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Geoffrey de Havilland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
English aircraft engineer (1882–1965)

In this article, thesurname is de Havilland, not Havilland.
Geoffrey de Havilland
Painting of de Havilland
Born(1882-07-27)27 July 1882
Died21 May 1965(1965-05-21) (aged 82)
NationalityBritish
EducationCrystal Palace School of Engineering
OccupationAircraft engineer
Spouses
Children3 sons, includingGeoffrey Jr. andJohn
RelativesHereward de Havilland (brother)
DameOlivia de Havilland (cousin)
Joan Fontaine (cousin)
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Branch British Army
Years of service1912–1919
RankCaptain
UnitRoyal Flying Corps
Battles / warsFirst World War
AwardsAir Force Cross (AFC)
Officer of theOrder of the British Empire (OBE)

CaptainSir Geoffrey de Havilland,OM,CBE,AFC,RDI,FRAeS (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an Englishaviation pioneer andaerospace engineer.The aircraft company he founded produced theMosquito, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built,[1] and hisComet was the firstjet airliner to go into production.

Early life

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Born at Magdala House, Terriers,High Wycombe,Buckinghamshire, de Havilland was the second son ofThe Reverend Charles de Havilland (1854–1920) and his first wife, Alice Jeannette (née Saunders; 1854–1911).[1] He was educated atNuneaton Grammar School,St Edward's School, Oxford and theCrystal Palace School of Engineering (from 1900 to 1903).

Upon graduating from engineering training, de Havilland pursued a career inautomotive engineering, building cars and motorcycles. He took an apprenticeship with engine manufacturersWillans & Robinson ofRugby, after which he worked as a draughtsman forThe Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited inBirmingham, a job from which he resigned after a year.[1] He then spent two years working in the design office of Motor Omnibus Construction Company Limited inWalthamstow. While there he designed his first aero engine and had the first prototype made byIris Motor Company ofWillesden.

He married in 1909 and almost immediately embarked on the career of designing, building and flying aircraft to which he devoted the rest of his life.

Aviation career

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Main article:de Havilland
Blue plaque, 32 Baron's Court Road,Barons Court, London
de Havilland (far left), with fellow officers of the RFC c1913

Built with money borrowed from his maternal grandfather,[1] de Havilland'sfirst aircraft took two years to complete. Unfortunately, he crashed it during its first very short flight at Seven Barrows nearLitchfield, Hampshire in December 1909.[2] He built a fresh biplane, making his first flight in it from a meadow nearNewbury in September 1910.[3] A memorial plaque presently marks the event. Subsequent designs were even more successful: in 1912 he established a new British altitude record of 10,500 feet (3,200 m) in an aircraft of his design, theB.E.2. Geoffrey was the designer and his brother Hereward was the test pilot.

In December 1910, de Havilland joined HM Balloon Factory atFarnborough, which was to become theRoyal Aircraft Factory. He sold his second aeroplane (which he had used to teach himself to fly) to his new employer for £400. It became theF.E.1, the first aircraft to bear an official Royal Aircraft Factory designation. For the next three years, de Havilland designed, or participated in the design of, a number of experimental types at the "Factory". He was commissioned a second lieutenant (on probation) in theRoyal Flying Corps on 2 September 1912,[4][5] was appointed a reserve officer in the RFC on 24 November and was confirmed in his rank on 25 December.[6][7]

In December 1913, de Havilland was appointed an inspector of aircraft for the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate.[8] Unhappy at leaving design work, in May 1914 he was recruited to become the chief designer atAirco, inHendon. He designed many aircraft for Airco, all designated by his initials,DH. Large numbers of de Havilland-designed aircraft were used during theFirst World War, flown by theRoyal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force. De Havilland continued to serve in the RFC during the war.

