The de Havilland DH.14 Okapi was a British two-seat day bomber of the 1910s built by de Havilland. The aircraft was designed as an

Airco DH.4 The Aircraft Manufacturing Company Limited (Airco) was an early British aircraft manufacturer. Established during 1912, it grew rapidly during the First World War, referring to itself as the largest aircraft company in the world by 1918. Ai ...

and DH.9 replacement, but it never entered production.

Design and development

The Okapi was a scaled-up Airco DH.9 with a bigger engine, (the

Rolls-Royce Condor The Rolls-Royce Condor aircraft piston engine was a larger version of the Rolls-Royce Eagle developing up to 675 horsepower (500 kW). The engine first ran in 1918 and a total of 327 engines were recorded as being built. Variants ''Note:'' ...

) intended as a replacement for the DH.4 and DH.9. Three were built, but due to the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

the

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 ...

was reluctant to accept them. The third aircraft was the first to fly, and it was completed by Airco as the DH.14A, a two-seat long-range

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 two military aircraft were completed by de Havilland in 1921 and used for trials. One suffered a fatal crash at Burnham Beeches on 10 February 1922 and no production aircraft were ordered.

G-EAPY

The third aircraft was completed as the DH.14A to compete in the Daily Mail transatlantic flight competition.Jackson 1987, pp. 148-152 It had a

Napier Lion The Napier Lion is a 12-cylinder, petrol-fueled 'broad arrow' W12 configuration aircraft engine built by D. Napier & Son from 1917 until the 1930s. A number of advanced features made it the most powerful engine of its day and kept it in prod ...

engine and increased fuel capacity. With the winning of the prize by

Alcock and Brown British aviators John Alcock and Arthur Brown made the first non-stop transatlantic flight in June 1919. They flew a modified First World War Vickers Vimy bomber from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, County Galway, Ireland. The Secretar ...

the project was abandoned. The aircraft, registered G-EAPY, was then to be used by

Sidney Cotton Frederick Sidney Cotton OBE (17 June 1894 – 13 February 1969) was an Australian inventor, photographer and aviation and photography pioneer, responsible for developing and promoting an early colour film process, and largely responsible for ...

, who intended to try for the Australian government's £10,000 prize for a flight between England and Australia.

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

and Ross Smith won that prize before Cotton was ready. The aircraft was loaned by Airco to Cotton to attempt the first flight between London and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Cotton and an engineer from Napier left

Hendon Aerodrome Hendon Aerodrome was an aerodrome in London, England, that was an important centre for aviation from 1908 to 1968. It was situated in Colindale, north west of Charing Cross. It nearly became a central hub of civil aviation ("the Charing Cros ...

on 4 February 1920, but soon forced landed at Cricklewood with oil problems. Cotton reached Naples on the 21 February but they failed to find the aerodrome at Messina and they force-landed on a nearby beach. G-EAPY was rebuilt by Airco with an additional third cockpit and sold to Cotton for use in the

Aerial Derby The Aerial Derby was an air race in the United Kingdom sponsored by the '' Daily Mail'' in which the competitors flew a circuit around London. It was first held in 1912, with subsequent races in 1913 and 1914. Suspended during the First World Wa ...

. The aircraft was badly damaged when it forced landed following an onboard fire near Hertford on 24 July 1920. When the other two DH.14s were completed by de Havilland at Stag Lane in 1921 the DH.14A was repaired again and joined the test flying with a military serial number.

Variants

* DH.14 – two-seat day bomber with a

engine, two built. * DH.14A – two-seat long range mailplane with a

Engine, one built.

Operators

; *

Specifications (DH.14)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{De Havilland aircraft

Okapi The okapi (; ''Okapia johnstoni''), also known as the forest giraffe, Congolese giraffe, or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal that is endemic to the northeast Democratic Republic of the Congo in central Africa. It is the only species ...

Single-engined tractor aircraft Biplanes 1910s British bomber aircraft Aircraft first flown in 1919