The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul
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 ...
airliner
An airliner is a type of aircraft for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an ...
developed and produced by British aircraft company
de Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...
. Capable of accommodating 6–8 passengers, it proved an economical and durable craft, despite its relatively primitive plywood construction.
Developed during the early 1930s, the Dragon Rapide was essentially a smaller, twin-engined version of the four-engined
DH.86 Express, and shared a number of common features, such as its tapered wings, streamlined fairings and
Gipsy Six
The de Havilland Gipsy Six is a British six-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline piston engine developed by the de Havilland Engine Company for aircraft use in the 1930s. It was based on the cylinders of the four-cylinder Gipsy Major and w ...
engines. First named the "Dragon Six", the type was marketed as "Dragon Rapide" and later simply known as the "Rapide". Upon its introduction in summer 1934, it proved to be a popular aircraft with airlines and private civil operators alike, attaining considerable foreign sales in addition to its domestic use.
Upon the outbreak of the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, many of the civil Rapides were
impressed into service with the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) and
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
. Referred to in military service by the name de Havilland Dominie, the type was employed for radio and navigation training, passenger transport and communications missions. British training aircraft had names with educational associations, and
dominie
Dominie ( Wiktionary definition) is a Scots language and Scottish English term for a Scottish schoolmaster usually of the Church of Scotland and also a term used in the US for a minister or pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church.
Origin
It comes fr ...
is a
Scots term for a school teacher.
Hundreds of additional Dominies were also constructed during the war. Other Rapides continued to be operated by British airlines throughout the war under the auspices of the
Associated Airways Joint Committee (AAJC). Postwar, many military aircraft were returned to civilian service. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, de Havilland introduced a Dragon Rapide replacement, the
de Havilland Dove
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report whic ...
.
Design and development
Origins
![De Havilland Dragon Rapide cabin (2667473378)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/De_Havilland_Dragon_Rapide_cabin_%282667473378%29.jpg)
During summer 1933, the
de Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited () was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in H ...
aircraft company commenced work upon an aircraft to meet an
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
n requirement, producing a four-engined faster passenger aircraft capable of seating ten passengers, the
DH.86 Dragon Express.
An important feature of the DH.86 was the newly developed and powerful
Gipsy Six
The de Havilland Gipsy Six is a British six-cylinder, air-cooled, inverted inline piston engine developed by the de Havilland Engine Company for aircraft use in the 1930s. It was based on the cylinders of the four-cylinder Gipsy Major and w ...
engine, a six-cylinder variant of the four cylinder
Gipsy Major engine. The DH.86 would serve as the a key starting point for the later DH.89.
During late 1933, a team at de Havilland, led by aircraft designer
Arthur Ernest Hagg, began working on a new design, intended to be a faster and more comfortable successor to the earlier
DH.84 Dragon. The new aircraft was, in effect, a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the four-engined
DH.86 Express.
It shared many common features with the earlier DH.86 Express, including its tapered wings, streamlined fairings and fuselage, as well as the same Gipsy Six engines.
However, the DH.89 demonstrated none of the operational vices of the Express.
On 17 April 1934, the prototype conducted its
maiden flight
The maiden flight, also known as first flight, of an aircraft is the first occasion on which it leaves the ground under its own power. The same term is also used for the first launch of rockets.
The maiden flight of a new aircraft type is alwa ...
at
Hatfield Aerodrome
Hatfield Aerodrome was a private airfield and aircraft factory located in the English town of Hatfield in Hertfordshire from 1930 until its closure and redevelopment in the 1990s.
Early history
Geoffrey de Havilland, pioneering aircraft desig ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
.
Flown by senior de Havilland test pilot H.S. Broad, it was powered by a pair of Gypsy Six engines. Even prior to the prototype's first flight, plans to proceed with serial production of DH.89 had already received the go-ahead from management.
During May 1934, airworthiness trials commenced at
RAF Martlesham Heath
Royal Air Force Martlesham Heath or more simply RAF Martlesham Heath is a former Royal Air Force station located southwest of Woodbridge, Suffolk, England. It was active between 1917 and 1963, and played an important role in the development of ...
using the prototype; during one such flight, upon attaining a speed of roughly , the tip of the aircraft's nose buckled. In response to this event, a maximum permissible speed of was implemented for all DH89s.
Upon the conclusion of trials, the prototype was sold.
By November 1934, series production of the Rapide had reached full swing.
Originally referred to as the "Dragon Six", the aircraft was first marketed as the "Dragon Rapide", although the type later came to be popularly referred to as simply the "Rapide".
Prior to the outbreak of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, 205 aircraft were manufactured for airlines and other private owners all around the world. The Rapide is perhaps the most successful British-built short-haul commercial passenger aircraft to be produced during the 1930s.
Further development
In response to the issuing of
Specification G.18/35 by the British
Air Ministry
The Air Ministry was a department of the Government of the United Kingdom with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the Royal Air Force, that existed from 1918 to 1964. It was under the political authority of the Secretary of State ...
, de Havilland decided to design and produce a single prototype of a modified Rapide for undertaking coastal reconnaissance.
Trials using the prototype, ''K4772'', were performed between April and June 1935 at RAF Martlesham Heath and
RAF Gosport
Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite th ...
. However, it ultimately lost out to its rival, the
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...
.
K4772 was later used by the
Royal Aircraft Establishment
The Royal Aircraft Establishment (RAE) was a British research establishment, known by several different names during its history, that eventually came under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), bef ...
(RAE) in automatic landing trials before being broken down for spares. Work on a militarised version of the Rapide was not wasted as multiple sales were soon completed with other military customers, the first of which being to the Spanish government in December 1935.
Sensing demand for the type, de Havilland continued to modify the Rapide's design following its entry to service, creating both refinements and entirely new derivatives as a result. Aiming to produce a faster version of the Rapide, a smaller, lighter and externally cleaner version, designated as the
DH.90 Dragonfly, emerged; first flying in August 1935, the DH.90 failed to achieve a similar rate of sales to the Rapide and production was terminated in 1938 after 67 aircraft had been completed.
In November 1935, the 60th airframe to be produced, ''G-ADWZ'', was modified and used by de Havilland as a trials aircraft. Fitted with elongated rear windows, cabin heating, thickened wing tips, and a strengthened airframe to allow for an elevated gross weight of , G-ADWZ later participated in trials at Martlesham Heath, after which the higher gross weight was cleared for service.
In response to the announcement of an air race between Britain and
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, de Havilland's design team produced a specialised variant of the Rapid, designated as the
DH.92 Dolphin.
This one-off derivative featured a retractable
undercarriage
Undercarriage is the part of a moving vehicle that is underneath the main body of the vehicle. The term originally applied to this part of a horse-drawn carriage, and usage has since broadened to include:
*The landing gear of an aircraft.
*The ch ...
, an expanded wingspan of , a modified nose section, and an increased all-up weight of ; however, flight tests in August 1936 revealed there to be no performance improvement over the standard Rapide, leading to the sole Dolphin being scrapped months later.
In November 1936, in response to suggestions that the addition of
flap
Flap may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film
* Flap, a boss character in the arcade game ''Gaiapolis''
* Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland''
Biology and he ...
s would aid in landing, a single Rapide was modified in order to explore their functionality.
