The de Havilland DH.93 Don was a 1930s

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multi-role three-seat training aircraft built by

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 ...

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 ...

Design and development

The Don was designed to meet

Air Ministry Specification This is a partial list of the British Air Ministry (AM) specifications for aircraft. A specification stemmed from an Operational Requirement, abbreviated "OR", describing what the aircraft would be used for. This in turn led to the specification ...

T.6/36 for a multi-role trainer and was a single-engined monoplane of wooden stressed-skin construction. The DH.93 Don was intended to be a trainer for pilots and radio operators, and as a gunnery trainer, the gunnery requirement involved the mounting of a dorsal gun turret. Student pilot and instructor sat side by side up front, while accommodation for a trainee WT (radio) operator and the turret gunner was behind in the cabin.

Operational history

The prototype with test marks ''E-3'' (later military serial number ''L2387'') first flew on 18 June 1937 and was transferred to

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 ...

for official evaluation. In the course of the trials, more equipment was added which increased the weight, and as a result, in an attempt to reduce weight, the dorsal turret was removed. The aircraft was also modified with small auxiliary fins fitted beneath the tailplane.Jackson 1962, p. 354. Despite the changes incorporated from the fifth aircraft,Jackson 1962, p. 354. the type was deemed not suitable for training and the original order for 250 aircraft was reduced to only 50 aircraft, 20 of which were delivered as engineless airframes for ground training.Jackson 1962, p. 355. The remaining aircraft served as communications and liaison aircraft, serving with No. 24 Sqn and numerous

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Flights throughout the UK until early 1939, but all were grounded for use as instructional airframes in March 1939.Ford 2003, p. 75.

Operators

; *

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 ...

**station flights

Specifications (Communications role)

References

Bibliography

* ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Aircraft (Part Work 1982–1985)''. London: Orbis Publishing, 1986. No ISBN. * Ford, Daniel. "Outmoded Teacher: de Havilland's Don Crew Trainer". ''

Air Enthusiast ''Air Enthusiast'' was a British, bi-monthly, aviation magazine, published by the Key Publishing group. Initially begun in 1974 as ''Air Enthusiast Quarterly'', the magazine was conceived as a historical adjunct to '' Air International'' maga ...

'' 105, May/June 2003, pp. 74–75. . * Jackson, A.J. ''de Havilland Aircraft Since 1915''. London, Putnam, 1962. No ISBN. * Jackson, A.J. ''de Havilland Aircraft since 1909''. London:Putnam, Third edition, 1987. .

External links

De Havilland Don
– British Aircraft Directory {{de Havilland aircraft 1930s British military utility aircraft Low-wing aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft

Don Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

Aircraft first flown in 1937