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| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1927 |
| Headquarters | Port Melbourne,Victoria |
| Products | Airliner andMilitary aircraft sub-assemblies |
| Revenue | A$300 million |
Number of employees | 1,300 |
| Parent | Boeing Australia |
| Website | www.boeing.com.au |
de Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd (DHA) was an Australian subsidiary of the British aircraft manufacturerde Havilland, founded in 1927.[1] It acquired theCommonwealth Aircraft Corporation in 1985 and was purchased byBoeing in 2000 and merged with the Boeing owned AeroSpace Technologies of Australia (formerlyGovernment Aircraft Factories) to becomeHawker de Havilland Aerospace Pty Ltd. In 2009, the name was changed toBoeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA) and is a subsidiary ofBoeing Australia Ltd.[2]
In March 1927 the de Havilland Aircraft Company established DHA inMelbourne, its first overseas subsidiary. Its founder wasHereward de Havilland.[3] DHA was set up to sell de Havilland products inAustralia, to assemble aircraft that had been sold, and to provide repair and spare parts services. In 1930 DHA relocated toMascot aerodrome inSydney.
Prior toWorld War II DHA did not undertake any production of aircraft (although de Havilland designs were licence-built by other Australian organisations, most notablyQantas,[4] theLarkin Aircraft Supply Company and theCockatoo Island Naval Dockyard underLawrence Wackett[5]).
In the late 1930s DHA began production of propellers both for the local market and for delivery to the parent company. In 1939 DHA delivered 20DH.82 Tiger Moths assembled from imported fuselages and locally-built wings to theRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Another order for 50DH.94 Moth Minors was also received - in October that year - from the Australian Department of Supply and Development, at least four of these having been built at Mascot using locally manufactured components. After the outbreak of war, the RAAF selected the Tiger Moth as itsprimary trainer and in 1940 DHA commenced licensed manufacture at a new facility at Bankstown;[6] when production ended in February 1945 over one thousand[7] had been built. DHA also licence-built 87DH.84 Dragons from 1942 and 212DH.98 Mosquitos from 1943 for the RAAF.
In 1942 DHA produced its first indigenous design. In March that year the RAAF issued a specification for a small transportglider. DHA responded with theDHA-G1 a high-wing design incorporating the nose section of the Dragon then being built. The first of two DHA-G1s was flown in June 1942. The RAAF ordered the improved seven-seatDHA-G2 in 1943: these differed from the DHA-G1 in having a larger fuselage and wing. By this time the threat of invasion of Australia byJapan and the rationale for the type had passed and only six were produced.
Mosquito production continued until 1948, by which time work had begun on DHA's third indigenous design, theDHA-3 Drover. On 29 June 1949, following selection of the type by the RAAF in 1946, the first of 190 licence-builtDH.100 and DH.115 Vampires had its first flight with DHA's chief test pilot Brian "Black Jack" Walker at the controls. Production of the Vampire continued until 1960, the same year the parent company was purchased byHawker Siddeley. At this time the company also entered thegeneral aviation market when it became the Australian distributor forBeechcraft in 1959.[8] Following the absorption of de Havilland by Hawker Siddeley, DHA was renamedHawker de Havilland (HdH) in 1965. In 1959 thede havilland marine division was formed.
The end of the Vampire programme marked the beginning of an extended period when no complete aircraft were produced, although there was work for the company in various modification (seeDHA-3 Drover) and repair and overhaul programmes, including repairing RAAFDHC-4 Caribous damaged on active service during theVietnam War and major servicing of the RAAF Caribou fleet. The wings for theCAC CA-25 were built at Bankstown between 1956 and 1959. One design project pursued during this time was for a military jet trainer for the RAAF. HdH offered itsP17 indigenous design derived from the Vampire and was also involved in theGovernment Aircraft Factories (GAF)F2 project, which would have seen HdH undertaking production work on this aircraft with GAF and theCommonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC). The CAC-built version of theAermacchi MB-326 was selected for production in 1965 and neither project proceeded. However all was not lost as CAC subcontracted to HdH the manufacture of the wings and wingtip fuel tanks,tailplanes,ailerons,flaps, hydraulic system components andlanding gear for the Macchi, as well as parts of the Macchi'sViper engines built by CAC.
In 1970 HdH entered a new phase[9] when it began to pursue subcontract work for civil airliner manufacturers. This work is now the main focus of the company and HdH has manufactured components for many of the major airliners of the later part of the 20th century and the 21st century, including work for Boeing,Airbus andMcDonnell Douglas. In 1976 HdH undertook the refurbishment of 16 ex-US NavyGrumman S-2G Trackers for theRoyal Australian Navy. In 1980 the thriving general aviation division was separated asHawker Pacific[10][11] but both companies remained part of Hawker Siddeley.[12] In 1981 HdH formed theAustralian Aircraft Consortium with CAC and GAF to design and manufacture theA10/A20 Wamira. The project suffered numerous delays and cost increases (due in part to the changing requirements of the RAAF and in part to the inexperience of the consortium members in designing to military requirements) and shortly after the prototype was completed at HdH's Bankstown factory the programme was cancelled at the end of 1985.[13]
Earlier in 1985 HdH purchased CAC, which was initially kept as a separate company but was then renamedHawker de Havilland Victoria (HdHV) the following year. At the time of the purchase both companies were in the initial stages of producing components for the GAF-built version of theF/A-18 Hornet. HdH at Bankstown was responsible for the landing gear and major hydraulic system components including aileron, rudder and flap actuators and hydraulic fluid reservoirs; while CAC/HdHV was responsible for the wing pylons, engine access panels, aft nozzle fairings, aircraft-mounted accessory drive gearboxes and engines.
Following the cancellation of the Wamira, HdH resumed production of complete aircraft in 1987 after it was selected to build a version of thePilatus PC-9 under licence for the RAAF. HdH was responsible for final assembly of 65 aircraft (known as the 'PC-9/A'), initially from kits supplied by Pilatus (17 aircraft), but with the components for the final 48 examples produced by HdHV and GAF (which by this time had been privatised and renamedAerospace Technologies of Australia) (ASTA). Two Swiss-built PC-9s were already delivered in 1987. The last Australian-made PC-9/A was delivered in May 1992.
In May 1988 HdH delivered the first Bankstown-assembledSikorsky Black Hawk to the RAAF. After eight had been built the RAAF's helicopters were transferred to theAustralian Army; HdH deliveries continued to the Army until the last of 38 locally assembled aircraft was delivered in January 1991. In March the following year the last PC-9/A was delivered. Also in 1992 HdH was de-listed from theAustralian Stock Exchange when it was sold toBTR Nylex.[14]
The PC-9/A was the last complete aircraft type to be built by HdH, although RAAF Caribous could still be seen at Bankstown until 1994.[15][16] During the same time period HdH was involved in theMcDonnell Douglas Helicopters MDX project, HdH being responsible the design and development of the fuselage in Sydney with manufacture and final assembly at the Bankstown(Sydney) and Fishermen's Bend ( Melbourne) plants. In 1998 the company was bought byTenix and Hawker Pacific was sold to Swedish company Celsius. In 2000 Tenix sold HdH toBoeing which merged the company with ASTA to form Hawker de Havilland Aerospace withinBoeing Australia. Today HdH is in the forefront ofcomposite structures technology and manufactures composite and alloy components for theAirbus A320 family,Airbus A330,Airbus A340,Airbus A380,Bombardier Challenger 300,Boeing 737,Boeing 747 andBoeing 777 as well as for several militaryaerospace programmes.[17]
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