Based on this performance, in February 1937, de Havilland announced that flaps would be fitted to all production aircraft from that year onwards, while other improvements such as a downwards-facing recognition light and metal propellers could be fitted as options. From 1937, to signify the fitting of improved
trailing edge
The trailing edge of an aerodynamic surface such as a wing is its rear edge, where the airflow separated by the leading edge meets.Crane, Dale: ''Dictionary of Aeronautical Terms, third edition'', page 521. Aviation Supplies & Academics, 1997. ...
flaps, aircraft thus equipped were accordingly re-designated as ''DH.89A''; earlier-built Rapides were commonly retrofitted to this standard during their service life as well.
Operational history
Prewar operations
![DH](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/DH.89_Dragon_Rapide_G-AEBW_IoMAS_RWY_26.09.38_edited-2.jpg)
During July 1934, the first production Rapide, ''G-ACPM'', performed the type's public debut at Hatfield with its entry into the 1934
King's Cup Race
The King's Cup air race is a British handicapped cross-country event, which has taken place annually since 1922. It is run by the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association.
The King's Cup is one of the most prestigious prizes of the ...
.
While having achieved an average speed of 158 MPH, G-ACPM had to be withdrawn from the race during Heat 9 of Round 2 when the wing sustained damage caused by
hail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...
while flying over
Waddington, Lincolnshire
Waddington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated approximately south of Lincoln on the A607 Grantham Road. The village is known for its association with RAF Waddington. At the 2001 Ce ...
. Another purpose-built Rapide, ''ZK'-ACO'', was entered into the 1934
MacRobertson Air Race
The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race (also known as the London to Melbourne Air Race) took place in October 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Sir Harold Gengoult Smith, and th ...
; fitted with three additional fuel tanks within the fuselage to extend the aircraft's range to 1,000 miles, the aircraft, flown by Squadron Leader J.D. Hewett and Mr C.E. Kay, took sixth place in the handicap race and fifth place in the speed race.
In the summer of 1934, the type entered service with UK-based airlines, with Hillman Airways Ltd being first to take delivery in July.
The
Anglo-Persian Oil Company
The Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was a British company founded in 1909 following the discovery of a large oil field in Masjed Soleiman, Persia (Iran). The British government purchased 51% of the company in 1914, gaining a controlling number ...
was another early company to purchase the Rapide; used for quick communications purposes between individual oil fields spread out over vast distances, the aircraft quickly became popular in the oil industry, with the
Iraq Petroleum Company
The Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC), formerly known as the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC), is an oil company that had a virtual monopoly on all oil exploration and production in Iraq between 1925 and 1961. It is jointly owned by some of the world's ...
and the
Asiatic Petroleum Company Asiatic Petroleum Company (APC) was a joint venture between the Shell and Royal Dutch oil companies founded in 1903. It operated in Asia in the early twentieth century. The corporate headquarters were on The Bund in Shanghai, China. The division ...
also procuring their own Rapides.
From August 1934,
Railway Air Services
Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by the Big Four railway companies (the GWR, LMS, LNER and SR) and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up ...
(RAS) operated a fleet of Dragon Rapides on routes linking London, the north of England and on to Northern Ireland and Scotland. The RAS DH.89s were named after places on the network, for example "Star of Lancashire".
Isle of Man Air Services
Isle of Man Air Services Ltd (IoMAS) was a small airline, based at Ronaldsway Airport Isle of Man, which operated scheduled flights to the English and Scottish mainland between formation in September 1937 and nationalisation in January 1947.
H ...
operated a fleet of Rapides on scheduled services from
Ronaldsway Airport
Ronaldsway () is a place in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown.
Features
It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, to ...
near Castletown to airports in north-west England including Blackpool, Liverpool and Manchester. Some of its aircraft had been transferred to it after operation by Railway Air Services.
During late 1935, the first of an initial batch of 16 Rapides were shipped to the manufacturer's Canadian branch,
de Havilland Canada
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited is an aircraft manufacturer with facilities formerly based in the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The original home of de Havilland Canada was the home of the Canadian Air and Space Museum loca ...
, for modification and re-sale purposes.
Canadian aircraft received various changes, including an extended dorsal
fin
A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. Fin ...
and a modified undercarriage arrangement, allowing for either wheels, skis, or
floats to be interchangeably installed, dependent upon usage and weather conditions.
The sole Canadian prototype, ''CF-AEO'', was sold onto
Quebec Airways
Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian a ...
in June 1935. Further Rapides were delivered to other customers in Canada, such as
Canadian Airways
Canadian Airways Limited was a Canadian regional passenger and freight air service based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following ...
, who used it on their
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
and maritime routes.
On 30 January 1942, the majority of major Canadian operators were amalgamated into
Canadian Pacific Air Lines
Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian a ...
, who continued to use the type.
Further Canadian sales of the Rapide would occur both during and after the end of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
During 1938, British operator
Airwork Limited placed an initial order for nine Rapides to serve as navigation trainers.
The order had been motivated by policy changes within the British Air Ministry, which sought to expand this capability. Repeat orders were placed by Airwork in the lead up to the Second World War, upon which point the firm's fleet of Rapides were all taken on by the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF).
Edward,
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...
(later
Edward VIII
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...
), owned a single Dragon Rapide (''G-ADDD''), which he frequently used for carrying out his royal duties. He flew this aircraft to London on his accession as king in 1936, making him the first British monarch to fly.
In July 1936 a pair of British
SIS agents,
Cecil Bebb
Captain Cecil William Henry Bebb (27 September 1905 – 29 March 2002) was a British commercial pilot and later airline executive, notable for flying General Francisco Franco from the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco in 1936, a journey whic ...
and Major
Hugh Pollard, flew
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
in Rapide ''G-ACYR'' from the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
to
Spanish Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, at the start of the military rebellion which began the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. The aircraft involved has since been placed on public display in the
Museo del Aire,
Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, Spain.
Second World War
![Aircraft of the Royal Air Force, 1939-1945- De Havilland Dh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/Aircraft_of_the_Royal_Air_Force%2C_1939-1945-_De_Havilland_Dh.89_Rapide_and_Dominie._MH4576.jpg)
At the start of
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
on 3 September 1939, all British civil transport aircraft were requisitioned by the
Ministry of Aircraft Production
Ministry may refer to:
Government
* Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister
* Ministry (government department), a department of a government
Religion
* Christian ...
. A number of Dragon Rapides were used to provide internal flights under the control of
National Air Communications
National Air Communications was a British government organisation that directed civilian flying operations from the outbreak of World War II until April 1940.
Pre-war preparations
During the 1930s, and up to 1938, the British government progres ...
(NAC).
Perhaps one of the most significant early uses of the Rapide during the war occurred during the crucial weeks of May–June 1940, in which the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
occurred; Rapides of
No. 24 Squadron acted as aerial
courier
A courier is a person or organisation that delivers a message, package or letter from one place or person to another place or person. Typically, a courier provides their courier service on a commercial contract basis; however, some couriers are ...
s between Britain and France; out of 24 aircraft, 10 Rapides were lost during this intense period of fighting.
Following the closure of the NAC network, Dragon Rapides continued to fly for British airlines during the war as part of the
Associated Airways Joint Committee (AAJC). Upon the outbreak of war, all civil services had been halted; however, some routes were progressively returned to operation as and when they were deemed of value to the war effort or found to be in the national interest.
The AAJC co-ordinated the majority of UK's wartime scheduled services, which were entirely operated on over-water routes.
Other Dragon Rapides were
impressed into service with the British armed forces as communications aircraft and training aircraft; Australian Rapides were also impressed by the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF).
