Airco
Encyclopedia
George Holt Thomas
George Holt Thomas aviation industry pioneer and newspaper proprietor. Holt Thomas founded, in 1911, the business which became Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited or Airco....
at The Hyde
The Hyde
The Hyde is a locality in the London Borough of Barnet in London, United Kingdom. The area is considered to form part of Hendon.-History:The name is first recorded in 1281 as la Hyde meaning the hide of land; the amount of land considered enough to support a family, around .-Geography:It is located...
in Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
, north London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Geoffrey de Havilland
Two years later, learning that Geoffrey de HavillandGeoffrey de Havilland
Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, OM, CBE, AFC, RDI, FRAeS, was a British aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer...
, who was then at the Royal Aircraft Factory in Farnborough, might be available, Holt Thomas invited de Havilland to join Airco as chief designer. De Havilland's Airco designs were to provide around 30% of all trainers, fighters and bombers used by Britain and the United States during the First World War.
De Havilland's designs for Airco were marked with his initials "DH". The first great success was the Pusher configuration
Pusher configuration
In a craft with a pusher configuration the propeller are mounted behind their respective engine. According to Bill Gunston, a "pusher propeller" is one mounted behind engine so that drive shaft is in compression...
Fighter aircraft|fighter]] DH.2
Airco DH.2
|-DH.2 aces:Distinguished pilots of the DH.2 included Victoria Cross winner Lanoe Hawker , who was the first commander of No 24 Squadron and ace Alan Wilkinson. The commander of No. 32 Squadron, Lionel Rees won the Victoria Cross flying the D.H.2 for single handedly attacking a formation of 10...
of 1916, that helped to end the "Fokker scourge
Fokker Scourge
The Fokker Scourge was a term coined by the British press in the summer of 1915 to describe the then-current ascendancy of the Fokker Eindecker monoplane fighters of the German Fliegertruppen over the poorly-armed Allied reconnaissance types of the period....
" of 1915. Later notable aircraft produced during the war were the DH.6 trainer, of which more than 2,280 examples were built, and the DH.4 and DH.9
Airco DH.9
The Airco DH.9 - also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 - was a British bomber used in the First World War...
light bomber
Light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which were primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance....
s. These types, and the DH.9A
Airco DH.9A
The Airco DH.9A was a British light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. Colloquially known as the "Ninak" , it served on in large numbers for the Royal Air Force following the end of the war, both at home and overseas, where it was used for colonial...
, a developed version that served for many years with the postwar Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, formed the basis of early de Havilland designed airliners, including the company's DH.16 and DH.18 types which were operated by Aircraft Transport and Travel
Aircraft Transport and Travel
Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited was a British airline formed during the First World War, a subsidiary of Airco. It was the first airline to operate a regular international flight .-History:...
Limited, the first airline established in the United Kingdom, also owned by George Holt Thomas.
A new aircraft every 45 minutes
By November 1918, Holt Thomas was able to advertise that his was the largest aircraft company in the world. His companies built aeroplanes and their engines and propellors in large numbers and also airships and flying boats. He had the latest metal-working machinery, a laboratory for materials testing and a wind tunnel. Between 7,000 and 8,000 people were employed at Hendon. His companies turned out a new aircraft every 45 minutes.The world's first regular daily international service
Airco subsidiary Aircraft Transport and Travel using DH.16s carried out that first flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Le Bourget on 25 August 1919.White elephant
Following the cessation of hostilities the large number of war-surplus machines, sharp fluctuations in business confidence and the government's failure, unlike those of USA and France, to provide any form of support Hendon became a 'white elephant' which he endeavoured to sell to car manufacturers. Airco and Daimler parent company BSA announced on 1 March 1920 Airco had amalgamated with Birmingham Small Arms CompanyBirmingham Small Arms Company
This article is not about Gamo subsidiary BSA Guns Limited of Armoury Road, Small Heath, Birmingham B11 2PP or BSA Company or its successors....
.
Within days BSA discovered Airco was in a far more serious financial state than George Holt Thomas had revealed. Thomas was immediately dropped from his new seat on the BSA board and all BSA's new acquisitions were placed in the hands of a liquidator. BSA failed to pay a dividend for the following four years.
With help from Holt Thomas Geoffrey de Havilland
Geoffrey de Havilland
Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, OM, CBE, AFC, RDI, FRAeS, was a British aviation pioneer and aircraft engineer...
bought the group's assets he required to form de Havilland Aircraft Company
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
in 1920.
