A sales office becomes a factory

In March 1927 de Havilland set up its first overseas subsidiary in Melbourne, run by Hereward de Havilland. Its job was modest: sell de Havilland aircraft in Australia, assemble them on arrival and supply spares and repairs. It moved to Mascot aerodrome in Sydney in 1930 and built no aircraft before the Second World War. The war transformed it. From 1940 to 1945 DHA turned out 1,085 Tiger Moths, along with 87 Dragons and Moth Minors.

Tiger Moths, Mosquitoes and the Drover

Its most ambitious wartime job was the wooden Mosquito, of which 212 were built between 1943 and 1948. DHA also produced its first original design in 1942, the DHA-G1 transport glider, built around the Dragon’s nose; only six of the improved G2 were made once the invasion threat faded. The third design, the three-engined DHA-3 Drover utility transport, first flew on 23 January 1948 and 20 were built. On 29 June 1949 chief test pilot Brian “Black Jack” Walker flew the first of 190 licence-built Vampire jets, in production until 1960.

Hawker de Havilland and Boeing

After de Havilland was absorbed by Hawker Siddeley, the company became Hawker de Havilland in 1965. It turned to modification, overhaul and airliner subcontracting for Boeing, Airbus and McDonnell Douglas, bought the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in 1985, and assembled 65 PC-9/A trainers and 38 Black Hawks. In 2000 Boeing bought it and merged it with ASTA; since 2009 it has been Boeing Aerostructures Australia. Along the way it refurbished 16 ex-US Navy S-2G Trackers for the Royal Australian Navy in 1976 and made landing gear and hydraulic components for Australia’s F/A-18 Hornets.

Fabrieken

• Bankstown works · Bankstown, Sydney — Main post-war plant; Vampire, PC-9/A and Black Hawk assembly
• Mascotte · Sydney — Base from 1930
• Vissersbocht · Melbourne — Former CAC plant acquired in 1985

Mensen

• Hereward de Havilland · oprichter
• Brian “Black Jack” Walker · chief test pilot — Flew the first Australian-built Vampire, 1949