Furthermore, while the final production Rapide was completed in November 1941, de Havilland instead produced the military-orientated Dominie variant exclusively.
Over 500 additional Dominies were manufactured for military use, powered by improved
Gipsy Queen engines; by the end of production in July 1946, a total of 727 aircraft (both Rapides and Dominies combined) had been manufactured.
During the war, Dominie production was performed by de Havilland and
Brush Coachworks Ltd, the latter being responsible for the greater proportion of the work. The Dominies were mainly used by the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
(RAF) and
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
for radio and navigation training. Other duties they were used for included passenger and communications missions.
![De Havilland DH](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/De_Havilland_DH.89B_Dominie.jpg)
Throughout the course of the war, civilian Rapides were progressively replaced by Dominies as the type became available in greater quantities.
Rapides were either dispatched to perform passenger operations or occasionally converted for other purposes, such as
Air Ambulance
Air medical services is a comprehensive term covering the use of air transportation, aeroplane or helicopter, to move patients to and from healthcare facilities and accident scenes. Personnel provide comprehensive prehospital and emergency and cri ...
s; by the end of the conflict, only a total of nine impressed Rapides were restored to their civilian registrations; however, these were joined by many Dominies which had been deemed to be surplus to requirements.
Postwar operations
![De Havilland DH-89A Dominie, Caernarfon Air World (Atlantic Air Transport) AN0230937](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/82/De_Havilland_DH-89A_Dominie%2C_Caernarfon_Air_World_%28Atlantic_Air_Transport%29_AN0230937.jpg)
Postwar, the Dominie continued to be used for some time by Royal Naval air station flights as communications aircraft.
By 1960, the Royal Navy still had a fleet of 14 Dominies, although under normal circumstances only three would be actively used at any one point in time, while the others were stored at
RAF Lossiemouth
Royal Air Force Lossiemouth or more commonly RAF Lossiemouth is a military airfield located on the western edge of the town of Lossiemouth in Moray, north-east Scotland.
Lossiemouth is one of the largest and busiest fast-jet stations in the ...
,
Moray
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
Between 1975 ...
,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
. The last of the Royal Navy's Dominies had been phased out of service during 1963; thirteen aircraft were subsequently sold on via public
tender, a number of which having been converted to civil Rapide configurations.
Many ex-RAF survivors had quickly entered commercial service after the end of the conflict; according to aviation author Peter W. Moss, a typical Dominie-to-Rapide conversion performed by de Havilland involved the repainting of the exterior (replacing the wartime
camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the ...
scheme) and the installation of
sound proofing
Soundproofing is any means of impeding sound propagation. There are several basic approaches to reducing sound: increasing the distance between source and receiver, decoupling, using noise barriers to reflect or absorb the energy of the sound wav ...
,
upholstered
Upholstery is the work of providing furniture, especially seats, with padding, springs, webbing, and fabric or leather covers. The word also refers to the materials used to upholster something.
''Upholstery'' comes from the Middle English word ...
seats and a new décor within the cabin area.
Additionally, various third party companies offered and performed their own conversion schemes, including
Field Aircraft Services, Airwork Limited,
Air Enterprises
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
,
W.A. Rollason Limited and the
Lancashire Aircraft Corporation
Lancashire Aircraft Corporation was a major British charter airline after World War II. Its founding father was Eric Rylands. It played an important role in the Berlin Airlift. It also flew scheduled routes and was important in the development ...
(LAC).
By 1958, 81 examples were recorded as still flying on the British register.
In the Netherlands, airline
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
, keen to restart operations, set about procuring a handful of Rapides even prior to the end of the war, commencing the first of its re-launched services during September 1945.
Various British airlines also became prolific users of the type;
British European Airways
British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974.
BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...
(BEA), formed on 1 January 1946, took order 39 Rapides during February 1947. BEA used many across its fledgling network, later focusing upon services within the Scottish,
Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...
, and
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
while gradually selling on displaced and excess aircraft via Airwork.
Small independent British airlines that chose to resist pressure from the British government to
merge
Merge, merging, or merger may refer to:
Concepts
* Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road
* Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program
* Merger (politics), the comb ...
into BEA also commonly operated the Rapide.
In order to better distinguish between the different standards of Rapides available in the post-war environment, de Havilland established a basic mark number system.
Mk 1 aircraft were those constructed pre-war, while Mk 2 and Mk 3 Rapides were ex-military conversions to a six-passenger cabin and eight-passenger cabin respectively. Those Rapides that were re-engined with a pair of
de Havilland Gipsy Queen
The de Havilland Gipsy Queen is a British six-cylinder aero engine of capacity that was developed in 1936 by the de Havilland Engine Company. It was developed from the de Havilland Gipsy Six for military aircraft use. Produced between 1936 a ...
engines, were referred to as Mk 4s. These had an improved climb, cruise speed and single engine performance, but an increased all-up weight of .
By 1966, use of the Rapide had gone into decline and several formerly large operators had phased out the type completely.
Due to the declining stocks of spare components available, individual Rapides were commonly being broken up in order to scavenge parts to maintain other active aircraft. Regardless, demand for such an aircraft was still relatively strong at this time, according to Moss.
The DH.89 proved an economical and durable aircraft, despite its relatively primitive plywood construction and many were still flying in the early 2000s. Several Dragon Rapides are operational in the UK, while multiple operators, including Classic Wings and Plane Heritage, offer pleasure flights in them to the general public. Shortly after the end of the Second World War, de Havilland introduced a Dragon Rapide replacement, the
de Havilland Dove
The de Havilland DH.104 Dove is a British short-haul airliner developed and manufactured by de Havilland. The design, which was a monoplane successor to the pre-war Dragon Rapide biplane, came about from the Brabazon Committee report whic ...
.
Variants
![Dragonrapide](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Dragonrapide.jpg)
;D.H.89: Twin-engined light transport biplane. First production version.
;D.H.89A: Improved version, fitted with a landing light in the nose, modified wing tips and cabin heating.
;D.H.89A Series 4: D.H.89A aircraft converted to two de Havilland Gipsy Queen 2 piston engines, fitted with constant speed propellers.
;D.H.89A Mk 5: One D.H.89A aircraft, powered by two de Havilland Gipsy Queen 3 piston engines, fitted with variable-pitch propellers.
;D.H.89A Mk 6: One D.H.89A aircraft fitted with Fairey X5 fixed-pitch propellers.
;D.H.89M : Military transport version. Exported to
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
and Spain.
;D.H.89B Dominie Mk I: Radio and navigation training version.
;D.H.89B Dominie Mk II: Communications and transport version.
Operators
Civil
;
*
Zonas Oeste y Norte de Aerolíneas Argentinas (Z.O.N.D.A.)
;
* Adelaide Airways
*
Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways (ANA) was Australia's predominant aerial carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.
The Holyman's Airways period
On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.I ...
*
Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia
The Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS), commonly known as the Flying Doctor, is an air medical service in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation that provides emergency and primary health care services for those living in rural, remote an ...
*
Qantas Empire Airways
Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...
![Dragon rapide MUSAL](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Dragon_rapide_MUSAL.jpg)
;
*
Arco-Íris
*
OMTA
*
Varig
VARIG (acronym for Viação Aérea RIo-Grandense, ''Rio Grandean Airways'') was the first airline founded in Brazil, in 1927. From 1965 until 1990, it was Brazil's leading airline, and virtually its only international one. In 2005, Varig went i ...
