Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, OM, CBE, AFC, RDI, FRAeS (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer who started the aircraft company de Havilland. The company created the Mosquito, which has been called the most versatile warplane ever built, and his Comet was the first jet airliner to be produced.

Early life

Born at Magdala House, Terriers, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, de Havilland was the second child of The Reverend Charles de Havilland (1854–1920) and his first wife, Alice Jeannette (née Saunders; 1854–1911). He studied at 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 began an apprenticeship with engine makers Willans & Robinson in Rugby. Later, he worked as a draughtsman for The Wolseley Tool and Motor Car Company Limited in Birmingham but left the 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 created his first aero engine, and the first prototype was built by Iris Motor Company in Willesden.

He married in 1909 and soon began a career focused on designing, building, and flying aircraft. This work became the main focus of his life for the rest of his years.

Aviation career

De Havilland's first aircraft was built using money he borrowed from his maternal grandfather. It took two years to complete. Unfortunately, he crashed it during its first very short flight at Seven Barrows near Litchfield, Hampshire in December 1909. He built a new biplane and made his first flight in it from a meadow near Newbury in September 1910. A memorial plaque now marks the event. Later designs were more successful: in 1912, he set a new British altitude record of 10,500 feet (3,200 m) in an aircraft of his design, 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 aeroplane (which he used to teach himself to fly) to his new employer for £400. It became the F.E.1, the first aircraft to have an official Royal Aircraft Factory designation. For the next three years, de Havilland 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 September 2, 1912, became a reserve officer in the RFC on November 24, and was confirmed in his rank on December 25.

In December 1913, de Havilland was appointed an inspector of aircraft 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 marked with his initials, DH. Many of these aircraft were used during World War I by the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Air Force. De Havilland continued to serve in the RFC during the war.

On August 5, 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 April 30, 1916, he was promoted to captain and became a flight commander.

His employer, Airco, was bought by the Birmingham Small Arms Company in early 1920. However, the company was shut down in July 1920 because it had little value. With help from former Airco owner George Holt Thomas, de Havilland formed the de Havilland Aircraft Company, employing some former colleagues. Alan Butler, the company's chairman, provided funding to buy premises and the airfield at Stag Lane Aerodrome, 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, the subsidiary company De Havilland Canada was created to build Moth aircraft in North America. During World War II, production expanded to support British aircraft factories, as there was no threat from enemy bombers. After World War II, De Havilland Canada designed and produced several 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 with Halford as head. Halford had previously designed engines for de Havilland, including the Gipsy and Gipsy Major. 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 purchased by the Hawker Siddeley Company in 1960. His financial backer, Alan Butler, remained an active chairman until retiring in 1950.

Retirement and death

He lived at 'Longcote' on Tanglewood Close in Stanmore.

De Havilland retired from his company in 1955 but remained as president. He kept flying until he was 70. His last flight was in a DH85 Leopard Moth with the registration G-ACMA. He died at the age of 82 from a cerebral hemorrhage on May 21, 1965, at Watford Peace Memorial Hospital in Hertfordshire.

Honours

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

In 1972, de Havilland was inducted into 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 supported the university by donating land near the A1 to Hertfordshire County Council in 1951 for its earlier form, the Hatfield Technical College. The statue was unveiled by the Duke of Edinburgh. The De Havilland campus (also called De Hav) at the university was named in his honor.

Family

The actresses 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 Charles, was also a pioneer aviator and test pilot. Sir Anthony de Havilland, born in 1969, is a direct descendant of James de Havilland (1553–1613), who moved from Guernsey to Poole in Dorset and was given a trade license for Poole.

In 1909, Geoffrey de Havilland married Louise Thomas, who had previously been a governess for his sisters. They had three sons: Peter, Geoffrey, 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 Mosquitoes near St Albans in 1943.

Geoffrey de Havilland Jr. performed the first flights of the Mosquito and Vampire aircraft. He died 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 (1900–1974). They remained married until his death.

Posthumous publication

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