The de Havilland Gipsy Moth is a 1920s British two-seat biplane light aircraft powered by the famous de Havilland Gipsy engine, and it is the airplane that launched a family of aircraft that reshaped private aviation across the world. Built at Hatfield by Geoffrey de Havilland’s company, the Gipsy Moth became the template for nearly every Moth that followed, including the legendary Tiger Moth trainer of World War 2.
In this guide, I walk through the full de Havilland Moth family from its origin in the early 1920s through to the post-war flying clubs that kept these aircraft alive. I cover the Gipsy engine itself, the reason these aircraft were named after moths, the achievements of pilots like Amy Johnson, and the dozens of variants that spun off the original DH.60 design.
If you have ever looked up at a Tiger Moth at an airshow and wondered how it connects to a Gipsy Moth, or how a lepidopterist inspired one of aviation’s most successful aircraft families, you are in the right place.
Table of Contents
- Who Was Geoffrey de Havilland and Why Did He Build the Moth Family?
- Why Is It Called a Moth? The Lepidopterist Connection
- The DH.60 Moth and the Birth of the Gipsy Engine
- Gipsy Moth Achievements and Amy Johnson’s Record Flights
- The Tiger Moth: The Most Famous Moth of All
- Other Moth Variants: Fox, Leopard, Puss, Hornet, and Giant
- The Gipsy Engine Family: Technical Specifications
- Flying Clubs and the Legacy of the Moth Family
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Conclusion
Who Was Geoffrey de Havilland and Why Did He Build the Moth Family?
Geoffrey de Havilland was a British aviation pioneer who founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company in 1920 and designed nearly every Moth-family aircraft personally. He had already built combat aircraft for the Royal Aircraft Factory during World War 1 before turning his attention to light civil aircraft after the war ended.
After the war, de Havilland was convinced that private flying would only grow if there were cheap, simple, and reliable aircraft ordinary people could buy and operate. The Moth family was his answer to that problem: lightweight biplanes with folding wings, simple construction, and engines his own company could build and support.
The first de Havilland Moth aircraft, the DH.60 Cirrus Moth, flew in February 1925. It used an ADC Cirrus engine and immediately proved that de Havilland’s instincts were correct. Pilots loved it, flying schools ordered it, and within five years the Moth had become the backbone of British private aviation.
Hatfield and the Home of the Moth
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was based at Hatfield Aerodrome in Hertfordshire, England. Hatfield became the spiritual home of the Moth family, with prototypes built, tested, and refined in the same hangars where the later Mosquito would eventually roll out during World War 2.
The factory also produced engines, which turned out to be a critical advantage. When the ADC Cirrus engine supply became unreliable, de Havilland simply designed his own engine: the Gipsy. That single decision transformed the Moth from a successful design into the foundation of an entire aviation ecosystem.
Why Is It Called a Moth? The Lepidopterist Connection
The de Havilland Moth family is named after moths because Geoffrey de Havilland was a keen amateur lepidopterist who collected and studied butterflies and moths in his spare time. He named each aircraft in the family after a different moth or butterfly species, which is why the range includes the Gipsy Moth, Tiger Moth, Fox Moth, Leopard Moth, Puss Moth, and Hornet Moth.
The naming started with the DH.60, which was simply called the “Moth” because of its small size and insect-like appearance in flight. From there, every major variant picked up a moth or butterfly-related name, even when the aircraft had very different roles from the original.
The name “Gipsy” follows the same logic. The Gipsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) is a famous species of moth well-known to naturalists in the early 20th century. By calling the DH.60G the “Gipsy Moth,” de Havilland was naming it after the engine that powered it, while staying faithful to his moth-naming tradition.
Why the Naming Convention Mattered
The moth naming convention gave de Havilland’s aircraft an instantly recognisable identity. A pilot seeing a Fox Moth or Puss Moth at an aerodrome in 1932 knew immediately that it came from the same family as the Gipsy Moth and Tiger Moth, even if the aircraft looked very different.
It also reflected de Havilland’s personality. He was a quiet, methodical designer who named aircraft with the same care he applied to engineering them. The convention has stuck for nearly a century, and modern restoration projects still use the original names without modification.