;
British North Borneo
(I persevere and I achieve)
, national_anthem =
, capital = Kudat (1881–1884);Sandakan (1884–1945); Jesselton (1946)
, common_languages = English, Kadazan-Dusun, Bajau, Murut, Sabah Malay, Chinese etc.
, gove ...
Crown Colony of Sarawak
Protectorate of Brunei
*
Borneo Airways
Borneo Airways Limited also known as Borneo Airways ( ms, Sharikat Penerbangan Borneo), was the flag carrier and the principal domestic airline in British Borneo (later constituting the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak and the country of ...
;
*
Canadian Airways
Canadian Airways Limited was a Canadian regional passenger and freight air service based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
It was founded by James Armstrong Richardson Sr. in 1926 as Western Canada Airways (WCA), was fully established in 1930 following ...
*
Canadian Pacific
The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...
*
Quebec Airways
Canadian Pacific Air Lines was a Canadian airline that operated from 1942 to 1987. It operated under the name CP Air from 1968 to 1986. Headquartered at Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia, it served domestic Canadian a ...
;
*
China National Aviation Corporation
The China National Aviation Corporation () was a Chinese airline which was nationalized after the Chinese Communist Party took control in 1949, and merged into the People's Aviation Company of China () in 1952. It was a major airline under the ...
(CNAC)
;
*
KNILM
Koninklijke Nederlandsch-Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (in English: Royal Dutch Indies Airways) was the airline of the former Dutch East Indies. Headquartered in Amsterdam, KNILM was ''not'' a subsidiary of the better-known KLM (Royal Dutch A ...
;
*
Misr Airlines
;
*
Aero Oy operated two aircraft.
;
*
Société Aigle Azur Indochine
*
Cie de Transports Aérien Autrex
*
Compagnie Laotienne de Commerce et de Transport
;
*
Air Iceland
The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...
;
*
Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
*
Indian National Airways
Indian National Airways Ltd was an airline based in Delhi, India.Page 15 The founder of the airline was R. E. Grant Govan, a Delhi based British industrialist who also co-founded the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the Cricket Club o ...
*
Tata Airlines
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
;
*
Government of Indonesia
The term Government of Indonesia ( id, Pemerintah Indonesia) can have a number of different meanings. At its widest, it can refer collectively to the three traditional branches of government – the executive branch, legislative branch and ju ...
;
*
Iranian State Airlines
;
*
Iraqi Airways
Iraqi Airways Company, operating as Iraqi Airways ( ar, الخطوط الجوية العراقية ''al-Xuṭūṭ al-Jawwiyyah al-ʿIrāqiyyah, Kurdish: ھێڵی ئاسمانی عێراق''), is the national carrier of Iraq, headquartered on ...
;
*
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...
*
Aer Turas
Aer Turas Teoranta (from the Irish meaning ''Air Journey'') was an Irish airline and later a freight operator based in Dublin, Ireland, from 1962 until May 2003.
History
Aer Turas started operations in 1962 as an air taxi service from Irelan ...
operated one aircraft.
;, , and
*
East African Airways
East African Airways Corporation, more commonly known as East African Airways, was an airline jointly run by Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. It was set up on 1 January 1946, starting operations the same year. The airline was headquartered in the Sa ...
;
*
Valsts Gaisa satiksme - 2
;
*
Middle East Airlines
Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle ...
;
*
KLM
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, legally ''Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.'' (literal translation: Royal Aviation Company Plc.), is the flag carrier airline of the Netherlands. KLM is headquartered in Amstelveen, with its hub at nearby Amste ...
;
*
Air Travel (NZ) Ltd
Air Travel (NZ) Limited, a small airline based in Hokitika, was the first airline in New Zealand to fly licensed scheduled air services. They took delivery of their first De Havilland biplane aircraft at the end of 1934 and made it their busine ...
*
Mount Cook Airline
Mount Cook Airline was a regional airline based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Formerly part of the Mount Cook Group and latterly a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, it operated scheduled services throughout the country under the Air New Zealand ...
*
National Airways Corporation
National Airways Corporation is a commercial aviation company with its head office on the grounds of Lanseria Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company offers a range of products and services for fixed-wing aircraft and helicopter mark ...
*
Cook Strait Airways Ltd
Cook or The Cook may refer to:
Food preparation
* Cooking, the preparation of food
* Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food
* Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry
* ...
*
Union Airways
Union Airways of South Africa was the first South African commercial airline. It operated as an independent company for five years, from 1929 to 1934, before being taken over by the government as South African Airways.
History
Union Airways w ...
*
West Coast Airways
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
;
*
Palestine Airways
Palestine Airways ( he, נתיבי אוויר ארץ ישראל, Netivei Avir Eretz Yisrael, lit=Land of Israel Airways, ar, شركة الطرق الجوية بفلسطين) was an airline founded by Zionist Pinhas Rutenberg in British Palestin ...
(British Mandate of Palestine)
*
Aviron
Aviron () is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Eure department
The following is a list of the 585 communes of the Eure department of France.
The communes cooperate in the ...
;
*
Aerocarga Asociados ACA
;
*
Transportes Aéreos de Timor
Transportes Aéreos de Timor () or TAT was an airline of the then colony of Portuguese Timor, headquartered in Dili. It operated between 1939 and 1975.
History
TAT was founded as the colony's national airline in July 1939, several years befor ...
;
*
LARES
Lares ( , ; archaic , singular ''Lar'') were guardian deities in ancient Roman religion. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been hero-ancestors, guardians of the hearth, fields, boundaries, or fruitfulness, or an amalgam of these.
Lares ...
;
*
Comair (South Africa)
Comair Limited was an airline based in South Africa that operated scheduled services on domestic routes as a British Airways franchisee (and an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance). It also operated as a low-cost carrier under it ...
operated 2 aircraft.
;
*
Spanish Republican Air Force
The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.
Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
;
*
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
;
*
Swissair
Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002.
It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
;
*
Aberdeen Airways
*
Air Charter Limited
Air Charter was an early post-World War II private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline formed in 1947. The airline conducted regular trooping flights to Cyprus as well as worldwide passenger and freight cha ...
* Air Atlantique Classic Flight now the
Classic Air Force
Classic Air Force was a charitably-based aircraft preservation organisation sited in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midlands. Specialising in classic aircraft from the period between the end of the World War II, Second World War and the ...
* Airviews Ltd
* Air Enterprises
*
Air Kruise
Air Kruise was a British airline established in Kent in 1946. Starting with light aircraft for charter work, it expanded to include scheduled services to the near-continent. It was absorbed into Silver City Airways in 1957.
History
Squadron Lea ...
*
Allied Airways
Allied Airways was a UK airline based at Aberdeen, Scotland. Formed in 1934 as Aberdeen Airways it was taken over by British European Airways in 1947.
History Dyce Aerodrome
In 1929 Eric Gandar Dower bought a Blackburn Bluebird IV two-sea ...
* Blackpool and West Coast Air Services
*
British Airways Ltd
British Airways Ltd was a British airline company operating in Europe in the period 1935–1939. It was formed in 1935 by the merger of Spartan Air Lines Ltd, United Airways Ltd (no relation to the US carrier United Airlines), and Hillman's A ...
* British American Air Services
*
British Continental Airways
British Continental Airways was a British airline that operated between 1935 and 1936, when it merged into British Airways.
