Jump to content

De Havilland Dragon

From Alfawiki
de Havilland
IndustryAerospace, Aviation
Founded1920
FounderGeoffrey de Havilland
Headquarters
Hatfield
,
England, United Kingdom
ProductsAircraft, including the DH.84 Dragon


Template:EngvarB Template:Infobox aircraft Template:Lowercase title The de Havilland DH.84 Dragon stands as a notable small-scale commercial aircraft, developed and manufactured by the de Havilland firm.

Design and construction

Building on the commercial achievement of the single-engine de Havilland Fox Moth, which first took to the skies in March 1932, its initial operator, Hillman's Airways, requested a larger, twin-engine variant. The resulting Dragon featured a straightforward, lightweight structure with a plywood box fuselage, utilizing the same engine type and wing sections similar to those of its single-engine predecessor. Initially called the DH.84 "Dragon Moth," it was marketed simply as the "Dragon." The prototype made its maiden flight at Stag Lane Aerodrome on 12 November 1932, followed by four more units delivered to Hillman's Airways, who began commercial operations in April 1933. This aircraft accommodated six passengers, each allowed 45 lb (20 kg) of luggage, and operated on the London-Paris route with a fuel consumption rate of only 13 gal (49 L) per hour. Additionally, the wing sections beyond the engines were designed to fold for easier storage.[1]

Operational service

File:DH84 Dragon G-ECAN at Woburn Tiger Moth Rally 2007.jpg
An Australian-built DH.84 Dragon at Woburn Tiger Moth Rally 2007

The Dragon quickly became favored as a short-range, low-capacity airliner and entered service globally. Starting with the 63rd unit produced late in 1933, the improved Dragon 2 model was introduced featuring enhancements such as individually framed windows and streamlined undercarriage struts. Though primarily aesthetic modifications, these refinements boosted speed by approximately 5 mph (8 km/h), increased payload capacity by 250 lb (113 kg), and extended range by 85 mi (137 km).

British manufacturing of the DH.84 ceased after producing 115 aircraft, succeeded by the more powerful and refined DH.89 de Havilland Dragon Rapide. However, following the end of production in Britain, technical drawings along with remaining tools and jigs were shipped overseas to Australia. There, during Second World War efforts at Bankstown, Australia, mass production resumed for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), which ordered eighty-seven units to serve as navigational trainers. Preference was given to the DH.84 over the Rapide because its smaller engines were already being produced locally for de Havilland Tiger Moth manufacture, culminating in a total output of 202 aircraft.

In 1933, a four-seat Dragon was delivered to the Royal Flight to serve Prince of Wales. This aircraft was sold in 1935 and subsequently requisitioned by the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II.

A specially modified Dragon named Seafarer was constructed for pioneering aviators Amy Johnson and her husband Jim Mollison to attempt a long-distance flight record. Equipped with reinforced landing gear and additional fuel tanks within the cabin, it was intended for a New York City to Baghdad journey. However, during their initial transatlantic attempt from Croydon Airport in South London on 8 June 1933, the landing gear failed upon touchdown. After repairs, Seafarer departed from Pendine Sands in South Wales and reached Bridgeport, Connecticut after approximately 39 hours. Unfortunately, upon landing it overturned and sustained damage.[2]

File:Schaffen De Havilland DH-84 Dragon 2 01.JPG
EI-ABI Iolar in 2012

The engines and fuel tanks salvaged from Seafarer were installed in another Dragon dubbed Seafarer II. After three unsuccessful takeoff attempts from Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada en route to Baghdad, that endeavor was abandoned and the plane sold. On August 8, 1934, new owners James Ayling and Leonard Reid launched an attempt from Wasaga Beach in this aircraft renamed Trail of the Caribou. Although Baghdad remained their target destination, throttle issues forced them to cease early; nevertheless, they completed the first nonstop flight between mainland Canada and Britain by landing at Heston Aerodrome, west of London after flying for nearly 31 hours.[3][4]

The Irish airline Aer Lingus inaugurated its services using a DH.84 Dragon registered EI-ABI and named Iolar, meaning "Eagle" in Irish Gaelic. To commemorate Aer Lingus’s fiftieth anniversary in 1986, another Dragon was acquired, restored, re-registered as EI-ABI, and repainted to represent the original Iolar.

