Airco DH.4

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Image:DeHavilland DH-4 040130-f-9999b-007.jpg The Airco DH.4 was a British two-seat biplane day-bomber of the First World War. It was a design by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence "DH") for Airco, and was the first British aircraft to be designed for a specific combat role of day-bomber. It first flew in August 1916 and entered service in early 1917.

The DH 4 was tried out with a wide variety of engines before the 375 hp Rolls-Royce Eagle engine was selected as the power plant. Armament and ordinance for the aircraft consisted of one 0.303 Vickers machine gun for the pilot and one 0.303 in. Lewis machine gun on a Scarff ring mounting for the Observer. Two 230 lb. bombs or four 112 lb. bombs could be carried. The design entered service on 6 March 1917 with No. 55 Squadron in France.

1 Service
2 Production
3 Specifications (DH.4)
4 Civil operators
5 Military operators

[edit] Service

The DH-4 proved a huge success and was considered the best single-engined bomber of the First World War. With its reliability and impressive performance -even when fully loaded with bombs- the variant proved highly popular with its crews. The Airco DH-4 was easy to fly, could fly at over 100 mph and had a ceiling of 17-23,000 feet. German fighters were ineffective in reaching these heights and thus the DH-4 often did not require a fighter escort on missions. One design drawback was the distance between pilot and observer, caused by the fuel tank placed between the pilot and observer, making communication difficult. This mid-placed fuel tank meant that if hit by enemy fire both crew were in danger of being burnt to death. This was rectified in the otherwise inferior De Havilland DH.9.

[edit] Production

Production was by Airco, F.W. Berwick and Co, Glendower Aircraft Company, Palladium Autocars, Vulcan Motor and Engineering, and the Westland Aircraft Works in the UK. SABCA of Belgium made fifteen. In the United States, the Boeing Airplane Corporation, Dayton-Wright Aeroplane Company, The Fisher Body Corporation, and the Standard Aircraft Corporation.

At the time of entry into the war the American Air Service lacked any aircraft suitable for service. They therefore procured various aircraft from the British and French, one boing the DH 4. As the DH.4a it was manufactured mostly by Dayton-Wright and Fisher Body for service with the United States from 1918. The powerplant was a Liberty L-12 of 400 hp and it was fitted with two .30 inch Marlin machine guns in the nose and two .30 inch Lewis machine guns in the rear and could carry 322 pounds of bombs. The larger engine gave a better ceiling (19,600 feet) and top speed (128 mph).