History
British Continental Airways Limited was formed on 15 April 1935 to operate airline services from Croydon Airpor ...
*
British European Airways
British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974.
BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...
*
British Westpoint
*
Classic Wings
*
Crilly Airways Ltd
Crilly Airways Ltd was a former British airline founded by entrepreneur Frederick Leo Crilly. The airline operated passenger services between several cities in England in the mid-1930s. The airline started with a capitalization of £12,000.
His ...
* East Anglian Flying Services
*
Gibraltar Airways
GB Airways was a British airline; prior to its sale, it was headquartered in " The Beehive," a former terminal building, at City Place Gatwick, London Gatwick Airport in Crawley, West Sussex, England.
The airline was originally created a ...
* Great Western and Southern Airlines
*
Hillmans Airways
Hillman's Airways was a 1930s British airline that later became part of British Airways.
The company was formed in November 1931 as Hillman's Saloon Coaches and Airways Limited by Edward Henry Hillman who was a coach operator in Essex. His pre ...
*
Highland Airways Limited
Highland Airways Limited was established in Inverness, Scotland, by Ted Fresson in 1933 to provide passenger and freight air services between the Scottish mainland and the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland, and between their islands. The a ...
*
Hunting Air Travel
* Island Air Services
*
Isle of Man Air Services
Isle of Man Air Services Ltd (IoMAS) was a small airline, based at Ronaldsway Airport Isle of Man, which operated scheduled flights to the English and Scottish mainland between formation in September 1937 and nationalisation in January 1947.
H ...
*
Jersey Airways
Jersey Airways was an airline that operated air services to and from the Channel Islands from 1933 until 1947, when it became part of British European Airways.
History
Jersey Airways Limited was formed by Walter Thurgood on 9 December 1933. ...
* Lancashire Aircraft Corporation
* Mayflower Air Services
* Melba Airways
*
Morton Air Services
Morton Air Services was one of the earliest post-World War II private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations British airlines formed in 1945. It mainly operated regional short-haul scheduled services within the British Isles and ...
*
North Eastern Airways
North Eastern Airways (NEA) was a British airline which operated from 1935 until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Based initially in Newcastle upon Tyne, it operated routes from Scotland to London in competition with the railways, retaining ...
*
Northern & Scottish Airways
Northern & Scottish Airways was a regional airline established in Glasgow in 1934. It was taken over in 1937, eventually becoming part of British European Airways.
History Formation
The potential of running scheduled air services to the Western ...
* Northwest Airlines (UK)
*
Olley Air Services Olley may refer to:
People
* Chris Olley, English artist
* Frank Olley (1927–1988), Australian politician
* Gordon Olley, English flying ace
* Greg Olley (born 1996), English football player
* Jonathan Olley (born 1967), British photographer
*Jun ...
* Personal Airways
*
Railway Air Services
Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by the Big Four railway companies (the GWR, LMS, LNER and SR) and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up ...
* Scillonia Airways
*
Scottish Airways
Scottish Airways was an airline serving most of Scotland, especially the Highlands and Islands. It was active from 1937 until 1947, when it was merged into British European Airways.
History Foundation
The company was established on 12 August 1 ...
* Sivewright Airways
* Southampton Air Services
* Southern Airlines
*
Starways
*
Trans European Aviation
Trans European Aviation was a British charter airline which operated from 1954 until closure in 1963. With the introduction of the larger Lockheed Constellation to its services, the airline name was changed in 1961 to Trans European Airways.
Hi ...
*
United Airways
United Airways (BD) Ltd. (, ), operated as United Airways ( bn, ইউনাইটেড এয়ারওয়েজ), was a Bangladeshi airline headquartered in Uttara, Dhaka. It operated flights from its main hub at Shahjalal Internation ...
*
Western Airways
Western Airways was an airline based in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England between 1932 and 1978. Before World War II, for a short period, it was the world's busiest airline. It survived WWII by using its aircraft engineering expertise.
Hist ...
* Westward Airways (Lands End)
* Yellow Air Taxis
;
*
Aeroflot
PJSC AeroflotRussian Airlines (russian: ПАО "Аэрофло́т — Росси́йские авиали́нии", ), commonly known as Aeroflot ( or ; russian: Аэрофлот, , ), is the flag carrier and the largest airline of Russia. The ...
;:
*
Aeroput
Aeroput () was an airline and flag carrier of Yugoslavia from 1927 until 1948.
Society for Air traffic AD Aeroput was the first Serbian company for civil air traffic, which was founded on 17 June 1927 as ''Društvo za Vazdušni Saobraćaj "Aero ...
Military operators
;
*
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
;
*
Belgian Air Force
The Belgian Air Component ( nl, Luchtcomponent, french: Composante air) is the air arm of the Belgian Armed Forces, and until January 2002 it was officially known as the Belgian Air Force ( nl, Belgische Luchtmacht; french: Force aérienne belg ...
(Seven operated from 1946)
;
*
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...
**
No. 418 Squadron RCAF
418 Search and Rescue Operational Training Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force, formed during World War II.
History
418 Squadron RCAF was Canada's highest-scoring squadron in World War II, in terms of both air-to-air and air-to-gr ...
;
*
Royal Egyptian Air Force
The Egyptian Air Force (EAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية المصرية, El Qūwāt El Gawīyä El Maṣrīya), is the aviation branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces that is responsible for all airborne defence missions and operates all milit ...
;
*
Finnish Air Force
The Finnish Air Force (FAF or FiAF; fi, Ilmavoimat, , Air forces; sv, Flygvapnet, , Air weapon) is one of the branches of the Finnish Defence Forces. Its peacetime tasks are airspace surveillance, identification flights, and production of Finnis ...
;
*
Luftwaffe
The ''Luftwaffe'' () was the aerial-warfare branch of the German ''Wehrmacht'' before and during World War II. Germany's military air arms during World War I, the ''Luftstreitkräfte'' of the Imperial Army and the '' Marine-Fliegerabtei ...
operated captured aircraft.
;
*
Royal Indian Air Force
The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire.
The Indian Air Force was offi ...
;
*
Imperial Iranian Air Force
The history of the Iranian Air Force, currently known as the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, can be divided into two phases—before the Islamic Revolution, and after it.
Imperial era
The Imperial Iranian Air Force (IIAF) was a branch ...
;
*
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
;
*
Royal Jordanian Air Force
The Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF; ar, سلاح الجو الملكي الأردني, Silāḥ ul-Jawu al-Malakī 'al-Urdunī) is the aerial warfare branch of the Jordanian Armed Forces.
History
Early days
Jordan gained independence in 19 ...
;
*
Lithuanian Air Force
The Lithuanian Air Force or LAF ( lt, Lietuvos karinės oro pajėgos, abbreviated as ''LK KOP'') is the military aviation branch of the Lithuanian armed forces. It is formed from professional military servicemen and non-military personnel. Units ...
operated two D.H.89M aircraft.
;
*
Royal Netherlands Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = ''Parade March of the Royal Netherlands Air Force''
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment ...
– four D.H.89B Mark II (transports)
**
No. 334 Squadron RNLAF (1944–1956)
;
*
Royal New Zealand Air Force
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...
**
No. 4 Squadron RNZAF
No. 4 Squadron RNZAF was a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) patrol bomber unit that served in the South Pacific during World War II.
In the 1950s it also served as a Territorial Air Force unit flying Harvards and Mustangs from Taieri in Ot ...