Post-war, surviving DH.84 Dragons transitioned into civilian use, with three examples still operational today.

Accidents and incidents

  • On 26 September 1933, the Aircraft Operating Company's ZS-AEF crashed at Baragwanath Airport near Johannesburg, South Africa. The pilot, World War I flying ace William Kennedy-Cochran-Patrick, and the sole passenger, Sir Michael Oppenheimer, 2nd Baronet, both lost their lives.[5][6]
  • On 8 January 1935, G-ACGK operated by Highland Airways Limited crashed into the Beauly Firth shortly after departing from Longman Airport, Inverness, Scotland. The accident resulted in the deaths of the pilot and both passengers.[7]
  • On 21 February 1935, two American sisters, Jane and Elizabeth Du Bois, jumped from a Hillman's Airways G-ACEV while flying from Stapleford Aerodrome, Essex, to Paris. They were the only passengers aboard, with the pilot as the sole crew member. The sisters had purchased all seats but claimed their companions could not travel that day. Their bodies were later discovered on wasteland in Upminster. The pilot only became aware of their absence after crossing the English Channel.[8] Daughters of Court Du Bois, the American Consul in Naples, they were prominent socialites whose deaths attracted significant media attention. Speculation linked their double suicide to the recent fatalities of two Royal Air Force pilots with whom they had been romantically involved.[9][10][11] The RAF pilots had perished six days earlier in a Short Singapore flying boat crash near Messina, Italy.[12]
  • On 1 July 1935, G-ADED of Railway Air Services crashed during takeoff at Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, injuring all seven occupants. The aircraft was operating a scheduled service from Ronaldsway to Ringway Airport, Manchester, Lancashire via stops at Squires Gate Airport, Blackpool and Speke Airport, Liverpool; it was destroyed by fire following the accident.[13]
  • On 22 July 1935, Jersey Airways' G-ACMP was involved in a fatal accident while on a domestic flight from Bristol to Cardiff. With a pilot and two passengers aboard, it crashed during its approach to Cardiff Airport. The aircraft entered a spin and plunged into the Bristol Channel approximately two miles off the Welsh coast near Rumney, Cardiff, resulting in the deaths of all three occupants.[14][15]
  • On 26 March 1936, G-ACAP operated by Commercial Air Hire crashed near Lyndhurst, Hampshire, England, killing all five on board. The flight originated from Croydon Airport and was conducting military cooperation duties around Southampton. Commercial Air Hire had been contracted to perform night flights to assist searchlight crews in aircraft detection exercises.[16]
  • On 7 May 1937, VH-UZG of North Queensland Airways collided with trees near Cairns Airport; one passenger later succumbed to injuries sustained. The pilot and three additional passengers also suffered serious injuries.[17]
  • On 29 August 1938, VH-UXK Cairns operated by North Queensland Airways crashed at Innisfail, Queensland, resulting in fatalities for the pilot and four passengers.[18]
  • On 21 September 1951, First Officer Frederick George Barlogie from Bondi, New South Wales, perished when his Qantas DH-84 Dragon impacted mountainous terrain approximately 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) southeast of Arona in the central highlands of New Guinea.[19]
  • On 13 December 1951, a Qantas DH-84 Dragon crashed near Mount Hagen within New Guinea's central highlands, killing the pilot and two passengers. This marked Qantas's third fatal incident within four months and remains its most recent deadly accident involving this aircraft type.[20]
File:DH84 Dragon.jpg
DH-84 VH-UXG (Riama), photographed in 2003
  • On 1 October 2012, a privately owned de Havilland DH.84 Dragon II from 1934 with registration VH-UXG named Riama (pictured) disappeared amid adverse weather conditions while returning from an airshow near Monto, Queensland, Australia to Caboolture.[21] The wreckage was located by Queensland Police close to Borumba Dam. All six occupants died when the aircraft struck a ridge and was destroyed.[22] Encountering unexpectedly dense cloud cover, the pilot issued a sécurité call; notably, the aircraft was equipped only with basic primary instruments consisting of an airspeed indicator and altimeter.