On 5 August 1914, he was promoted to lieutenant and appointed a flying officer in the RFC from the same date.[9][10] He was briefly stationed in Montrose on the east coast of Scotland as an officer on war duty. Flying aBlériot, he was to protect British shipping from German U-boats.[11] After a few weeks, he was released from this duty and returned to Airco. However, he nominally remained in the service until the end of the war.[12] On 30 April 1916, he was promoted to captain and appointed a flight commander.[13][14]

His employer,Airco, was bought in early 1920 by armaments groupBirmingham Small Arms Company but discovering it was less than worthless BSA shut down Airco in July 1920.[15] With the help of former Airco ownerGeorge Holt Thomas he formedde Havilland Aircraft Company employing some former colleagues. Pleased and impressed by the aircraft they built for him,Alan Butler, thereafter company chairman, provided the capital to buy premises and then the airfield atStag Lane Aerodrome,Edgware, where he and his colleagues designed and built a large number of aircraft, including theMoth family. One of his roles was as a test pilot for the company's aircraft.

In 1928, the subsidiary companyDe Havilland Canada was created to build Moth aircraft in North America. When World War II arrived, production expanded to augment British aircraft factories, without any possible threat from enemy bombers. After the Second World War,De Havilland Canada went on to design and produce a number of indigenous types,[16] some of which proved highly successful.

In 1933, the company moved toHatfield Aerodrome inHertfordshire.

In 1944, he bought out his friend and engine designerFrank Halfords's consultancy firm, forming thede Havilland Engine Company with Halford as the head. Halford had previously designed a number of engines for de Havilland, including thede Havilland Gipsy andde Havilland Gipsy Major. Halford's first gas turbine design entered production as thede Havilland Goblin powering de Havilland's first jet, theVampire.

De Havilland controlled the company until it was bought by theHawker Siddeley Company in 1960. His financial backer,Alan Butler, remained a very involved chairman until he retired in 1950.

Retirement and death

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Statue at theUniversity of Hertfordshire, Hatfield

De Havilland retired from active involvement in his company in 1955, though remaining as president. He continued flying up to the age of 70 making his final flight in a DH85 Leopard Moth, G-ACMA.[1] He died aged 82, of acerebral haemorrhage, on 21 May 1965 atWatford Peace Memorial Hospital, Hertfordshire.

Honours

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De Havilland was made anOBE (Military Division) in the1918 Birthday Honours,[17][18] and was honoured with aCBE (Civil Division) in the1934 Birthday Honours.[19] He was decorated with theAir Force Cross (AFC) in the1919 New Year Honours, in recognition of his service in theFirst World War.[20] He wasknighted in the1944 New Year Honours,[21] and was invested with his knighthood byGeorge VI atBuckingham Palace on 15 February 1944.[22] He was appointed to theOrder of Merit (OM) in November 1962.[23] He received numerous national and international gold and silver medals and honorary fellowships of learned and engineering societies, including the Gold Medal of theRoyal Aero Club in 1947 and again in 1963.

In 1972 de Havilland was inducted into theInternational Air & Space Hall of Fame.[24]

A statue of de Havilland was erected in July 1997 near the entrance to the College Lane campus of theUniversity of Hertfordshire inHatfield. He was a benefactor of the university, having given land adjoining theA1 toHertfordshire County Council in 1951 for its precursor, the Hatfield Technical College. The statue was unveiled bythe Duke of Edinburgh. The De Havilland campus (also known as De Hav) at the university was also named in his honour.

Family

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De Havilland Memorial Stone near Seven Barrows Field andBeacon Hill from A34

The actressesOlivia de Havilland andJoan Fontaine were de Havilland's first cousins; his father, Charles, and their father,Walter, were half-brothers. His younger brother,Hereward de Havilland, was also a noted pioneer aviator and test pilot. Sir Anthony de Havilland (born 1969) is a direct descendent of James de Havilland (1553–1613) who migrated from Guernsey to Poole in Dorset and was granted the trade license for Poole.[citation needed]

In 1909, Geoffrey de Havilland married Louise Thomas, who had formerly beengoverness to de Havilland's sisters. They had three sons, Peter, Geoffrey and John. Two of the sons died as test pilots in de Havilland aircraft. His youngest son,John, died in an air collision involving two Mosquitoes in the vicinity ofSt Albans in 1943.

