Aircraft Manufacturing Company
| Industry | Aviation |
|---|---|
| Fate | Bankruptcy |
| Successor | de Havilland |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Defunct | 1920 |
| 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 a British aircraft manufacturer operating from 1912 to 1920. Airco produced thousands of aircraft for the British military during the First World War, most of which were designed by their chief designer, Geoffrey de Havilland. Advertised in 1918 as the largest aircraft company in the world, Airco established the first airline in the United Kingdom, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, as a subsidiary. A glut of war surplus aircraft and a lack of government interest in aviation caused the company to become unprofitable, and in 1920 it was sold to Birmingham Small Arms Company, who had its operations liquidated later that year.
Airco was established in 1912 by George Holt Thomas at The Hyde in Hendon, north London, England. Two years later, learning that Geoffrey de Havilland, who was then at the Royal Aircraft Factory in Farnborough, might be available, Holt Thomas invited de Havilland to join Airco as chief designer. De Havilland's Airco designs were to provide around 30% of all trainers, fighters and bombers used by Britain and the United States during the First World War.
De Havilland's designs for Airco were marked with his initials "DH". Their pusher configuration fighter DH.2 of 1916 helped to end the "Fokker scourge" of 1915. Later notable aircraft designed and built by Airco during the war included the DH.6 trainer, of which more than 2,280 examples were built, and the DH.4 and DH.9 light bombers. These types, and the DH.9A, a developed version that served for many years with the postwar Royal Air Force, formed the basis of early de Havilland designed airliners, including the company's DH.16 and DH.18 types which were operated by Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, the first airline established in the United Kingdom, also owned by George Holt Thomas.
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