Airco
Industry | Aviation |
---|---|
Founded | 1912 |
Defunct | 1920 |
Fate | Bankruptcy |
Successor | de Havilland |
Headquarters | The Hyde, Hendon, London, England |
Key people | Geoffrey de Havilland |
Products | Aircraft |
Subsidiaries | Aircraft Transport and Travel |
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early
Airco produced many thousands of aircraft for both the British and Allied military air wings throughout the war, including fighters, trainers and bombers. The majority of the company's aircraft were designed in-house by Airco's chief designer Geoffrey de Havilland.
Airco established the first
Following the end of the war, the company's fortunes rapidly turned sour. The
Origins and de Havilland
During 1912, Airco was established by
Wartime production
Airco would design and produce numerous aircraft during the wartime years. Its
Another design produced by de Havilland was the DH.6, which was specifically designed as a military trainer; as this role was normally performed by obsolete service types at the time, it was an unconventional choice to develop a dedicated trainer.[6] The DH.6 possessed relatively gentle flying characteristics, being described as being probably the most "forgiving" aircraft of its time, allowing itself to be flown "crab wise" in improperly banked turns and able to maintain sustained flight at speeds as low as 30 miles per hour (48 km/h).[7] At least 2,282 DH.6s were built in the UK during wartime.[8]
The
During 1916, the
By December 1918, Holt Thomas claimed in an advertisement that Airco was the largest aircraft company in the world, being engaged in the construction of aeroplanes, engines and propellers in large numbers, as well as a number of airships and flying boats.[2] The engines being built included licensed production of Gnome and Le Rhone rotary engines.[2] The company's works at Hendon employed between 7,000 and 8,000 people and had the latest metal-working machinery, in addition to extensive testing equipment, including a materials testing laboratory and a wind tunnel.[16] At one stage, Airco was reportedly completing one new aircraft every 45 minutes on average.[17] During 1920, the aviation periodical Flight Magazine reported that, during the period from August 1914 to November 1918, the D.H. Airco aircraft manufactured in both Britain and the United States had comprised approximately 30 per cent of the total output of aeroplanes of these two allies.[18]
Following the
Airline operations and the first daily international flights
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/DH16-AT%26T.jpg/220px-DH16-AT%26T.jpg)
Airco decided to enter into the early airline business, established a dedicated subsidiary, Aircraft Transport and Travel (AT&T), for this purpose.[2] On 25 August 1919, the firm commenced the world's first regular daily international service, between Hounslow Heath Aerodrome and Le Bourget Aerodrome, France. A number of DH.16s were used for this service.[19]
In addition to operating the London-to-Paris service, AT&T also launched other routes, including one between Croydon Airport and Amsterdam, on behalf of the Dutch airline KLM. On 17 May 1920, an AT&T DH.16 (G-EALU) performed the first KLM service between London and Amsterdam.[19]
Sale to BSA and liquidation
Following the
Within days BSA discovered Airco was in a far more serious financial state than Thomas had revealed. Thomas was immediately removed from his new seat on the BSA board and all BSA's new acquisitions were placed in
Aircraft Transport and Travel had been allowed to continue to operate until December 1920. BSA then bought Aircraft Transport and Travel's aircraft from the liquidator and, in early 1921, established
]List of Airco aircraft
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a8/Aerial_travel_for_Business_or_Pleasure_-_Thos_Cook_%26_Son_-_1919_-_pp_14%2B15_%28No._7%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/220px-Aerial_travel_for_Business_or_Pleasure_-_Thos_Cook_%26_Son_-_1919_-_pp_14%2B15_%28No._7%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
- Airco DH.1:(1915) – Two-seat biplane fighter with single pusher propeller
- Airco DH.1A - Around 70 built with Beardmore engines.
- Airco DH.2 (1915) – Single-seat biplane fighter with single pusher propeller
- Airco DH.3 (1916) – Twin-engine biplane bomber. Two prototypes only built; formed basis for later DH.10 design
- Airco DH.3A - Second prototype with a Beardmore engine.