Geoffrey Jr carried out the first flights of the Mosquito andVampire and was killed in 1946 flying the jet-poweredDH 108 Swallow while diving at or near thespeed of sound. Louise suffered a nervous breakdown following these deaths and died in 1949. De Havilland remarried in 1951, to Joan Mary Frith (1900–1974). They remained married until his death.[citation needed]

de Havilland family tree
Alice Jeannette (née Saunders)
1854–1911		Rev. Charles de Havilland
1854–1920		Walter de Havilland
1872–1968		Lilian Fontaine (Ruse)
1886–1975
Ivon Molesworth Charles Jordan de Havilland
1879–1905		Louise Thomas
-1949		Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland
1882–1965		Joan Mary Frith
1900–1974		Hereward de Havilland
1894–1976		Marcus Goodrich
1897–1991		Olivia Mary de Havilland
1916–2020		Pierre Galante
1909-1998		Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland
1917–2013		William McElroy Dozier
1908–1991
Peter Jason de Havilland
1913–1977		Geoffrey de Havilland Jr.
1910–1946		John de Havilland
1918–1943		Benjamin Goodrich
1949–1991		Gisèle Galante
1956–		Deborah Leslie
1949–

Posthumous publication

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In 1975, de Havilland's 1961autobiography,Sky Fever, was republished by Peter and Anne de Havilland. It was originally published by Hamish Hamilton.

See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^abcdeDavenport-Hines, Richard. "Havilland, Sir Geoffrey de (1882–1965)."Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H.C.G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford:Oxford University Press, 2004.Oxford University.
  2. ^Roots in the Sky – A History of British Aerospace Aircraft, Oliver Tapper (1980),ISBN 061700323 8; pp. 7–8. "de Havilland first became airborne in December 1909 but his biplane broke up as soon as it left the ground and crashed immediately, the only salvable item being the engine which itself had been designed and built by de Havilland."
  3. ^Roots in the Sky, p. 8
  4. ^"No. 28653".The London Gazette. 15 October 1912. p. 7586.
  5. ^"No. 28665".The London Gazette. 22 November 1912. p. 8582.
  6. ^"No. 28823".The London Gazette. 21 April 1914. p. 3295.
  7. ^"No. 28674".The London Gazette. 24 December 1912. p. 9786.
  8. ^"No. 28790".The London Gazette. 6 January 1914. p. 183.
  9. ^"No. 28895".The London Gazette. 8 September 1914. p. 7175.
  10. ^"No. 29018".The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 December 1914. p. 11038.
  11. ^Hare, Paul (2014).Britain's Forgotten Fighters of the First World War. Stroud UK: Fonthill. p. 140.ISBN 978-1781551974.
  12. ^Sky Fever. The autobiography of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, Sir Geoffrey de Havilland (1961),ISBN 1-84037-148-X; p. 96.
  13. ^"No. 29620".The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 June 1916. p. 5185.
  14. ^"No. 29618".The London Gazette. 9 June 1916. p. 5741.
  15. ^The Aircraft "Deal", BSA company meeting.The Times, Tuesday, 12 Apr 1921; p. 17; Issue 42692
  16. ^GlobalSecurity.org
  17. ^"No. 30730".The London Gazette (Supplement). 4 June 1918. p. 6702.
  18. ^"No. 31297".The London Gazette (Supplement). 15 April 1919. p. 4992.
  19. ^"No. 34056".The London Gazette. 1 June 1934. p. 3564.
  20. ^"No. 31098".The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1918. p. 97.
  21. ^"No. 36309".The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1943. p. 2.
  22. ^"No. 36393".The London Gazette. 22 February 1944. p. 911.
  23. ^"No. 42840".The London Gazette. 23 November 1962. p. 9153.
  24. ^Sprekelmeyer, Linda, editor.These We Honor: The International Aerospace Hall of Fame. Donning Co. Publishers, 2006.ISBN 978-1-57864-397-4.

Bibliography

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  • De Havilland, Geoffrey.Sky Fever: The Autobiography of Sir Geoffrey de Havilland. Ramsbury, Marlborough, Wiltshire, UK: Crowood Press Ltd., 1999.ISBN 1-84037-148-X
  • Smith, Ron.British Built Aircraft: Greater London. Stroud, UK: Tempus Publishing, 2002.ISBN 0-7524-2770-9

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