Variants

  • Dragon 1: A twin-engine biplane designed for medium-range transport.
  • Dragon 2: An enhanced model featuring framed cabin windows and streamlined main landing gear legs.
  • DH.84M Dragon: A military transport variant equipped with two machine guns and capable of carrying up to sixteen 20 lb (9 kg) bombs. This version was exported to countries including Denmark, Iraq, and Portugal.

Operators

♠ Original users

Military operators

File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria
Template:Country data Brazil
File:Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark
Template:ETH
Template:Country data Iraq
File:Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland
Template:NZL
File:Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal
File:Flag of South Africa (1928–1982).svg South Africa
Template:Country data Spanish Republic
Template:TUR
File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
Template:Country data Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Civil operators

Template:AUS
Template:BRA
Template:CAN
Template:CZS

A single de Havilland DH.84 Dragon, registered OK-ATO, served as a short-distance executive transport for the Bata shoe company

Template:EGY
  • Misrair
Template:FRA
Template:IND
Template:IRL
File:Aer Lingus De Havilland DH-84 Dragon 2 EI-ABI OTT 2013 03.jpg
A DH.84 Dragon painted in the livery of Aer Lingus' original aircraft "Iolar".
Template:Country data Kenya
Template:NZL
Template:Country data Portuguese Timor
Template:Flagcountry
  • African Air Transport ♠
Template:UK
File:DH.84 Dragon G-ACIT AN&T Yeadon 21.05.56 edited-2.jpg
DH.84 Dragon 1 operated by Air Navigation & Trading (UK) in 1956
File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia

Specifications (DH.84 Dragon 1)

File:De Havilland DH 84 3-view L'Aerophile February 1933.jpg
Three-view illustration of the De Havilland DH 84 from L'Aerophile, February 1933

Template:Aircraft specs

See also

Template:Aircontent

References

  1. ↑ Jackson 1973, p. 122
  2. ↑ Riding 1980, pp. 285–286.
  3. ↑ Riding 1980, p. 289.
  4. ↑ Lewis 1971, p. 265
  5. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ↑ Template:Cite newspaper The Times
  9. ↑ Terry Carter, "Jane and Elizabeth Du Bois – an American tragedy in Essex," Loughton and District Historical Society Newsletter 189 (March/April 2011): 5–6.
  10. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  11. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  12. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  13. ↑ Poole 1999, pp. 12–13.
  14. ↑ The British Newspaper Archive: Western Daily Press, Tuesday 23 July 1935: 'PLANE DIVES INTO SEA.
  15. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  16. ↑ "Air Crash in the New Forest." Times [London, England] 27 March 1936: 14. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 4 Oct 201
  17. ↑ Queensland Times, 8 May 1938.
  18. ↑ Argus, 9 August 1938.
  19. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  20. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  21. ↑ Up to 15 helicopters search for missing DH84 Dragon The Australian – 2 October 2012
  22. ↑ Police locate vintage plane crash site – Australian Broadcasting Corporation – Retrieved 3 October 2012.

Bibliography

File:Commons-logo.svg
Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]].
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  • Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

Template:De Havilland aircraft Template:De Havilland Australia aircraft Template:Spanish liaison aircraft Template:ADF aircraft designations Lua error in Module:Authority_control at line 159: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=De_Havilland_Dragon&oldid=77963"