- Airco DH.4 (1916) – Two-seat biplane day bomber with single tractor propeller
- Airco DH.4A Civil version. Built in the United Kingdom. Two passengers in glazed cabin behind pilot.
- Airco DH.4R Single seat racer - 450 hp (3406 kW) Napier Lion engine.
- Airco DH.5 (1916) – Single-seat biplane fighter with single tractor propeller
- Airco DH.6 (1916) – Two-seat biplane training aircraft with single tractor propeller
- Airco DH.9 (1917) – Two-seat biplane day bomber with single tractor propeller.
- Airco DH.9A (1918)- development of DH.9 with Liberty engine
- Airco DH.9C (1921) - conversion of DH.9 as passenger aircraft
- Airco DH.10 Amiens (1918) – Twin-engine biplane bomber. First prototype used pusher propeller; second prototype and production aircraft used tractor propellers. Manufactured by Daimler.
- DH.11 Oxford(1919) Variant of DH.10 with radial engines. One prototype built; not produced
- Airco DH.15 Gazelle (1919) - One DH.9A aircraft converted into an engine test-bed.
- Airco DH.16 (1919) - redesign of DH.9A with cabin for four passengers. Used as airliner
- Airco DH.18 (1920) – Single-engine biplane airliner. Cabin for eight passengers
References
Citations
- ^ The King's Interest In Flying. Factory And Aerodrome Visited. The Times, Friday, 1 June 1917; pg. 9; Issue 41493.
- ^ a b c d Airco display advertisement, page 3, The Times, 3 December 1918.
- ^ Bruce 1966, pp. 3-4.
- ^ a b Bruce 1966, p. 3.
- ^ Airco DH-2 Archived 12 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Baker 1990, p. 24.
- ^ Jackson 1987, p. 86.
- ^ Jackson 1987, p. 87.
- ^ Jackson 1987, p. 54.
- ^ a b Bruce 1966, p. 10.
- ^ Jackson 1987, p. 60.
- ^ Bowers 1966, pp. 3–4.
- ^ Bruce 1965, p. 4.
- ^ Bruce 1965, p. 5.
- ^ Bruce 1965, p. 6.
- ^ a b Mr. G. Holt Thomas. The Times, Friday, 4 January 1929; pg. 14; Issue 45092.
- ^ Mr. G. Holt Thomas. Colonel G. W. Dawes. The Times, Saturday, 5 January 1929; pg. 14; Issue 45093.
- ^ page 1147, Flight Magazine, 4 November 1920.
- ^ a b Jackson 1973, p. 62.
- ^ Air Transport Combine. Aircraft And B.S.A. Firms Unite The Times, Monday, 1 March 1920; pg. 14; Issue 42347.
- ^ Davenport-Hines, R. P. T. Dudley Docker: The Life and Times of a Trade Warrior. 1984, Cambridge University Press.
Bibliography
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Baker, David. (1990). William Avery "Billy" Bishop: The Man and the Aircraft He Flew. London: The Outline Press. ISBN 978-1-871547-07-8..
- Bruce, J. M. (1966). Aircraft Profile No. 91: The de Havilland D.H.2. London: Profile Publications.
- Bruce, J. M. (1965). Aircraft Profile No. 62: The de Havilland D.H.9. London: Profile Publications.
- Bruce, J. M. (1966). The de Havilland D.H.4. Aircraft in Profile 26. London: Profile Publications.
- Bowers, Peter M. (1966). The American DH.4. Aircraft in Profile 97. London: Profile Publications.
- Jackson, A. J. (1973). British Civil Aircraft since 1919. Vol. 2. London: Putnam. ISBN 0-370-10010-7.
- Jackson, A. J. (1987). De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. London: Putnam. ISBN 978-0-87021-896-5.