The slightly less well known

[Angry Turnip]

Bristol Jupiter Fighter / Type 89 Trainer

The Bristol Aeroplane Company authorised the conversion of three war-surplus F.2 airframes to use the Jupiter engine, to create the Type 76 Jupiter Fighter, which it was also hoped to sell as a fighter to foreign air forces.

The first of these three aircraft flew in June 1923. While the engine installation proved satisfactory, as the Type 76 had the same fuel capacity as the F.2, the increased fuel consumption of the Jupiter compared with the F.2's original Rolls-Royce Falcon meant that the aircraft had inadequate range for use as a fighter ,also the slipstream over the observer's cockpit meant that the observer could not use his .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun. Because of these flaws, no more Type 76s were built after the initial three.

While unsuitable as a fighter, the success of the engine installation resulted in the decision to produce an advanced trainer version, to supplement the Siddeley Puma-engined Bristol Tourers already in use in this role. The result of this combination was the Type 89 Trainer, a total of 23 of which were produced.
The Jupiter-powered advanced trainers entered service with the Bristol-operated Reserve Flying School at Filton in 1924. They were also used by the Reserve Flying School operated by William Beardmore and Company, with the Beardmore-owned aircraft being powered by Jupiter VI engines, while the Filton-based aircraft were powered by surplus Jupiter IV engines, as an economy measure. They remained in use at Renfrew until 1928, and at Filton until 1933, when they were replaced by Hawker Hart trainers and scrapped.

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[Angry Turnip]

Bristol Berkeley

The Bristol Berkeley was a government a single-engine day or night bomber from the mid 1920`s.

It was a fabric-covered all-metal structured three-bay biplane, with equal span, unswept and unstaggered wings with Frise-type ailerons on the upper and lower planes. Structurally, the wings were of rolled steel and duralumin.The fuselage was built from steel tubes and had a rectangular cross section. The pilot sat forward of the leading edge of the wing in an open cockpit and the gunner/observer in a cockpit further back, fitted with a ring-mounted .303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis Gun. He could also access a bomb aimer's position,by laying on the aircraft floor.

The 650 hp Condor engine drove a two-blade propeller and had, after some Air Ministry input, a nose-mounted radiator under the propeller shaft. The Ministry advised that the wings of the first two Berkeleys of the three specified in the contract should have wooden wings for speed of completion, with the third to be all metal. Leitner-Watts Metal airscrews were required for the second and third machine. The first Berkeley flew on 5 March 1925.

The second Berkeley was accepted by the Air Ministry in December 1925 and the all-metal third one in the following June. All three went to the (RAE) for testing flights. The second aircraft undertook comparative trials of a four-blade wooden airscrew against its original two-blade steel one. One of the three Berkeleys was still flying with the RAE at the end of 1930.

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[Angry Turnip]

Bristol Buckingham

The Bristol Type 163 Buckingham was a World War II medium bomber for the RAF.

The Beaumont was based on the rear fuselage and tail of a Beaufighter, with a new centre and front fuselage. The armament was a mid-upper turret with four machine guns, four more machine guns firing forward and two firing to the rear.Construction began in late 1940, changes in the requirements,meant the Beaumont would no longer be suitable. The changes in performance meant a redesign by Bristol to use the 2520 hp Bristol Centaurus engine.

The Bristol redesign with a larger wing and the more powerful engines was the Type 163 Buckingham.It had gun installations in the nose, dorsal and ventral turrets. Generally conventional in appearance, one unusual feature was that the bomb-aimer/navigator was housed in a mid-fuselage ventral gondola which had a hydraulically powered turret with two 0.303 Browning machine guns. The Bristol-designed dorsal turret carried four Brownings. A further four fixed, forward-firing Brownings were controlled by the pilot.The first flight took place on 4 February 1943.During testing, the Buckingham exhibited poor stability which led to the enlargement of the twin fins, along with other modifications.

The Buckingham was not considered suitable for unescorted daytime use over Europe and in January 1944, it was decided that all Buckinghams would be sent overseas to replace Vickers Wellingtons.Once the Buckingham's handling problems were revealed, it was realised that the type was of little use. As a result, it was cancelled in August 1944.but to keep the Bristol workforce together, for later production of other types, a batch of 119 were built. Uses for the aircraft were sought and a conversion to a communications aircraft was devised.

After the first 54 had been built as bombers, the remainder were converted for duties with RAF Transport Command. The gun installations were removed and four seats and windows fitted in the fuselage. The aircraft was named Buckingham C.1. Despite its 300 mph speed and superior range to the Mosquito transports, with room for only four passengers, the Buckingham was rarely put to use.A total of 65 Buckingham bombers were unfinished on the production line and ended up being rebuilt as the Buckmaster, a trainer for the similar Brigand.Considered the "highest performance trainer in the RAF," the Buckmaster continued to serve as a trainer until its eventual retirement in the mid-1950s.

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[Angry Turnip]

Bristol Buckmaster

The Bristol Buckmaster was an advanced training aircraft from the mid 1940`s.

The Buckmaster was a propeller-driven, twin-engine mid-wing aircraft. The retractable undercarriage was of conventional (tailwheel) configuration. The radial engines were equipped with four-blade propellers.It was powered by a pair of Bristol Centaurus 57 eighteen-cylinder air-cooled radial engines, of 2,585 hp each.

A total of 65 Buckingham bombers were unfinished on the production line and ended up being rebuilt as the Buckmaster, to add the production series. All were intended to serve as a trainer for the similar Brigand. Blind flying instruction and instrument training could be undertaken, the normal crew complement being pilot, instructor and air signaller. The last Training Command Buckmasters served with the No. 238 OCU at Colerne into the mid-fifties; the transfer of one or two to Filton for experimental work marked its retirement in the mid-1950s.

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[Angry Turnip]

Bristol Superfreighter

The Bristol Type 170 Superfreighter Mk 32 was a larger, stretched version of the Bristol Freighter.

The first Superfreighters, with a longer - 42 ft 3 in - hold than the earlier Mark 31, were delivered to Silver City Airways in spring 1953 and were used on cross-channel services to Europe. One example was converted to a 60-seat all-passenger "Super Wayfarer".The Mark 32 could carry 20 passengers instead of 12 in the smaller Mark 31 Freighter, and three cars instead of two in its air ferry role.

The Superfreighter was distinguishable from the earlier Freighter by having a longer nose, in which the extra car was carried, and a fin fillet as well as rounded wingtips.
Power was a pair of Bristol Hercules 734 14-cylinder air-cooled radial piston engines, 2,000 hp each, which gave a max speed of 225mph but a more usual cruise of 165 mph.

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[Angry Turnip]

Bristol Bombay

The Bristol Bombay was a troop transport aircraft adaptable for use as a medium bomber from late 1930`s.

The aircraft was required to be capable of carrying 24 troops or an equivalent load of cargo as a transport, while carrying bombs and defensive guns for use as a bomber. This dual-purpose design concept was common to British pre-war designs.
It was a high-wing cantilever monoplane of all-metal construction.The wing design had a stressed metal skin rivetted to an internal framework consisting of multiple spars and ribs.This was the basis of the Bombay's wing, which had seven spars, with high-tensile steel flanges.The aircraft had a twin-tail and a fixed tailwheel undercarriage.The aircraft's crew consisted of a pilot, who sat in an enclosed cockpit, a navigator/bomb-aimer, whose working position was in the nose, and a radio-operator/gunner, who divided his time between the radio operator's position behind the cockpit and a gun turret in the nose. When the aircraft was operated as a bomber, an additional gunner was carried to man the tail gun position.

A prototype Type 130 was ordered in March 1933 and first flew on 23 June 1935,powered by two 750 hp Bristol Pegasus III radial engines driving two-bladed propellers. Testing was successful and an order for 80 was placed as the Bombay in July 1937.These differed from the prototype in having more powerful 1,010 hp engines driving three-bladed Rotol variable-pitch propellers, and discarded the wheel spats fitted to the undercarriage. Production aircraft were built by Short & Harland of Belfast,however the complex nature of the Bombay's wing delayed production, with the first Bombay not being delivered until 1939 and the last 30 being cancelled.

The first production Bombay flew in March 1939, with deliveries to No. 216 Squadron RAF based in Egypt beginning in September that year.Although it was outclassed as a bomber for the European theatre, it saw some service ferrying supplies to the BEF in France in 1940.The Bombay's main service was in the Middle East, with 216 Squadron, which operated most of the Bombays built at some stage.Bombays evacuated over 2,000 wounded during the Sicily campaign in 1943, and one crew was credited with carrying 6,000 casualties from Sicily and Italy before the type was finally withdrawn from use in 1944.

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[Angry Turnip]

Bristol Type 146

The Bristol Type 146 was a British single-seat, eight-gun fighter monoplane prototype from 1938.

The Bristol 146 was built to an Air Ministry order for a prototype single-seat eight-gun fighter meeting a specification issued in 1934. It called for an air-cooled engine for overseas use.The Type 146 was a low-wing cantilever monoplane with tapering wings of moderate dihedral on the outer sections. The wings were stress skinned with aluminium with only the ailerons and tail control surfaces fabric-covered. The two sets of four .303 in (7.7 mm) Browning machine guns were housed in the outer wing sections.

The undercarriage was mounted halfway along the centre section and retracted cleanly inwards into the wing; the tailwheel was also fully retractable. The fuselage was a monocoque structure and the cockpit was enclosed with a one-piece sliding canopy.It was intended to be powered by a supercharged Bristol Perseus sleeve valve radial engine, but this was not ready and the older, lower-horsepower 840hp Mercury IX was used instead.

The Type 146 flew for the first time on 11 February 1938.Though the aircraft met the specification, neither it nor any of the other competing designs was taken into production. The RAF believed that the future of British fighter design was with the emerging Rolls-Royce Merlin-engined aircraft which had more power and cleaner aerodynamics. The second Type 146 prototype was cancelled, while K5119 continued to fly.It was the last single-engined fighter to be built by Bristol.

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[Angry Turnip]

Bristol 188

The Bristol 188 was a supersonic research aircraft built in the 1950s.

Bristol gave the project the type number 188, of which three aircraft were to be built, one a pure test bed and the other two (constructor numbers 13518 and 13519) for flight testing.Serial numbers XF923 and XF926 were given on 4 January 1954 to the two that would fly. To support the development of the Avro 730 Mach 3 reconnaissance bomber, another three aircraft were ordered (Serial Numbers XK429, XK434 and XK436). The follow-up order was cancelled when the Avro 730 programme was cancelled in 1957 as part of that year's review of defence spending. The 188 project was continued as a high speed research aircraft.

The advanced nature of the aircraft meant that new construction methods had to be developed. Several materials were considered for construction and two specialist grades of steel were selected: a titanium-stabilized 18-8 austenitic steel and a 12%-Cr steel used in gas turbines. These had to be manufactured to better tolerances in sufficient quantities for construction to start. The 12% chromium stainless steel with a honeycomb centre was used for the construction of the outer skin, to which no paint was applied.

The specification required engine installations which permitted the fitting of different air intakes, engines and propelling nozzles.The 188 was intended to have Avon engines but the half ton lighter each Gyron Junior was substituted in June 1957, meaning the engines were mounted further forward with longer nacelles and jet pipes.
The Gyron Junior was under development for the Saunders-Roe SR.177 supersonic interceptor and incorporated a fully variable reheat, from idle to full power, the first such application used in an aircraft.This choice of powerplant resulted in the 188 having a typical endurance of only 25 minutes, not long enough for the high-speed tests required.

In May 1960, the first airframe was delivered to the RAE at Farnborough for structural tests – loading tests both heated and unheated – before moving on to RAE Bedford. XF923 undertook the first taxiing trials on 26 April 1961, although due to problems encountered, the first flight was not until 14 April 1962. XF923 was intended to remain with Bristol for its initial flights and evaluation before turning it over to the MoA. XF926 had its first flight, using XF923s engines, on 26 April 1963. XF926 was given over to RAE Bedford for its flying programme. Over 51 flights, it managed a top speed of Mach 1.88 (1,440 mph at 36,000 ft (11,000 m). The longest subsonic Bristol 188 flight was only 48 minutes in length, requiring 70% of the fuel load to be expended to attain its operational altitude.

The project suffered a number of problems, the main being that the fuel consumption of the engines did not allow the aircraft to fly at high speeds long enough to evaluate the heating of the airframe, which was one of the main research areas it was built to investigate. Combined with fuel leaks, the inability to reach its design speed of Mach 2 and a takeoff speed at nearly 300 mph, the test phase was severely compromised.
The announcement that all development was terminated was made in 1964, the last flight of XF926 taking place on 12 January 1964. In total the project cost £20 million. By the end of the programme, considered the most expensive to date for a research aircraft in Great Britain, each aircraft had to be "cannibalised" in order to keep the designated airframe ready for flight.
XF926 was dismantled and moved to RAF Cosford (without its engines) to act as instructional airframe 8368M, and is preserved at the RAF Museum Cosford.

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[Angry Turnip]

Bristol Belvedere

The Bristol Type 192 Belvedere is a twin-engine, tandem rotor military helicopter from the late 1950`s.

The Belvedere was based on the Bristol Type 173 10-seat (later 16-seat) civilian helicopter which first flew on 3 January 1952. The 173 project was cancelled in 1956 and Bristol spent time on the Type 191,the RAF expressed an interest in the aircraft and the Type 192 "Belvedere" was created. Three Type 191 airframes were almost complete when the order was cancelled, but they were used to aid the development of the Type 192. The first two were used as test rigs for the new Napier Gazelle engines and the third was used for fatigue tests.

The first Type 192 prototype XG447 flew on 5 July 1958 with tandem wooden rotor blades, a completely manual control system and a castored, fixed quadricycle undercarriage. From the fifth prototype, the rotors fitted were all-metal, four-bladed units. Production model controls and instruments allowed night operations. The prototype machines had an upwards-hinged main passenger and cockpit door, which was prone to being slammed shut by the downwash from the rotors,which was replaced by a sliding door on later aircraft.

26 Belvederes were built, entering service as the Belvedere HC Mark 1. The Belvederes were originally designed for use with the Royal Navy but were later adapted to carry 18 fully equipped troops with a total load capacity of 6,000 lb (2,700 kg). The rotors were synchronised through a shaft to prevent blade collision, allowing the aircraft to operate through only one engine in the event of an emergency. In that case, the remaining engine would automatically run up to double power to compensate.

In June 1960 the fifth prototype, XG452 set a speed record of 130 mph between Gatwick and Tripoli. In 1962 a 72 Squadron Belvedere lowered the 80 ft tall spire onto the new Coventry Cathedral.
The type was deployed to 72 Squadron in 1961 and 26 Squadron in 1962, all at RAF Odiham.The helicopters were transferred by HMS Albion to Singapore to join 66 Squadron until the squadron was disbanded in 1969. 72 Squadron kept its Belvederes until August 1964 when it exchanged them for Westland Wessex`s.
It was operated by the RAF from 1961 to 1969. The Belvedere was Britain's only tandem rotor helicopter to enter production, and one of the few not built by Boeing or Piasecki.

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[Angry Turnip]

Central Centaur IIA

The Central Centaur IIA, or Central C.F.2a, was a civil six-passenger pleasure flight biplane aircraft produced by Central Aircraft Company Limited of London.

Designated the Centaur IIB the first aircraft, registered G-EAHR, first flew during July 1919.The fuselage had an open cockpit for the two crew and six passengers. A second example, registered G-EAPC, was built. It had the same designation Centaur IIB but had an enclosed cabin for seven passengers. The second aircraft first flew in May 1920.The aircraft were powered by a pair of Beardmore 160 hp 6-cyl. in-line piston engines, which gave a max speed of 90 mph, and a cruise of 75mph.

The second aircraft was tested by the Air Ministry for the 1920 Commercial Aeroplane Competition.It was described at the time as outdated and low-powered, another problem was that loaded with the fuel required for the three and half-hour test flight meant it was unable to carry passengers or pilots. The prototype was destroyed in an accident at Northolt Aerodrome in July 1919,shortly after the competition. The second aircraft crashed on the 25 September 1920 at Hayes, Middlesex, with a loss of six lives. No further aircraft were built.

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[Angry Turnip]

Chilton D.W.1

The Chilton D.W.1 is a light sporting monoplane designed and built in the late 1930s by Chilton Aircraft.

The Chilton D.W.1 was designed in early 1937 by two ex de Havilland Technical School students who formed Chilton Aircraft Limited for the purpose. The aircraft was intended to be cheap to build and operate, yet have an exceptional performance on low power. This was derived from its aerodynamically clean design with an all-wood airframe with plywood skin. Only the control surfaces and the trailing edge of the wing behind the rear spar were fabric covered.

The first three aircraft were powered by the 32 h.p. Carden-Ford.Initial flight trials with the prototype G-AESZ were made at Witney airfield in April 1937,revealing that some minor modifications were needed to the engine and propeller. The first public appearance was made at Southend Airport on 4 September 1937. The second and third aircraft were completed and sold in 1938. The final aircraft was completed in July 1939 and was powered by the new French-built 44 h.p. Train 4T four-cylinder inverted inline air-cooled engine. This aircraft (G-AFSV) was designated the D.W.1A, took part in the Folkestone Aero Trophy Race at Lympne on 5 August 1939, winning at an average speed of 126 mph.

Two prewar Chiltons survived in airworthy condition in 2005 and the other two were restoration projects around that date.The British CAA register in May 2011 showed 3 aircraft with permits to fly. The first of these has the Carden-Ford engine and the others are powered by Walter Mikrons. In May 2020, of those 3 aircraft, only G-AFGI has a permit. However, both G-JUJU and G-DWCB are currently in permit as airworthy as well.

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[Angry Turnip]

Chrislea Super Ace

The Chrislea Super Ace is a 1940s British four-seat light aircraft from the late 1940`s built by Chrislea Aircraft Limited.

The Super Ace was developed from the Chrislea C.H.3 Series 1 Ace, a high-wing four seat cabin monoplane with a tricycle undercarriage and two fins. The Ace had an unusual 'steering wheel' control arrangement which eliminated the conventional rudder bar. The wheel was mounted on a universal joint; turning it applied aileron, moving it vertically applied elevator and sideways the rudder. It originally flew with a single vertical tail but was soon modified with twin fins. The lone C.H.3 Series 1 Ace first flew in Sept 1946.

The first production aircraft, the C.H.3 Series 2 Super Ace flew in February 1948.It was powered by a de Havilland Gipsy Major 10 inline piston engine. Wing and tailplane were now metal structures, the span was increased by 2 ft compared with the Ace, and the fins were smaller and rounder. The control system of the first Super Ace was not popular so that all other Series 3 machines had a rudder bar. Construction was started on a run of 32 aircraft, but only 18 Super Aces were completed and flown. Only 3 of these stayed in the UK; the rest were either immediately exported, exported after time in the UK or worked abroad under British registration.

The final variant,was the C.H.3 Series 4 Skyjeep, first flown in August 1949. The Skyjeep had a tailwheel landing gear, a conventional control stick instead of the wheel and removable top decking on the rear fuselage. A stretch of 8.5 in improved legroom and, combined with the accessible rear fuselage, provided a more flexible internal space. It was powered by a 155 hp Blackburn Cirrus Major 3 engine. Three Skyjeeps were built and sold in Uruguay, Indochina and Australia. The Australian machine flew there with a 200 hp de Havilland Gipsy Six engine, but has since been refitted with the Cirrus and is now flying in the UK.

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[Angry Turnip]

Civilian Coupé

The Civilian Coupé is a single-engined two-seat private monoplane built in 1929.

The Coupé was its only product, an aircraft of mixed metal and wood construction.It was aimed at the private pleasure flying market and was advanced for its day. The Coupé is a high-winged monoplane, the wing vee-strut braced to the lower fuselage longerons. The wings fold for transport and storage.It has a glazed centre section for an upward view from the enclosed cabin where pilot and passenger sit in seats almost side by side. Unusually for its time, the wheels have brakes and the flying controls are pushrod-operated.

The Coupé first flew in July 1929, powered by a 75 hp A.B.C. Hornet air-cooled flat four engine driving a two-bladed propeller. The sole aircraft with this engine became known as the Mk.I and all later Coupés, which used the 100 hp Armstrong Siddeley Genet Major I five-cylinder radial, as Mk.IIs. In both engine installations, cylinder heads are exposed for cooling.

In all, approx five Coupés were built,one of which, G-ABNT, still flies in 2010 though no others survive. The last Mk.II built went immediately to a German owner and crashed during the war but the other three Coupés were raced in the UK between 1931 and 1933.Later one of them was sold to a Dutch owner and the prototype also went abroad.By 1934 the Civilian Aircraft Company had closed down and only two Coupés were active.

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[Angry Turnip]

Comper Swift

The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift is a 1930s single-seat sporting aircraft produced by Comper Aircraft Company Ltd,Cheshire.

The prototype Swift first flew at in January 1930.The aircraft was a small single-seat, braced high-wing monoplane constructed of fabric-covered spruce wood frames.The first Swift was powered by a 40 hp ABC Scorpion piston engine. After successful tests, seven more aircraft were built in 1930, powered by a 50 hp Salmson A.D.9 radial engine. Trials with a Pobjoy P radial engine for use in air racing resulted in all the subsequent aircraft being powered by the 75hp Pobjoy R.

The last three factory-built aircraft were fitted with de Havilland Gipsy engines – two with 120 hp Gipsy Major III, and one with a 130 hp Gipsy Major. One of these Gipsy powered Swifts, owned by the then-Prince of Wales and future King Edward VIII, won second place in the 1932 King's Cup Race while being flown by his personal pilot. Postwar, surviving Swifts continued to compete successfully in UK air races into the mid-1950s.45 aircraft were built between 1930 and 1933.

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[Angry Turnip]

Comper Mouse

The Comper Mouse was a 1930s three-seat cabin monoplane designed by Nicholas Comper, and built by the Comper Aircraft Company.

The Mouse was a low-wing monoplane touring aircraft, powered by a 130 hp Gipsy Major piston engine. Construction was mainly of fabric-covered spruce wood frames, with some plywood-covered sections. It had folding wings, retractable main landing gear and fixed tailskid. Accommodation was for the pilot and two passengers, accessible via a sliding framed canopy, plus an additional luggage locker.
The first flight of the Mouse was on 11 September 1933.In an already competitive market for touring aircraft, the Mouse failed to attract sales, and only the one was completed before the company ceased trading in August 1934.

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Cranwell CLA.4

The Cranwell CLA.4 was a single-engined two-seat inverted sesquiplane from the mid 1920`s.

The Cranwell Light Aeroplane (CLA) club was formed in 1923 by staff and students at the RAF College Cranwell.One of their lecturers, Flt-Lt Nicholas Comper became chief designer of the three aircraft produced by the club as well as one, the CLA.1 that was not completed.[1] The last of the series, the CLA.4 was designed to compete in the 1926 Lympne Light Aeroplane Trials.Two were built for this competition, one powered by a Bristol Cherub engine and the other by the new Pobjoy P. Unfortunately, the latter engine failed its own trials not long before the Lympne event and only the Cherub powered aircraft took part.Since the CL.4 had been designed for the 65 hp Pobjoy, the 36 hp Cherub left it very much underpowered.

The two open cockpits were placed at the leading and trailing upper wing edges and fitted with dual controls. The flat twin Bristol Cherub III was mounted on a steel plate and smoothly partially cowled to a pointed nose.
Plans were sold to the Alberta Aero Club (now the Edmonton Flying Club) of Edmonton, Canada, which intended to build it as the Club's first aircraft. This project was not completed and the plans, incomplete airframe, two engines and parts were sold to Alf Want of Edmonton, who had done the most work on the project.In 1989 Want presented the remains to the Alberta Aviation Museum, Edmonton, where it is being restored to flying condition. In 2001 it was displayed in a half-covered state so its structure could be seen and appreciated.

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de Havilland DH.18

The de Havilland DH.18 was a single-engined biplane transport aircraft of the 1920s.

The DH.18 was a single-engined biplane, powered by a 450 hp Napier Lion engine with wooden two-bay, wire-braced wings, and a forward fuselage clad in plywood. It accommodated eight passengers in an enclosed cabin with the pilot in an open cockpit behind the cabin. The first prototype flew early in 1920.

The first DH.18 was delivered to Aircraft Transport and Travel for use on the Croydon-Paris service, but was wrecked in a forced landing from Croydon on 16 August 1920. Two more aircraft were under construction by Airco for Aircraft Transport and Travel when the bankrupt Airco was purchased by BSA, who did not wish to continue aircraft development or production. Geoffrey de Havilland, the chief designer of Airco then set up the de Havilland Aircraft Company, completing the two partly completed aircraft as DH.18As, with improved engine mountings and undercarriages.

AT and T closed down in early 1921,in March 1921, the British government granted temporary subsidies for airline services,with the Air Council purchasing a number of modern commercial aircraft for leasing to approved firms.The three ex-A.T.&T. DH.18s were purchased in this way and leased to Instone Air Line. A further DH.18A was built to Air Council order, as were two modified DH.18B, which had fuselages that were plywood-clad and had built-in emergency exits. The DH.18 was retired from commercial service in 1923, with one aircraft, G-EARO, having flown 90,000 mi (144,834 km) without accident.

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[Angry Turnip]

de Havilland DH.34

The de Havilland DH.34 was a single engined biplane airliner built by the in the 1920s.

The DH.34 had a wooden, plywood-clad fuselage, with the dual cockpit positioned ahead of the wings and cabin. It had two-bay wooden wings and was powered by a 450 hp Napier Lion engine, which was fitted for inertia starting, avoiding the necessity for hand swinging of the prop to start the engine.

Unusually, the design of the aircraft allowed an entire spare engine to be carried on board across the rear of the passenger cabin.The cabin door's unusual shape was to allow the engine to be loaded and unloaded, and a specially-fitted 'porthole' on the other side of the cabin would be removed to allow the propeller boss to protrude out the side of the aircraft. Spare engines were not carried routinely but this facility was used by operators to quickly fly spare engines out to aircraft that had suffered breakdown.

Two DH.34s were ordered by the Daimler Airway, as part of an initial batch of nine aircraft, with the first prototype (registered G-EBBQ) flying on 26 March 1922.The DH.34 entered service with Daimler on 2 April 1922 on the Croydon-Paris service.Daimler operated a total of six D.H.34s, four of which were leased from the Air Council, with Instone Air Line operating another four, all leased. One aircraft was built to the order of the Soviet airline Dobrolyot. When Imperial Airways was formed on 1 April 1924, by the merger of Daimler Airway, Instone Air Line, Handley Page Transport and the British Marine Air Navigation Company, it inherited six D.H.34s, retaining the type in service until March 1926.

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[Angry Turnip]

de Havilland DH.50

The de Havilland DH.50 was a 1920s large single-engined biplane transport.

The first DH.50 (registered G-EBFN) flew in August 1923 and only 17 aircraft were built by de Havilland; the rest were produced under licence in Australia, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia.The different aircraft had a wide variety of engine fits.

The second aircraft (registered G-EBFO) was re-engined with the Armstrong Siddeley Jaguar engine and was designated the DH.50J.The aircraft was popular in Australia and de Havilland licensed its production there, leading to 16 aircraft being built. Qantas built four DH.50As and three DH.50Js, Western Australian Airlines built three DH.50As, and Larkin Aircraft Supply Company built one DH.50A.
SABCA built three DH.50As in Brussels, Belgium and Aero built seven in Prague, then in Czechoslovakia.The British-built QANTAS DH.50 was modified in Longreach, Queensland, to suit the Australian Inland Mission as an aerial ambulance. The aircraft was called Victory by the Rev. J Flynn and was the first aircraft used by the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia.

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[Angry Turnip]

de Havilland Hercules

The de Havilland DH.66 Hercules was a 1920s seven-passenger, three-engined airliner.

The Hercules was designed for Imperial Airways when it took over the Cairo–Baghdad air route from the RAF. The Hercules was a three-engined two-bay biplane with room for seven and the ability to carry mail. In order to minimise the risk of forced landings over remote desert areas, the Hercules had three 420 hp radial engines. The fuselage was constructed using tubular steel,the cabin and rear baggage compartment were made of plywood suspended inside the steel structure.The two pilots were in an open cockpit above the nose. The cabin had room for a wireless operator in addition to the passengers.

Imperial Airways ordered five aircraft. In June 1926, while the prototype was still being built, the type name Hercules was chosen in a competition in the Meccano Magazine. The prototype, registered G-EBMW, first flew on 30 September 1926 .Four aircraft were built in 1929 for West Australian Airways. They had modifications to suit Australian requirements including an enclosed cockpit and seating for 14-passengers as well as room for the mail.Two additional aircraft were built for Imperial Airways in 1929 and they had the enclosed cockpit modification used on the Australian aircraft. These were also retro-fitted to the earlier aircraft.

The South African Air Force bought three Hercules from Imperial Airways in 1935.At the start of World War II they were used as military transport aircraft supporting South African forces around Africa. One was broken up for spares in 1939 and the other two were withdrawn from service and scrapped in 1943.

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[Angry Turnip]

de Havilland Dragonfly

The de Havilland DH.90 Dragonfly is a 1930s twin-engined luxury touring biplane.

The Dragonfly shares a resemblance with the Dragon Rapide, but is smaller and has higher aspect ratio, with slightly sweptback wings. The lower wing has a shorter span than the upper, unlike the DH.89, and the top of the engine nacelles protrude much less above its surface because the fuel tank had been moved to the lower centre section. Structurally, they are different: the Dragonfly had a new preformed plywood monocoque shell and strengthened fuselage. It was designed as a luxury touring aircraft for four passengers and a pilot, with provision for dual controls. The first aircraft, G-ADNA, first flew on 12 August 1935.

The first delivery was made in May 1936. Some 36 new-build Dragonflies went to private and company owners, about 15 to airlines/air taxis and three to clubs. Two each went to the Danish and Swedish air forces, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police had four to combat smugglers. Production ended in 1938.At the start of World War II, about 23 Dragonflies were impressed into the R.A.F and Commonwealth air forces, some six surviving to 1945. Overall, there were about thirteen flying in that year.

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[Angry Turnip]

de Havilland Humming Bird

The de Havilland DH.53 Humming Bird is a monoplane light aircraft of the 1920s.

De Havilland built two DH.53s which were named Humming Bird and Sylvia II. The DH.53 was a low-wing single-seat monoplane powered by a Douglas 750 cc motorcycle engine. In October 1923, the DH.53s did not win any prizes but gave an impressive performance for a light aircraft. The Air Ministry became interested in the design and ordered eight in 1924 as communications and training aircraft for the Royal Air Force.

Early in 1924 twelve aircraft were built at Stag Lane Aerodrome and were named Humming Bird after the first prototype. Eight aircraft were for the Air Ministry order, three were for export to Australia, and one was exported to Aero in Prague. One further aircraft was later built for an order from Russia.The production aircraft were powered by a 26 hp Blackburne Tomtit two-cylinder engine.The first six aircraft for the RAF all made their public debut at the 1925 display at RAF Hendon.The last two aircraft would later be used for "parasite aircraft" trials being launched from below an airship – the R.33. The aircraft were retired in 1927 and all eight were sold as civil aircraft.

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[Angry Turnip]

de Havilland Hawk Moth

The de Havilland DH.75 Hawk Moth was a 1920s four-seat cabin monoplane.

The DH.75 Hawk Moth was the first of a family of high-wing monoplane Moths, and was designed as a light transport or air-taxi for export. The aircraft had a fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage and wooden wings. The Hawk Moth was first flown on 7 December 1928 using a 200 hp de Havilland Ghost engine. This engine comprised two de Havilland Gipsys mounted on a common crankcase to form an air-cooled V-8.The aircraft was underpowered and a 240 hp Armstrong Siddeley Lynx radial engine was fitted to it and all but one production aircraft. Changes were also made to the structure including increased span and chord wings and the aircraft was redesignated the DH.75A.

Three aircraft operated in Canada a further two were exported to Australia. One of the Australian aircraft, VH-UNW ex G-AAFX, was used by Amy Johnson to fly from Brisbane to Sydney in 1930 when her De Havilland Moth Jason was damaged.VH-UNW was later sold to Hart Aircraft Service of Melbourne who used it mainly for pleasure flights. In February 1934 it was sold to Tasmanian Airways as the City of Hobart to run between Brighton, Tasmania and Launceston, Tasmania which it continued to do until it made a forced landing at Brighton on 10 January 1935 after a piston-rod failure, and the engine appears to have been found beyond repair. It last flew for Connellan Airways of Alice Springs and was withdrawn from service in 1949.

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[Angry Turnip]

de Havilland Albatross

The de Havilland DH.91 Albatross was a four-engine transport aircraft of the 1930s.

The aircraft was notable for the ply-balsa-ply sandwich construction of its fuselage, later used in the de Havilland Mosquito bomber. Another unique feature was a cooling system for the air-cooled engines that allowed nearly ideal streamlining of the engine mounting.The first Albatross flew on 20 May 1937. The second prototype broke in two during overload tests but was repaired with minor reinforcement. The first and second prototypes were operated by Imperial Airways.
It was designed as a mailplane,however a version to carry 22 passengers was developed; the main differences being extra windows and the replacement of split flaps with slotted flaps. Five examples formed the production order delivered in 1938/1939. When war was declared all seven aircraft were operating from Bristol/Whitchurch to Lisbon and Shannon.

The first delivery to Imperial Airways was the 22-passenger DH.91 Frobisher in October 1938. The five passenger-carrying aircraft were operated on routes from Croydon to Paris, Brussels and Zurich. After test flying was completed, the two prototypes were delivered to Imperial Airways as long-range mail carriers.

During World War II, the RAF considered their range and speed useful for courier flights between Great Britain and Iceland, and the two mail planes were pressed into service with 271 Squadron in September 1940, operating between Prestwick and Reykjavik but both were destroyed in landing accidents in Reykjavík within the space of 9 months: Faraday in 1941 and Franklin in 1942.

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[Angry Turnip]

de Havilland Don

The de Havilland DH.93 Don was a 1930s multi-role three-seat training aircraft.

The Don was a multi-role trainer and was a single-engined monoplane of wooden stressed-skin construction. The DH.93 Don was intended to be a trainer for pilots and radio operators, and as a gunnery trainer, the gunnery requirement involved the mounting of a dorsal gun turret. Student pilot and instructor sat side by side up front, while accommodation for a trainee WT (radio) operator and the turret gunner was behind in the cabin.

The prototype first flew on 18 June 1937 and was transferred to RAF Martlesham Heath for official evaluation. In the course of the trials, more equipment was added which increased the weight, and as a result, in an attempt to reduce weight, the dorsal turret was removed. The aircraft was also modified with small auxiliary fins fitted beneath the tailplane.
Despite the changes incorporated from the fifth aircraft,the type was deemed unsuitable for training and the original order for 250 aircraft was reduced to only 50 aircraft, 20 of which were delivered as engineless airframes for ground training.The remaining aircraft served as communications and liaison aircraft, serving with numerous RAF Station Flights throughout the UK until early 1939, but all were grounded for use as instructional airframes in March 1939.

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