Airco DH.4 – Billeder & Video

Fotogalleri af en Airco DH.4, The Airco DH.4 was a British two-seat biplane day bomber of World War I. It was designed by Geoffrey de Havilland (hence “DH”) for Airco, and was the first British two-seat light day-bomber to have an effective defensive armament. It first flew in August 1916 and entered service with the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) in March 1917. The majority of DH.4s were actually built as general purpose two-seaters in the United States, for service with the American forces in France. The DH.4 was tried with several engines, of which the best was the 375 hp (280 kW) Rolls-Royce Eagle engine. Armament and ordnance for the aircraft consisted of one 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Vickers machine gun for the pilot and one 0.303 in (7.7 mm) Lewis gun on a Scarff ring mounting for the observer. Two 230 lb (100 kg) bombs or four 112 lb (51 kg) bombs could be carried. The DH.4 entered service on 6 March 1917 with No. 55 Squadron in France.

Kilde: Airco DH.4 på Wikipedia

Den Airco DH.4 var et britisk tosædet biplan dagbombefly designet af Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco under 1. verdenskrig. Det var det første britiske tosædede lette dagbombefly, der var i stand til at forsvare sig selv.
Design og udvikling:
DH.4 havde et konventionelt traktor-biplan-design med en trækonstruktion. Den havde en lang næse, der oprindeligt var designet til at rumme Beardmore Halford Pullinger-motoren, men produktionsmodellerne blev drevet af forskellige andre motorer, hvor Rolls-Royce Eagle VIII med 375 hk var den mest succesfulde. Besætningen på to sad i åbne cockpits med brændstoftanken placeret mellem sig.
The DH.4 was armed with a forward-firing Vickers machine gun for the pilot and one or two Lewis guns on a Scarff ring for the observer. It could carry up to four 112 lb bombs.
Operational History:
Den DH.4 first flew in August 1916 and entered service with the Royal Flying Corps in France on March 6, 1917. It proved popular for its speed, climb rate, maneuverability, and flying characteristics.
The majority of DH.4s, over 4,800, were manufactured in the United States for the American Expeditionary Forces, powered by the 400 hp Liberty L-12 engine. These became the only American-built aircraft to see combat in WWI.
After the war, surplus DH.4s were sold for civilian use, initiating early commercial passenger flights in Europe. They were also used by newly formed air forces worldwide and by the U.S. Post Office for air mail service until the late 1920s.
Overlevende fly:
Prototypen af den amerikanskbyggede DH.4 er bevaret på National Air and Space Museum i Washington D.C. Den blev brugt til over 2.600 eksperimenter indtil 1919, herunder Orville Wrights sidste pilotflyvning i 1918.