Editing Airco (section)

==Wartime production==
Airco would design and produce numerous aircraft during the wartime years. Its [[Airco DH.2|DH.2]], a [[pusher configuration]] [[Fighter aircraft|fighter]] introduced during 1916, contributed to ending the "[[Fokker scourge]]" of 1915. While early air combat over the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] had indicated the need for a single-seat fighter with forward-firing armament, there was no dominant approach to applying armaments to fighters at the time.<ref name = "bruce 34">Bruce 1966, pp. 3-4.</ref> As no means of firing forward through the propeller of a tractor aeroplane was available to the British, Geoffrey de Havilland designed the DH.2 as a smaller, single-seat development of the earlier two-seat [[Airco DH.1|DH.1]] pusher design.<ref name = "bruce 3">Bruce 1966, p. 3.</ref> A total of 453 DH.2s were produced by Airco.<ref name="Airco DH-2">[http://www.classicfighters.co.nz/ac/dh2/index.shtml Airco DH-2] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212124216/http://www.classicfighters.co.nz/ac/dh2/index.shtml |date=12 February 2008 }}</ref>

Another design produced by de Havilland was the [[Airco DH.6|DH.6]], which was specifically designed as a military [[Trainer aircraft|trainer]]; as this role was normally performed by obsolete service types at the time, it was an unconventional choice to develop a dedicated trainer.<ref>Baker 1990, p. 24.</ref> The DH.6 possessed relatively gentle flying characteristics, being described as being probably the most "forgiving" aircraft of its time, allowing itself to be flown "crab wise" in improperly banked turns and able to maintain sustained flight at speeds as low as {{convert|30|mph|km/h}}.<ref name="Jackson p.86">Jackson 1987, p. 86.</ref> At least 2,282 DH.6s were built in the UK during wartime.<ref name="Jackson p.87">Jackson 1987, p. 87.</ref>

The [[Airco DH.4|DH.4]] was a two-seat combat aircraft, intended to perform both [[aerial reconnaissance]] and [[Bomber#The first bombers|day bomber]] missions.<ref name = "bruce 3">Bruce 1966, p. 3.</ref> By the end of production, a total of 1,449 aircraft (from orders for 1,700 aircraft) were constructed in Britain for the [[Royal Flying Corps]] (RFC) and the [[Royal Naval Air Service]] (RNAS).<ref name="Jackson p54">Jackson 1987, p. 54.</ref> Production of the DH.4 was performed by a variety of companies beyond Airco themselves; these included F.W. Berwick and Co, Glendower Aircraft Company, Palladium Autocars, Vulcan Motor and Engineering, and the [[Westland Aircraft|Westland Aircraft Work]].<ref name = "bruce 10">Bruce 1966, p. 10.</ref> Overseas, [[SABCA]] of [[Belgium]] produced a further 15 DH.4s during 1926.<ref name="Jackson p60">Jackson 1987, p. 60.</ref><ref name = "bruce 10"/> In the United States, several different manufacturers, including the [[Boeing|Boeing Airplane Corporation]], [[Dayton-Wright Airplane Company]], the [[Fisher Body|Fisher Body Corporation]], and the [[Standard Aircraft Corporation]] produced an Americanised variant of the DH.4, featuring over 1,000 modifications from the original British design, to equip the American air services.<ref name = "bow 3 4">Bowers 1966, pp. 3–4.</ref>

During 1916, the [[Airco DH.9|DH.9]] was designed as a successor to the DH.4, reusing both its wings and [[Empennage|tail unit]] while adopting a modified [[fuselage]] that moved the [[Aviator|pilot]] closer to the [[Air gunner|gunner/observer]] and away from the [[Piston engine|engine]] and fuel tank, which facilitated communication and was viewed as being a more optimal fighting configuration.<ref name = "Bruce 1966, p. 4">Bruce 1965, p. 4.</ref> However, While the DH.9 was deemed to be suitable for daytime bombing operations, it was found to be incapable of effective nighttime bombing due to the pilot's view being obstructed and visibility via the [[bombsight]] being unsuitable.<ref name = "bruce 65 5">Bruce 1965, p. 5.</ref> The DH.9's performance in action over the Western Front was typically deemed to have been a disaster; heavy losses of the type were quickly incurred, attributed to both its poor performance and to engine failures, despite the prior derating of its engine to reduce the failure rate.<ref name = "bruce 65 6">Bruce 1965, p. 6.</ref>

By December 1918, Holt Thomas claimed in an advertisement that Airco was the largest aircraft company in the world, being engaged in the construction of aeroplanes, engines and [[propeller]]s in large numbers, as well as a number of [[airship]]s and [[flying boat]]s.<ref name="DreadfulCaption" /> The engines being built included licensed production of [[Gnome et Rhône|Gnome and Le Rhone]] [[rotary engine]]s.<ref name="DreadfulCaption" /> The company's works at Hendon employed between 7,000 and 8,000 people and had the latest metal-working machinery, in addition to extensive testing equipment, including a materials testing laboratory and a [[wind tunnel]].<ref name=ObitTT>Mr. G. Holt Thomas. ''The Times'', Friday, 4 January 1929; pg. 14; Issue 45092.</ref> At one stage, Airco was reportedly completing one new aircraft every 45 minutes on average.<ref name=ObitDawes>Mr. G. Holt Thomas. Colonel G. W. Dawes. ''The Times'', Saturday, 5 January 1929; pg. 14; Issue 45093.</ref> During 1920, the aviation periodical [[Flight International|Flight Magazine]] reported that, during the period from August 1914 to November 1918, the D.H. Airco aircraft manufactured in both Britain and the United States had comprised approximately 30 per cent of the total output of aeroplanes of these two allies.<ref>page 1147, Flight Magazine, 4 November 1920.</ref>

Following the [[Armistice of 11 November 1918]] and the end of the conflict, many of the wartime DH.4s and DH.9s, along with the improved [[Airco DH.9A|DH.9A]], served for many years with the newly created [[Royal Air Force]]. These aircraft also formed the basis of early de Havilland-designed airliners, including the company's [[De Havilland DH.16|DH.16]] and [[De Havilland DH.18|DH.18]] types which were operated by [[Aircraft Transport and Travel]] Limited, the first airline established in the United Kingdom, which was also owned by George Holt Thomas.{{citation needed|date=April 2017}}