In early 1921, using Airco's aircraft bought from the liquidator of Aircraft Transport and Travel which had been allowed to continue to operate until December 1920, BSA established under Daimler Hire Limited
Daimler Hire
Daimler Hire Limited a service begun in 1897, provided a luxury chauffeur-driven Daimler Limousine-hire-service from Knightsbridge in London. It was a wholly owned operation and later a subsidiary of The Daimler Motor Company Limited....
's Frank Searle
Frank Searle (businessman)
Frank Searle CBE, DSO, MIME was a British transport entrepreneur, a locomotive engineer who moved from steam to omnibuses, the motor industry and airlines.-Personal:...
, Daimler Airway
Daimler Airway
Daimler Airway was an airline subsidiary of BSA group's Daimler Motor Company created to use some of the assets of the failed ventures Airco and its subsidiary Aircraft Transport and Travel acquired by BSA in February 1920.-History:...
including in the new company their Daimler Air Hire.
List of Airco Aircraft
- DH.1Airco DH.1|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Grey, C. G. Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1919 . New York: Arco Publishing Company, 1969. ISBN 0-0001-890-1....
(1915) – Two-seat biplane fighter with single pusher propeller - DH.2Airco DH.2|-DH.2 aces:Distinguished pilots of the DH.2 included Victoria Cross winner Lanoe Hawker , who was the first commander of No 24 Squadron and ace Alan Wilkinson. The commander of No. 32 Squadron, Lionel Rees won the Victoria Cross flying the D.H.2 for single handedly attacking a formation of 10...
(1915) – One-seat biplane fighter with single pusher propeller - DH.3Airco DH.3-References:NotesBibliography* Donald, David, ed. The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books, 1997, p. 118. ISBN 1-85605-375-X....
(1916) – Two-engine biplane bomber. Two prototypes only built; formed basis for later DH.10 design - DH.4 (1916) – Two-seat biplane day bomber with single tractor propeller
- DH.5 (1916) – One-seat biplane fighter with single tractor propeller
- DH.6Airco DH.6The Airco DH.6 was a British military trainer biplane used by the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. Known by various nicknames, including the "Skyhook", the trainer became a widely used light civil aircraft in the postwar era....
(1916) – Two-seat biplane training aircraft with single tractor propeller - DH.9Airco DH.9The Airco DH.9 - also known after 1920 as the de Havilland DH.9 - was a British bomber used in the First World War...
(1917) – Two-seat biplane day bomber with single tractor propeller.- DH.9AAirco DH.9AThe Airco DH.9A was a British light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. Colloquially known as the "Ninak" , it served on in large numbers for the Royal Air Force following the end of the war, both at home and overseas, where it was used for colonial...
- DH.9CAirco DH.9C|-See also:-References:*Jackson, A.J. De Havilland aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam Publishing Co. Ltd, 1978 ISBN 0-370-30022-X...
- DH.9A
- DH.8Airco DH.9AThe Airco DH.9A was a British light bomber designed and first used shortly before the end of the First World War. Colloquially known as the "Ninak" , it served on in large numbers for the Royal Air Force following the end of the war, both at home and overseas, where it was used for colonial...
(1918) – Development of DH.9 with more powerful engine and greater wingspan - DH.10 AmiensAirco DH.10|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography*Jackson, A. J. British Civil Aircraft Since 1919, Volume 2. London: Putnam, Second Edition, 1973. ISBN 0-370-10010-7.*Jackson A. J. De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. London:Putnam, 1987. ISBN 0-85177-802-X....
(1918) – Two-engine biplane bomber. First prototype used pusher propeller; second prototype and production aircraft used tractor propellers. Manufactured by DaimlerDaimler Motor CompanyThe Daimler Motor Company Limited was an independent British motor vehicle manufacturer founded in London by H J Lawson in 1896, which set up its manufacturing base in Coventry. The right to the use of the name Daimler had been purchased simultaneously from Gottlieb Daimler and Daimler Motoren...
. - DH.11 Oxford (1919) Variant of DH.10 with radial engines. One prototype built; not produced
- DH.16Airco DH.16-See also:...
(1919) – Variant of DH.9A with cabin for four passengers. Used as airliner - DH.18 (1920) – Single-engine biplane airliner. Cabin for eight passengers