de Havilland

The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded by Geoffrey de Havilland, incorporated on 26 September 1920, that designed and built civilian and military aircraft, aero engines and guided weapons. It began operations at Stag Lane Aerodrome in Edgware before relocating to Hatfield, Hertfordshire. The company produced the Moth biplane, which helped popularise private flying in the 1920s, the wooden de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber of the Second World War, and the de Havilland Comet, which entered service in 1952 as the world's first commercial jet airliner. De Havilland became part of Hawker Siddeley in 1960 and lost its separate corporate identity in 1963, continuing as the de Havilland Division of Hawker Siddeley Aviation before eventually passing into what is now BAE Systems. The de Havilland name survives through de Havilland Canada, which still holds production rights to several of the company's regional airliner designs.