Henry Haberfield Thomas

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Henry Haberfield Thomas
Born(1886-05-11)11 May 1886
Bristol, England
Died17 October 1918(1918-10-17) (aged 32)
NationalityBritish
OccupationAircraft designer
Known forSaunders T.1

Henry Haberfield Thomas (11 May 1886 – 17 October 1918) was an English aircraft designer and chief designer at Limited. Only one of his designs flew before he was killed by the 1918 flu pandemic.

Early life[]

Thomas was born in Bristol on 11 May 1886.[1]

Aircraft designer[]

In 1909 he joined the British & Colonial Aeroplane Company moving in 1914 to Vickers in London. At the start of the first world war he moved to the Royal Aircraft Factory.[1] In July 1916 he was appointed the chief designer at Limited on the Isle of Wight.[1] Thomas first design to fly was the Saunders T.1 a two-seat biplane, it first flew in 1917 but only one was built.[1] His next project was a large flying boat bomber named Great Britain designed to carry a 1,000 lbs of bombs to Berlin.[1] The design was not built possibly due to Thomas contracting influenza from which he died on 17 October 1918.[1]

Family life[]

Thomas married in May 1917 to Martha Jessie Paterson and they had a daughter in May 1918.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Philip Jarrett (October 2010). "Hidden History - Saunder's First-born". Aeroplane Monthly. London: IPC Media: 38–42. ISSN 0143-7240.
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