De Havilland Hornet
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The correct title of this article is de Havilland Hornet. The initial letter is shown capitalized due to technical restrictions.
| D.H.103 Hornet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The de Havilland Hornet Mk 1 (F.1) | |
| Type | land and naval fighter aircraft |
| Manufacturer | de Havilland |
| Maiden flight | 1944 |
| Retired | 1956 |
| Primary users | Royal Air Force (209) Fleet Air Arm (174) |
| Number built | 383 |
The de Havilland Hornet was a development of de Havilland's classic Mosquito designed as private venture for a long-range fighter for use in the Pacific Theater in the war against Japan. Specification F.12/43 was written around the type. The Hornet equipped Fighter Command day fighter units in the UK and later was used with success as a strike fighter in Malaya.
The Hornet, D.H.103 in the company's internal numbering scheme, first flew in 1944 and remained in service until 1956. Powered by twin "slimline" Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, it was the fastest piston-engined fighter in Royal Air Force service. The Hornet has the distinction of being the fastest wooden aircraft ever built and the second fastest operational twin propeller-driven aircraft — being slightly slower than the unconventional German Dornier Do 335 of 1945.
The Hornet was somewhat unusual in that it had propellers that rotated in opposite directions. To achieve this the engines were slightly different, hence the double Merlin marks of 130/131. This feature effectively cancels the variable and cumulative torque effect of two propellers turning in the same direction that had plagued earlier designs such as the de Havilland Mosquito, in turn reducing the amount of adverse yaw caused by aileron trim corrections and generally providing more stable and predictable behaviour in flight.
The prototype achieved 780 km/h (485 mph) in level flight, which came down to 760 km/h (472 mph) in production aircraft.
Contents |
[edit] Service
The Hornet entered service in 1946, mainly in the Far East, including action in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency.
[edit] Variants
- Hornet F.1: Fighter
- 60 built
- Hornet PR.2: Photo-reconnaissance
- 5 built
- Hornet F.3: Fighter
- 132 built
- Hornet FR.4: Fighter-reconnaissance
- 12 built
- Sea Hornet F.20: A navalised version for service on British aircraft carriers
- 79 built
- Sea Hornet NF.21: FAA night fighter, with Merlin 133/134 engines
- 72 built
- Sea Hornet PR.22: Photo-reconnaissance
- 23 built
[edit] Operators
[edit] Specifications (Hornet F.3)
[edit] General characteristics <ref>Bridgman, Leonard, ed. “The D.H. 103 Hornet.” Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. 114. ISBN 1-85170-493-0.</ref>
- Crew: one pilot
- Wingspan: 45 ft 0 in (13.72 m)
- Length: 36 ft 8 in (11.18 m)
- Height: 14 ft 2 in (4.3 m)
- Wing area: 361 ft² (33.54 m²)
- Empty weight: lb (kg)
- Gross weight: 19,550 lb (8,886 kg)
- Powerplant: 2x Rolls-Royce Merlin 130/131 12-cylinder engines, 2,080 hp (1551 kW) each
[edit] Performance
- Maximum speed: 472 mph (760 km/h) at 22,000 ft (6706 m)
- Rate of climb: 4000 ft/min (20.3 m/s)
- Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (10668 m)
- Maximum range: 3,000 mi (4828 km)
[edit] Armament
- 4x 20 mm Hispano cannon (with 190 rounds per gun) in fuselage nose
- 2x 1000 lb (454 kg) bombs under wing, outboard of engines
- 8x 60 lb (27 kg) RP-3 unguided rockets
[edit] Notes
<references />
[edit] References
- Aeroplane Monthly June 2005, pg 68
- The de Havilland Hornet Project website, see link below.
[edit] External links
[edit] Related content
Related development<h3>
<h3>Comparable aircraft<h3> <h3>Designation sequence<h3> DH.95 - DH.98 - DH.100 - DH.103 - DH.104 - DH.106 - DH.110
This aircraft article is missing some (or all) of its specifications. If you have a source, you can help Wikipedia by adding them.
