Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, OM, CBE, AFC, RDI, FRAeS (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer. He founded the aircraft company de Havilland. The company built the Mosquito, which was considered the most versatile warplane ever made. It also created the Comet, the first jet airliner to be produced.

Early life

He was born in Magdala House, Terriers, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. He was the second son of The Reverend Charles de Havilland (1854–1920) and his first wife, Alice Jeannette (née Saunders; 1854–1911). He attended Nuneaton Grammar School, St Edward's School in Oxford, and the Crystal Palace School of Engineering from 1900 to 1903.

After completing his engineering training, de Havilland worked in automotive engineering, designing and building cars and motorcycles. He started an apprenticeship with Willans & Robinson, an engine manufacturer in Rugby. Later, he worked as a draughtsman for The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited in Birmingham. He left this job after one year. He then spent two years in the design office of Motor Omnibus Construction Company Limited in Walthamstow. During this time, he designed his first aero engine. The first prototype of this engine was made by Iris Motor Company in Willesden.

He married in 1909 and soon began designing, building, and flying aircraft. He spent the rest of his life working in this field.

Aviation career

Geoffrey de Havilland built his first aircraft using money borrowed from his maternal grandfather. It took two years to complete. Sadly, he crashed it during its first short flight near Seven Barrows, Litchfield, Hampshire in December 1909. He then built a new biplane and made his first flight from a meadow near Newbury in September 1910. A memorial plaque now marks this event. Later designs were more successful: in 1912, he set a new British altitude record of 10,500 feet (3,200 meters) in an aircraft he designed called the B.E.2. Geoffrey was the designer, and his brother Hereward was the test pilot.

In December 1910, de Havilland joined HM Balloon Factory at Farnborough, which later became the Royal Aircraft Factory. He sold his second airplane (used to teach himself to fly) to his new employer for £400. It became the F.E.1, the first aircraft with an official Royal Aircraft Factory designation. For the next three years, he designed or helped design several experimental aircraft at the "Factory." He was commissioned as a second lieutenant (on probation) in the Royal Flying Corps on 2 September 1912, became a reserve officer in the RFC on 24 November, and was confirmed in his rank on 25 December.

In December 1913, de Havilland was appointed an aircraft inspector for the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate. Unhappy about leaving design work, he joined Airco in Hendon as chief designer in May 1914. He designed many aircraft for Airco, all labeled with his initials, DH. Many of these aircraft were used during World War I by the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. He continued to serve in the RFC during the war.

On 5 August 1914, he was promoted to lieutenant and became a flying officer in the RFC. He was briefly stationed in Montrose, Scotland, to protect British shipping from German U-boats while flying a Blériot. After a few weeks, he returned to Airco but remained in the service until the war ended. On 30 April 1916, he was promoted to captain and became a flight commander.

Airco was bought by the Birmingham Small Arms Company in early 1920. However, the company found Airco was not valuable and shut it down in July 1920. With help from former Airco owner George Holt Thomas, de Havilland started his own company, de Havilland Aircraft Company, employing former colleagues. Alan Butler, the company chairman, provided funds to buy premises and the Stag Lane Aerodrome in Edgware. There, de Havilland and his team designed and built many aircraft, including the Moth family. He also worked as a test pilot for the company’s aircraft.

In 1928, a subsidiary company, De Havilland Canada, was created to build Moth aircraft in North America. When World War II began, production expanded to support British factories, as enemy bombers could not reach them. After World War II, De Havilland Canada designed and produced successful aircraft.

In 1933, the company moved to Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire.

In 1944, de Havilland bought his friend Frank Halford’s consultancy firm, forming the de Havilland Engine Company. Halford was the leader and had previously designed engines for de Havilland, including the Gipsy and Gipsy Major engines. His first gas turbine design became the de Havilland Goblin, which powered de Havilland’s first jet, the Vampire.

De Havilland controlled the company until it was bought by Hawker Siddeley in 1960. His financial backer, Alan Butler, remained involved as chairman until retiring in 1950.

Retirement and death

He lived at Longcote, which is located on Tanglewood Close in Stanmore. De Havilland retired from his company in 1955 but continued to serve as president. He kept flying until he was 70 years old, with his final flight taking place in a DH85 Leopard Moth, G-ACMA. He passed away at the age of 82 due to a cerebral hemorrhage on 21 May 1965 at Watford Peace Memorial Hospital, Hertfordshire.

Honours

De Havilland was given an OBE (Military Division) in the 1918 Birthday Honours and a CBE (Civil Division) in the 1934 Birthday Honours. He received the Air Force Cross (AFC) in the 1919 New Year Honours for his service during the First World War. In 1944, he was knighted, and King George VI gave him his knighthood at Buckingham Palace on February 15, 1944. In November 1962, he was appointed to the Order of Merit (OM). He was also given many national and international gold and silver medals, as well as honorary fellowships from engineering and learned societies, including the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club in 1947 and again in 1963.

In 1972, de Havilland was added to the International Air & Space Hall of Fame. A statue of de Havilland was built in July 1997 near the entrance to the College Lane campus of the University of Hertfordshire in Hatfield. He helped the university by giving land next to the A1 road to Hertfordshire County Council in 1951 for its earlier school, the Hatfield Technical College. The statue was revealed by the Duke of Edinburgh. The De Havilland campus (also called De Hav) at the university was named in his honor.

Family

Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine were first cousins. Their fathers, Charles de Havilland and Walter Fontaine, were half-brothers. Hereward de Havilland, the younger brother of Geoffrey de Havilland, was also a well-known early aviator and test pilot. Sir Anthony de Havilland, born in 1969, is a direct descendent of James de Havilland, who lived from 1553 to 1613. James moved from Guernsey to Poole in Dorset and was granted the trade license for Poole.

In 1909, Geoffrey de Havilland married Louise Thomas, who had previously worked as a governess for Geoffrey’s sisters. They had three sons: Peter, Geoffrey Jr., and John. Two of the sons died while working as test pilots in de Havilland aircraft. John, the youngest son, died in an air collision involving two Mosquito planes near St Albans in 1943.

Geoffrey Jr. performed the first flights of the Mosquito and Vampire aircraft. He was killed in 1946 while flying the jet-powered DH 108 Swallow at or near the speed of sound. After these deaths, Louise experienced a nervous breakdown and died in 1949. Geoffrey de Havilland remarried in 1951 to Joan Mary Frith, who lived from 1900 to 1974. They remained married until his death.

Posthumous publication

In 1975, Peter and Anne de Havilland republished their mother's 1961 autobiography, Sky Fever. The book was first published by Hamish Hamilton.