Airco DH.1
| Airco DH.1 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Type: | Reconnaissance plane |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
1915 |
| Commissioning: |
1916 |
| Number of pieces: |
177 |
The Airco DH.1 was a biplane - airplane of the British manufacturer Airco .
history
In 1914, Geoffrey de Havilland left Royal Aircraft Manufacturing and switched to Aircraft Manufacturing Company (Airco). His first design for the new company was the reconnaissance double-decker DH.1, which, like all subsequent Airco models, bore the first letters of the two surname parts of its designer.
Construction of the prototype began in the first months of the war, and in 1915 it took off on its maiden flight. A royal order stipulated the construction of 100 machines, but only a weak 70 hp Renault engine was available for series production. A total of 107 pieces of this machine were produced, of which only seven were made by Airco and 94 by Savage Ltd.
From mid-1916 the DH.1 came to the front-line units, mainly in the Mediterranean and Middle East as an escort aircraft for bomber squadrons.
In 1916 the originally intended Beardmore engine was finally available, with which the DH.1a was equipped, of which another 70 machines were built. Since more powerful types were already available for combat use, the DH.1a were only used for training purposes.
construction
The aircraft was a two-post biplane with fabric-covered wooden wings of the same size, all surfaces equipped with ailerons; the two tail girders consisted of exposed wooden lattice structures. Since there were no synchronized machine guns available at the time , the DH.1 was powered by a pusher propeller so that the propeller did not get in the way of the forward-facing machine gun. The gunner sat in the bow of the machine.
Military use
Technical specifications
| Parameter | Airco DH.1 | Airco DH.1a |
|---|---|---|
| crew | 2 | 2 |
| length | 8.57 m | 8.82 m |
| span | 12.49 m | 12.49 m |
| height | 3.36 m | 3.40 m |
| Wing area | 39.59 m² | 33.66 m² |
| Empty mass | 615 kg | 730 kg |
| Takeoff mass | 927 kg | 1060 kg |
| drive | a Renault engine with 52 kW (approx. 70 hp) | a Beardmore engine with 88 kW (120 PS) |
| Top speed | 130 km / h | 141 km / h at 1200 m |
| Ascent time to 3050 m | 35 min | 27:30 min |
| Service ceiling | - | 4100 m |
| Armament | a Lewis MG 7.7 mm | - |
See also
literature
- JM Bruce: The Airplanes of the Royal Flying Corps (Military Wing). Putnam, London 1982, ISBN 0-370-30084-X .
- CG Gray: Jane's All the World's Aircraft 1919. (reprint), Arco Publishing Company, New York 1969, ISBN 0-668-01955-7 .
- AJ Jackson: De Havilland Aircraft since 1909. 3rd ed., Putnam, London 1987, ISBN 0-85177-802-X .
- WM Lamberton: Reconnaissance & Bomber Aircraft of the 1914–1918 War. Harleyford, Letchworth 1962.
- Francis K. Mason: The British Fighter since 1912. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 1992, ISBN 1-55750-082-7 .
- Michael JH Taylor: Jane's Encyclopedia of Aviation. Ed. 1989, Studio Editions, London 1989, ISBN 0-517-10316-8 , p. 45.
