The de Havilland DH.91 Albatross was a four-engined British transport aircraft of the 1930s. A total of seven aircraft were built between 1938–39.

Development

The DH.91 was designed in 1936 by

A. E. Hagg Arthur Ernest Hagg (1888 – 21 January 1985) was a British aircraft and boat designer. He was born in Brighton and educated in Bournemouth. He started work for Airco in 1915, aged 27, and worked as a draftsman on the DH4 in 1916. He transfe ...

to Air Ministry specification 36/35 for a transatlantic

mail plane A mail plane is an aircraft used for carrying mail. Aircraft that were purely mail planes existed almost exclusively prior to World War II. Because early aircraft were too underpowered to carry cargoes, and too costly to run any "economy class" ...

. The aircraft was notable for the ply-

balsa ''Ochroma pyramidale'', commonly known as the balsa tree, is a large, fast-growing tree native to the Americas. It is the sole member of the genus ''Ochroma''. The tree is famous for its wide usage in woodworking, with the name ''balsa'' being ...

-ply sandwich construction of its fuselage, later used in the de Havilland Mosquito bomber. Another unique feature was a cooling system for the air-cooled engines that allowed nearly ideal streamlining of the engine mounting. The first Albatross flew on 20 May 1937. The second prototype broke in two during overload tests but was repaired with minor reinforcement. The first and second prototypes were operated by Imperial Airways. Although designed as a mailplane, a version to carry 22 passengers was developed; the main differences being extra windows and the replacement of split flaps with slotted flaps. Five examples formed the production order delivered in 1938/1939. When war was declared all seven aircraft were operating from Bristol/Whitchurch to Lisbon and Shannon.

Operational history

As normal for the Imperial Airways fleet of the time, all were given names starting with the same letter, and the first aircraft's name was also used as a generic description for the type overall, as "Frobisher Class". This tradition, which came from a maritime and railway background of classes of ships and locomotives, lasted well into postwar days with BOAC and BEA. The first delivery to

Imperial Airways Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passengers ...

was the 22-passenger DH.91 ''Frobisher'' in October 1938. The five passenger-carrying aircraft were operated on routes from Croydon to Paris, Brussels and Zurich. After test flying was completed, the two prototypes were delivered to Imperial Airways as long-range mail carriers. The only significant season of their operation was the summer of 1939, when they were the main type on the two-hourly London Croydon-to-Paris Le Bourget passenger route. With the onset of

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 opposing ...

, 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) an ...

considered their range and speed useful for courier flights between

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, and the two mail planes were pressed into service with 271 Squadron in September 1940, operating between

Prestwick Prestwick ( gd, Preastabhaig) is a town in South Ayrshire on the west coast of Ayrshire in Scotland about southwest of Glasgow. It adjoins the larger town of Ayr to the south on the Firth of Clyde coast, the centre of which is about south, an ...

and Reykjavik, but both were destroyed in landing accidents in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

within the space of 9 months: ''Faraday'' in 1941 and ''Franklin'' in 1942.Moss ''Air Pictorial'', September 1964, p. 292. The five passenger aircraft were used by

, ( BOAC from September 1940) on

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

– Lisbon and

– Shannon routes from

Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport Bristol (Whitchurch) Airport, also known as Whitchurch Airport, was a municipal airport in Bristol, England, three miles (5 km) south of the city centre, from 1930 to 1957. It was the main airport for Bristol and the surrounding area. Durin ...

. ''Frobisher'' was destroyed during a German air raid on Whitchurch in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...

,, ''Fingal'' was destroyed in a crash-landing, following a fuel pipe failure in 1940 at

Pucklechurch Pucklechurch is a large village and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England. It has a current population of about 3000. The village dates back over a thousand years and was once the site of a royal hunting lodge, as it adjoined a large fo ...

and ''Fortuna'' crashed near

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

in 1943. The latter accident was found to be due to deterioration of the aircraft's plywood wing structures. In view of the two surviving aircraft's vulnerability to similar problems, and for lack of spares parts, ''Falcon'' and ''Fiona'' were scrapped in September 1943.Moss ''Air Pictorial'', September 1964, p. 294.

Aircraft

Faraday :Mail-carrier variant was delivered to Imperial Airways in August 1939 as ''Faraday'' and registered G-AEVV. It was transferred to BOAC when it was formed in 1940 but was impressed into Royal Air Force service with serial number AX903 for operation by No. 271 Squadron RAF. It was destroyed in a landing accident at Reykjavik on 11 August 1941.Jackson 1973, pp 472 Franklin :Mail-carrier variant was delivered to BOAC as ''Franklin'' and registered G-AEVW. Impressed into Royal Air Force Service with the serial number AX904 for operation by 271 Squadron. It was destroyed when the landing gear collapsed on landing at Reykjavik on 7 April 1942. Frobisher :Passenger variant was registered G-AFDI and delivered to Imperial Airways (later BOAC) as ''Frobisher'' in 1938. It was destroyed on the ground during a German air attack on Whitchurch Airport on 20 December 1940. Falcon :Passenger variant was registered G-AFDJ and delivered to Imperial Airways (later BOAC) as ''Falcon'' in 1938. It was scrapped in September 1943. Fortuna :Passenger variant was registered G-AFDK and delivered to Imperial Airways (later BOAC) as ''Fortuna'' in 1939. Destroyed in a crash landing near

, Ireland on 16 July 1943. Fingal :Passenger variant was registered G-AFDL and delivered to Imperial Airways (later BOAC) as ''Fingal'' in 1939. Destroyed in a crash landing near

, Gloucestershire, England on 6 October 1940. Fiona :Passenger variant was registered G-AFDM and delivered to Imperial Airways (later BOAC) as ''Fiona'' in 1939. It was scrapped in September 1943.Civil Aviation Authority Registration Entry for G-AFDM
A 1/10 scale model of the Albatross owned by British Airways was found in a crate at Croydon in the 1990s and is on display in the heritage museum at Speedbird House.

Operators

; *

which was reorganised as

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. After the pass ...

received all seven aircraft. *

** No. 271 Squadron RAF operated two aircraft taken over from BOAC.

Specifications (DH.91)

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{de Havilland aircraft Albatross 1930s British airliners Four-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1937 Four-engined piston aircraft