The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide is a 1930s short-haul biplane airliner developed and produced by British aircraft company de Havilland. 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 ...

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 opposing ...

, 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) an ...

(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 ...

. 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 which, ...

Design and development

Origins

De Havilland Dragon Rapide cockpit (2663922968)

De Havilland Dragon Rapide cabin (2667473378)

During summer 1933, the de Havilland aircraft company commenced work upon an aircraft to meet an Australian 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

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 alw ...

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 desi ...

, Hertfordshire. 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 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 opposi ...

, 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 (RCA ...

. K4772 was later used by the Royal Aircraft Establishment (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 Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, 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, 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, 199 ...

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

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 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 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 worl ...

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 lo ...

, 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 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 ...

, who continued to use the type. Further Canadian sales of the Rapide would occur both during and after the end of the

. 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

(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), 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 in Rapide ''G-ACYR'' from the Canary Islands to Spanish Morocco, 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, link ...

. 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 Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, Spain.

Second World War

Aircraft of the Royal Air Force, 1939-1945- De Havilland Dh

At the start of

on 3 September 1939, all British civil transport aircraft were requisitioned by the Ministry of Aircraft Production. 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 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

(RAF) and

for radio and navigation training. Other duties they were used for included passenger and communications missions.

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

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 R ...

, Moray,

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. 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 b ...

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 wa ...

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, W.A. Rollason Limited and the Lancashire Aircraft Corporation (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 th ...

, 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 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

Variants

;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 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 Dragon rapide MUSAL

; * 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 ...

;

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. , go ...

Crown Colony of Sarawak
Flag of Brunei 1906-1959

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 ...

; *

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 ...

; *

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 fo ...

; *

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 ...

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 ; * 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 ...

; *

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 Irela ...

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 ...

; *

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 busines ...

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 ; *

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 befo ...

; *

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. Lare ...

; *

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 ...

operated 2 aircraft. ; * Spanish Republican Air Force ; *

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 ; * Aberdeen Airways * Air Charter Limited * Air Atlantique Classic Flight now the Classic Air Force * 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 * 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 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 * Great Western and Southern Airlines * Hillmans Airways *

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 *

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 *

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 Wester ...

* Northwest Airlines (UK) * Olley Air Services * Personal Airways *

* 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 ;: *

Aeroput Aeroput () was an airline and flag carrier of Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia from 1927 until 1948. Society for Air traffic List of legal entity types by country#Serbia, AD Aeroput was the first Serbian company for civil air traffic, which was ...

Military operators

; *

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

; * Belgian Air Force (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 ; * Royal Egyptian Air Force ; *

Finnish Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , equipment = 159 , equipment_label ...

; *

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 Defens ...

; * Royal Jordanian Air Force ; *

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 – four D.H.89B Mark II (transports) ** No. 334 Squadron RNLAF (1944–1956) ; * Royal New Zealand Air Force ** No. 4 Squadron RNZAF **

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 ; * Southern Rhodesian Air Force – 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

during the occupation of the Baltics ; * Spanish Republican Air Force 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 ; *

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 to ...

- three DH.89As. ; *

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. 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 Otranto, Alimini, Italy from part of No. 6 Wing Royal Naval Air Service, RNAS, and was equipped with Sopwith Cam ...

** No. 271 Squadron RAF ** No. 510 Squadron RAF ** No. 526 Squadron RAF ** No. 527 Squadron RAF **

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 ** 701 Naval Air Squadron ** 703 Naval Air Squadron **

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 ** 740 Naval Air Squadron **

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 **

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 movin ...

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 **

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 1832 Naval Air Squadron (1832 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 ...

** 1844 Naval Air Squadron ; *

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 – 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 pr ...

crashed into the sea off Folkestone, 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, 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

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, 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

near

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

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

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, 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

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 colo ...

, Bass Strait, 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

crashed in County Down, 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 P ...

, Cumberland, England in bad weather during an ambulance flight, five killed. * 15 April 1947, G-AHKR of

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 populat ...

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 Lancash ...

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, 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 flying from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, 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 par ...

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 waterwhe ...

, 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 ai ...

, Blackpool, 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

, which was fogbound. * 14 September 1952, G-AIZI crashed shortly after takeoff from Croydon Airport 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 19 ...

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,

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 ...

. 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 ...

, 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 te ...

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 at the Abbotsford International Airshow.

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 acq ...

. * 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

, 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 Cana ...

. * 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 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 D ...

. * TC-ERK, a DH89A, is on display at the Istanbul Aviation Museum. * ZS-JGV (CN8931), a DH89A is airworthy and is based in Queenstown in the Eastern Cape,

. * C-FAYE, known as ''Lady Faye'', is on display at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre 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 C ...

. * 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 ...

, The Netherlands * 2304, DH89A (CN6430), operated by Força Aérea Portuguesa on display at the Museu do Ar, Sintra Portugal

Specifications (Dragon Rapide)

Notable appearances in media

A 1986 Spanish film, ''Dragon Rapide'', covers its historical use by Generalissimo Francisco Franco during the preparation for the

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

{{Authority control 1930s British airliners 1930s British military utility aircraft Dragon Rapide Aircraft first flown in 1934 Biplanes Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft