Aircraft Manufacturing Co.

Aircraft Manufacturing Co. (Airco) . . . . George Holt Thomas; Capt. Geoffrey de Havilland, the chief designer of the Royal Aircraft Factory, joined as chief designer, beginning June 1914. We have George Holt Thomas within our patent data as the Director of the company, filing in collaboration with Ernest Platton King, an Engineer employed by the company.

Thomas in 1911 negotiated for manufacturing rights of Farman airplanes and Gnome and Rhône engines. Performed well but did not prevail in the 1912 British military trials.

"For the next two years Holt Thomas acted just as an agent for the Farmans, and then he was approached by Geoffrey de Havilland with the suggestion that Airco, as it had then become known, should build their own aircraft." De Havilland then became chief engineer at Airco, was poached away by the government for the war, then, "after a great deal of badgering and a certain amount of common sense on the part of the War Ministry," poached back by Airco.

de Havilland planes after 1914. Subsidiary May, Harden, and Kay, established ca. 1915.

We have Geoffrey de Havilland filing in France, in collaboration with Aircraft Manufacturing Co., in 1916.

Sold to BSA, which, with little prospect of business, closed it 1920. De Havilland formed his own company 1920. Dir1920 p16 lists Canadian branch in Montreal; Dir1920 p40 lists address Edgware Road, The Hyde, Hendon, London, N.W.9.

Patents associated with organization named Aircraft Manufacturing Co.

• Patent FR-1916-494088 (Inventors: Geoffrey de Havilland, English title: Improvements in control apparatus for airplanes, Filing date: 1916-11-27, Applicant firm: Aircraft Manufacturing Co.)

Sources

• Gunston, 1993, p18
• Gunston, 2005, p 17; Dir1920 p16; G92-93
• Gunston, 2005, p122-123

References

Names	Aircraft Manufacturing Co., Airco
Country	Great Britain
City	The Hyde, Hendon
Affiliations
Keywords
Started aero	1912
Ended aero	1920
Key people	George Holt Thomas, Geoffrey de Havilland
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