Airco
The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. 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 airline in the United Kingdom, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, which operated as a subsidiary of Airco. On 25 August 1919, it commenced the world's first regular daily international service. Following the end of the war, the company's fortunes rapidly turned sour. The interwar period was unfavourable for aircraft manufacturers largely due to a glut of surplus aircraft from the war, while a lack of interest in aviation on the part of the Brit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in Hertfordshire. Known for its innovation, de Havilland was responsible for a number of important aircraft, including the Moth biplane which revolutionised aviation in the 1920s; the 1930s Fox Moth, a commercial light passenger aircraft; the wooden World War II Mosquito multirole aircraft; and the pioneering passenger jet airliner Comet. The de Havilland company became a member of the Hawker Siddeley group in 1960, but lost its separate identity in 1963. Later, Hawker Siddeley merged into what is eventually known today as BAE Systems, the British aerospace and defence business. The de Havilland name lives on in De Havilland Canada, which owns the rights to the name and the aircraft produced by de Havilland's former Canadian subsidiary, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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De Havilland Aircraft Company
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in Hertfordshire. Known for its innovation, de Havilland was responsible for a number of important aircraft, including the Moth biplane which revolutionised aviation in the 1920s; the 1930s Fox Moth, a commercial light passenger aircraft; the wooden World War II Mosquito multirole aircraft; and the pioneering passenger jet airliner Comet. The de Havilland company became a member of the Hawker Siddeley group in 1960, but lost its separate identity in 1963. Later, Hawker Siddeley merged into what is eventually known today as BAE Systems, the British aerospace and defence business. The de Havilland name lives on in De Havilland Canada, which owns the rights to the name and the aircraft produced by de Havilland's former Canadian subsidiary, includ ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aircraft Transport And Travel Limited
Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited was a British airline formed during the First World War, a subsidiary of Airco. It was the first airline to operate a regular international flight (between London and Paris). History On 5 October 1916, Aircraft Transport and Travel (AT&T) was formed by George Holt Thomas. Using a fleet of former military Airco DH.4A biplanes, it operated relief flights between Folkestone and Ghent. On 15 July 1919, the company flew a proving flight across the English Channel, despite a lack of support from the British government. Flown by Lt. H. Shaw in an Airco DH.9 between RAF Hendon and Paris–Le Bourget Airport, the flight took 2 hours and 30 minutes, and cost £21 per passenger. On 25 August 1919, the company used DH.16s to start a regular service from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome to Le Bourget, the first regular (daily) international service in the world. The airline soon gained a reputation for reliability, despite problems with bad weather. In Novembe ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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George Holt Thomas
George Holt Thomas (31 March 1869 – 1 January 1929) aviation industry pioneer and newspaper proprietor. Holt Thomas founded, in 1911, the business which became Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited or Airco. Son and grandson of successful artists he initially followed his father into ''The Graphic'' and ''Daily Graphic'' newspaper business in 1890, later making his own name and fortune by founding ''The Bystander'' and ''Empire Illustrated'' magazines. Something of a shrewd visionary he turned to aircraft in 1906. Background George Holt Thomas was the seventh son of William Luson Thomas (1830–1890) and his wife Annie, daughter of John Wilson Carmichael. Born at Hampton House, Stockwell, south London, educated privately and at King's College School, London he left Queen's College Oxford in 1890 after two years and without taking a degree. In 1894 he married Gertrude daughter of architect Thomas Oliver of Newcastle upon Tyne, there were no children of the marriage.Vin ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Birmingham Small Arms Company
The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited (BSA) was a major British industrial combine, a group of businesses manufacturing military and sporting firearms; bicycles; motorcycles; cars; buses and bodies; steel; iron castings; hand, power, and machine tools; coal cleaning and handling plants; sintered metals; and hard chrome process. After the Second World War, BSA did not manage its business well, and a government-organised rescue operation in 1973 led to a takeover of such operations as it still owned. Those few that survived this process disappeared into the ownership of other businesses. History of the BSA industrial group Machine-made guns BSA began in June 1861 in the Gun Quarter, Birmingham, England. It was formed by a group of fourteen gunsmith members of the Birmingham Small Arms Trade Association specifically to manufacture guns by machinery. They were encouraged to do this by the War Office which gave the BSA gunsmiths free access to technical drawings and to the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Geoffrey De Havilland
Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer. The aircraft company he founded produced the Mosquito, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built,Davenport-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, 2004Oxford University and his Comet was the first jet airliner to go into production. Early life Born at Magdala House, Terriers, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, de Havilland was the second son of The Reverend Charles de Havilland (1854–1920) and his first wife, Alice Jeannette (née Saunders) (1854–1911). He was educated at Nuneaton Grammar School, St Edward's School, Oxford and the Crystal Palace School of Engineering (from 1900 to 1903). Upon graduating from engineering training, de Havilland pursued a career in automotive engineering, building c ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Airline
An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in which they both offer and operate the same flight. Generally, airline companies are recognized with an air operating certificate or license issued by a governmental aviation body. Airlines may be scheduled or charter operators. The first airline was the German airship company DELAG, founded on November 16, 1909. The four oldest non-airship airlines that still exist are the Netherlands' KLM (1919), Colombia's Avianca (1919), Australia's Qantas (1920) and the Czech Republic's Czech Airlines (1923). Airline ownership has seen a shift from mostly personal ownership until the 1930s to government-ownership of major airlines from the 1940s to 1980s and back to large-scale privatization following the mid-1980s. Since the 1980s, there has also been a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fighter Aircraft
Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield permits bombers and attack aircraft to engage in tactical bombing, tactical and strategic bombing of enemy targets. The key performance features of a fighter include not only its firepower but also its high speed and maneuverability relative to the target aircraft. The success or failure of a combatant's efforts to gain air superiority hinges on several factors including the skill of its pilots, the tactical soundness of its doctrine for deploying its fighters, and the numbers and performance of those fighters. Many modern fighter aircraft also have secondary capabilities such as ground-attack aircraft, ground attack and some types, such as fighter-bombers, are designed from the outset for dual roles. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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William Taylor Birchenough (Aviator)
William Taylor Birchenough (1891–1962) was a pioneering British aviator and test pilot. Family Birchenough was born at Gawsworth New Hall, the third son of William Taylor Birchenough, a silk Manufacturer and Justice of Peace, for the County of Chester, and his wife Jane Birchenough, daughter of Richard Peacock MP. His grandfather was John Birchenough, a Mayor of Macclesfield and he was a nephew of Sir Henry Birchenough. Fowler's Match At Eton College he was a proficient cricketer and played in the famous Fowler's Match in 1910 against Harrow School which was described in an article in The Spectator marking the match's centenary, as "what might just be the greatest cricket match of all time". Aviation career After leaving Eton Birchenough developed an interest in flying and joined the Grahame-White training school on 7 February 1913. Over the following months he carried out his training under the instruction of Marcus Dyce Manton before being awarded his aviator's certificate o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |