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De Havilland Australia DHA-G2

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de Havilland Australia
IndustryAircraft manufacturing
FoundedJanuary 1, 1927; 99 years ago (1927-01-01)
Headquarters
Sydney
,
Australia
ProductsAircraft, including DHA-G1 and DHA-G2 gliders

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The de Havilland Australia DHA-G2 was an Australian transport glider used during the Second World War, developed from the earlier DHA-G1 prototype.[1] Production consisted of two initial G1 prototypes and six subsequent G2 units.[2]

Design and development

The G1 model was created in response to a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) request under specification 5/42 for a transport glider.[1] De Havilland Australia (DHA) received an order for two prototype gliders, often referred to as Experimental Glider 1.[1][2] As DHA was already engaged in manufacturing de Havilland Tiger Moth basic trainers and de Havilland Dragon navigation trainers, subcontractors undertook much of the construction work. Notably, assembly of the prototypes took place on the fifth floor of a mill located in Camperdown, Sydney.[3] This high-wing cantilever monoplane was built entirely from wood, with extensive use of plywood. While it incorporated the cockpit canopy from the DH.84 Dragon, the remainder of the design was original. The landing gear featured a single main wheel positioned behind a lengthy nose skid, complemented by a wooden tailskid. The cockpit accommodated one pilot along with seating for six passengers.[4]

The initial prototype completed its first flight on 14 June 1942 and was officially accepted by the RAAF on 11 October that year; the second prototype followed on 17 November.[5] Following this, DHA received a production contract for an improved variant. However, with the diminishing threat of invasion and the availability of American Douglas Dakota transports and Waco Hadrian gliders, only six G2 gliders were ordered.[2][6] The G2 retained a similar configuration to the G1 but featured a slightly larger fuselage and a wing with reduced span that could be disassembled into three sections to facilitate transport. The first G2 production model flew on 20 March 1943 and was delivered to the RAAF by 6 May, with the remaining five units arriving in July. The gliders saw limited operational use; most were stored while the lead G2 served primarily for glider conversion training.[7] By 1952, all surviving gliders were dismantled.[2]

In 1948, serial number A57-1—the first G2—underwent modifications by the Government Aircraft Factory to test a suction airfoil concept. These changes included installation of a 96 hp (72 kW) Mercury 95A engine. Testing continued until 1951.[2][8]

Operators

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Specifications (G2)

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See also

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Note

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Mrazek 2011, pp. 437-439
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  3. ↑ Issacs Air International July 1976, p. 23.
  4. ↑ Issacs Air International July 1976, pp. 23–24.
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named aijul76 p24
  6. ↑ Issacs Air International July 1976, p.25.
  7. ↑ Issacs Air International July 1976, pp.25–26.
  8. ↑ Issacs Air International July 1976, pp. 28–30.

Bibliography

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