**
No. 42 Squadron RNZAF
No. 42 Squadron is an active transport squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). It was formed at Rongotai Airport (Wellington) in December 1943 to provide a communications service around New Zealand, initially using impressed civili ...
;
*
Peruvian Air Force
The Peruvian Air Force ( es, link=no, Fuerza Aérea del Perú, FAP) is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with defending the nation and its interests through the use of air power. Additional missions include assistance in safeguardin ...
;
*
Portuguese Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 1 July
, equipment =
, equipment_label ...
;
*
Southern Rhodesian Air Force
The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF) was an air force based in Salisbury (now Harare) which represented several entities under various names between 1935 and 1980: originally serving the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, it was the ...
– Four aircraft.
;
*
South African Air Force
"Through hardships to the stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, equipment ...
;
*
Soviet Air Force
The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...
used at least two DH.89, captured from
Lithuanian Air Force
The Lithuanian Air Force or LAF ( lt, Lietuvos karinės oro pajėgos, abbreviated as ''LK KOP'') is the military aviation branch of the Lithuanian armed forces. It is formed from professional military servicemen and non-military personnel. Units ...
during the
occupation of the Baltics
;
*
Spanish Republican Air Force
The Spanish Republican Air Force was the air arm of the Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic, the legally established government of Spain between 1931 and 1939.
Initially divided into two branches: Military Aeronautics ('' Aeronáutica M ...
operated three D.H.89M requisitioned from
LAPE
LAPE, Spanish Postal Airlines ''(Líneas Aéreas Postales Españolas)'', was Spain's national airline during the Second Spanish Republic.
History
LAPE, often also spelt L.A.P.E. and colloquially known as ''"Las LAPE"'', replaced CLASSA (''Compa ...
;
*
Spanish Air Force
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march = Spanish Air and Space Force Anthem
, mascot =
, anniversaries = 10 December
, equipment ...
;
*
Turkish Air Force
The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...
- three DH.89As.
;
*
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
**
No. 24 Squadron RAF
No. 24 Squadron (also known as No. XXIV Squadron) of the Royal Air Force is the Air Mobility Operational Conversion Unit (AMOCU). Based at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, 24 Squadron is responsible for aircrew training on C-130J Hercules, A400 ...
**
No. 173 Squadron RAF
No. 173 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force Squadron that was a communications unit in World War II.
History Formation in World War II
The squadron formed on 9 July 1942 at Heliopolis, Egypt and equipped with the Hawker Audax
The Hawker Ha ...
**
No. 225 Squadron RAF
No. 225 Squadron RAF is a former Royal Air Force squadron.
History
World War One
No. 225 Squadron RAF was formed on 1 April 1918 at Alimini, Italy from part of No. 6 Wing RNAS, and was equipped with Sopwith Camels. The squadron disbanded on 18 ...
**
No. 271 Squadron RAF
No. 271 Squadron of the Royal Air Force was operational for two periods; a few brief months between 27 September 1918 and 9 December 1918 operating flying boats to protect shipping from German U-boats, and between 28 March 1940 and 1 December 19 ...
**
No. 510 Squadron RAF
No. 510 Squadron was a Royal Air Force transport and liaison aircraft squadron that operated during the Second World War.
History
During 1942 it was decided that 24 Squadron was too large and the internal communication flight became no. 510 Squ ...
**
No. 526 Squadron RAF
**
No. 527 Squadron RAF
No. 527 Squadron RAF was a radar calibration unit of the Royal Air Force between 1943 and 1958.
History
Formation
No. 527 Squadron was formed from various calibration flights at RAF Castle Camps, Cambridgeshire on 15 June 1943 for radar calibra ...
**
No. 614 Squadron RAF
No. 614 Squadron was originally formed on 1 June 1937 as an army co-operation squadron unit of the Auxiliary Air Force. It served during the Second World War first in this role and later as a bomber squadron. Upon reformation it served as a fight ...
*
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...
**
700 Naval Air Squadron
700 Naval Air Squadron (700 NAS) is an experimental test squadron in the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm.
History
700 NAS was originally formed on 21 January 1940 at RNAS Hatston (HMS ''Sparrowhawk'') in Orkney in a plan to centralise the operations ...
**
701 Naval Air Squadron
701 Naval Air Squadron was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm squadron, formed on 24 May 1939, that saw service during the Second World War.
Formed on 15 July 1936 as No. 701 (Catapult) Flight FAA at RAF Kalafrana, Malta by re-designating No. 444 (Flee ...
**
703 Naval Air Squadron
703 Naval Air Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy was formed as a long-range catapult squadron on 3 March 1942 at RNAS Lee-on-Solent. During the Cold War, it was reformed as an experimental trials unit, and then as a helicopter traini ...
**
736 Naval Air Squadron
736 Naval Air Squadron (736 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy. It was most recently recommissioned at RNAS Culdrose on 6 June 2013 to fly the BAE Systems Hawk T1, following the disbandment of the Fleet Requirements and Aircraft Di ...
**
739 Naval Air Squadron
739 Naval Air Squadron (739 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was formed as the Blind Approach Development Unit for the Fleet Air Arm, operating with Fulmar and Swordfish aircraft, at RNAS Lee-on-Solent (HMS Dae ...
**
740 Naval Air Squadron
740 Naval Air Squadron (740 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was formed in 1943 as an Observer Training Squadron RNAS Arbroath (HMS Condor), disbanding the same year. From 1943 to 1945 it was a Communications S ...
**
744 Naval Air Squadron
744 Naval Air Squadron (744 NAS) is a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
The squadron formed at RNAS Lee-on-Solent on .
The squadron re-formed as an anti-submarine training unit on 6 March 1944 and continued in this role unti ...
**
767 Naval Air Squadron
767 Naval Air Squadron (767 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...
**
776 Naval Air Squadron
776 Naval Air Squadron (776 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...
**
778 Naval Air Squadron
778 Naval Air Squadron (778 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
History
During the Second World War the squadron was a Service Trials Unit (STU) initially based at RNAS Lee-on-Solent, Hampshire, England before moving ...
**
781 Naval Air Squadron
781 Naval Air Squadron (781 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
Aircraft operated
The squadron operated a variety of different aircraft and versions between 1947 & 1981:
* North American Harvard T.2b & T.3
* Hawker ...
**
782 Naval Air Squadron
782 Naval Air Squadron (782 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It initially formed in November 1939 as an Armament Training Squadron but disbanded in December to provide personnel for 774 Naval Air Squadron.
In Dece ...
**
787 Naval Air Squadron
787 Naval Air Squadron (787 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...
**
790 Naval Air Squadron
790 Naval Air Squadron (790 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...
**
799 Naval Air Squadron
799 Naval Air Squadron (799 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land a ...
**
1832 Naval Air Squadron
**
1844 Naval Air Squadron
1844 Naval Air Squadron (1844 NAS) was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land ...
;
*
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
;
*
Uruguayan Air Force
The Uruguayan Air Force ( es, Fuerza Aérea Uruguaya, abbreviated FAU) is the air service branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay. Originally created as part of the National Army of Uruguay, the Air Force was established as a separate branch on Dec ...
;
*
Royal Yugoslav Air Force
The Royal Yugoslav Air Force ( sh-Latn, Jugoslovensko kraljevsko ratno vazduhoplovstvo, JKRV; sh-Cyrl, Југословенско краљевско ратно ваздухопловство, ЈКРВ; ( sl, Jugoslovansko kraljevo vojno letalstv ...
