The Early History of HdH

Hawker de Havilland turns 60 this year and it’s a delight for me to remember some of the more significant events in the quite colourful history of this pioneering aviation giant, the progress of which is really synonymous with the development of Australia’s aviation industry.

HdH commenced operations as the de Havilland Aircraft Company in South Melbourne in 1927, where it continued to operate for three years. In 1930, the move was made to a Sydney base, but not before the RAAF had been supplied with 20 wing sets for Avro 504K aircraft by the company and numerous de Havilland aircraft had been sold by them to aero clubs and private individuals. Most of these aeroplanes were fully imported, but some had wings, ailerons, rudders and tailplanes made here by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. The aeroplanes involved were DH60 Cirrus Mk1 and Mk2 Moths.

The move to Sydney in 1930 was to Mascot Airport. At this new location servicing, overhaul and repair of the many de Havilland aircraft in Australia took place. Also, aircraft were assembled from kits supplied from overseas for private owners and aero clubs. Fox Moths, Puss Moths, Leopard Moths and the DH84 Dragon and the DH86 Express Airliner were assembled. At this stage, de Havilland was the number one manufacturer of aircraft in Australia, albeit mostly from kits.

A few years on, mainplanes and tailplanes for DH80A Puss Moth aircraft were made by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. In 1935, a complete DH60 Gypsy Moth with a wooden fuselage was produced in addition to wings for at least two DH61s. Several sets of spare wings were also constructed for DH84s.

Even at this stage, de Havilland displayed a real concern and loyalty for employees, whatever their function. This attitude has contributed to an unusually high number of multi-generation shop floor company employees over the years. Even those who had no relatives working for the company tended to remain at de Havilland for long periods and this situation is fortunately still in existence. In 1987, staff stability is high, as is morale. Morale was also enhanced from a previously high level in the early 1970’s, with new management attitudes to systems and work practices. Focussing back on 1935, we find that further work took place that year for DH89 Dragon Rapides, with sets of covered surfaces manufactured using imported parts while similar work was carried out on covered surfaces for DH87B Hornet Moths, although in this case the fuselages were imported, not just parts. Another three years down the track, two DH83 Fox Moth aircraft were fully manufactured using imported metal fittings and engines. About this time, de Havilland obtained a manufacturing licence to build Hamilton Standard propellers in Australia. Plans were submitted to the Defence Department for the making of metal variable-pitch propellers on a large scale.

De Havilland provided all buildings, plant and key technicians, which they enticed from overseas, then trained local employees to do the work. Six months after the de Havilland propeller factory opened at Alexandria, the first propellers were completed. All military aircraft propellers for Australia were then produced at their factory. In 1936, Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC) was established at Fisherman’s Bend in Victoria by BHP and others. Amongst other projects, CAC was building the North American P-51 Mustang fighter by the end of the war.

From 1939, de Havilland intended to manufacture Moth Minor trainers in Australia, but the outbreak of war upset those plans after only three aircraft had been completed. Australia’s concern at the possibility of war had in 1937 caused the Air Board, acting through the Department of Supply, to place orders with de Havilland for 20 Tiger Moths, which was in reality the first order for locally built aircraft. When war broke out in 1939, the RAAF urgently required trainer aircraft, so many minors were imported until the Tiger Moth could be fulfilled. Fifty-nine Moth Minors were imported, some partially incomplete, the final assembly being handled by de Havilland personnel at Mascot. The Tiger Moth programme was completed just in time, a matter of months before actual hostilities began.

De Havilland was now actively seeking further work to keep its production organisation and labour force intact. The orders needed to achieve this were set in motion in November 1939, when the Government commissioned de Havilland to build 350 Tiger Moths, to be fitted with Gypsy Major 1 engines manufactured by General Motors (Australia) Pty Ltd.

As time progressed, de Havilland actually built 1085 Tiger Moths, with 500 of these being shipped to South Africa, Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), India, the Dutch East Indies and New Zealand. During the war, the Government Aircraft Factories had built 700 Beaufort bombers and 364 Beaufighters, while de Havilland had built 150 Mosquito fighter/bombers on Bankstown Airport, in premises occupied by them in 1942. By war’s end, 108 Mosquitos had been built, with the project continuing on until 1948, Total count was 212!

Post War

After the second World War, the hastily prepared wartime manufacturing plants for aircraft and aircraft parts disappeared in large numbers, leaving mostly the original specialist professional aircraft manufacturers who had been in the business prior to hostilities. Aircraft manufacture now went into much lower gear. From the wartime aircraft manufacturing workforce of 44,000 persons, a mere 4,100 continued to build aeroplanes.

Despite this, de Havilland decided to ‘bite the bullet’ and put numerous proposals forward to the Australian Government. As a result they won the contract to manufacture single-seat Vampire jet fighters in 1947, following on their success at producing Mosquitos. From that time on, military aircraft orders continued to flow in to de Havilland and a total of 41 Vampire trainers were produced by November 1955.

In that same year, de Havilland received an order for 68 Mk35 Vampire trainers, requiring a major cockpit re-configuration and design work to accommodate totally new fuel, braking and other systems. One hundred and ten of these trainers were subsequently produced, the last of them coming off the line in 1960.

One problem that de Havilland and indeed CAC and GAF experienced with RAAF orders with UK designed/Australian-manufactured aircraft, was that the RAAF required a large number of major modifications to be carried out during predelivery. This certainly applied to the Vampire and especially the Sabre jets later produced by CAC. The modifications served only to escalate the cost of the locally produced aircraft. However, in 1952, de Havilland talked the Government and RAAF into forgoing the modifications, with dramatic results. The aeroplanes were supplied at a price within 10% of the landed cost. As these aircraft had been competitively priced, de Havilland obtained clearance from de Havilland in the UK to export, but well-meaning sales efforts aimed at New Zealand and the Philippines failed to take hold.

Australian airworthiness standards were at the time being upgraded and de Havilland decided another aircraft would be produced to maintain skills learned and equipment that had been acquired. The result: the design and production of the de Havilland Drover! 20 were built, the first of these entering service a few days after I was born in 1949, so Drovers have always had a special meaning for me.

Although it was a financial failure, the aircraft saw service in Australia, New Guinea and throughout the South Pacific region. Of particular note is the fact that the Royal Flying Doctor Service operated this wonderful aeroplane for many event-packed years. In some regards the Drover was perhaps ‘too advanced’. It set standards that propellers and engines of the era just couldn’t meet. By the time better powerplants were fitted to the aircraft in the 1950s, the airframe design was outdated and production was winding down. However, the Drover provided an excellent opportunity for HdH to practice advanced engineering, production and cost control skills.

The late 1950s saw HdH aim at getting a considerable slice of the military service and support work available. In addition to de Havilland being involved in the manufacture of aircraft, RAN Sea Venoms were overhauled and regularly serviced by the de Havilland company.

De Havilland was also involving itself more and more in the marketing of sister company products from overseas, such as de Havilland Canada-produced aircraft. Outside products from Beech Aircraft were also marketed by HdH Australia and the company eventually took on the role of agent for Continental and Lycoming engines. This diversification was seen as a necessary back up to Defence contracts.

About this time, the Vampire trainer programme came to a halt, with nothing to follow it up causing a redundancy problem amongst skilled production personnel. Because of this and to minimise the adverse personal effects on loyal staff, de Havilland got into the boat building business, eventually becoming the largest small boat manufacturer in Australia.

As I mentioned earlier, CAC produced North American Mustangs at the end of World War II. They continued this for sometime and also began work on the Rolls Royce Nene, its first turbine powerplant. This engine was destined to be used in de Havilland-built Vampires while GAF were also busy building Lincoln bombers and their Rolls Royce Merlin piston engines.

The Government desperately wanted local aircraft manufacture to go full-steaming ahead, as it was still euphoric about the all-out effort during the war years to build aeroplanes and wanted to keep the level of expertise in the industry as high as possible. However, the planning associated with this desire by the Government was to say the least, dismal. There was only poor continuity of skills and accordingly job security suffered in the aircraft industry workforce. All of this handicapped the industry significantly.

Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation were involved in building Sabres at this stage, while GAF was building and testing the Jindivik target aircraft with 400 of these being produced by GAF up till 1960 alone. The new decade saw further work allocated to CAC and GAF, with de Havilland all but left out in the cold. CAC had built 112 Sabres and were re-fitting Avon engines to the jets. CAC also were involved with Winjeel trainers, with de Havilland manufacturing the wings and centre fuselage.

Shortly after this, both CAC and GAF took up involvement in fuselage manufacture and total assembly of the RMF’s new Mirage Ill jet fighter. De Havilland was given only very minor assembly work from this programme.

However, the tables finally turned in 1966, when de Havilland was commissioned to make the wings, horizontal tail, undercarriage and wingtip tanks (subcontracting to CAC) for the Macchi MB-326. Forty percent of the Rolls Royce Viper engine was also produced by de Havilland. GAF meanwhile was settling down to the Jindivik project and later developed the lkara anti-submarine missile and the Turana pilotless drone variant.

Meanwhile, de Havilland had been planning and taking action to make sure it wasn’t behind the eight ball in general aviation. Virtually all civil flying training aircraft up until the 1950s were provided by de Havilland aircraft, such as Tiger Moths, Chipmunks etc. The company was also strongly associated with regional airline acquisitions, as in the de Havilland Dove, Drover and Heron aircraft. Accordingly, de Havilland Aircraft company took stock of exactly where the company was aimed at this point in time and carried out feasibility studies into the manufacture of light aircraft in Australia from kits supplied from overseas, part or complete licence manufacture, design, development and manufacture by HdH and development and manufacture of Australian designs, such as the soon to come Victa Airtourer. The market predictions were projected up to 1968 and all looked bright and rosy. But dealer overstocking and underutilisation of aircraft in the marketplace caused a recession in the industry with the result that only 100 aircraft, of all types, were sold in general aviation circles in Australia from 1971 to 1972.

Enter the tiny Victa Airtourer. Henry Millicer’s original timber design was re-designed in metal by de Havilland and 150 of the little two-seaters were built and sold. The aircraft itself was a goer though the production price was approximately double the sales price dictated by the current market at the time. Naturally, production ceased very soon. Several spinoff aircraft from the Victa were conceived, but economic good sense finally put paid to the project.

Six years before the demise of the Airtourer programme, HdH had occupied large premises at Lidcombe NSW, which had earlier been used by CAC. Nineteen sixty one saw the de Havilland Aircraft Company become Hawker de Havilland Australia. The UK parent company had been merged with Hawker Siddeley. HdH then bought up the share capital of Bristol Aircraft and Fairey Aviation, making it the only major aviation contractor in NSW.

Always keen to be involved in military projects, HdH began supplying personnel to take part in trials at Salisbury and Woomera of Blue Streak, Black Arrow and Sea Dart missiles. RAAF Vampire trainers, which during the 1960s had been ferried from the Advanced Flying Training School at Pearce, Western Australia to Bankstown, were now required to be overhauled locally in WA so HdH took this timely opportunity to set up a facility at Perth’s International Airport.

HdH also underwent at this time a ‘quiet revolution’ within house, tidying up procedures, attitudes of management to problem solving and intensifying production and management skills.

In 1966, HdH executive staff made a long and extensive tour of the United States aggressively soliciting orders, a practice now adopted on an annual basis. A side issue that developed from these visits was that the company soon realised that Australia didn’t have an offset policy such as other countries invoked. The offset policy subsequently introduced by the Australian Government was a direct result of representations and submissions from HdH with information gleaned from US visits.

HdH’s Marine Division had now gained wide respect throughout the boating industry. 1963/64 saw large boats being built by the company for the Maritime Services Board and the Department of Fisheries, Department of Civil Aviation and Comalco.

HdH’s Bankstown facility has also been tackling helicopter support since 1962 and that, together with engine, transmission and airframe work required for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft led ultimately to the establishment of the present HdH overhaul facility at Bankstown Airport NSW.

Since the inception of the new management attitudes and strategies related to company policy in the early 1970s, HdH has progressed to become one of the most technologically advanced aviation engineering organisations in the world, designing, developing and also purchasing state-of-the-art machining and fabrication facilities.