The DH.60 Moth and the Birth of the Gipsy Engine
The DH.60 Moth was the original 1925 design that started the entire family, but it was the introduction of the Gipsy engine in 1928 that turned it into a world-beating touring and training aircraft. The transition from the unreliable Cirrus engine to the de Havilland-built Gipsy I was the moment the Moth family found its true identity.
The DH.60 was a conventional two-seat biplane with staggered wings, a plywood-covered fuselage, and fabric-covered wings. It was simple to maintain, easy to fly, and cheap enough that private owners could afford one. The Cirrus engine worked well when it worked, but production problems with the Cirrus Hermes II created long delays for new aircraft deliveries.
De Havilland responded by designing his own engine, the Gipsy I, which first flew in a Moth in 1927 and entered production the following year. The Gipsy I was a 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine producing around 60 horsepower, and it was so reliable that pilots took off on long overseas flights with confidence.
Why the Gipsy Engine Changed Everything
Before the Gipsy engine, Moth pilots had to deal with engine failures, parts shortages, and unreliable supply chains. After the Gipsy engine, Moth pilots had a powerplant built by the same company that built the aircraft, with full spares support and continuous development.
The Gipsy I proved so successful that de Havilland followed it with the Gipsy II (which raised power to about 90 hp), then the Gipsy III, and eventually a whole family of engines. Several of those engines went on to power the Moth variants discussed later in this article.
The integrated engine-and-aircraft approach became a hallmark of de Havilland’s philosophy. The company controlled the entire product from propeller to tail, which gave it a reliability advantage competitors struggled to match.
Gipsy Moth Achievements and Amy Johnson’s Record Flights
The Gipsy Moth became one of the most record-setting light aircraft of the late 1920s and early 1930s, and no pilot is more closely associated with its achievements than Amy Johnson, the English aviator who used a Gipsy Moth named “Jason” to become the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia in 1930.
Amy Johnson’s flight from Croydon to Darwin covered roughly 17,000 kilometres (11,000 miles) over 19.5 days, with multiple forced landings and engine changes along the way. The fact that she completed the journey in a standard production Gipsy Moth was itself the proof of how capable the aircraft had become.
Other pilots followed with their own records. Charles Kingsford Smith used a Gipsy Moth variant for long-distance flights, and Jim Mollison completed record-breaking crossings in the early 1930s. The aircraft quickly earned a reputation as a dependable long-distance touring machine.
Why the Gipsy Moth Made Long-Distance Possible
Three factors made the Gipsy Moth ideal for record flights. First, the Gipsy engine was reliable enough to survive multiple takeoffs and landings in remote locations. Second, the aircraft’s folding wings allowed it to be stored in small hangars and sheds, including improvised shelters in outback Australia. Third, the airframe was simple enough that mechanics with basic training could repair it almost anywhere.
Combined, these factors meant a Gipsy Moth could be flown to places no other light aircraft of the era could reliably reach. That capability made it the aircraft of choice for the golden age of aviation records.
Amy Johnson’s story remains the most famous Gipsy Moth achievement. She went on to set additional records, including a solo flight from England to Japan in 1931, before her death in 1941 while serving with the Air Transport Auxiliary. Her original “Jason” Gipsy Moth is preserved in the Science Museum in London.
The Tiger Moth: The Most Famous Moth of All
The de Havilland Tiger Moth is the most famous Moth in the family and one of the most recognised training aircraft in aviation history. It was developed from the Gipsy Moth in the early 1930s and became the backbone of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during World War 2, training tens of thousands of military pilots.
The Tiger Moth was designed specifically for flying schools. It had a more robust structure than the Gipsy Moth, a slightly different wing arrangement for better visibility during instructional flights, and dual controls so an instructor could fly from the rear cockpit while teaching a student in the front.
The Royal Air Force ordered large numbers of Tiger Moths in the years before World War 2, and production accelerated dramatically after 1939. By the end of the war, more than 7,000 Tiger Moths had been built in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, making it one of the most produced trainers in history.
Why Is It Called the Tiger Moth?
The Tiger Moth gets its name from the same lepidopterist tradition that named the Gipsy Moth, the Fox Moth, and the Leopard Moth. The “tiger” name refers to the tiger moth (Arctia caja), a brightly patterned British moth species well-known to naturalists in the 1930s.
Some aviation writers have claimed the name came from the aircraft’s “fierce” appearance in yellow RAF training colours, but de Havilland’s own naming convention is the real source. The yellow paint scheme was a wartime visibility choice and came after the aircraft had already been named.
Tiger Moth Post-War Legacy
After World War 2, thousands of surplus Tiger Moths flooded the civilian market at low prices. Many ended up with flying clubs, private owners, and crop-dusting operations. The aircraft’s forgiving handling made it ideal for pilots learning to fly in the post-war boom.
The Tiger Moth is still flying today. Airshows, heritage flights, and aerobatic display teams use restored Tiger Moths, and the type remains popular with warbird enthusiasts around the world.
Other Moth Variants: Fox, Leopard, Puss, Hornet, and Giant
The de Havilland Moth family includes more than two dozen named variants built between 1925 and the late 1930s, and the major variants each represented a different role or technical step from the original Gipsy Moth. Below are the most significant Moth variants beyond the Gipsy Moth and Tiger Moth.
DH.71 Tiger Moth (Original)
The original Tiger Moth (DH.71) was a single-seat ultra-light racer that first flew in 1927. Only one was built, but it set a new world air speed record for light aircraft. It is not to be confused with the later DH.82 Tiger Moth trainer that became famous in WW2.
DH.83 Fox Moth
The Fox Moth was a four-seat development of the DH.60 designed in 1932 as a small airliner and touring aircraft. It retained the folding wings of earlier Moths, and its cabin could seat three passengers behind the pilot. Fox Moths were used by small airlines in Canada, Australia, and Africa, where their rugged construction handled rough airstrips well.
DH.85 Leopard Moth
The Leopard Moth of 1933 was a three-seat cabin monoplane designed for touring. It abandoned the biplane layout of earlier Moths and used a plywood monocoque fuselage, which was a significant technical step forward. About 132 were built.
DH.87 Hornet Moth
The Hornet Moth of 1934 was a two-seat cabin biplane intended as a private owner touring aircraft. It used the Gipsy Major engine and offered better comfort than the open-cockpit Gipsy Moth. About 164 were built, and a small number remained in civilian use into the post-war decades.
DH.80 Puss Moth
The Puss Moth of 1929 was a high-performance two-seat touring monoplane that could carry a passenger in an enclosed cabin. It became popular with private owners who wanted cross-country speed and comfort. About 284 were built, including versions used by the RAF for communications duties.
DH.86 Giant Moth and Moth Minor
The DH.86 Giant Moth of 1934 was a four-engine biplane airliner designed for small airlines serving routes too short for larger aircraft. About 62 were built. At the other end of the scale, the DH.94 Moth Minor of 1938 was a small two-seat monoplane designed specifically for the private owner market, with only about 38 built before war broke out.
Moth Major
The Moth Major was a military trainer variant of the DH.60G Gipsy Moth, used by the RAF in the 1930s to bridge the gap between civilian pilot training and the more demanding Tiger Moth. It had an enclosed cabin and the Gipsy II engine. Only 30 were built.
The Gipsy Engine Family: Technical Specifications
The de Havilland Gipsy engine was a family of 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engines designed specifically for Moth aircraft. The inverted layout placed the cylinders below the crankshaft, which gave pilots better forward visibility over the nose of the aircraft.
Gipsy I
The original Gipsy I engine developed around 60 horsepower and displaced about 1,770 cc. It powered the DH.60G Gipsy Moth and was the engine that established the Moth family’s reputation for reliability.
Gipsy II
The Gipsy II raised output to around 90 horsepower by increasing displacement and compression. It was used in the Moth Major and later Gipsy Moth variants, giving them better takeoff performance and higher cruising speeds.
Gipsy Major
The Gipsy Major was a further development that produced around 130 horsepower. It powered the Hornet Moth and several later Moth variants, and remained in production into the post-war era for use in the Tiger Moth and other light aircraft.
Why Inverted Inline?
De Havilland chose an inverted inline configuration for two reasons. First, the cylinders pointing downward gave the pilot an unobstructed forward view over the nose, which mattered for navigation and training. Second, the inverted layout kept the engine’s heaviest components low in the airframe, which improved handling.
The same logic would later drive the design of the de Havilland Gipsy Six and Gipsy Queen engines used in larger aircraft such as the Dragon Rapide and the Fox Moth.
Flying Clubs and the Legacy of the Moth Family
One of the most important consequences of the Moth family was the growth of the British flying club movement in the 1930s. Schemes like the Light Aero Club of the Air Ministry, supported by the de Havilland company and local aircraft owners, made private flying accessible to thousands of people who otherwise could not have afforded it.
By 1939 there were more than 80 flying clubs in Britain, the majority of which operated Gipsy Moths and Tiger Moths. Many of those clubs still exist today, often with Tiger Moths still in their fleet or affiliated with private owners who fly them.
Post-War Survival
After World War 2, hundreds of surplus Tiger Moths and a smaller number of Gipsy Moths entered the civilian market at low prices. Many went to flying clubs, private owners, and small commercial operators, and a significant number of those aircraft are still airworthy today.
The de Havilland Moth Club, founded in 1978, coordinates the preservation and restoration of Moth-family aircraft around the world. Annual Moth rallies bring dozens of Moth aircraft together at airfields across the UK, often drawing significant public interest.
Why the Moth Family Still Matters
The de Havilland Moth family matters because it represents the moment when private aviation stopped being the preserve of the wealthy and became something ordinary people could do. The combination of an affordable airframe and a reliable engine built by the same company produced an aircraft family that truly democratised flying.
More than a century after the first Moth flew, you can still see Tiger Moths at airshows, Gipsy Moths at vintage rallies, and Fox Moths at the occasional fly-in. The aircraft family de Havilland built around his lepidopterist hobby has outlasted many designs that were more technically advanced at the time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called the gypsy moth?
The de Havilland Gipsy Moth is called a moth because Geoffrey de Havilland was an amateur lepidopterist, and he named every Moth-family aircraft after a real moth or butterfly species. The word Gipsy refers to the Gipsy Moth butterfly (Lymantria dispar) and also to the de Havilland Gipsy engine that powered the DH.60G variant introduced in 1928.
What is the Havilland gypsy moth?
The de Havilland Gipsy Moth is a 1920s British two-seat biplane light aircraft designed by Geoffrey de Havilland and powered by the de Havilland Gipsy engine. It first flew in 1927 in Gipsy-engine form and entered production in 1928, becoming the aircraft that launched the broader de Havilland Moth family and enabled the British flying club movement.
What is a gipsy moth?
A Gipsy Moth, in aviation terms, refers to the de Havilland DH.60G Gipsy Moth, a 1920s British biplane powered by the de Havilland Gipsy I engine. Outside aviation, a gipsy moth (also spelled gypsy moth) is a species of moth (Lymantria dispar) native to Europe and Asia, and the source of the de Havilland aircraft family name.
How many de Havilland Moths were built?
More than 10,000 de Havilland Moth-family aircraft were built across all variants between 1925 and the late 1930s. The Tiger Moth alone accounted for around 7,000 aircraft built during World War 2, with the Gipsy Moth, Fox Moth, Leopard Moth, Puss Moth, Hornet Moth, Moth Major, Moth Minor, and Giant Moth adding thousands more.
What engine did the Gipsy Moth use?
The Gipsy Moth used the de Havilland Gipsy I engine, a 4-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline engine producing around 60 horsepower. Later variants used the Gipsy II (about 90 hp) and the Gipsy Major (about 130 hp), all designed and built by de Havilland to ensure reliable supply and support for Moth operators.
What is the difference between the Gipsy Moth and the Tiger Moth?
The Gipsy Moth was an open-cockpit two-seat touring biplane introduced in 1928, while the Tiger Moth was a 1930s military trainer derivative with enclosed cockpits and dual controls. The Tiger Moth was specifically designed for flying schools and became the standard RAF trainer during World War 2, training tens of thousands of military pilots.
Conclusion
The de Havilland Moth family explained through its Gipsy engine roots is one of the most important aircraft lineages in aviation history. Geoffrey de Havilland’s lepidopterist hobby gave the family its name, the Gipsy engine gave it reliability, and the Gipsy Moth’s record flights proved what it could do. Every Moth that followed, from the Fox Moth to the famous Tiger Moth, carried that legacy forward.
If you want to see a Moth in person, look for the de Havilland Moth Club’s annual rallies, visit the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre at Salisbury Hall, or attend one of the summer airshows where Tiger Moths and Gipsy Moths still take to the sky. These aircraft are not museum pieces, they are living history.
The Gipsy Moth and the wider Moth family remain a powerful reminder that good design, simple engineering, and clear naming conventions can produce aircraft that outlast generations of more complex machines.