– One aircraft impressed into military service in 1940.
Accidents and incidents
* 2 October 1934, G-ACPM of
Hillman's Airways
Hillman's Airways was a 1930s British airline that later became part of British Airways.
The company was formed in November 1931 as Hillman's Saloon Coaches and Airways Limited by Edward Henry Hillman who was a coach operator in Essex. His pre ...
crashed into the sea off
Folkestone
Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
, Kent causing the death of the pilot and the six passengers.
* 30 December 1936, G-AEGS of the Iraqi Petroleum Petrol Transport Company overturned in a forced landing in
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, two killed.
* 21 August 1937, CF-BBG Registered 10.6.37 to
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
Ltd, Toronto. Named "The Flying Newsroom" and equipped with floats. Destroyed by fire whilst refuelling Toronto Air Harbour, Toronto, Ontario 21.8.37. Registration cancelled 21.8.37 (same day)
* 3 July 1938, G-AEBX ''Star of Scotia'' of
Railway Air Services
Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by the Big Four railway companies (the GWR, LMS, LNER and SR) and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up ...
crashed at
Sydenham Sydenham may refer to:
Places Australia
* Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney
** Sydenham railway station, Sydney
* Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne
** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...
, Northern Ireland, two killed.
* 20 June 1939, G-AERE operated by
British American Air Services crashed in
County Durham
County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly About North East E ...
, England.
John Crouch who was the king's jockey, the pilot and the wireless operator were all killed.
* 27 May 1941, R5929 a Dominie of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
near
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century ...
,
Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, England, seven killed.
* 7 July 1941, R9563 a Dominie of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
crashed in bad weather three miles North of
Stonehaven
Stonehaven ( , ) is a town in Scotland. It lies on Scotland's northeast coast and had a population of 11,602 at the 2011 Census.
After the demise of the town of Kincardine, which was gradually abandoned after the destruction of its royal cast ...
,
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland.
It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...
, Scotland, six killed.
* 14 February 1942, R5927 a Dominie of the Royal Air Force hit a balloon cable and crashed near
Colnbrook, Wiltshire, England, six killed.
* 29 May 1942, VH-UXZ of
Australian National Airways
Australian National Airways (ANA) was Australia's predominant aerial carrier from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s.
The Holyman's Airways period
On 19 March 1932 Flinders Island Airways began a regular aerial service using the Desoutter Mk.I ...
crashed near
Flinders Island
Flinders Island, the largest island in the Furneaux Group, is a island in the Bass Strait, northeast of the island of Tasmania. Flinders Island was the place where the last remnants of aboriginal Tasmanian population were exiled by the colon ...
,
Bass Strait
Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...
, Australia following engine failure (probably through running out of fuel), four killed.
* 20 July 1944, VH-UBN owned by the Australian Department of Civil Aviation, but leased to
Guinea Airways
Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...
, crashed at Mount Kitchener, South Australia, probably as the result of pilot disorientation in cloud, killing all seven on board.
* 6 February 1945, SU-ABP of
Misr Airwork Misr or MISR may refer to:
* Misr, the romanized Arabic name for Egypt
* misr, singular of Arabic ''amsar'', which were early Arabic "garrison towns"
* Misr (domain name), a top-level Internet domain name
* Misr, a variant of the AKM assault rifle ...
crashed in Egypt, seven killed.
* 1 April 1946, G-AERZ of
Railway Air Services
Railway Air Services (RAS) was a British airline formed in March 1934 by the Big Four railway companies (the GWR, LMS, LNER and SR) and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up ...
crashed in
County Down
County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...
, Northern Ireland,
six killed.
* 30 August 1946, X7394 a Dominie of the Royal Navy crashed at
Scafell Pike
Scafell Pike () is the highest and the most prominent mountain in England, at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, and is part of the Southern Fells and the Scafell massif.
Scafell Pi ...
,
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
, England in bad weather during an ambulance flight, five killed.
* 15 April 1947, G-AHKR of
British European Airways
British European Airways (BEA), formally British European Airways Corporation, was a British airline which existed from 1946 until 1974.
BEA operated to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East from airports around the United Kingdom. The a ...
crashed into
Slieau Ruy whilst operating a scheduled passenger flight from
Speke Airport
Liverpool John Lennon Airport is an international airport in Liverpool, England, on the estuary of the River Mersey south-east of Liverpool city centre. Scheduled domestic, European, North African and Middle Eastern services are operated f ...
,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
to
Ronaldsway Airport
Ronaldsway () is a place in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown.
Features
It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, to ...
,
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
. There were only minor injuries amongst the six people on board.
* 10 June 1948, G-AIUI of
Hargreaves Airways Hargreaves is a surname, and may refer to:
* Aaron Hargreaves (born 1986), Canadian football player
* Adam Hargreaves (born 1963), British author of children's books & son of Roger Hargreaves
* Alberto Hargreaves, (born 1929) Portuguese architect ...
crashed at
Cronk ny Arrey Laa
Cronk ny Arrey Laa is a hill in the south west of the Isle of Man. It may be confused with a hill of a similar name in the parish of Jurby, further north along the west coast of the island.
At it is the second highest hill in this part of the is ...
, Isle of Man. Seven of the nine people on board were killed. The aircraft was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Speke to Ronaldsway.
* 11 November 1948, G-AKOF of
Mannin Airways
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
flying from
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, Ireland and unable to land at Ronaldsway diverted to Speke but ran out of fuel and crashed in
River Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
off Liverpool, England,
eight killed.
* 10 July 1951, G-ALXJ of the Air Navigation and Trading Company crashed into the
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
off
Laxey
Laxey ( gv, Laksaa) is a village on the east coast of the Isle of Man. Its name derives from the Old Norse ''Laxa'' meaning 'Salmon River'. Its key distinguishing features are its three working vintage railways and the largest working waterwhee ...
,
Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
, killing the pilot. The aircraft was operating a scheduled cargo flight from
Squires Gate Airport
Blackpool Airport is an airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport and Blackpool International Airport.
Ownership of the air ...
,
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, Lancashire to
RAF Jurby
Royal Air Force Station Jurby or more simply RAF Jurby is a former Royal Air Force station built in the north west of the Isle of Man. It was opened in 1939 on of land acquired by the Air Ministry in 1937, under the control of No. 29 Group, ...
instead of its normal destination of
Ronaldsway Airport
Ronaldsway () is a place in the parish of Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown.
Features
It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically of RNAS Ronaldsway, to ...
, which was fogbound.
* 14 September 1952, G-AIZI crashed shortly after takeoff from
Croydon Airport
Croydon Airport (former ICAO code: EGCR) was the UK's only international airport during the interwar period. Located in Croydon, South London, England, it opened in 1920, built in a Neoclassical style, and was developed as Britain's main air ...
at
Wallington, Surrey
Wallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton, in South London, England. It is south south-west of Charing Cross. Before the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington merged into the London Borough of Sutton in Greater London in 1965, ...
following a loss of power from the starboard engine. The pilot, the only person on board, was killed.
* 19 February 1954, G-AFMF crashed at
Simonburn Common near
Hexham
Hexham ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Northumberland, England, on the south bank of the River Tyne, formed by the confluence of the North Tyne and the South Tyne at Warden, Northumberland, Warden nearby, and ...
