell de Havilland's planes once he got his own business off the ground. He became chief designer at Airco in the spring of 1914. De Havilland and wife had a second son, Peter, in 1913; a third son, John, followed in 1918.

When World War I started in 1914, de Havilland was a lieutenant in the Royal Flying Corps Reserve, and although called up to serve, because of a flying accident in 1913, he was only fit for home duty. At first serving in Montrose, Scotland, flying Bleriiot monoplanes on anti-submarine missions from Aberdeen to the Firth of Forth, he was soon recalled to London when the War Office decided he was of greater use designing planes than flying them. This was a relief to de Havilland, who also knew that his skills were strongest in the areas of designing and manufacturing; in fact, the BE-2, which he had designed for the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1912, was the standard aircraft of the Royal Flying Corps during the war. Now promoted to captain, he designed a number of planes, referred to as De Havillands (DH). He designed both single and two-seat fighters, with single or twin-engine bomber versions. While most of his planes were manufactured by Airco, where he was employed, because of increased demand and the lack of skilled labor during wartime, some of de Havilland's designs were purchased and built in the United States, Canada, and Spain. The DH-4 was mass-produced for the United States after that country entered the war in 1917, and the 5,000 planes they manufactured remained in service through the 1920s.

Started De Havilland Aircraft Company

After the war was over de Havilland decided to purchase Airco, changing its name to the De Havilland Aircraft company. The renamed firm opened on September 25, 1920. In London he leased the site of the former London & Provincial Flying School for his building factory. He was joined in his venture by many of his friends and colleagues, including Frank Hearle who became works manager; Charles Clement Walker, who served as chief of aerodynamics and stressing; Arthur Ernest Hagg, head of the company's drawing office; Francis E. N. St. Barbe as De Havilland's business and sales manager; and Wilfred E. Nixon as company secretary. The company's focus was on commercial aircraft for the increasing airline market. De Havilland himself had many roles in the company, including test pilot, which he enjoyed doing very much. A fortuitous meeting occurred in 1921, when he was approached by Alan Samuel Butler, who wished to have a private plane built. This provided the opportunity de Havilland had been waiting for: Butler was so impressed with the De Havilland Company's work that he agreed to invest a large amount of money in the company and in 1924 became its chairman. This influx of capital allowed de Havilland to experiment and build truly great planes.

At the time World War II started the De Havilland Aircraft Company was producing Tiger Moth and Dragon Rapide biplanes, and by now de Havilland's sons were old enough to participate in the business. The Mosquito was the plane that contributed most greatly to the British war effort, and ranked as one of the most versatile and speediest planes used by the Allies during World War II. John de Havilland, de Havilland's youngest son, piloted a Mosquito during the war, but tragically died during one of his runs. Despite its involvement in the de Havilland's family tragedy, the Mosquito ultimately played a pivotal role in the defeat of Germany, and for his contribution to the war efforts de Havilland was knighted in 1944. Regarding his importance to the war effort, a contributor to the Hargrave Website noted that "Altogether 33 per cent of Allied air strength and 95 per cent of all American wartime production were planes designed by de Havilland. Always, de Havilland's approach to design was simple and direct. 'I like a thing to look right,' he once said. 'If it does not, although I may not be able to prove it wrong scientifically, I have often found out later that it is.' "

In 1943 De Havilland designed and produced the Vampire, a fighter powered by a DH Goblin jet engine that became the company's first jet airplane. It was from the success of this jet plane that the De Havilland Aircraft Company soon led the world into the age of jet passenger flight, introducing its first turbine powered aircraft, the Comet, in 1949. As World War II ended the De Havilland Aircraft Company was working on numerous new aircrafts, some of which were very advanced and employed some of the latest research in flight. On September 27, 1946, Geoffrey de Havilland Junior, de Havilland's oldest son and an experienced pilot, was flying the newly designed DH-108 when the plane seemed to fall apart in mid-air. It was later discovered that the cause of the crash had to do with increasing stress loads as the plane approached supersonic speed. Geoffrey's death was a tragedy that affected everyone in the De Havilland Aircraft Company. He was buried near his brother, John, and Louie, the boys' mother, soon joined her sons, passing away not long after.

Sold De Havilland Company

Following the death of his wife, de Havilland married again, in 1951 to Joan Mary Mordaunt. As he got older, he found himself less capable of the hands-on leadership style that had characterized his earlier years, and relinquished much of the designing and building of the company's new planes to others. He became president of the De Havilland Group, as the company was now called. In 1960, at his retirement, the De Havilland Group was purchased by Hawker Siddeley.

De Havilland garnered many awards throughout his life. He was named officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1918, and commander of the order in 1934. He also was awarded the Air Force Cross in 1919 and earned the Order of Merit in 1962. De Havilland died in London, England, on May 21, 1965, leaving behind him an impressive legacy, and his ashes were scattered over Seven Barrows in Hampshire, where he had made his first flight. In 1972 he was posthumously inducted into the International Aerospace Hall of Fame, and a Sir Geoffrey de Havilland Memorial Fund and a Geoffrey de Havilland Flying Foundation were established to aid and honor those who show promise in the aerospace field. In July of 2002, noted actress Olivia de Havilland presided over the unveiling of a campus of the University of Hertford named in her cousin's honor; that campus opened in 2003 on land near the factory where de Havilland made many of his aircraft.

Periodicals

Independent (London, England), July 31, 1997.

Liverpool Echo, July 14, 2004.

Personnel Today, January 14, 2003.

Online

"De Havilland Aircraft Company," U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission,http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/DeHavilland/Aero49.htm (March 12, 2004).

"De Havilland—The Man and His Company," Royal Air Force Museum,http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london/exhibitions/dehavilland/ (February 20, 2005).

"Geoffrey de Havilland (1882-1965)," The Pioneers: Celebrating the Bi-Centennial of Aviation, http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/de–havilland.html (February, 22, 2002).

"Geoffrey de Havilland," Spartacus Educational,http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWhavilland.htm (February 20, 2005).