The Airco DH.3 was a British bomber aircraft of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. The DH.3 was designed in 1916 as a long-range day bomber by
Geoffrey de Havilland
Captain Sir Geoffrey de Havilland, (27 July 1882 – 21 May 1965) was an English aviation pioneer and aerospace engineer. The aircraft company he founded produced the Mosquito, which has been considered the most versatile warplane ever built,D ...
, chief designer at the
Aircraft Manufacturing Company. It was a large
biplane
A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...
with wide-span three-bay wings, slender
fuselage
The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...
, and a curved
rudder
A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally aircraft, air or watercraft, water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to ...
. It was powered by two
Beardmore Beardmore can refer to:
*Andrew Beardmore, better known as Andy Moor, English trance DJ, producer and remixer
*Bob Beardmore, British rugby league footballer
*Bud Beardmore (1939–2016), American lacrosse coach
*Jim Beardmore, Former All-American ...
engines, mounted as pushers between the wings. In addition to
tailskid landing gear, two wheels were placed under the nose to prevent it from tipping over on the nose.
A second prototype, designated DH.3A, was built with more powerful Beardmore engines, and the
War Office
The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...
placed a production order for 50.
This order was cancelled before any could be completed, possibly because the climb rate was still far too low, with it taking 58 minutes to reach 6,500 feet, and the other contender, the
Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.4
The Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.4 was a twin-engine biplane aircraft built by the Royal Aircraft Factory in 1916. Intended as a cannon armed ground-attack aircraft, it was unsuccessful, only two being built.
Design and development
Shortly after ...
was even worse,
[Jackson, 1987, pp.21 & 95] which made
strategic bombing
Strategic bombing is a military strategy used in total war with the goal of defeating the enemy by destroying its morale, its economic ability to produce and transport materiel to the theatres of military operations, or both. It is a systematica ...
with these machines impracticable. The two prototypes were scrapped in 1917.
[Jackson 1987, p. 51.]
The
DH.10 Amiens was developed from the DH.3A with much more powerful engines (boosting installed power from to nearly ) and some detail changes were made. This development first flew in March 1918, but was too late to see squadron service during the war.
Specifications (DH.3)
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Donald, David, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World Aircraft''. Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada: Prospero Books, 1997, p. 118. .
* Jackson, A.J. ''De Havilland Aircraft since 1909''. London: Putnam, Third edition, 1987. .
* Mason, Francis K. ''The British Bomber since 1914''. London: Putnam, 1994. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Airco DH.003
DH.003
1910s British bomber aircraft
Twin-engined pusher aircraft
Biplanes
Military aircraft of World War I
Aircraft first flown in 1916