,
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey.
It is bordered by land on ...
. The pilot and seven passengers escaped with minor injuries.
* 29 June 1957, G-AGUE of
Island Air Services crashed on takeoff from
Ramsgate Airport
Ramsgate Airport was a civil airfield at Ramsgate, Kent, United Kingdom which opened in July 1935. It was briefly taken over by the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, becoming RAF Ramsgate. The airfield was then closed and obstructed to ...
, Kent on a local pleasure flight. The aircraft was written off, but all on board escaped uninjured.
* 16 July 1960, OY-DZY of
Zonens Redningskorps crashed shortly after takeoff from
Copenhagen Airport
Copenhagen Airport, Kastrup ( da, Københavns Lufthavn, Kastrup, ; ) is an international airport serving Copenhagen, Denmark, Zealand, the Øresund Region, and southern Sweden including Scania. It is the second largest airport in the Nordic coun ...
, Denmark. The aircraft was chartered by the
Danish Football Union
The Danish Football Union ( da, Dansk Boldspil-Union; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national ...
to transport soccer players to a test match in
Jutland
Jutland ( da, Jylland ; german: Jütland ; ang, Ēota land ), known anciently as the Cimbric or Cimbrian Peninsula ( la, Cimbricus Chersonesus; da, den Kimbriske Halvø, links=no or ; german: Kimbrische Halbinsel, links=no), is a peninsula of ...
. All eight passengers were killed; the pilot survived but had one leg amputated.
* 11 August 2018, N683DH crashed shortly after takeoff from
Abbotsford International Airport
Abbotsford International Airport is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada, southwest of the city centre. It is the second largest airport in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, after Vancouver International Airport (YVR), ...
at the
Abbotsford International Airshow
The Abbotsford International Airshow is held annually on the second Friday, Saturday and Sunday in August at Abbotsford International Airport in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.
It is Canada's largest airshow. In the mid-1970s, Abbotsford ...
.
Surviving aircraft
* F-AZCA is preserved in France (Amicale Jean Baptiste Salis at La Ferté Alais) Used for a double transatlantic flight in the late 1980s as an advertising vehicle for ''Blueway'' cigarettes. It is scheduled for restoration.
* G-ACPP, on display at the
Reynolds-Alberta Museum
The Reynolds-Alberta Museum is an agricultural, industrial, and transportation museum in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada. The museum is situated on an property containing the main museum building, an aviation display hangar, and its storage facility. ...
Fame in
Wetaskiwin
Wetaskiwin ( ) is a city in the province of Alberta, Canada. The city is located south of the provincial capital of Edmonton. The city name comes from the Cree word ''wītaskiwinihk'', meaning "the hills where peace was made".
Wetaskiwin is ...
Alberta. The fifth D.H.89 built, and started its career with Railway Air Services Ltd of Croydon, UK on 2 Feb. 1935 with the name 'City of Bristol'. It is the oldest surviving D.H.89.
* G-ACYR, in Olley Air Service Livery, used to fly Franco from the Canary Islands in the first days of the Spanish Civil War, based at
Museo del Aire (Madrid)
Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics ( es, Museo de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica), also known as Air Museum (), is an aviation museum located near of Madrid, is situated at Cuatro Vientos Air Base, Spain. The objective of the museum is to acqu ...
.
* G-ADAH, a DH89A in the livery of Allied Airways, is on display at the
Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, England.
* G-ADDD (was G-ACZE, N1934D), a DH89A currently undergoing restoration to flying condition at the
Military Aviation Museum
The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from ...
in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
* G-AEML / EC-AAY, a DH89A in the livery of
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
, is airworthy and operated by the Fundación Infante de Orleans in Spain.
* G-AGJG, a DH89A, in the colours of Scottish Airways, is airworthy and in the hands of private owners at Duxford Airfield, Cambridge, England.
* G-AGSH, a DH89A, is airworthy with the
Shuttleworth Collection
The Shuttleworth Collection is a working aeronautical and automotive collection located at the Old Warden Aerodrome, Old Warden in Bedfordshire, England. It is the oldest in the world and one of the most prestigious, due to the variety of old a ...
in
Old Warden, Bedfordshire. Was rebuilt and restored to her
BEA colours by Cliff Lovell at Hants Light Plane Services.
* G-AGTM, a DH89A, is airworthy and was operated by the Classic Air Force before it closed in 2016.
* G-AHAG, a DH89A in the livery of Scillonia Airways, is airworthy and based at Membury airfield, Berkshire.
* G-AHXW, is under repair following its 2018 crash. Upon completion of will rejoin the Historic Flight Foundation
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
.
* G-AIDL, a Mk 6, is airworthy and owned by Cirrus Aviation, painted as a Royal Air Force Dominie ''TX310'', its former identity.
* G-AKIF and G-AIYR, a pair of DH89A Dragon Rapides, are airworthy and based at Duxford, England airfield for tourist flights.
* G-AKNV (last registration was OO-CNP), on display at the
Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History
The Royal Museum of the Armed Forces and Military History (french: Musée Royal de l'Armée et d'Histoire Militaire, often abbreviated to MRA, nl, Koninklijk Museum van het Leger en de Krijgsgeschiedenis, KLM) is a military museum that occupi ...
in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
.
* NR695 / N2290F, a DH89A, is on display at the
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the ...
,
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...
.
* TC-ERK, a DH89A, is on display at the
Istanbul Aviation Museum
The Istanbul Aviation Museum, a.k.a. Turkish Air Force Museum, ( tr, Havacılık Müzesi or Hava Kuvvetleri Müzesi) is a military-based museum for aviation, owned and operated by the Turkish Air Force. The museum is located in Yeşilköy neighbo ...
.
* ZS-JGV (CN8931), a DH89A is airworthy and is based in Queenstown in the
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha.
The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
* C-FAYE, known as ''Lady Faye'', is on display at the
Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre
Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre (CBHC), located on the north bank of the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada, is dedicated to preserving the history of bush flying and forest protection in Canada. It was founded in 1987 by a ...
in
Sault Ste. Marie,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
.
* V-3, DH89B (CN6740), on display at the
Nationaal Militair Museum
The Nationaal Militair Museum (NMM) is a military museum in Soesterberg, Netherlands. It focuses on the history of the Dutch Armed Forces with emphasis on the Royal Netherlands Army and the Royal Netherlands Air Force. The Stichting Koninklijke De ...
, The Netherlands
* 2304, DH89A (CN6430), operated by Força Aérea Portuguesa on display at the
Museu do Ar
The Air Museum ( pt, Museu do Ar) is an aviation museum of the Portuguese Air Force located at Sintra Air Base and with spaces at Ovar and Alverca.
History
The museum dates back to the ''Aero Clube de Portugal'' in 1909 and was created in ...
, Sintra Portugal
Specifications (Dragon Rapide)
Notable appearances in media
A 1986 Spanish film, ''Dragon Rapide'', covers its historical use by Generalissimo
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...
during the preparation for the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
.
See also
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Gerdessen, Frederik. "Estonian Air Power 1918 – 1945". ''Air Enthusiast'', No. 18, April – July 1982. pp. 61–76. .
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
* Operators' reference drawin
de Havilland Dragon Rapide at the
Military Aviation Museum
The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from ...
{{Authority control
1930s British airliners
1930s British military utility aircraft
Dragon Rapide
Aircraft first flown in 1934
Biplanes
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft