George Holt Thomas established the
Aircraft Manufacturing Company (
Airco) at
The Hyde[?] in
Hendon, north
London,
England during
1912. Geoffrey
de Havilland joined two years later as the chief designer. More than 2280 examples of the DH6 trainer were built and the DH9A became one of the outstanding
strategic bombers of
World War I. The company's DH16 and DH18 types were operated by Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, the first
airline established in the
United Kingdom, that was also owned by George Holt Thomas. Following the cessation of hostilities the company's undue reliance on military orders became a handicap however and the company became bankrupt in 1920. Its assets were bought by the Birmingham Small Arms Company
BSA which did not pursue aviation-related business.