de Havilland Propellers

1930s 1940s 1950s

The de Havilland (DH) Aircraft Company was formed in 1920 by aircraft designer and pioneer Geoffrey de Havilland following his departure from Airco. The company was initially based at Stag Lane Aerodrome in Edgware but in 1930 moved to a larger site in Hatfield.

de Havilland Propellers Limited was established as a division of de Havilland Aircraft in 1935 to manufacture licence-built variable pitch propellers from the Hamilton Standard Company of America.

On the advice of Joe Standring, the propeller production manager who was from Bolton a site at Lostock near Bolton was chosen because it was an area of high unemployment and likely to be away from the risk of air raids. The site was once used by Alan Cobham's Air Circus.

After using a temporary site at Garside St, the huge factory was completed in only 9 months. During WW2 DH manufactured 77,000 propellers and repaired a further 41,000.

(Monochrome Photograph) - Working on a DH propeller blade
(Colour Photograph) - Shackleton DH propellers

DH Propellers were fitted to some of the most famous aeroplanes used during WW2 such as the Spitfire and Hurricane. They were used on most of the aeroplanes made around Manchester including the Fairey-built Halifax and Beaufighters, the Hillson-built Proctor, the Avro-built Blenheim, the Avro York and Manchester, but most notably de Havilland 3-bladed propellers were used on the Avro Lancaster.

During WW2 de Havilland produced contra-rotating propellers (two propellers in line rotating in opposite directions), and though none went into production during the war years, development continued and were used later on the Avro Shackleton.

Spitfire Propellers for Malta (Scan the QR code) to read a press report about a special effort by de Havilland staff to produce urgently needed Spitfire Propellers to help protect Malta.

Avro Tudor Propeller repairs for the Berlin Airlift (Scan the QR code) to read a press report about a special effort by de Havilland staff to urgently repair Avro Tudor propellers needed for the Berlin Airlift.

Propeller manufacture continued after WW2, but de Havilland diversified producing undercarriage for the DH Comet airliner and later into industrial equipment and the production of missiles. In 1960 they became part of Hawker Siddeley Dynamics which became BAe Dynamics before combining with the French company Matra Défense to form Matra BAein 1996 and then merging with missile systems companies from Italy, Germany, and Spain to create MBDA Missile Systems in 2001.

Although the Lostock location was chosen partly because it was considered to be away from any potential air raids, it was the subject of a failed German bombing raid on 3rd July 1942.

Two German Junkers Ju88 had set out to bomb the propeller factory. However, low cloud prevented them from finding their target and as they made their way home fatally bombed the Derbyshire villages of New Mills and Hayfield.
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